I'm new to CPAP--have tried it 4 nights now, for at least 3 hours a night, and have not been able to fall asleep once. The stress of exhalation against a pressure setting of 10 is just too much work to allow me to fall asleep. I am trying to think of ways to accustom myself to it. Has anyone had any success lowering their pressure settings at first? For example, would it help to spend a night trying the CPAP at 5, then slowly work my way up to my prescribed pressure of 10?

some CPAPs require almost no effort to breathe in, the machine forces the air in, but these usually require a big effort to breathe out, I had one like this once, I eventually did manage to get used to it
most other CPAPs are more even, that is the effort need to breathe in and out are about equal, if you cant  get used to it , maybe eventually swap for another brand or model CPAP

assuming your machine has a ramp, set this to lower the pressure for as long as possible and if still awake, set the ramp again
the air outlet near the mask mustnt be blocked or covered at all

positive thinking and perseverance is needed by all new CPAP users :-)

You can get a cpap with c-flex, which reduces the pressure on exhale or a bipap that can be set lower for exhaling.

Sparky wrote:

I'm new to CPAP--have tried it 4 nights now, for at least 3 hours a night, and have not been able to fall asleep once. The stress of exhalation against a pressure setting of 10 is just too much work to allow me to fall asleep. I am trying to think of ways to accustom myself to it. Has anyone had any success lowering their pressure settings at first? For example, would it help to spend a night trying the CPAP at 5, then slowly work my way up to my prescribed pressure of 10?

Hi Sparky,

Try the ramp feature on your machine. Most machines can ramp up the pressure from say 5 mins to 20 mins. This will allow your nasal passages a gradual increase in pressure to your setting of 10.

The trouble with reducing the pressure, say to 5 is that it will be ineffective. In some cases a small reduction in pressure, for say a week can help, although when 'messing' with pressure settings you should keep in contact with your sleep doc.

Don't be overly concerned at the difficulty you are experiencing, we have all gone through that or some other similar problem.

Kind regards,

Daniel


_________________
The untreated Sleep Apnoea sufferer died quietly in his sleep.......
Unlike his three passengers who died screaming !!!!!!

(Anon)

The only way I can get to sleep is with the ramp feature of my machine.

I have set it to 1/2 the pressure my Dr. wants me to use,  and for 30 min time.  This allows me to get to sleep,  generally.

Good luck,  but keep on trying.   I'm told it works for most people.