IIRC when I went in for my second study to determine my CPAP setting (which I presume is what you mean by “CPAP trial”) they did the same wiring-up as they did for the initial study. The only difference was that I was using a CPAP, which I think they used to try different pressures to find the optimal one.
All done… and with the help of an Ambien, I was able to get nearly 5 hours of sleep. The mask kept springing leaks, I think, though - so clearly I need a better mask than they provided. And the headgear was annoying - when I needed to go to the bathroom I had to unfasten everything. When the time comes, I think I’ll insist on something with clickable closures instead of the “EZPeel” the Phillips Respironics site so proudly touted (“EZ Peel”? Oh, you mean it has Velcro. How stupid do they think we are???). Or something where I can quickly disconnect the hose for bathroom visits.
They didn’t try nasal pillows or a mouth-and-nose mask (I refuse to call those “full face” because they aren’t, dammit), but a nasal-only one which - aside from the fact that every time I blinked, it seemed to leak - seemed fine. I think this is the one I had. I don’t know if it was not adjusted right, or it was just a bad fit.
The most disconcerting part of the whole thing was after I had a bathroom break (4 AM), I tried to go back to sleep and I kept feeling resistance on inhale - about halfway through the inhalation. As at that point I knew I was not going to get back to sleep, I insisted on being unwired. The tech tried to say “why don’t you try to relax for a bit” and I said flat out “Unwire me. I’m not asking. I’m telling”. I did stick around for another half hour or so after that to make sure it had been a full 8 hours after the Ambien.
I asked the technician about the resistance while inhaling and she said something about turning down the pressure which was a bit shocking. I finally got her to clarify this - she meant that after I order her to unwire me (and that’s what it was, since she was arguing with me), she turned it down then.
Oh, and the next step will be presumably a visit to the doctor, followed by a visit to a DME provider. How do those usually go? Do you make an appointment, then try on masks? Do they have a place where you can lie down to see how the thing feels? or do you just shell out your money and if what you get doesn’t work, too damn bad?
I honestly can’t remember how I got hooked up with the DME provider who got me my CPAP and mask. When I went in for my appointment I was given a CPAP and mask (this one) and instructed in how to use it. As I mentioned in my earlier post in this thread I was not given a choice of masks; at the time I hadn’t realized that there were different types available, so I didn’t think to ask what to do if I had trouble with it.
I made a DME appointment before I left my doctor’s office and yes, you try on masks. Mine asked me which one they used (or style, at least), what I thought about it and then I tried on a few until I found one that fit my face comfortably. He didn’t have anywhere to lie down, unless his big comfy chair was secretly a recliner, but yours might. I’ve had to swap mine out twice and it wasn’t a problem. I just made an appointment, explained what I didn’t like and we went through the process again. The last swap I have to pay for, but I’m not sure if it’s because my insurance wouldn’t cover it (my provider had changed) or if it was just past the point where things could be changed for free - it was 2 years at that point, and even then they’re willing to work with me if I can’t afford it.
Hopefully your DME office is as helpful as mine, as mine are more than willing to listen to all of my feedback to try to find a good mask for me and they answered every question I had. There were a few I was afraid to ask because I thought they were really dumb questions, but even those turned out to be really helpful.
I got a lot of help on the Apnea Support Forum, particularly in this thread.. I discussed my experience in getting my CPAP on the 4th page of the thread.
Read up on this, and be fore-armed with info before you go to order your CPAP. I especially like the advice I got from Crohnie Too.
I went in to my DME insisting that I needed a CPAP with data capability, allowing me to read the usage and efficacy data. I’m a very data-driven person, and seeing the actual effectiveness of the treatment means a lot to me. And I resent the patronizing attitude of folks who prescribe the compliance-only machines that depend upon you sending a datacard back to your data supplier, who sends it to your doctor, to get any feedback.
Because the doc who did my sleep study (who I never met, by the way) had prescribed a compliance-only model, I had to call back to my ENT to get a prescription for one that provided usage and efficacy data. Another happy consequence of that is the fact that the machines that provided efficacy data are the higher end models that also have EPR capability. EPR means that it can adjust to lower pressure when you exhale, so that would also be something you would like.
Good luck!
YWalker - THANKS for that link!! Somehow I hadn’t stumbled across that site before but I’m reading that thread right now and have a LOT of questions / requests for when I see the sleep doc.
Quick update: finally got my unit Friday; one of the two APAP units recommended in the thread that YWalker linked to on the other message board (thanks!!). And the ResMed Swift FX nasal pillows, which are surprisingly comfy. I had a mental image of nasal pillows really plugging HARD into the nostrils and being awful. But I know I hated the more traditional mask they used during the sleep study (forehead brace, no glasses, every time I moved it seemed to dislodge).
Two night sleeping with it - with the help of Ambien - and I’m not seeing any striking changes, which I guess I wouldn’t yet :). Maybe I was less “crash-prone” yesterday (there are weekend days where my body just says “nap. Now.”) but I was pretty drowsy in the earning evening both days.
Tonight, I try it without the Ambien (I have to get up early and drive 2.5 hours and Ambien would leave me too groggy). This should be interesting.
I’d like to know how this goes, so poke back and tell us more when you get the chance. I’m 100% positive my father has obstructive apnea, but he won’t go to the doctor to “find out” because he refuses to wear a mask. If the results are positive enough from enough real people, maybe I can convince him. My brother, too.
I myself have had the study and came back with about half the episodes you had, which he diagnosed as “mild enough that you don’t really need to do anything”, though it was apparently severe enough that I can’t get decent life insurance anymore. 
I’ve been left wondering if I should get the stuff for myself at some point just for my own benefit and HMOs be darned. To heck.
I know that it took me a while to get used to using the CPAP. It’s a bit awkward at first when the thing shifts, and finding a good position. I was very upset with myself for not adjusting to it…I desperately wanted to feel better! Finally I decided to try the mask when I WASN’T trying to get to sleep…just sitting there, watching TV…just to get used to how it felt and how the pressure felt. After I was used to it, then I tried it in bed. I had to make some adjustments with pillows and things, to get the hose and the mask just right…but the best part is, now I don’t toss and turn all night, so I rarely have to wake up enough to reposition the hose. I sleep so soundly that I also don’t need to wake up to go to the bathroom as frequently. I never noticed any change in dreams…but I did notice a change in how many times I got sick, like colds and stuff…none! On the rare times I’d be feeling stuffy, it would take a few extra minutes and concentration to get into a correct breathing pattern, but I found the pressure would open up my stuffy nose and I never got a full-blown upper-respiratory anything for a few years.
Now that I’ve lost weight, I don’t need to use it, and sometimes skip nights…but I sleep so much better and so much faster with it…and I’m much more alert during the day. I never want to walk around in that kind of fog again, or fall asleep at traffic lights, or in the driveway…scary stuff, that. When I share a bed with my fella, we both use our CPAPS, and we have no problems. I just wish I could find a battery system for him so that he could use one on the airplane…he suffers during overseas trips, since he’s not allowed to doze for more than ten minutes without it.
Quick update, in case any prospective CPAP-users are browsing around looking for info.
Three weeks now and the thing is relatively easy to sleep with. There were a few nights there where I had a lot of trouble with inhaling - I’d take have a breath and it seemed to increase the resistance / lower the pressure so it was harder to inhale the rest of the breath. It seems to have adapted its blowing rhythm to my breathing patterns somewhat so that almost never happens now.
I only needed sleep-aid help the first couple of nights and am having surprisingly little trouble sleeping with that thing on my snout. I’ve named it Babar, of course.
Do I feel any better? well, nope. Maybe on weekend afternoons, where I had to take naps before, I can fight off that urge, then again I haven’t had time to make the attempt in the past 3 weekends. I’m also finding that I still have breath-holding spells during the night (failure to exhale) - which I’ve learned is a relatively newly-identified and quite poorly known syndrome and which is not helped by CPAP.
My blood pressure may be a bit lower too, though I haven’t had it measured yet.
I have only had a CPAP for a few days now, but I wake up with what I can only describe as a “altitude headache” similar to what I would get when I would be active at about 11,000 feet or so (I live in the flat Midwest). It feels like a tight band about the top of my head. Anyone else have this, or know what’s happening?
Mama Zappa, good on you for keeping up with it. There can be an adjustment period for CPAP that can last several weeks before things take their full effect. If you still feel daytime tiredness or other symptoms for too much longer, you may want to see your sleep doctor again. You may need to be re-titrated to a higher pressure or the “breath-holding spells” may be central apneas (that are better controlled with BiPAP or other similar treatments).
limegreen – My first thoughts on the headaches is that the top strap of your headgear may be too tight. The bottom set of straps and the nose-bridge (if adjustable) should be used more to get the fit and seal off leaks, and the top strap should be a bit looser than the bottom one. (I know I had that issue when I started using a nasal mask.) On the other hand, it could be part of that adjustment period as well.
I’ve been a CPAP user for about 7 months and love it. I’m also a daytime assistant at a sleep lab, but please don’t misconstrue anything above as medical advice – I do clerical and customer service stuff for the lab!
I am supposed be getting a CPAP in a few days, so I was very glad to see this thread!
Well I guess I may as well update my own status, too 
I switched from a mask that just covers my nose to one that covers my nose and mouth since I’m frequently too stuffed up to breathe when I lie down, and it started out okay. Lately I feel like it’s making it harder to sleep. It’s way more uncomfortable than my last mask and more prone to leaks, so I fight with it more.
The really awful thing is my stuffy nose has gotten better since my environment has changed, but I don’t have insurance anymore and can’t afford to go back to my old style of mask without it 
I’ve had a CPAP for a month now myself, and I can fall asleep with it easily, as well as sleep with it. But my husband wakes me up every morning when he gets up for work, and just the feel of the mask on my face drives me crazy. My first impulse is to always rip it off. I wish I could get out of that habit (though I’m making it 4 hours every night).
Anybody tried getting data off the SD card in the CPAP machine?
I’m debating whether to spend the hundred bucks or so for the software. I think I might wait until after the next doc visit (early August) - I can bring the card there and they’ll do a dump, but it might be helpful to me to have more immediate feedback.
Of course I’m not 100% sure the card is capturing anything - the info display shows the card shape with an X over it, and it says something about card error. If I pop it out and put it back, the error goes away.
Mama Zapa, where did you find the software?
I have what looks like the latest Philips Respironics machine and have poked around just a little. Since part of the purpose of the data card seems to be to demonstrate compliance for insurance purposes, a task that includes a security element, I’m betting there is something proprietary and pretty difficult to overcome about the data format - it might be hard to get data off it without their software…
BTW, my CPAP seems pretty successful so far, though it’s only a couple of weeks. I am impressed with the better quality of sleep. The mask is bothersome but so is waking up; I’m over some kind of hump at this point. I had an AHI of 74.4 during my sleep study and about 15 with the machine. I would vote along with the contingent that says to keep trying as it is worth it.