CPAP/sleep apnea (2 Viewers)

[GenghisKhan]

Pre-CPAP, it used to take me 2 hours to fall asleep. And I would wake up every 30 mins. I would be exhausted all the time. Once in a while it would get so bad the Dr would prescribe sleeping pills.

Twice in the last 15 years I had to take 1-2 months off work to do tests to see why I was so drained. I had zero energy, could not focus at work. We were worried I was sick with something. When all came up negative, Doctor kept saying maybe it's stress or depression.

But I had zero stress at work.
It's a govt job that I love and because it's work that I like, I find it easy to do and opposite of stressful.

Fast forward 2 years ago I borrow a CPAP to do a sleep study at home: boom. Severe sleep apnea. Everything makes sense. Everything is now fixed.

My penis grew 3".

(One of these is an exageration. But don't tell @k9dr . We want to encourage him to continue lol).

 

[bergs]

Two questions:

1) can you sleep in any position with CPAP or only on your back?

2) can you hear anything? Like, would a phone call or your home alarm still wake you up?

 

[GenghisKhan]

1) I'm a side sleeper, and still mostly sleep on my side. Although I am now able to sleep on my back when I feel like it. Something I could not do before.

2)absolutely. It's super quiet. I can hear anything and everything. If my wife forgot her phone on vibrate, and gets a notification, it can wake me up. Well, at least I think it's her phone.

I can hear other tiny noises around the house like my laptop fan coming on 2 rooms over in my office. And my wife says I have bad hearing.

I think you get the picture lol.

 

[JoeBGo]

Two questions:

1) can you sleep in any position with CPAP or only on your back?

2) can you hear anything? Like, would a phone call or your home alarm still wake you up?

I’ve found sleeping on my side is no problem with a firm memory foam pillow.

I have a Phillips Dream Station, it’s dead quiet.

 

[Bluegrass Poker]

Two questions:

1) can you sleep in any position with CPAP or only on your back?

2) can you hear anything? Like, would a phone call or your home alarm still wake you up?

I still sleep on my side. And most CPAP machines are really quiet.

 

[GenghisKhan]

Philips Dreamstation here too. Resmed seems popular in this thread, but here everyone used the Philips.

Anyone ever own both and can give a comparison?

 

[Saoliver]

Two questions:

1) can you sleep in any position with CPAP or only on your back?

2) can you hear anything? Like, would a phone call or your home alarm still wake you up?

I sleep on my side. Full mask. No issues.

I hear everything. My alarm wakes me every morning.

 

[TheBigTater]

I’ve found sleeping on my side is no problem with a firm memory foam pillow.

I have a Phillips Dream Station, it’s dead quiet.

This is good to hear. I've been a side sleeper for most of my life and absolutely cannot sleep on my back. I also use a super firm memory foam pillow. Sounding like the key is finding the right mask. Noise shouldn't be a big thing for me in fact I need some white noise to sleep anyway do to tinnitus.

I'm kind of looking forward to it this time around.

 

[JustDave]

Following this with interest. I snore and my dog snores. It’s a race to see which one of us starts snoring first and which is the loudest. My wife kicks both of us out to the spare bedroom all the time. My doc has demanded I lose weight for other reasons (blood sugar level and blood pressure). Hopefully the weight loss will help but I have been seriously considering a sleep study.

I spent the first 5 years of married life like this. Now we just have seperate bedrooms. Works a lot better.

Question for the CPAP/PCF brethren. Do you all sometimes find yourselves gasping for no reason during the day? Almost like an automatic reflex to not having the machine force air?

this sounds like central sleep apnea, where your autonomic function stops working correctly. A lot of cpap people who have this have bipaps instead of cpaps, the bipap pulses different air pressures at you, both high enough to 'inflate' the airway, but the change in pressure triggers you to breathe.

 

[JustDave]

I sleep on my side. Full mask. No issues.

I hear everything. My alarm wakes me every morning.

same/same

 

[k9dr]

My penis grew 3".

I must be wearing it wrong

 

[derekdd23]

I have had mostly the same experiences as shared. I can say that it has my sleep better and I don’t go anywhere without it. It took me a while to find a mask that worked, I went through a ton! Once you find something that works it all seems to make sense.

I settled on the Phillips dreamwear after my mom raved about it, I have to agree that it was the best I had found and I love it.

 

[GenghisKhan]

I switched to this Philips Dreamwear silicone cushion. I think it's new this year. There was an older one but they changed the style or material, and it's even more comfortable and less noticeable.

If you own Philips you can buy just this single piece to swap out and try.

 

[derekdd23]

I switched to this Philips Dreamwear silicone cushion. I think it's new this year. There was an older one but they changed the style or material, and it's even more comfortable and less noticeable.

If you own Philips you can buy just this single piece to swap out and try.
View attachment 806623

I used to use this one, but I preferred without. I may give the new version a go since Amazon sells all the parts really cheap so it is an easy swap.

 

[Samuel]

Unfortunately, I'm another member of the club. I've (most likely) had apnea on and off for years but only recently finally got an official diagnosis near the beginning of this year (severe/60+ episodes per hour). I have a ResMed 10 and use the F20 mask (mouth breather/window licker here haha). Have only slept through the night with it on a handful of times so far, still trying to get used to it (I usually end up subconsciously taking it off sometime during my sleep). Sometimes the F20 takes a little fiddling to get good seal alignment but I can sleep on my back or on my side without too much difficulty (even if the mask is making contact with the pillow). From my wife's observations, my apnea seems to be directly proportional to how out of shape I am. I've got work related back problems now and haven't been able to really exercise for the past two, two and a half years. Coupled with a lack of discipline and junk food junkie diet, I'm carrying about 35 extra pounds right now so my apnea is pretty bad/loud. Hats off to my wife, she's a trooper and still with me ( ::knocking on my head:: )...

 

[k9dr]

After 2 weeks I switched to a full face mask with memory foam - I like it much better. I found the silicone irritating and I couldn't get used to the nasal portion of the mask. I also asked why it felt so hot as my face was sweating and found out the tube heating was turned on .... in Florida It is much more comfortable now.

I was improving but my events were still in the 30's per hour, so I contacted my doc and she increased my pressure from 6 to 10. It initially felt like breathing into a leaf blower, but I have gotten used to it. My events are now less than 8 per hour and I am sleeping much better I do experience some bloating and gassiness so watch out @MatB

 

[moose]

And an added benefit, you can use it as an excuse to avoid small talk with the wife once you put it on. LOL.

I do experience some bloating and gassiness so watch out @MatB

Another side benefit is you can pretty much fart in bed with impunity. If the wife tries to dutch oven you, you have your own filtered external air supply.....

 

[k9dr]

This game needs more levels I already achieved high score.

 

[GenghisKhan]

Fyi when my specialist turned it up to 10, I had the same reaction as you.

I told him I can't fall asleep with it at 10.
He programmed it to start at 4, then gradually ramp up to 10 within 30 mins I think.

I fall asleep before the pressure gets high.
I only notice IF I wake up in the night. Which used to feel like every 10 mins. Now it's maybe 1-2 times per night. Fall back asleep within seconds so at that point the 10 pressure setting doesn't have time to bother me.

Keep on communicating with your specialist and fine tuning!

Good on you for keeping it up so far.

 

[derekdd23]

This game needs more levels I already achieved high score.

View attachment 814884

10.5 hours of sleep! that's impressive

 

[cpac54]

Fyi when my specialist turned it up to 10, I had the same reaction as you.

I told him I can't fall asleep with it at 10.
He programmed it to start at 4, then gradually ramp up to 10 within 30 mins I think.

I fall asleep before the pressure gets high.
I only notice IF I wake up in the night. Which used to feel like every 10 mins. Now it's maybe 1-2 times per night. Fall back asleep within seconds so at that point the 10 pressure setting doesn't have time to bother me.

Keep on communicating with your specialist and fine tuning!

Good on you for keeping it up so far.

If you have an AirSense 10, the Auto Ramp is a great feature - you can benefit from a lower starting pressure but the device will automatically recognize once you’ve fallen asleep and ramp up to therapy pressure to ensure you’re treated should you experience and event (apnea, snoring or flow limitation).

Really great benefit vs. a normal ramp which just runs the course of its programmed time, regardless of whether you’ve fallen asleep beforehand and then switched to therapy mode.

If you still find that exhaling against your set pressure is difficult, give the EPR (expiratory pressure release) a try. It allows you to sink expiratory pressure by 1-3cm H2O and can make a big difference in comfort for people who have higher pressures and trouble tolerating those pressures.

 

[jazzV3]

If you have an AirSense 10, the Auto Ramp is a great feature - you can benefit from a lower starting pressure but the device will automatically recognize once you’ve fallen asleep and ramp up to therapy pressure to ensure you’re treated should you experience and event (apnea, snoring or flow limitation).

Really great benefit vs. a normal ramp which just runs the course of its programmed time, regardless of whether you’ve fallen asleep beforehand and then switched to therapy mode.

If you still find that exhaling against your set pressure is difficult, give the EPR (expiratory pressure release) a try. It allows you to sink expiratory pressure by 1-3cm H2O and can make a big difference in comfort for people who have higher pressures and trouble tolerating those pressures.

What's this all about? Sleep study coming up next month and doing some research into the inevitable.
Different model than mentioned above?

 

[cpac54]

What's this all about? Sleep study coming up next month and doing some research into the inevitable.
Different model than mentioned above?

View attachment 815292
View attachment 815293

Different model, different manufacturer.

Rough times for Philips the past few months and not looking like it’s going to get any better for them anytime soon.

The model I was referring to is the ResMed AirSense 10. The AirSense 11 is also available in the U.S. now. As far as the algorithm and comfort settings go, mostly the same, but it does offer a much improved version of the water tub (AS10 had some issues with leaky tubs) and offers improved connectivity in terms of how HCPs and physicians can treat and monitor patients. Some neat new patient engagement and guidance tools built in as well to help support with the beginning phase of therapy, which is often the most challenging time for new patients.

 

[k9dr]

If you have an AirSense 10, the Auto Ramp is a great feature - you can benefit from a lower starting pressure but the device will automatically recognize once you’ve fallen asleep and ramp up to therapy pressure to ensure you’re treated should you experience and event (apnea, snoring or flow limitation).

Really great benefit vs. a normal ramp which just runs the course of its programmed time, regardless of whether you’ve fallen asleep beforehand and then switched to therapy mode.

If you still find that exhaling against your set pressure is difficult, give the EPR (expiratory pressure release) a try. It allows you to sink expiratory pressure by 1-3cm H2O and can make a big difference in comfort for people who have higher pressures and trouble tolerating those pressures.

I have the AirSense 11 with the auto ramp feature and it is definitely helpful in falling asleep. I was not aware of the EPR - is that a feature on the machine or something else ?

 

[cpac54]

I have the AirSense 11 with the auto ramp feature and it is definitely helpful in falling asleep. I was not aware of the EPR - is that a feature on the machine or something else ?

It’s a comfort feature built into the clinical menu, though if you have the patient menu “Essentials Plus” activated on your device you will have the option to turn EPR on or off yourself.

 

[GenghisKhan]

Around here (my hometown) everyone uses the Philips, but seems on PCF 3/4 are using AirSense.

Has anyone had both?
Seems like the auto ramp and epr could be nice for me. Any other pros/cons?

AirSense just as quiet? My wife can't even hear my Philips.

Plus with the Philips seals disintegrating and being recalled, I might need to try something else in the near future if mine starts getting the dreaded black filters.

 

[cpac54]

Around here (my hometown) everyone uses the Philips, but seems on PCF 3/4 are using AirSense.

Has anyone had both?
Seems like the auto ramp and epr could be nice for me. Any other pros/cons?

AirSense just as quiet? My wife can't even hear my Philips.

Plus with the Philips seals disintegrating and being recalled, I might need to try something else in the near future if mine starts getting the dreaded black filters.

The new Philips Dreamstation 2 now offers an auto ramp, but the older Dreamstations did not have this feature. Philips has their own version of EPR called A-Flex or C-Flex, depending on whether you have a AutoCPAP or fixed CPAP device.

As far as noise levels, the AirSense 10 and the Philips Dreamstation are virtually identically and I assume the new devices will be more or less the same (on paper the DS2 from Philips is louder than the DS). Frankly, the biggest factor in terms of noise in the bedroom will be from the mask, especially if you have any leakage issues. The ResMed masks with QuietAir vents are significantly quieter vs. masks with standard vents and the diffusion of expired air is far improved, resulting in less disturbance for the person sleeping next to you. The QuietAir vents do require a bit more attention to cleaning otherwise they run the risk of looking dirty fairly quickly.

 

[k9dr]

My snoring decreased when I lost weight a few years ago, but I was unwilling to live without IPA's and ice cream.

I may have found my happy place

 

[k9dr]

I am still having a few issues with my mask dislodging when I sleep on my side. This leads to air leakage which wakes me up. I am looking at getting a CPAP pillow.

Does anyone have experience with these and can offer any recommendations ??

 

[Chicken Rob]

I was on CPAP from 1996-2020. I’ve been cpap free 1 year this month. I lost a lot of weight, and had the invasive surgery in 1998 (do not recommend). It took me a long time to adjust. Machines and masks were not as good back then. Once I adjusted (and my pressure was around 22), I couldn’t sleep without it.

I had the same gear as you in the end. F20 and the 11. I went through a lot of masks and machines over the years and that was the best I found. I found the silicon version of the F20 sealed better for me with a looser fit than the memory foam.

Anyway, as for pillows. I have tried many, but none have served me better than my extra thick tempurpedic from 1992. I still sleep on that pillow nightly. Almost 30 years old and many attempts to find something better has failed to replace it. It’s the smaller width but the thicker version. Not sure if they still make it. I just sleep on the edge. Still. Even without the cpap. Im a side sleeper. Probably most OSA sufferers are.

Anyway, I hope you adjust and learn to get comfortable with it. I believe it redically improved the quality of my life for decades.