Varmit

I too am experiencing this problem. The first time was by far the worse, but still tend to waken in balloon fashion. I suggest that your tech has not been instructed in the vagaries of humans swallowing air. Have had other experiences in swallowing air and the experience is identical. Suggestion: when your belly is bloated, lay on your back, preferably on the floor, but the bed will do. Pull your legs to your chest repeatedly, then extend them back to a full length prone position, both one at a time and together. Do it 5 to 10 or more times, then lie still, fully extended while your body adjusts. It's not a panacea, but starts a relief process. Try this instead of the Tums, etc. as there are no side effects to this motion process.

Apparently the Airsense 10 comes in more than one format. Mine is the AirSense 10 AutoSet --- the auto set means I cannot change anything; only the Dr can.

Have only been using a machine for about 2 months, but have had the same difficulties. Mine is a Res Med Air10 with a prescribed flow (non-adjustable) between 12 and 20. The only way to change the flow rate is to turn off the machine and use a 25 minute pre-ramp. Called the tech office and was supposed to see her. For whatever reason she brushed me off till next month eval. Being so new, I accepted this, though very pissed. Discovering this forum has helped a good deal. First, discovered many others having same experience with the Res Med. Secondly, these same folks arranged for a machine checkout, which in some cases resulted in discovering faulty mechanisms to the extent new equipment was ordered and the problem seems fixed. At the moment I'm hanging in here for a few days till schedules allow a visit to the tech office. Unless there's an emergency there will be no brush off. I would suggest a visit to your tech and get your equipment checked out. In terms of a mask leak, that maybe the case. However, the pressure should reduce automatically when the leak is stopped by adjusting the mask. Remember, that gravity/age, etc causes our facial muscles to relax over a few hours of sleep. Am pretty sure this is the cause of my leaks. I was told the pressure regulated itself in response to each breath. In my case re-positioning the mask and stopping the leak did not result in lowering of the pressure. It remained at full force until I turned off the equipment and restarted. Also, I read descriptions of the full face masks and there is one which has greater sealing properties. I'm going to add this change to my discussion. Good luck and finding a solution.

Do you find it necessary to "really" clean your hose and water holder? I've only been using this equipment for about 2 months and cannot see any buildup of crud. Of course I'm asking as a newbie. During this time I've been running hot water through the tube with maybe some detergent 1 time/week, then hanging to dry for the day. Similar for the water box. Washing the cushion and frame is daily and strapping is per week.

Why are we advised to wash/sterilize? We are the only ones using the equipment and if I wrap the end of the tube and face equipment after each usage, where is the infection possibility coming from?

I'm new enough to need a glossary: What is DME, central apneas? I'm sure it's not anything to do with injection molding and such.
Will speak to the Dr when possible -- he is not a specialist in sleep difficulties, but a really good Cardiologist. I'll push him and see what can be done.

I do not use heat per se, it's just the machine getting hot. It may be where located -- on the lower shelf of the night stand in a corner next to me. May not have enough air flow.

Re-read the following and realized I kept talking of myself and my concerns. Please excuse this rudeness. First thank you both for replying to my writing; makes one feel that isolation is not the name of the game and there's thoughtful commentary around us. Secondly, I hope your experience with this therapy is working better and better as time goes by. The difference before and after seems to have potential for serious increase in quality of life. Good sleep and breathing.

Sorry for the delay in response, but life is... and it's given me some time to try out a couple of ideas. Bottom line is that at some point beyond initial few hours of sleep, I'm waking up with lots of pressure and no way to relieve it short of turning the unit off and restarting with a 20 to 25 minute delay. This way, I can relax into some pressure and therapy and fall asleep for a longer period of time. However, waking up is still filled with too much pressure, being unable to rhythmically breathe and finding my belly bloated and aching from the effects---though to a lesser degree than earlier. Yesterday, was able to walk well for 2 miles without too much discomfort and a fairly sufficient breathing pattern. The bloating/cramping seems to push up into the diaphragm/lungs so it's not possible to breathe fully.

AHI seems to be quite variable. However, over the last 20 nights it hasn't risen above 9/hr, with an average of 7.78 and am sleeping more hours, more consistently. Waiting to talk with my dr, though am not sure he really knows specifics about this process. When I saw him last, he nodded and said getting used to the process took a couple months, etc, etc. Then the tech at the medical supply place (who was to work with me that morning) slid me off onto the next month I saw the dr. 00.00 assistance --- GRRRRRRRR.

One thing that stays with me is the possibility that the machine is actually malfunctioning. Earlier, at a different location on this site, another patient detailed similar difficulties and she found that her machine (another ResMed) was malfunctioning and received a replacement. As a result, I'm emboldened to push past this laissez-faire attitude and find out if my equipment is operating abnormally. When I do have a good and lengthy sleep, my day is so much improved. One morning I actually felt like my old self. I want to get entire the system working well to have that kind of waking-up and day more often.

Quick additional question: 1. Does your unit get warm to hot during the night, even with plenty of water? When I put the mask and tube back to work after a 2-3 o'clock break, the pressure is warm. In the morning the water container is noticeably warm, working on hot.

Have had your daytime experience for quite awhile and really enjoyed the meditative atmosphere. Then an experienced Yoga instructor told me it is not healthy and have stopped the intentional non-breathing. However, I find that at times, I have to "manually" restart or focus on breathing for a breath or two. I've wondered if it's possible to overwhelm this automatic response just as it's possible to by-pass the gag reflex.

Hi. My name is Kathy and I'm just over a month into using a CPAP machine. Resisted for quite a while, but even with erratic success believe I am feeling some early benefits. After a good night, my energy lasts much longer through the day and other nice experiences. I've even slept till 6 and 7:30; firsts in many, many years. Most nights, however, I am having difficulties after about 4 hours and haven't been able to find sure answers. Posted a question when first joining and received very clear suggestions, which will be followed through if possible -- we are in a very rural area, over a hundred miles from any substantial urban area.

I'd be interested to know if getting used to seemingly too high pressure is just a matter of time, or is it more likely the settings are not correct. Am awakened by squeaks and squawks plus pressure forcing my cheeks way out/my mouth agape/even hyperventilating. Was told that my setting is variable from 12 to 20 and my first month's average was about 16. Was also told that the pressure should change per each breath. I am not finding this last point to be true. Have worked several times to breath steady and deepen my breathing under the high pressure to get a reduction in the pressure. No success after 10 breaths so have simply disconnected and fallen back asleep without the equipment .

So, hello to all and I appreciate both the web site and all the comments I've been reading through. They have helped my sense of "I can do this".

What was you system for increasing your time on the machine? I'm having difficulty and may just be trying to use the machine too long, too quickly.

Thanks a lot. I'll see what's available to try around here. See if this will help.