"No personal experience, but CPAP.com review of AirMini
The AirMini runs at about 30 decibels, which is about the same sound level as a whispered conversation. For comparison, full-sized CPAPs tend to run around 26-28 decibels. Due to their…"
Sleep Apnoea Forum Bringing Help + Support to the Patient
My first review
After only 15 days on my cpap machine I have recently had my first review. I was diagnosed with severe OSA, I had an AHI of 42. My partner timed some of my apnoeas at 28. seconds.
My AHI is now down to 20 which puts me in the moderate OSA category. I have adapted quite well to wearing a nose and mouth mask but I have been waking up 2 or 3 times a night for a drink of water to lubricate my mouth and throat, despite using a mouth lubricating spay. As I am up, I go to the toilet but I am passing nowhere near as much urine as I did before treatment and I am no longer being woken by a full bladder.
My sleep clinic have very kindly provided me a humidifier. Unfortunately I have not got it to work - though the preheater works, strange. I have been back and they have changed the settings on my machine and hopefully if will now work.
It is very early days for me and I do not expect any overnight 'cure' . However, I have seen early 'green shoots of recovery'. I have stopped falling asleep in the chair within minutes of getting home from work . It feels great to be able to sit through early evening TV without falling asleep. I feel more alert at work and now last till mid afternoon before I start to feel tired. I also no longer suffer from acid reflux - I was going through a bottle of gaviscon a month.
One thing that does remain is my 'mental fog' - not in terms of memory loss or confusion but in terms of mental sharpness. However, I think this symptom will take the most time to overcome. I believe I have been suffering from OSA for many years before my recent diagnosis. Reading this and other forums I believe my brain is so used to waking my body up at night that it is going to take time to change things - anyway I live in hope. The way I feel in a morning is mixed - some days still I feel fatigued but other days I wake up feeling more refreshed.
On odd occasions at week ends, after 7-8 hours sleep, I have taken off my mask and dosed again for 1 to 2 hours and woken up feeling terrible, so now I only sleep with my mask on.
Hopefully, I will get some unbroken nights soon, if my humidifier to starts to work. I will keep you posted.
John Wilkinson 
Views: 241
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Kath Hope on
-
Hi John
Good to hear you're feeling some benefits after just 15 days, but with you saying you've come down to an AHI of 20, as you say, that's still moderate sleep apnoea, so hopefully the clinic have adjusted the pressures and when your AHI comes down to 5 or below you should feel more benefits and hopefully to your 'mental fog.'
I'm the same as you, in that when I used to fall back to sleep without my mask on for an hour or so I would wake up feeling terrible so I never do it now.
Hope all continues to go well for you......
-
Permalink Reply by John Wilkinson on
-
Hi Kath,
Thanks for your reply. I am not sure if the clinic have adjusted the pressures on my cpap machine. I will ask when I go for my next review at the end of January.
Also I have bought an insulated sleeve for my breathing tube. Hopefully this will stop the condensation and resultant bubbling I am getting in my tube from my humidifier.
As far as I know the DVLA are going to contact my consultant re my fitness to drive. I have been lead to believe that as long as I am responding to treatment I will not have my license suspended. Have you any views on this situation?
Regards.
John Wilkinson
-
Permalink Reply by Sleep2snore on
-
Hi John,
Good to see you are getting to grips with your CPAP machine. It take a while for your body to get back to a normal function after struggling against Sleep Apnoea. You have still a bit to go to get down to where you should be, however, you will get there I hope in the near future.
Try not to even dose without your CPAP machine on, if you must have a quick dose do it in a chair where you are sitting bolt upright. If you fall asleep lying down your airways will become restricted, your oxygen levels will drop and then you end up with a foggy brain. Hope you are now getting there and getting better low numbers.
-
-
Hi Sleep2snore,
Thanks for that. It really helps when I receive empathetic replies and advice from fellow OSA sufferers who are further down the road than me. Your support and encouragement is very welcome and helps me to 'stick at it' even when I have bad nights with my cpap machine. A big sincere thank you.
Sleep2snore said:Hi John,
Good to see you are getting to grips with your CPAP machine. It take a while for your body to get back to a normal function after struggling against Sleep Apnoea. You have still a bit to go to get down to where you should be, however, you will get there I hope in the near future.
Try not to even dose without your CPAP machine on, if you must have a quick dose do it in a chair where you are sitting bolt upright. If you fall asleep lying down your airways will become restricted, your oxygen levels will drop and then you end up with a foggy brain. Hope you are now getting there and getting better low numbers.
-
-
Hi John, I have had over 20 yrs of it so far, it just takes a while for your brain to accept that it needs to use a machine.
We are not used to air at pressure being blown into us, so stick with it and in no time you will not be able to sleep without it, or at least you will not want to.
It just takes the right mask and the right humidity and pressures.
You will get there, trust me. If you have problems as of contact your sleep center, most try their best to help you.
About
Sleep Apnoea Forum
New to the Sleep Apnoea Forum?
1. Stop by our Sleep Apnoea Welcome Center to introduce yourself to the SleepGuide community.
2. Start a New Topic of Conversation.
3. Post your photos - of yourself, your old CPAP machine, your new CPAP machine, your pet, something about you!
Interested in advertising, have a problem or need to contact us? Click the Report an Issue page.
Latest Activity
ResMed AirMini for travel
I am considering either buying or renting an AirMini for a forthcoming holiday this month where I will be sharing a twin room. I have read that they’re quite noisy and I don’t want to waste my money on either rental or purchase if the noise level…See More
"Hi, I use a ResMed F20 and had the same issue with the silicone full face mask causing red marks and soreness on my nose bridge. I switched over to the Airtouch memory foam full face masks which are expensive and not supplied by the NHS, but the…"
"It's very much still relevant and we're getting closer to have them manufactured and has been no easy challenge. In fact we were speaking with the company working with us on this only yesterday. If you're not on our newsletter list…"
"I expect others may have responded by now, but I use the Fitlife full face mask. I kept getting a hard lump on my nose when first starting out & it got so bad that I ended up buying my own masks as my clinic would only give the Fitlife to new…"
"Yes, it does the job. I use a Powapacs Atom for portable power "
"Hi Nick thanks. Does it do the job and could you camp with it?"
CPAP Total Face Mask
I was curious whether anyone has used the CPAP Total Face Masks and could pass on their observations? I've been using an Airfit F20 for years which is fine apart from the permanent red mark on the bridge of my nose, and have recently tried the…See More
"I've been using the Resmed Airmini for about 5 years when travelling - overall lightweight and small and can be controlled by an App, but it does produce a loud whistling/wind sound for me which hasn't been reduced by an inline filter or…"
"Hi
It sounds like you need to have more conversations with your sleep clinic. There's little point in having a high pressure if it means you cannot tolerate the machine. There's an interesting video here…"
Pressure waking me up. Belching and wind
HiI'm using the prisma smart max machine. Initially I was just on a nasal mask, this changed as I was sleeping with my mouth open. I then went to face and nose mask and complained of bad wind and belching. Sometimes the pressure in the night was…See More
"Just to tidy this up, I finally had an in-person review by my sleep clinic yesterday, who agreed the ResMed AirSense 10 was "wheezy" and replaced the machine."
"thank you jonathan,i did get the it pack so tried the small and still struggled but i was sat up in bed so will try lying down great suggestion "
"Hi
My first thought is "don't panic"! We're all a bit different, and there are many things that can be tweaked. I took to CPAP therapy like a duck to water, but I've had friends who say they can't cope, but…"
1st time and I’ve failed the mask leak test
Hi everyone, today I received my rental kit - prisma smart max, plus a Philips dreamwear mask which I’ve been wearing unconnected to try and get used to it. I just did a mask fit test using a medium mask and got a constant red/orange leak warning…See More
© 2025 Created by The SleepGuide Crew.
Powered by
