I find that by adding "creature comforts" to my therapy helps me be more willing to tolerate the therapy.

I read and read on other forums (this one wasn't around when I started) about how users had enhanced their therapy and made things more pleasant and tolerable. I took their suggestions and found solutions that worked for me and allowed me to be more comfortable using my machine and more pleasant to have to hose up every night.

These things are "extra" that you pay for out of pocket. Insurance companies will not cover these expenses, nor should they. Many times with a little thought and some ideas you can build your own set of creature comforts or you may decide that isn't for you and purchase these things outright. Either way works and there is no right or wrong way in setting up your equipment the way YOU want to.

My first creature comfort was a pair of "pad-a-cheeks". These are made by Karen here on the forum. I regularly visit www.cpaptalk.com and she is a member on that site as well. We were chatting one night on their chat line and I mentioned that I had marks from my full face mask that I was using at the time until the middle of the morning. I was, also, experiencing some irritation where the straps touched my skin on my face. She told me about her product and offered to send me a sample to try out. She makes these strap guards with loving care and quality fleece. She has all of the different masks types available, and if she doesn't is willing to make them if asked. She charges a nominal fee for her materials and time -- but I can guarantee you won't be disappointed in her products. By placing the guards on the straps -- NO more strap marks on the face and less irritation. Please check out her website at www.padacheeks.com. She has a variety of colors -- and men don't feel like these products are for women only. I assure you they are not. Men can find the straps as irritating as women and find these are a perfect solution.
If you don't want to purchase them, you could make them yourself. You will need some fleece fabric. Fleece should be on sale, or soon will be since it is near spring time. Measure your strap length, width (allow enough for the seams, and cut and sew up. Use a thin bent wire to help thread the guards on to your straps.

My next venture was making a snugglehose cover. This is a fleece "wrap" that covers the hose from the machine to the mask. You can purchase these at www.apnealife.com or other outlets. I have heard that DME's carry them -- but expect to pay premium price from them and the less expensive route is to make them yourself. I purchased some fleece and sewed my own. I left it loose enough so that I could thread it on my hose without difficulty and used ponytail holders to keep the cover in place. For a 6 foot hose, I made mine approximately 7 foot so that I had some room to scrunch it and not have to worry if it shrank in the wash. Others have used tube socks and ponytail holders to cover their hoses. You will need to use clean socks and cut the toes out -- it will take more than one pair depending upon how long the socks are. Others have just rolled their hose up in a few layers of fleece and placed the ponytail holders at intervals to keep the fleece shut on the hose. By covering your hose you may cut down on the amount of rainout you experience and it makes the hose more comfortable when it touches you and less noisy when it drags over the bedding. I highly recommend the covers and use mine year round. You can, also, cover any smaller / shorter hoses on your mask with fleece.

Many that need their humidifiers turned up find that they like the Aussie Heated Hose. It is a specially made hose that has wire run around the hose to keep the hose heated. It can purchased on line -- do a google search on the Aussie Heated Cpap Hose. It will usually run around $175 and will last through several winters. It does need special care and washing methods in order to protect the wiring and circuits. I do not feel the need to have one as I use my humidifier mainly in passover mode.

Some have found that the expense of an Aussie Heated Hose is more than they want to spend or can afford. Some users have had success using a Repti-heater . These hoses can be purchased on line and off from eBay. You will need to get a low watt heater and lay it along one side of your hose.
To check it out click on the link: http://www.cpaptalk.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27579&p=237606&...

One of the other creature comforts that I love is my pur-sleep products. These are made by our own sleepguy. Pur-sleep is aromatherapy in a convenient to use method for cpap machines. If you hate the smell of plastic or your machine has some hours on it and has picked up some odors -- then pursleep will help. I do not use them every night, but find that when I do use them I seem to sleep better. You can purchase them from www.pur-sleep.com or from Mike's website my clicking on the link on the main page. Bret is great to work with a person and many times will even offer free samples if you email him and ask nicely. If you don't feel that is an option for you due to the cost or other reasons -- you can use some essential oils from a health food store. I do NOT recommend using the fragrances found in the dollar stores due to them having additives to them that are not labeled. You need pure essential oils without additives in order to make sure you are not breathing toxic fumes. Ask your clerk in the health food store to recommend some scents that are safe for breathing.

Another comfort item is a hose hanger. You can purchase one of these already made or make one yourself. I have found that I put a cup hook on the headboard of my bed and it keeps the hose up out of the way. Others like their hose routed to the side and use different methods to achieve that. This helps with rainout as well.

Specialized pillows are used by many. These can come in various shapes and sizes. For ideas look at www.apnealife.com for Mike's selection. eBay typically has some for sale as well. Pillows are very individual and can be expensive so please do your homework first to see which suits your needs the best.