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Permalink Reply by Janknitz on December 24, 2010 at 4:59pm

Before changing machines, I think that you need a mask you can comfortably wear all night.  This may take a lot of trial and error to find what works for you.  

 

Start with your current mask, whatever it is, and wear it while doing some quiet activity, NOT at bedtime.  The goals are 1) to get more used to the mask, and 2) while you are wide awake, see what kind of problems the mask might be giving you.  

Is the mask too tight, too loose, leaking, hurting, do you feel like you are getting enough air or do you feel like you are in a wind tunnel?  As you identify issues, try to do small, incremental changes that will fix these problems.

One of the most common issues for newbies is using the ramp feature.  This is meant to start you out at a low pressure so that you don't feel like you must struggle to breathe against pressure.  But your description of taking the mask off in the middle of the night makes me think that when full pressure is reached, something is making you uncomfortable--either the full pressure itself or the higher pressure causes your mask to start leaking.  The latter (leaks at a higher pressure) is the more common cause of problems.  

To prevent that, you need to turn your machine to it's highest set pressure (in the case of a CPAP, that means simply turning off the ramp feature, temporarily) and THEN fit your mask so it won't leak.  Then, if you wish,  you can turn the ramp back on to go to sleep.  Most of us experienced users find the ramp is more of a hinderance than a help and don't use it anymore.  

You may need to keep trying masks until you find THE mask, but understanding what's bothering you about the masks you already tried will help a lot in finding the right one.  

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Hill on December 24, 2010 at 11:04pm

Relax and do not over stress about not making it through the night with your mask on.  Don't look at this as a failure, but a partial success!  Look - you were able to get your mask on and go to sleep with this "thing" strapped to your face - SUCCESS!  You were able to wear it for several hours - Even more SUCCESS!  So there -- You are making progress - Here is a pat on the back - PAT.  What is going on is literally not a "conscious" decision to not wear your CPAP.  Not sure why this happens (I do have some ideas) but it does and with some time, energy and effort your body will grow to accept and accommodate to this rather odd, abnormal therapy.  It took me 6 months to get totally used to it – that included 3 months where I quite due to frustration over what you are going through.  Had I been a little more patient (pun) I would have been 3 months ahead of the game.

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