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How to Live in Harmony with Your CPAP Machine

 

By Admin

 

 

As reported in previous SistemmaCPAP.com posts, treatment compliance remains a significant problem for sleep apnea patients despite promising research on the many benefits of long-term and consistent CPAP adherence. CPAP has never been more popular than it is now, and yet studies find that between 46 and 83 percent of patients with obstructive sleep apnea are nonadherent. This means that a large percentage of those prescribed CPAP therapy are failing to use the device at least 4 hours a night for more than 70% of their sleep time. This measurement of compliance is lenient, considering the seven-to-nine hours of nightly sleep recommended by specialists, but the numbers show few signs of improvement. In the interest of helping those who are struggling with compliance, or who may be trying CPAP therapy for the first time, the following is a short list of recommendations that might help ease some of the initial tensions. Good luck to you all, and try to keep your focus on the many lasting benefits of this truly remarkable development in the treatment of sleep apnea and related impediments to healthy respiration.

Make Yourself Tired

Start by making yourself tired. When patients first start using CPAP, they usually establish their pattern of compliance within a short span of the first few weeks. With this in mind, you can increase your chances of success by easing the transition with less sleep This may sound a little off-putting, but it makes a big difference when you’re having difficulties falling asleep with CPAP. Setting your alarm earlier and forcing yourself up can help you get an early start on your day and at the same time leave you tuckered out by day’s end. This is what you want, especially if you are just starting CPAP. If you are tired enough, the CPAP will be more comfortable to you, and less of a burden on your routine. Once you have associated comfort and sleep with the CPAP therapy experience, your brain will react accordingly, releasing the proper chemicals for sleep onset in a conditioned manner. CPAP will then become part of your new sleep setting, and may even help you fall asleep as you become increasingly more used to the idea.

Tolerance

The American Association of Sleep Technologists lists comfort issues as the number-one complaint by patients beginning CPAP therapy for the first time. Other reported issues include a low tolerance for the mask, or for the forced air from the machine. People sometimes feel claustrophobic, dry or runny in the sinuses or throat, or they or their partner have complaints about the noise. While these are all legitimate issues of concern, the solution may require a higher level of tolerance for something that promises such a significant payoff in the long term. As a new patient, you should move to solve these issues right away, rather than allow them to reduce your compliance. Oftentimes there are solutions available that patients are not aware of, and in these cases, education is the key. Learn more about your CPAP, talk to a primary care physician, a sleep specialist, or your equipment retailer, and seek out answers to all your concerns. The faster you do this, the better. Because the longer you wait, the more likely it will be that your new expensive CPAP machine will find its way to the closet where it will remain.

Comfort Features

There are many comfort features on just about every modern CPAP or BiPAP device on the market, and not every patient is informed of these options or knows how to use them. AutoRamp features are a popular way to slow the air pressure at therapy startup, giving patients a few minutes to get used to the idea as the pressure slowly increases to standard therapy levels. Another option is Heated Humidification. This helps with the dryness and runny sinuses that some patients experience from the air. Heated humidification not only reduces dryness or soreness in the throat and sinuses, but can be very comforting, giving each breath a fresh feeling that soothes both inward and out. CPAP Pillows can be purchased if the issue is posture-related. These cushions fit right under your head and are shaped for maximum comfort, leaving room for tubing or masks at the center in order to remedy any problems with the position of the device as you sleep. And finally, a variety of AutoSet functions can ensure that the device mimics your individual breathing patterns and responds to changes. These features have become more advanced in recent years, and are often made available as modes and settings that can be programmed upon purchase of the device. Talk to your physician or sleep specialist if you have questions regarding AutoSet functions and what they can do for you.

Proper Fitting and Mask Choice

The three main types of masks are Nasal, Nasal PIllow, and Full-face. Everyone has their own preference, so you may want to try them all if there are fitting concerns. Also, Nightly Adjustments will often be required to maintain the best fit over time. To make things easier, Auto Fitting Features can help you secure the best fit without effort, signaling as you make your adjustments to minimize leak and reduce the chance for abrasiveness that can leave red marks by morning.

Sleep Coaching Apps

Sleep tracking apps like ResMed’s MyAir, the Sleep Genius app, the DreamMapper from Philips Respironics, and Dreem have been proven to increase treatment compliance through prompts and summary notifications. These apps not only keep your nightly sleep data in one reliable place for easy access by you and your physician, but also track changes and trends that could help you identify a problem. A 2016 study on the original SleepMapper app used on the Philips Respironics Smartsleep Headband, found an 18% increase in compliance rates by patients using the app, versus a control group who did not. Like other sleep tracking apps, SleepMapper utilizes algorithms modeled on the same theories of behavior change that have improved CPAP compliance through telephone-linked communications with sleep specialists in the past, counting on prompts and notifications to keep patients informed and involved in their treatment.

Support Networks

When it comes to CPAP, feedback from other patients can extremely valuable, and there are now a number of online and localized support groups for CPAP users. Because education and support have been shown to increase compliance, a nationwide network of sleep apnea support groups known as A.W.A.K.E. (Alert, Well, and Keeping Energetic) have meetings in a several cities, and are spreading throughout the states.. Go to www.sleepapnea.org and click on the Community link for more information. Your physician may also know where to find a support group in your area.

Staying Positive

Believe it or not, this is the most important part of the process. Nothing will satisfy your needs if the focus is always on the negative aspects of the therapy. To help people stay focused on the big picture, Nancy Collop, MD, president-elect of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, suggests that people make a relaxing routine of the CPAP experience. According to Dr. Collop, people often react negatively to CPAP at first, but many learn to live with it. And some learn to enjoy it. If you are able to think of CPAP as a life-saving sleep routine and a purifier of your every breath, you can embrace its influences in the direction of safer, healthier, and more restful nights.  

 

Sources

Alphamedcorp - https://www.alphamedcorp.com/blogb/2014/10/2/5-ways-to-live-with-your-cpap-machine.html

American Association of Sleep Technologists - https://www.aastweb.org/blogb/top-10-ways-to-solve-common-cpap-problems-and-discomfort

Chest - https://www.mdedge.com/chestphysician/article/135919/sleep-medicine/app-may-improve-cpap-adherence

Journal of Sleep Science - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jsr.12476

National Center for Biotetechnology Information - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3119924/

National Sleep Foundation - https://www.sleepfoundation.org/excessive-sleepiness/support/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need

Sleep Review - http://www.sleepreviewmag.com/2008/10/top-10-practices-to-increase-cpap-compliance