Adventures with a CPAP machine

Last Tuesday, the guy from the home medical supply place brought me my very own CPAP machine and humidifier. It is a ResMed and much smaller than I expected. The guy went through the whole spiel about hooking up the CPAP, the humidifier, etc. It took about an hour. He fitted the mask to my face and told me how to quick release the mask if I needed to get up during the night.




Of course, the first night was an adventure. My brother even took a picture and my mom giggled.

So my routine at night is fill the humidifier water reservoir with distilled water and click it into the CPAP, being very careful not to spill anywhere. Shut the lid firmly so the CPAP starts properly.

Attach the hose to the humidifier. Attach the other end of the hose to the mask. Plug the CPAP machine in. I hit the Warm Humidifier while I am going through the rest of the process.

I also need oxygen at night. So the tube from the oxygen concentrator is attached to the hose end that is attached to the humidifier. I turn the oxygen concentrator on.

Then I brush my teeth, get my jammies on, take my meds, and turn down the covers. And turn out the light (I usually have the TV on.) I put the mask on. It's pretty cool because the CPAP machine is automatically programmed to start as soon as I put the mask on. And it will stop when I take the mask off.

There is also a ramping feature. It starts the air pressure at 4 and ramps up to 10 (which is my air pressure setting. It can go up to 20.) The air pressure is what keeps my airways open so I can breathe properly when I sleep. The technician set the ramping feature for 20 minutes initially, I have it at 5 minutes now.

I'm sleeping better now, I think and resting. I'm still sleep during the day at times, but I can't tell if that is my lungs or if the CPAP isn't working as it should. I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, so I'll wear the mask until then. and beyond. I haven't had many problems with the mask.