3 Most Common Problems Using CPAP for Sleep Apnea [Life Changing]

hi chris here with affinityhm.com and today i'm going to tell you about the three most common problems using cpap for sleep apnea so perhaps you were recently diagnosed with sleep apnea by your physician um maybe you've already had your sleep study maybe you already have received your cpap machine and you're just kind of getting started with it and out here searching for some answers on how to make this whole experience better that's what i'm here for i want to share with you some knowledge and experiences that i've had i've set up cpaps for people for decades i'm not going to tell you exactly how long it's been a long time i've set up a whole lot thousands of cpaps and so um i feel like i'm at a unique place that i can hopefully help people out here in the youtube world kind of get through the experience what motivates me to try to help you right now is having seen so many people have struggles especially in the beginning using cpap and to overcome those struggles and then see them later um having life-changing situations where cpap really makes a huge difference i can't tell you how many times i have set up someone on cpap talk to them maybe a week later and they're just ready to give up and and you know they just want to throw that cpap out the window you may be able to relate you know and never ever see it again and then talk to them six months later and they literally will not ever stop using cpap because you know they love it and if you can just get past the difficulties in the beginning then you will find that the benefits that you receive from using the cpap and getting truly good sleep by far outweigh the difficulties and the the roadblocks that come along the way i will tell you almost everyone has some problem using cpap it's really rare that we set up cpap and it's just like hey a-okay i've got it all the way no problem that does happen that might be you um but the majority of everyone who begins using cpap does have to kind of get over some hurdles in order to get used to using it so i'm going to tell you what my experience has been for people in general the top three difficulties that they would have using cpap we're going to start at the number three and move our way up to the number one the most important um starting with number three it's gonna be the mask um you know you've got this deal on your face whenever you're going to sleep plus there's pressure coming in so it's important that the mask fits correctly so when you're at your provider just make sure that they are actually using a sizing gauge and sizing out your nose and making sure that the mask that is selected is the proper size for you of course the sizing gauge is just a little card that would be used to measure between right here in between your eyes and right here underneath your nose the distance is different on different people and that will determine what size of mask that you might need to use that's if you're using a mask that is only over your nose now if you're going to be using a mask over your nose and your mouth then they're going to be measuring from here right between the eyes and right here underneath your bottom lip where the where the skin kind of dips in and that size right there would be for a full face mask now whether you use just a nasal mask only over your nose or a full face mask over your nose and mouth is really determined by how well you did in the sleep study were you a mouth breather were you breathing through your mouth and your nose were you breathing just through your nose do you have a deviated septum there's just a lot of factors involved and so the professionals who are setting up your cpap should guide you through that decision ultimately it's probably going to be your decision or and your doctors but do make sure that the mask is the proper size now if you're able to use a mask just over your nose i would recommend possibly the n20 this is the one i've got a little mannequin here my buddy he's got a n20 mask on and you can see that it's over just his nose and it's fitted properly for this for this mannequin head it's got a little headgear around the back the cool thing about the n20 is that it has a little magnet that attaches here so whenever you're ready to if you need to go to the restroom in the middle of the night or something it's super easy to take off and put back on if you're like me in the middle of the night you're not really wanting to search for little clips and buttons and pins and such so the magnets really nice to make it easy on easy off and the mask is reasonably comfortable i want to get back to that a little bit um there is no mask that is 100 comfortable um you know they they do now in the last few years they've started making them a lot more comfortable than they used to be but um it's gonna just take some getting used to another choice that i like to help people with is the this one is the swift fx now it's been around for a long time so it's got a nice little strap around the back a little plastic strap that is adjustable on the top of the head and then the cool thing is that it's really not touching your face hardly anywhere except right here where it's going to go right into the nair it doesn't really go far into the nose at all it seals around the outside edge of the nose and um that is really the cool thing about this one is that you know if you feel a little claustrophobic or something like that it's so much less on your face so it's a lot easier to use than any of the other ones so if you can get away with using the swift fx that would be a good choice um in my opinion um then there's the full face mask that would go over your nose and mouth and those are fine too but uh personally whenever i'm setting it up i only go to that full face mask as a last resort if you know trying these masks maybe even with a chin strap to help keep the mouth closed if none of that's working then we like to go to the full face mask if needed but it's not always needed so the mask fit is really crucial so if you're putting your cpap mask on um you know and starting your cpap machine and nothing's leaking and you're laying down and going to sleep and then all of a sudden you start experiencing a lot of leaks then it may be that the mask just needs to be tightened up a little more or maybe you've got the wrong size mask so it is really really important to make sure that that mask is correct the number two thing that i hear a lot is the pressure now it could be that you are complaining about there is too much pressure coming in and i'm having difficulty exhaling so if you're having difficulty exhaling um that is actually to be expected because if you think about what's going on with the sleep apnea obstructive sleep apnea simply means that whenever you fall asleep your airway relaxes to the point you go into that deepest stage of sleep that your airway completely relaxes everyone's airway completely relaxes but people who have sleep apnea when that airway relaxes it actually closes off and the air is no longer able to move in and out through the airway so it's important that we have something happen that will keep your airway open so that you can go into that deepest stage of sleep and actually stay there so the pressure that's coming in is really what you need it is actually the therapy that will maintain your airway open so that whenever you breathe in and you breathe out the airway stays open so while you're awake it may seem like a lot of pressure and something that you can't tolerate but whenever you're asleep it is exactly what you need so there are some mechanisms in most cpap machines today it's uh that make it easier to exhale um it may be called easy x there's different all kind of different names for it but it's a setting on the cpap machine that will make it marginally lower pressure at the time when you're exhaling to make it a little more comfortable or if it's possible that the machine is setting correctly so possibly take it to the people who set up the cpap machine and just double check the pressure make sure it is set correctly for you now other people will complain instead of having problems exhaling the pressure feels like the pressure's too much they may have a problem with feeling like it's not enough pressure and they're not feeling like when they breathe in they're getting enough pressure so when that's happening you're saying to me uh you know i just feel like i can't breathe in well then i would think that possibly the machine pressure could be increased of course that is a doctor's decision to do that but uh sometimes a little higher pressure is exactly what the patient needs so the pressure that is set uh and prescribed by the physician has to be set by the provider of the cpap machine um talk to your doctor if you feel like you're not getting enough air in whenever you're using your cpap so that possibly the prescription can be changed so either if you're not having enough pressure come in or not enough enough pressure going out there can be some tweaks that can be done on the machine to make that feel better and more comfortable but um as far as you know the the pressure itself it has to be there because that is what we need it's like an internal air splint holding your airway open and we need to have that pressure now what's real interesting is that when people are brand new on cpap and let's say at the time that they're getting set up for their cpap almost everyone's eyes get a little big when the machine comes on it's like whoa what's going on here but over time like everything else in life you know you get a little more used to it a little more used to it so i would recommend for anyone who has kind of this acclimation problem of just sort of getting used to the cpap try this go to your home and well before it's time to go to bed go ahead and set your cpap plug it in maybe in your near your recliner your sofa you know and plug it in put the mask on watch some tv while you're awake well you have no intentions of falling asleep but just watch a little tv with that mask going or reading a book or just you know be awake with it on is the point and use the cpap while you're awake for a while and you'll find that over time it just gets to be more and more easily tolerated so i would say definitely do that and that's going to make a big difference maybe a little bit each night before you go to bed or just get it to the point to where when it's time to go to bed and you're putting the cpap mask on that's not the very first time of that day that you've experienced the way that this air pressure feels um so i don't want to scare you if you've never had cpap it's not really that much pressure it's just something that is very different from normal you know regular sleep without cpap so now what i will say is the number one most important thing and the most difficult thing the biggest problem that people have whenever they are new to using cpap is to remain consistent um you've gone so many years with this sleep apnea that you use cpap for one two nights you know and you have some problems the mask is leaking it's making a noise it's making your mouth dry or different problems that you're having and so you say well look i'm just not going to use this cpap i'm going to get sleep but it's really not the right kind of sleep as the sleep study has already proven but it's easy to skip a night and when we skip a night then we skip two nights and then we skip two nights every week and then we skip four nights every week and every month and we skip a month and you know you know how it is in life once you sort of let go of that consistency it becomes easier and easier to let go of the consistency and actually not do it so i see too many people who really need to be using cpap who are not using cpap because of some of the difficulties so i would encourage you your physician and your provider i promise you they want to help you to be able to use your cpap so please contact them if you are having problems with your cpap so that those problems can be tweaked and worked out and hopefully to the point that you'll be able to remain consistent now when i say consistent um you know at least start the night off using your cpap and if you don't make it all night that is gonna be okay at least you started the night off and i'm a big believer in if you start the night off using your cpap every single night then what's going to happen is you're going to get more and more acclimated to it it's going to become more and more of a new good habit that you're actually doing every single night so if you don't get through the night that's fine at least start the night off every single night using cpap and before you know it you'll be using cpap all night every night everyone will be happy your spouse will be happy you will be happy you'll be sleeping better you should have more energy a lot of people have headaches and high blood pressure and all kinds of problems related to not sleeping well so um so i hope that these three things you know the kind of little tips that i'm giving you here are things that you can really use to help you use your cpap i really want to see you do well with the cpap and by all means please um comment here if there's any questions that you have for me i would love to try to answer the questions and um you know just let let me know where you're watching this video from and of course subscribe to the channel if you like to hear more information about cpap and other home medical equipment chris from affinityhm.com hope you have a great night bye bye

Channel: AffinityHM

Views: 429,231

Keywords: cpap pressure too high, 3 Most Common Problems Using CPAP for Sleep Apnea, cpap problems, life changing cpap, cpap, travel, cpap mask problem, cpap mask fit, cpap change life, cpap machine settings, continuous positive airway pressure (medical treatment), how can i get used to cpap, cpap questions and answers, AffinityHM, cpap problems side effects, sleep apnea, cpap tutorial, cpap advice, cpap mask leak, cpap explained

Id: chpaqUUraLw

Length: 14min 40sec (880 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 13 2019