Posted by BreathingEZ on March 03, 2010 at 06:33:15:In Reply to: Can't Use CPAP - FRUSTRATED!!! posted by Cubsgirlfan on March 02, 2010 at 13:44:37:
It sounds to me as if you need to build up your lung power in order to exhale against the additional pressre created by the machine. That takes a little while for some people, but eventually most of us find it's not a problem at all. It's a matter of learning to deal with a new sensation.
Do you do better at lower pressures when using the ramp feature? Or, as I do, do you simply find that you're not getting sufficient air at the lower pressures? It almost sounds to me as if your pressure of 6cm may to too low, and while you don't like the sensation of struggling to exhale against any additional level of pressure, you may also have the sensation that you're not getting sufficient air at 6cm.
When I was struggling to adapt, and when I was feeling sorry for myself for being tied to this machine for the rest of my life, I would think of the children in cancer wards in hospitals around the coountry hooked up to all sorts of machines and sensors and fighting bravely for their lives. That really put things in perspective and made me realize that if they can overcome the enormous medical obstacles they face, I could buckle down and master this relatively minor inconvenience.
I doubt that a humidifier has anything to do with your problem, though I guess using one can't hurt (though I personally find the moisture annoying). Good luck.