Sleep Apnoea and CPAP

wonga77

Started back with a cpap machine a few days ago. Its the airsense 10. I initially tried it a few years back but couldnt get used to it. I had no choice but to try it again.
Despite receiving decent scores on the app, I dont wake up feeling any better or refreshed.
Gonna stick with it though and hopefully things improve

looksee

I had a bit of a breakthough recently. I was put on permanent pressure rather than demand pressure, set at 19 - which is high - as I was not responding adequately to demand pressure. It didn't seem to be making a lot of difference, and I had tightened the mask to keep it on. Then I found the foam seal was splitting so I contacted Resmed and got an appointment with their nurse/technician. She said that I was getting a lot of events in the half hour ramp period so she removed the ramp. There was also another issue related to exhaling, that I didn't understand but she changed. It made a lot of difference. The immediate high pressure is a bit unnerving at first, but I have got used to it, and I have been getting much better scores, including a couple of 0.0, which I have never got before. I still get high numbers if I lie on my back but I mostly have trained myself not to do that and its only occasional. I am still not getting much better than 5 hours sleep, but I have some ideas to try and improve that.

This kind of proactive approach by the technician is way more than I have ever had from a consultant, they never seem to manage more than fiddling with overall pressure or moving from demand to permanent pressure, and in fact some of the stuff some consultants have told me amounts to pure nonsense.

wonga77

Which mask are you using? I have been trying to figure out if the nasal mask or this newer pillow one works better, its the airfit n30

looksee

I have the Airtouch F20 cushion, full face, they have to be replaced every month.

wonga77

I tried that one in the past. Once a month? Does the seal break or what? I would have thought you would get longer out of it

looksee

It has quite a delicate foam/sponge seal on it that cannot be washed so after a month it becomes ineffective because of the build up of facial oils. I can often get it to go to 5 weeks but on average it lasts a bit over a month. I use one until I get excess leakage from it then change it.

tnegun

I found that I can extend the life of the F20 cushion mask to 2 - 3 months by cleaning my face before bed with a baby wipe and cleaning the mask with a wipe in the morning. They're expensive but worth it for comfort and seal so the longer I can get out of them the better!

wonga77

Not far off a month with the cpap. Good scores, mask seal, low incidents etc.
Getting 7 - 8 hours most nights, unfortunately I see zero difference in my day to day life, dont feel in anyway refreshed at all which is dissapointing.
The nurses have been lovely and just told me it takes time to undo so many bad years of sleep. I hope they are right…

FaganJr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122194159#Comment_122194159

Took me 3 months, couldn't imagine life without it now!

forzacalcio

Hi all, just a quick one, its probably been mentioned a few times but . Ive been paying €110 per month for 5 years now (I know I need to go out and buy one straight out) How much can I get back on DPS or is it even worth it?

forzacalcio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122194159#Comment_122194159

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122194709#Comment_122194709

Same here, took about a month and I was an extreme case and its absolutely changed my life, my snoring has gone too which is a massive bonus for others 😁

vidapura

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122241773#Comment_122241773

Hiya,

You can get back a nice bit of cash..

Think I got about €1300 for 4 years of receipts … but its variable.. depends on how much over the monthly limit you pay out for prescriptions..

I'm shite on the details so maybe ring revenue to find out more…

Not sure what the limit is currently… but its for your whole household.. so if you've to pay for prescriptions for the kids etc it all adds up.

But basically its like.. add up all your payout for a month on antibiotics or whatever.. add that to the €110 to get the total for the month.. and then however much over the limit .. thats what you are claiming on..

It is a pain in the hole cos you have to fill in forms and have ALL your prescription receipts…

Also I think you have to have signed up for the DPS scheme?

One thing that makes it a bit easier is if you use the one chemist/pharmacy and they might print you out a list of your purchases… and then you can chase em all up ..figure out which ones you can find.. if they know you they might print out missing ones for you if you cant locate them..

If you ring revenue they might let you do it all on one form apparently..

Still, look, its your money.. go get it ! Ring revenue, start there..

trashcan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122194709#Comment_122194709

I tried it for three months on 2 separate occasions. Absolute waste of time. I was getting no sleep at all with it. Felt like I was suffocating. Totally counter productive.

wonga77

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122271675#Comment_122271675

Im struggling to see the benefit as well. I didnt wear it at all 2 nights ago and didnt feel great yesterday, admittedly id had a few drinks and didn't sleep well anyway.
Went to bed early last night absolutely wrecked and amazingly got 9 hours sleep with the mask on, the longest ive ever managed in one go. Perfect score, perfect mask seal. 0.6 events per hour.
Woke up this morning at about 8.30 and had yawned 3 times before i got to the kitchen.
Tired now writing this, dont feel in any way fresh or like i even slept at all, beginning to think my sleep issues are more deep rooted.

Edited to say, i have been sleeping pretty well in general with the mask even if i find it to be a pain in the ass, my wife says i sleep more peacefully now and dont toss and turn as much. Id still like to see some or any benefit in my general day to day life though

looksee

I've been in that situation of feeling tired after an apparently good night's sleep. I went off demand pressure onto constant 18 for a few months and it was a disaster. I am back on demand and mysteriously I am sleeping much better than the previous, demand pressure situation, fewer events, longer sleep time, and fresher during the day. The technician made a couple of adjustments and I am not sure if they helped - removed the ramp and something else that I don't understand, to do with exhaling, anyway its better.

I did the 'its too much trouble and not doing me any good' thing for about 8 years between one diagnosis and a new diagnosis (severe sa) and ended up with atrial fibrillation, that is now finally under control but I am on very heavy medication for it. So you should not dismiss sa. If you had a recording oximeter you may well find that your blood oxygen goes very low, mine tips 70 and spends a lot of time around the 80s when I am sleeping without the mask, which is very damaging to your heart, so I wear the mask in spite of hating the damn thing.

drunkmonkey

How'dy folks, new to the thread, was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea yesterday, 45 ahi, got sent home with an air sense 10 autoset and air fit F40, think I've caught it early enough as was getting very drowsy every odd day so much so I'd have to pull in the car and have a siesta.

Took up weight training 3mts ago as just thought I'd become super unfit and wanted to strengthen my bad back back, changed smart watches then but the new one had an oxygen sensor and was telling me I'd be around 70% oxygen for an hour or two every night.

Last question to the consultant was how do I get off this thing, he said come back with a healthy BMI and we'll do another sleep test and he seemed pretty confident that should sort it, nobody tell me different as that's my motivation to keep the weight loss going. He also said skinny people get it but doesn't believe that's my problem.

Just looking for any tips or advice, haven't noticed any difference yet, they said it would take at least 2 weeks, crazy dreams are definitely walking me up, put it on for an hour snooze when I got home from the hospital today and ended up taking to Justin Tredeua on the phone for a bit looking for a pay rise but got a bit narky with him and his secretary called to say ring him back but be nice..woke up shortly afterwards.

Had 0 interuptions for the hour and a bit this afternoon but definitely woke up at end of dream. Didn't feel groggy though.

Interuptions were down from 45 to 1.8 with the air sense last night.

FaganJr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122303168#Comment_122303168

Wow down to 1.8, thats amazing, I'm using the machine years and maybe a handful of times I got below 2. I range happily between 3-5 nightly. If I have a bad night it's between 5 - 8. Took me 3 months to get used to it. It was torture. But I couldn't live without it now.

I'm also chipping away at reducing my BMI / Weight, so down 4 stone this week after 18 months. It certainly is helping with my sleep now.

drunkmonkey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122309697#Comment_122309697

Wow that's great going to loose that much anything in particular really help, I've been weight training about 3mts lost over a stone and a couple of inches off my waist but i've another 20/25kg to go.

That air fit F40 mask they gave me isn't uncomfortable, it doesn't cover your nose but it's rammed up against it pumping up the air into it, it's really only your mouth covered but acts like a full face mask. It's the only one I've ever used but compared to other ones I've seen I was a bit relieved when the rep pulled it out of the bag.

Under 2 again last night and only woke once, definitely feel in better humour today and no dreams I can remember.

whomitconcerns

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121880027#Comment_121880027

Try 105…

FaganJr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122312363#Comment_122312363

Jesus! I was 32

whomitconcerns

Yep... Was juicy alright. Best part was, it was symptomless. I was never tired. With the CPAP it's usually about 4, average "sleep" time is about 6.5hrs. Machine doesn't bother me unless it's very hot at night, then it's a pain.

FaganJr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122313194#Comment_122313194

Amazed you weren't tired. I was falling asleep after work a couple days a week. Easy. Was the walking dead for years. Should have listened to my wife earlier. 🙈

drunkmonkey

If the pressure used on the machine is getting lower does that mean the machine is intervening less, think it was around 12 the first night and about 10 this morning, mines set on auto between 6 and 16.

Used it for 8hrs 20 last night with 0.7 interuptions per hour.

FaganJr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122313675#Comment_122313675

It might be pressure? I'm not 100% sure, I don't usually check those readings

Glebee

I was in the same position as a lot of poster above, saying I did not need a machine but I was fooling myself.

I was falling asleep going into work in the morning after having 8 hours sleep. Wanting to pull over for a kip. Driving home was a nightmare. I definitely fell asleep behind the wheel one evening at Kinnegad and ended up on the Mullingar road after missing the Galway turn off. Frightened the sh1te out of myself because of what could could have happened.

That was the trigger that made me say I needed the machine. After a rough start I finally got used to it and have not looked back.

Wake in the morning refreshed and can really tell the difference if I miss a night for whatever reason.

Also towards the end of my denial phase I was getting up definitely twice a night to go to the toilet, that all stopped immediately with the machine.

Driving the wife crazy with the snoring has disappeared as well.

All positive from me about my CPAP machine.

drunkmonkey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122315801#Comment_122315801

It was a driving incident that triggered me to get fit, lucky I was driving the Mrs Volvo at the time as it was the car stopped a complete disaster by waking me up, I'd thought about stopping to let her drive a few moments beforehand but I was out cold by the time I'd processed it. That's the 1st and last time that happened. Anyway drowsy now and I pull in, hasn't happened in a while and the snoring had stopped a good bit before I got the machine a week ago..

If I hadn't of changed smartwatch I probably still wouldn't have suspected sleep apnea by now.

I've struggled a bit with the f40 mask over the last few days, I'm definitely a nose breather so I might see will they swap it out for just a nasal mask, it's definitely moving during the night and waking me up as the machine is pumping full belt once it leaks. It doing what it's meant to by the looks of it though. Just don't think I need my mouth covered.

Big drop from 45 events per/hr. Graph since I got sent home with the machine from the hospital last Tuesday.

Last night was best night so far. Graph below is from my watch.

drunkmonkey

Just an update on the F40 air fit if anyone's interested, I said I'd try an air fit p30i pillows instead so my mouths not covered, it arrived yesterday, best night for very little leak and 0.1 aph, happy enough, definitely easier sleep with as no tube noticeable.

PatMurphy021987

Hi

Im looking into buying a CPAP machine from cpapstore.eu, does anyone have any promo codes or know when the have sales.

Can I claim tax back on the price of purchase (including machine, humidifier, masks, tube etc)

Has anyone needed support for cpapstore.eu, if so, how have you found them

and lastly, I am renting currently at the moment, if I ever wanted to rent again, can I just ring the provider or do I have to go through all the assessments again? Cheers

looksee

I am not absolutely sure, but I think that if you want to rent again you have to get the assessments - they need a consultant to control it. I had a similar situation, and I had to start again.

You can claim for rental and masks through the drugs payment scheme, but if you are not paying out for other drugs it might not seem worth it. Not sure about tax, it seems likely that you can claim.

Hontou

Apologies for this rant. So happy to have found this thread. Went to the doctor with what I thought was my asthma getting worse and ended up being sent to hospital for a sleep test then home with a CPAP machine. I had never heard of the machine and conversations about sleep apnoea went over my head. I'm on the younger side of middle age with dependent children and a full time job that includes travel. This machine is a nuisance in my busy and travelling life. I would need to be retired or only working part-time or have less children to cope with it. I am on it 3 weeks now. I'm managing to keep it on for 2 to 3 hours only, then take it off so I can sleep. It feels totally unnatural to me. I'm almost sure it has caused a throat infection. I have no time to clean it daily and pack it and unpack it for travel for work twice weekly. I'm doing these things but it feels like the extra responsibility of managing it is too much. The cost is also causing me stress. Will it get easier to use? Anyone else out there feel it is not worth the hassle. Is the science behind the benefits genuine or is it just about medical device companies fleecing us? Sorry to be so negative, but hoping feeling like this is normal at the beginning as I am told I'll be on it for life.