Had the CPAP machine checked today
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
United States
April 3, 2013 8:24pm CST
As you may or may not know, I've not been getting enough air when I wear the CPAP at night. It feels like it is suffocating me. Every now and then I will gasp for breath involuntarily. It gets me so hungry for air that I take it off and put my oxygen on. The bad thing there is that I still stop breathing even when I'm awake in bed with the oxygen. My breaths get more and more shallow until they stop and then they start up again.
The CPAP stops that but I can't tolerate it because it feels like the oxygen is getting sucked out of me and I get this panicked feeling and rip it off my face.
The man saw I haven't been wearing it much. He checked the pressure and it is at 10 times atmospheric pressure (or however they calibrate it is at 10).
He said I will need to talk to my pulmonologist about increasing the pressure. I have a lot if apnea. I even have it when I'm awake and sitting up. I'm not even aware of it until someone else notices. When that happens I will some gasp real big one time and that must reset it somehow. It's weird how my body does that.
Has anyone felt smothering sensations with the CPAP? There has only been a few times I rested well with it. I had a much harder time though when I was on that awful BIPAP machine. That was 2 pressures. I hope I don't have to go back to that.
2 people like this
4 responses
@MizzLadyB08 (1174)
• United States
7 Apr 13
Hello, I have been using the CPAP machine since September 2012 and I have not had any trouble out of it. What kind of machine do you have? I have the Resmed Elite S9 which has a humidifier on it and my air pressure is 11. I can tell when the water has ran out because I find it difficult to breath. I recently changed from the nasal mask to the nasal pillows because I was experiencing a lot of leaks. I really hope that you can get some help with it. If you do not have the Resmed ask your doctor to try you on that machine to see if that helps.
@Hopefull90 (921)
• United States
4 Apr 13
My husband puts Vaseline around the mouth piece. I am not sure why but it does make the plastic wear out faster. He doesn't use the big machine.
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
4 Apr 13
I hope you get that taken care of right away. I've been diagnosed with Asthma and I know the feeling sometimes about feeling like it's a bit tough to breath or going into coughing fits are not fun especially when you end up puking. SO I can only imagine what you are going thru especially when it sounds like it's happens all day long. I hope you get an answer and have better sleep and breathing.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
4 Apr 13
hi PQ I hope that they get it set right so you will not get that awful feeling I have been told I could use one when I had bronchitis but the medical person here never did anything about it and I got over the bronchitis anyway. I do not havesleep apnea but I just do not breathe deep enough during the day s I must make myself breathe more deeply. I hope they get you all straightened out as it sounds scary what you
described to us.
described to us.