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[kaysixteen]

Two miore questions wrt cpap machine usage:

1)One thing I have been noticing since I have been using the machine is that I do NOT toss and turn in bed, more or less staying exactly as I lay down the previous evening throughout the night... this has been resulting in some rather appreciable early-morning stiffness.  Anyone have any suggestions as to how to ameliorate this?

2)How is one to use a cpap machine should one get a cold and have one's nose plugged and needing to sneeze throughout the night?  Am I correct to assume that perhaps it cannot actually be used under such conditions?

[infopri]

Tough (but good) questions, kay.  I asked My Better Half, but I'm not sure he had anything all that helpful to offer.  My own guess about the stiffness (and it is, in fact, just a guess) is that, perhaps, you have built up a significant "sleep debt" by not sleeping well all this time before getting the machine, and are now, with the help of the machine, sleeping much more soundly than you normally would (without apnea, or with apnea and the machine).  Perhaps, as you catch up on your sleep and become generally better rested, and as you become more accustomed to the machine, you will start to move a little more at night, turning over once in a while and so forth.  (I also wonder whether, at some unconscious level, you're afraid to move, because you're afraid you'll displace the mask or pull out the tube or something?  If so, you'll get over that, too.  You can move pretty freely with these things.)

On the second question:  I think I mentioned on the other thread that MBH uses Afrin every night, followed by Nasonex (prescribed).  If he didn't, he'd be too congested to sleep (even though he doesn't have a cold).  If those don't help, you can try breathing through your mouth, if you have a full-face mask--but, in all honesty, he said that that's pretty hard to do with the machine.

Anyone else out there have any suggestions?  Tee_bee?

[marigolds]

Mistergolds does turn over some, but not much (maybe 2-3 times per night.)

He says getting used to it is the worst part, and that after about four weeks you'll be less conscious of it while you sleep.

He finds that the machine pushes through congestion, but this doesn't sound universal. 

[pgher]

Ditto to what's been said.  I had an adjustment period, but now sleep normally--restless some nights, unmoving others, depending on what's been going on in my life that day/week.  I don't have any trouble with congestion either.  Some nights, I'll think there's just no way I'll be able to use it, and kind of alternate mouth-breathing and nose-breathing for ten minutes or so, and then I'm fine the rest of the night.  I suppose if it's an on-going problem, you could get a full-face mask, which is what my mom did.

[clean]

How old is your mattress?  Have spun it or flipped recently?

As for the cold, I just got over one.  The positive pressure is essentially enough to blow right past the congestion.  I feel the congestion more when I take it off and lose the forced air. 

For the drips, well, when you first put it on when going to bed, it could push the stuff back out of your sinuses.

Otherwise, Afrin helps to open up the passages.  Other OTC drugs help, but some tend to  increase your heart rate and that makes it harder to sleep too.

The last thing to consider is that you should clean the hose and nose piece every day, but especially if you are snotty. 

For the sneeze, the mask comes off pretty fast if you have to take it off.

[msparticularity]

MrP has found much the same thing--that he moves less and thus tends to get stiff--but he does better if he uses a body pillow to help with leg support and spinal alignment. (I also wonder whether a heated mattress pad and/or electric blanket, set very low, might help with this.) He is also a major nasal spray user, for exactly the reasons others have mentioned here; the air pressure does NOT blow through the congestion for him, but he's a lifelong sinus sufferer.

[tee_bee]

Clean is right about the cold--I find the CPAP with some humidity kind of nice with a cold, but I do take a decongestant right before bed. Yeah, real sudafed, not the fake stuff you can't make meth with. I take it about an hour before--it kicks in a bit after I fall asleep a bit. Some folks don't like the stimulant effect of sudafed though, so YMMV. And yes, if you are more prone to sinus congestion, this is a problem.

As far as the turning in bed, this is so true--right after I got my CPAP, I started getting pretty savage lower back pain from the way I sleep stock-still on my back. I finally had to get into physical therapy which helped immeasurably. You might try to find a book on stretching exercises to limber up in the morning, and right before bed, if that helps.

I like the idea of a body pillow. I actually do sleep better when my wife plays the role of the body pillow (!) but in a hot humid climate she's not fond of that. And the heating pad sounds excellent if you really do stay on your back all night. I find that I do turn a few times a night, but nowhere near as much as when I had untreated sleep apnea.

[mdwlark]

Kay, I missed seeing your frist post.  I'm glad you got the polyps taken care of--that could save you a heap of trouble later.  I hope you work out the CPAP logistics and start feeling better. 

[cgfunmathguy]

Kay, I've used a CPAP for 11 years now. I toss a couple of times (no more than 2 or 3) until I get to sleep, and then I wake up (the first time, which may not coincide with the alarm) in the same position. After all these years, I'm rarely stiff in the morning.

As for the congestion, I always set the ramp time to zero, but that takes a little getting used to early on. When I put on the mask, I try to breathe normally for about two or three minutes. If I have to keep opening my mouth to breathe, the machine is turned off for the night, and I get a different pillow so that I can sleep on my stomach. You're not supposed to use CPAP when congested anyway, and if I can't breathe with it, I won't get good sleep on that night. It's one of the reasons I hate to be sick: the sleep sucks when you're sick, and if you can't use the machine to help, it's even worse.

I wish you well as you adjust to the new sleep.

[infopri]

I always set the ramp time to zero, but that takes a little getting used to early on.

Wow.  Having a ramp (20 minutes) is the only thing that enables My Better Half to fall asleep.  Without it, he'd never get to sleep.  In fact, if he happens to wake up in the middle of the night, he often needs to ramp the machine again to fall back to sleep.

I like the ramp, too, because I usually go to bed long after MBH does, and, sometimes, his mask gets slightly askew while he's sleeping and air escapes--noisily.  (He has a beard, so a good seal is elusive, especially as he turns and the mask is pushed slightly by the pillow.)  If I try to fix the mask, he wakes up.  So sometimes I just hit the ramp button, which quiets things down long enough for me to get to sleep!

[cgfunmathguy]

I always set the ramp time to zero, but that takes a little getting used to early on.

Wow.  Having a ramp (20 minutes) is the only thing that enables My Better Half to fall asleep.  Without it, he'd never get to sleep.  In fact, if he happens to wake up in the middle of the night, he often needs to ramp the machine again to fall back to sleep.

My problem is that the starting ramp pressure is so low that I can't breathe very well as it comes up. If the ramp is longer than 5 minutes, I can't wear the mask. I finally got to the point that I'd start the ramp while brushing my teeth before bed so that I could actually breathe when I put the mask on. Then I discovered that there was a ramp setting of 0. I now fall asleep within 15 minutes of putting on the mask.

To each his/her own.

[infopri]

I always set the ramp time to zero, but that takes a little getting used to early on.

Wow.  Having a ramp (20 minutes) is the only thing that enables My Better Half to fall asleep.  Without it, he'd never get to sleep.  In fact, if he happens to wake up in the middle of the night, he often needs to ramp the machine again to fall back to sleep.

My problem is that the starting ramp pressure is so low that I can't breathe very well as it comes up. If the ramp is longer than 5 minutes, I can't wear the mask. I finally got to the point that I'd start the ramp while brushing my teeth before bed so that I could actually breathe when I put the mask on.

My Better Half's machine allows the ramp pressure to be adjusted, just as the regular pressure is.  So, with his machine, if he'd had your problem, he could have simply set the ramp pressure higher (or, more accurately, could have had the biPAP company do it).  Does your machine not have the same capability?

To each his/her own.

Indeed.

[cgfunmathguy]

I always set the ramp time to zero, but that takes a little getting used to early on.

Wow.  Having a ramp (20 minutes) is the only thing that enables My Better Half to fall asleep.  Without it, he'd never get to sleep.  In fact, if he happens to wake up in the middle of the night, he often needs to ramp the machine again to fall back to sleep.

My problem is that the starting ramp pressure is so low that I can't breathe very well as it comes up. If the ramp is longer than 5 minutes, I can't wear the mask. I finally got to the point that I'd start the ramp while brushing my teeth before bed so that I could actually breathe when I put the mask on.

My Better Half's machine allows the ramp pressure to be adjusted, just as the regular pressure is.  So, with his machine, if he'd had your problem, he could have simply set the ramp pressure higher (or, more accurately, could have had the biPAP company do it).  Does your machine not have the same capability?

I'm not sure what you mean by "ramp pressure". The pressure to which the machine ramps is set by the company based on the doctor's prescription, which is based on the second half of the sleep study. It's the final pressure that you use to sleep. The ramp time on all my machines could be adjusted in five-minute increments. There were several plateaus during this that would take the pressure from ambient air pressure to final pressure along the way. The number of steps was based on the time of the ramping procedure. If the ramp time is set for 0, the unit pumps out prescription pressure from the time of pressing the "on" switch. Because I found it hard to breathe during the ramp, I set the ramp time to 0. I now fall asleep in less than ten minutes from turning on the machine.

[infopri]

I always set the ramp time to zero, but that takes a little getting used to early on.

Wow.  Having a ramp (20 minutes) is the only thing that enables My Better Half to fall asleep.  Without it, he'd never get to sleep.  In fact, if he happens to wake up in the middle of the night, he often needs to ramp the machine again to fall back to sleep.

My problem is that the starting ramp pressure is so low that I can't breathe very well as it comes up. If the ramp is longer than 5 minutes, I can't wear the mask. I finally got to the point that I'd start the ramp while brushing my teeth before bed so that I could actually breathe when I put the mask on.

My Better Half's machine allows the ramp pressure to be adjusted, just as the regular pressure is.  So, with his machine, if he'd had your problem, he could have simply set the ramp pressure higher (or, more accurately, could have had the biPAP company do it).  Does your machine not have the same capability?

I'm not sure what you mean by "ramp pressure". The pressure to which the machine ramps is set by the company based on the doctor's prescription, which is based on the second half of the sleep study. It's the final pressure that you use to sleep. The ramp time on all my machines could be adjusted in five-minute increments. There were several plateaus during this that would take the pressure from ambient air pressure to final pressure along the way. The number of steps was based on the time of the ramping procedure. If the ramp time is set for 0, the unit pumps out prescription pressure from the time of pressing the "on" switch. Because I found it hard to breathe during the ramp, I set the ramp time to 0. I now fall asleep in less than ten minutes from turning on the machine.

What I mean is that, at the outset, when My Better Half pushes the "ramp switch," the air pressure produced by the machine is very slight.  Over the next 20 minutes, it slowly "ramps up" to the full prescribed pressure.  At the end of the 20 minutes, it's at the full prescribed pressure.  If he pushes the ramp button again, it reverts to very slight pressure and again takes 20 minutes to ramp up to the full prescribed pressure.  (He rarely has to push the button a second time; I'm just explaining what the button does.)

[cgfunmathguy]

What I mean is that, at the outset, when My Better Half pushes the "ramp switch," the air pressure produced by the machine is very slight.  Over the next 20 minutes, it slowly "ramps up" to the full prescribed pressure.  At the end of the 20 minutes, it's at the full prescribed pressure.  If he pushes the ramp button again, it reverts to very slight pressure and again takes 20 minutes to ramp up to the full prescribed pressure.  (He rarely has to push the button a second time; I'm just explaining what the button does.)

Oh, okay. Yes, that's what my machines have done as well. I can't breathe at the lower pressures, though, and thus, I don't ramp my machine at all. It is turned on, and I fall asleep, breathing normally, within fifteen minutes.