Does anyone use a BiPap machine?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’ve had one for almost a week now. It’s usually used for people who have sleep apnea, it keeps them breathing if they stop while sleeping. I don’t have sleep apnea, but my diaphragm (muscle, that is) is getting really week so my pulmonary doc. thought this would be a good way to give it a rest at night so maybe I’ll have more stamina during the day.

My diaphragm may be getting rest, however the rest of me isn’t. I have a hard time getting the little nose mask to maintain a tight seal and when it comes aloose the sound of rushing air wakes me up. The therapist guy who taught me how to use it assured me that there were lots of styles of masks available if this one didn’t work out, but when I called him a couple days later to say I didn’t think this one was working out he told me to give it a couple weeks.

So is there anything anyone can suggest? I keep fiddling with the straps, but it keeps coming aloose when I move. I practically have to sleep with a hand holding it to my face. Unfortunately, the therapist indicated that’s what some people have to do. Gah, there has to be a better way! Any ideas?

Would petroleum jelly help glue it to my face or am I just asking for trouble?

2

If the nose mask is made of latex . . . petroleum jelly will dissolve it.

3

Oh… I don’t know what it’s made of. Some soft gooshy rubbery material that’s supposed to conform to the contours of one’s face.

Ok, no petroleum jelly. Astroglide? No, that would probably be counterproductive. Krazy-Glue?

4

I tried using a CPAP machine a few years ago, at the behest of my wife, for snoring not apnea. I had no luck coping with it and opted for separate bedrooms, then separate lives. I was told that it usually took some time to adjust to the machine and this guy offers hope. I wish I’d thought of checking the web back then.

Best of luck.

5

I use a CPAP and I have no problems with it. I have to pull the straps tight, and when I wake up, I have indentations on the top of my nose…but sleep is sleep.

6

I’ve been using a BiPap for about three years now. I started out with the full face mask and like you, found it uncomfortable and nearly impossible to keep properly positioned on my face. I also ended up with a nasty pressure blister on the bridge of my nose from having to overtighten the headgear to keep the mask in place.

I suggest you try nasal pillows - they are two rubber pads that sit right in your nostrils. This seemed to work for me as the straps provided keep the pillows in place yet are loose enough as to not be uncomfortable.

Here are a few links to what I’m talking about:

http://www.cpap-pro.net/nasalpillowfaq.shtml
http://www.cpapman.com/hints2.htm
http://www.kumc.edu/SAH/resp_care/bipap.html

Hope this helps you Gr8Kat and stick it out - it will get easier to take and the benefits are worth it.

7

Have you noticed any improvement? has there been a night when you slept well and it helped you during the day? If so, that is good enough reason to stick with it.

Try changing your pillows, too. A stiff pillow can cause the mask to become dislodged during sleep, if you toss about- I sleep like an eggbeater and have to strap myself in like a jet pilot. Sometimes repositioning the machine helps, too, so you aren’t quite as likely to tug on the hose in your sleep. I find that the best position for my machine is on a small nightstand next to the bed, with the nachine about 2’ away from me and slightly above the level of the mattress- about 6" higher. Any position other than that, and I wake up with the mask still on, and the loose, blowing hose scaring the crap out of the dog.

A good home therapy company will be able to help you with different masks- they often have "trial"masks of many types that have not worked out/been returned, and with new seals etc. they are completely sterile and safe to use. Check with your supplier and ask them for a couple of masks to try. Mine fits nicely with no leaks and I have no trouble wearing it and sleeping with it.

Most people, on having gotten through the adjustment period, will notice a greatly improved quality of life, so stick with it and see, and I hope it does wonders for you, but make your physician and supplier do the jobs for which they are being handsomely paid.

b.

8

I use a CPAP, as do several of my friends. It took me weeks before I could use it properly…the first time I tried, I was very tired, tried the ramp setting (slowly increases the pressure) and totally freaked out, feeling I couldn’t breathe at all. It took about three weeks, and a lot of guidance from my friends, before I managed to do it again…and I went into this experience with an extremely positive outlook, thanks to those friends who love their machines.

Finally, I had a day off where I could try it during the day…set myself a time limit, and didn’t use the ramp setting. Since I know it takes me about 20 minutes to fall asleep, I just wore it for an hour while watching TV, concentrated on breathing steadily, and not opening my mouth. Did that a couple times…just an hour, to get used to how to position my head. You get very stiff because you don’t move around as much when you sleep…my knees have problems by themselves, and the added stiffness didn’t help.

Then I started using it at night, and found myself waking up because I had ripped it off in my sleep…air leakage, I’m sure. But over a week or two, I was so pleased at not getting up 6 times to go to the bathroom that I found myself looking forward to putting the mask on. Air leakage continued to be a problem, but now I am so used to the mask, I can tighten it up quite a bit, and that has solved the problem. I rarely have any major leakage now, and I am used to the limited range of movement I have from back to side, and the stiffness in the morning is almost gone. I wish I could move the machine from a table at the foot of my bed to the side, but my bedroom is so tiny, I can’t make it work.

My only problem now is that while I sleep throught the night now, I don’t feel as rested as I hoped I would. But not having to get up six times, and not stopping breathing once a minute is so great. My dad died from a heart attack that we now believe was caused by his apnea, so I am highly motivated to use this to stay alive. My oxygen levels during the sleep study at the hospital were dropping below what they would worry about if you were under anesthetic during surgery…really, really scary.

So keep trying, keep tightening the mask a bit each day, and it’ll start working for you, too.

9

don’t ask: I’m sorry to hear about your marriage :frowning: Personally, I’m more worried about the machine interfering with my marriage–who wants to sleep next to the wheezy mask monster from Mars the rest of his life?

spooje: Yes, indentations abound, but fortunately they appear to be gone by the time I get out of the morning shower. I was worried about pressure blisters or sores because I had a lot of tenderness after the first couple nights, but I guess my skin is getting used to it.

Steel Wheels: I’ll stick with the mask for now, I think I might be getting more comfortable with it, but I’ll keep the nasal pillows in mind if things end up not working out.

Billy Rubin: It has definitely helped my breathing at night. I’m not sure yet how it’s helped how I feel during the day. The arrangement you describe sounds exactly like the way I have my machine/bed/nightstand all set-up.

kittenblue: I can’t adjust the settings myself; the therapist assured me they were set the way the pulmonary doctor thought would be best, and if I wanted them adjusted I’d have to bring it back to him to do it. I don’t think it’s on the ramp setting, it doesn’t seem to work that way, but I know that not-being-able-to-breathe-at-all feeling you describe. Now when I wear it, I feel I can breathe better than I can without it, it’s just the air leaking from the sides of the mask that bug me.

But I think I fixed one of the problems that was contributing to mask looseness. I was wearing my hair back in a braid to keep it out of the velcro on the straps, but I think it was making my head too lumpy for the straps to fit snugly. The last two nights, I wore my hair down and the mask stayed in place much, much better. I know, it should have been obvious.

So it has now been one week and, while I haven’t noticed an immediate improvement in how I get through the day, and it’s still taking a little longer than I think it should for me to get to sleep, at least I think I’m getting a full night’s sleep.

Again, my problem isn’t sleep apnea or snoring, but a weak diaphragm that needs a rest at night. The first time I tried the machine in the therapist’s office, I was afraid it wouldn’t work because it felt like the air was actually suffocating me , but now that I’ve gotten used to the feeling of the air pressure, I find I can take much deeper, fuller breaths than I can without the machine. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that I can’t hardly talk while using it, it would be great if I could wear it all day.

So thanks for your suggestions and support. I’ll keep fiddling with the straps, but it looks like the hair was the major problem. Now that I’ve figured that out, I think it’s going to work a lot better.

10

My two married girlfriends say their husbands haven’t complained much, tho I think one said she looked like an elephant. I’m more afraid of having to introduce this thing into a new relationship…I guess I’ll know I’ve found the right guy if he can deal with it. Since my ex-husband used to kick me out of bed (yes, push me with his feet til I was on the floor) because of the snoring, anything is better than him. He has apologized now that he knows it’s a serious medical condition, and not something I was doing on purpose to annoy him. Yes, he said that…I was snoring on purpose.

I can’t adjust the settings either, but there are two ways to run it…the ramp setting starts at 4 and increases to 8 over 20 minutes. The regular setting just starts out at full pressure of 8.

The hair thing is a problem…glad you figured it out. Is a biPap different from a CPap? I would go look it up, but I’m tired and need to go fill the humidifier and get to sleep…

11

I don’t know what the difference between a BiPap and a CPap are. But you just reminded me, I should ask about getting a humidifier. My nasal passages and throat get terribly dried out! But when the therapist first mentioned it, I thought it sounded frivolous. No more!

12

In my opinion the humidifier is essential…mine is just a pass-over one…basically a cup of water the air passes over…nothing very hi-tech, but it costs over $75 and now the insurance co. is saying they won’t pay for it unless the doctor tells them it’s needed. I hope he says it’s really, really important, cuz I don’t want to pay $75 for a plastic cup with two holes in the top…and a spare one.