DanM

Hi CarlSam108. I'm not sure about long term consequences, but the feeling of working harder to exhale is normal for most after starting treatment. You are used to exhaling against room air pressure and not against positive pressure going into your airway. I had the same experience when I started using CPAP. Over time as I adjusted to treatment, breathing became easier. I no longer notice the positive pressure. Practice can help with adjusting to the feeling of CPAP. You might consider wearing your treatment in the evening while reading or watching television. Best wishes, and please keep us posted!

Hi Baba. Thanks for the info on the SoClean...and the laugh! Best wishes!

Welcome to the Forum, Yayoe10! Glad to hear you got diagnosed and will receive treatment for your sleep apnea. There have been studies that link sleep apnea and depression. This article from the National Sleep Foundation might be of interested to you: https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-news/cdc-study-shows-association-between-depression-and-sleep-apnea. There is also an article from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine about a study that showed treatment with CPAP reduced the symptoms of depression in some adults: http://www.aasmnet.org/articles.aspx?id=5823. Hopefully, getting deeper and more consolidated sleep while on treatment will help with your symptoms, but you should continue to work with your doctor for your sleep apnea monitoring, depression and anxiety. Some patients find it helpful to keep a "sleep diary" of sorts to record how well they feel they slept and how their mood was during the day after the night of sleep. Best wishes with your treatment, and please visit the Forum if you have questions or want to share your experiences!

Welcome, Baba! Welcome to the Forum! It sounds like your machine is set for a range of pressure with a low of 5 cm and high of 15 cm. The machine detects your breathing and adjusts the pressure accordingly, and it looks like 9.8 cm is the most you are getting at any given time. This means the machine is sensing that your breathing is normal at pressures between 5 and 9.8 cm, so it is not delivering higher pressures. Even if your doctor approves the change in pressure and your machine is set for 5 to 10 cm, you will likely still experience the same pressure setting and the same experience of "puffy cheek" when using treatment. This is not uncommon or abnormal. It is simply a side effect of the treatment. Some patients actually do better on a mask that covers the nose and mouth (full face mask) because it allows air to enter and exit through either the nose or the mouth. There is no need to keep your mouth closed with a full face mask, so you may not continue to experience the puffy cheeks. Please let us know how you progress, and best wishes!

Thanks for the sharing your experience, JudyBJ. I wear the ResMed pillows as well and can wear my glasses easily with this mask.

Hi AmicableRubySquid6386. One reason condensation can occur is if your humidifier is setting is too high. When the setting is too high, the water evaporates from the water tank and then condenses in the tube. Heated tubing, an option on some machines, can help prevent this. Tubing insulation also helps for some. I encourage you contact your equipment provider if this problem continues to see if they can offer heated tubing or adjust the machine's settings to help control the condensation. My current machine automatically adjusts the humidification and tubing temperature if it set to do so. Some machines allow independent adjustment of the humidifier and the heated tubing. If you do not have heated tubing, try lowering your humidity setting one level and see if it improves both the condensation and your stuffiness. If not, try going down another level the next night. These are just a couple of tips, but your equipment provider should help you troubleshoot. Best wishes!

I'm so sorry to hear of your experience. Please keep us posted on your progress, and hopefully this is not related to your cleaning device.

Hi wiredgeorge. I do not pretend to understand how some of the masks get designed :-). I know that there is a lot of testing performed to make sure the carbon dioxide that is exhaled is released from the mask at appropriate rates and to make sure the pressure the machine is supposed to deliver is delivered properly. Increasing the size of the holes might cause the pressure that should be delivered to the patient to escape, so your comment about diminishing efficacy if the holes were enlarged is valid. It is very interesting when working with patients to see the differences in what some patients tolerate and what they prefer.

Good suggestion, wiredgeorge. Many cruise lines can accommodate requests for distilled or bottled water. Some will allow you to bring it aboard but might require a note from your physician. I suggest contacting the customer service department for the cruise line. They might be able to assist. Best of luck, and enjoy your trip!

Hi Aimeetx. Usually, most masks that do not involve a forehead piece work okay with glasses. You might consider contacting you equipment provider, as they will know what kind of mask you currently have and can recommend something in the same category that might work well for you.