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How Well Do You Sleep Hooked-Up To A Machine Blowing Air Up Your Nose?
This may seem like a foolish questions, how could anyone adjust to sleeping with a less than comfortable mask, firmly attached to your face? To further complicate your sleeping arrangements, the mask is connected to a machine that blows a steady stream of air - right up your nose. If this proposal was suggested to a non-sleep-apnea-person, they would probably say, "Get out of here, no one could get any zzz's hooked-up to a contraption like that." It would surprise them to know that many apnea patients sleep better, and deeper than they did before being hooked to the strange air-blowing gadget.
How do you sleep? Is your sleep better, worse, or 'bout the same? I would like to know how people have adjusted to this unique way of sleeping.? What about your hose, do you have a creative way of puttting it some place - any place? You can guess, it is an on-going problem for me. And, have you been awakened by a small but persistant sensation of rain drops tricking into your nose. Can you share any solutions with all of us?
Like may of you, I have life-long sleeping problems - maybe all of us were born with a form of pre-apnea sleep disturbances. BUT, I surprised myself. My sleep is actually better and deeper than it was before I started sleep therapy. That doesn't occur every night, but often enough that I feel encouraged. But, I would appreciate anyone sleep tips.
How do you sleep? Is your sleep better, worse, or 'bout the same? I would like to know how people have adjusted to this unique way of sleeping.? What about your hose, do you have a creative way of puttting it some place - any place? You can guess, it is an on-going problem for me. And, have you been awakened by a small but persistant sensation of rain drops tricking into your nose. Can you share any solutions with all of us?
Like may of you, I have life-long sleeping problems - maybe all of us were born with a form of pre-apnea sleep disturbances. BUT, I surprised myself. My sleep is actually better and deeper than it was before I started sleep therapy. That doesn't occur every night, but often enough that I feel encouraged. But, I would appreciate anyone sleep tips.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mike on
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I think it's mostly psychological. most of us, pre-apnea, feel "entitled" to sleep without a strange contraption attached to our faces. reasonable expectation for someone without apnea, but not so reasonable if you stop breathing from time to time throughout the night, sending your body into a fight or flight struggle for survival, and the only thing you have to do to live longer and happier is, yep, attach a strange contraption to your face every night for the rest of your life. small price to pay to breathe/ live another day, in my opinion. so the first thing is to re-set your expectations about what should be -- that you should be able to sleep without a mask on. that's the biggest challenge. everything else falls into place from there:
the hose -- buy a hose buddy or some other type of contraption to keep the hose out of your face -- throw a fleece snuggle hose cover on your cpap hose to make it warm and comfy rather than cold and irritating
the rain out problem -- first, try reducing the humidifier setting. that should reduce the amount of moisture you get.
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Permalink Reply by Judy on
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Well, I use a simple nasal cushion mask so I' ve never been aware of "air blowing up my nose" - except when I've tried and used a nasal pillows mask. (And I even eventually got used to that).
My sleep is decidedly better since starting CPAP - but I still have a way to go to get this bi-level "tweaked just right" for me. Still I"m doing better w/bi-level than w/CPAP. I have a mask w/a really easy, free-swinging hose swivel so the hose have never really been a problem for me. I've hung it over the head of the bed and I've taken it under the covers w/me.
The only time I encountered "rain out" (condensation in hose and/or mask) was during my first titration. I did have problems w/a hose cover my last local titration as the material of the hose cover didn't slide well over the blankets, etc. and was a PITA.
To avoid "rain out", keep your CPAP lower than the head of your bed, hang your hose over your head on the wall or headboard, take your hose under the covers w/you, make or buy a hose cover (you want a slippery material), or buy an Aussie heated hose.
Your hose tugging on your mask is a common cause of mask leaks. Hanging your hose above your head or clipping it to the front of your PJs to stabilize it and reduce or prevent the hose tugs can be a big help in reducing leaks. Therapy leaked out into the night, whether from poor mask seal or mouth leaks is therapy lost. Always look first to your reported Leak rate and keep your leak rate w/in acceptable limits.
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Michael, not to shamelessly peddle products that i sell, but to tell you the truth, i'd recommend as a first step getting a supportive pillow that won't allow your face to sink into the pillow, thus establishing conflict between the mask and pillow where the pillow will undoubtedly win. the pillow i use, and recommend highly and without reservation is The Oxygen Pillow. It's pricey, but for something that you spend a third of your life lying on, i think it's worth an investment equal to what I easily spend on a new pair of shoes.
Michael Reams said:The air in the nose was the easy part. I just want to figure out a way to sleep on my side without messing with the seal, and I will do that.
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- we have a tiny family member in intensive care, and I have not been able to follow this thread.- I came home, and it was relaxing to read the first of the replies., I noticed Mike gave the definitive answer to why we willingly wash & assemble our gear, put on the masks, turn everything on for the night.
He said, "If the only thing you have to do to live longer, & happier is, yep attach a strange contracption to your face every night for the best of your life. IT IS A SMALL PRICE TO PAY."
He summed up the big picture, the reason we pay the small sacrifice of wearing a mask at night - is that it gives us the opportunity to live. Our pre-apnea condition, could not give us this hope..RuthR
Thanks for the interest in this thread - I'll have an opportunity to study the answers later, I appreciate the replies from anyone, everyone with more experience than I have. RuthR.
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Permalink Reply by Glen England on
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I consider myself lucky. I have a heated hose and have never experienced rainout, ever. I have no problem sleeping on my side and have mostly no trouble doing so while maintaining and adequate seal, though I had to move to a full face mask because I kept breathing thru my mouth too much. How some can NOT breath thur the mouth when you are alseep! Anyway, I love my CPAP! My wife suggested camping a few months ago, when the weather gets nice she said. When I mentioned needing to take a generator, she nearly laughed at me, but, then I reminded her of my CPAP. I would not want to go without it. Though, sometimes, if I get a bad cold, I HAVE to because I am so congested I cannot tolerate CPAP, then I am miserable the next day because of the lack of CPAP. Neither I nor my wife have any problems with the mask plastered to my face. The only problem we encounter is that I cannot answer the phone by our bed anymore due to the mask on my face so I have to hand it to my wife if we get a call early in the morning. My sleep is most decidedly better since my other bed partner next to my wife became my CPAP machine. :)
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Permalink Reply by Karen on
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Being a side sleeper, I constantly had the problem of leaks whenever I turned over to my side. Since I purchased the PAPillow, I now sleep peacefully with no mask leaks. The support this pillow gives my neck and spine is an added bonus. No longer do I wake up with aches and pain in my neck.
Mike said:Michael, not to shamelessly peddle products that i sell, but to tell you the truth, i'd recommend as a first step getting a supportive pillow that won't allow your face to sink into the pillow, thus establishing conflict between the mask and pillow where the pillow will undoubtedly win. the pillow i use, and recommend highly and without reservation is The Oxygen Pillow. It's pricey, but for something that you spend a third of your life lying on, i think it's worth an investment equal to what I easily spend on a new pair of shoes.
Michael Reams said:The air in the nose was the easy part. I just want to figure out a way to sleep on my side without messing with the seal, and I will do that.
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good to hear that the PAPillow is serving its purpose! it's amazing how sometimes the smallest changes can make all the difference.
Karen said:Being a side sleeper, I constantly had the problem of leaks whenever I turned over to my side. Since I purchased the PAPillow, I now sleep peacefully with no mask leaks. The support this pillow gives my neck and spine is an added bonus. No longer do I wake up with aches and pain in my neck.
Mike said:Michael, not to shamelessly peddle products that i sell, but to tell you the truth, i'd recommend as a first step getting a supportive pillow that won't allow your face to sink into the pillow, thus establishing conflict between the mask and pillow where the pillow will undoubtedly win. the pillow i use, and recommend highly and without reservation is The Oxygen Pillow. It's pricey, but for something that you spend a third of your life lying on, i think it's worth an investment equal to what I easily spend on a new pair of shoes.
Michael Reams said:The air in the nose was the easy part. I just want to figure out a way to sleep on my side without messing with the seal, and I will do that.
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Permalink Reply by White Beard on
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Ruth This is a good question since I have probably more difficulty with sleeping than most people! First off I sleep in a Fowlers position, I cannot lay flat so I have an adjustable bed and sleep in a semi sitting reclining position! I also have Chronic Pain problems, so frequently I am woken up from my sleep from pain! Even though I am treated for it 24/7! It is however a challenge to sleep with a seemingly thousand mile an hour wind blowing up your nose and into your mouth all night long! You would probably cringe if you saw what I look like with my mask on,I use the ResMed Liberty mask and I have modified it with a couple christmas lite clips and hair elastics to keep the nasal pillows in place with the high pressures! I also have to have supplemental Oxygen with my ASV but I finally got 30 feet of oxygen tubing so I could put the concentrator in another room, those things are unbelieveablly noisy!
One thing that I do with my XPAP hose is I make an extra loop in the tie strings on my sleep pants or sleep shorts, and I put the XPAP hose through that loop so that the hose will stay centered and not pull the mask from either side. It works extremely well with me sleeping in a sitting or reclining position! There is no question about whether I sleep better or not? I most definitely do, I was diagnosed with severe complex sleep apnea with severe Oxygen desaturations, ( down in the 60% range) my Doc told me if I did not use the machine it was not a question of if I was going to die? but just a question of when? from either a heart attack or stroke in my sleep, from the prolonged oxygen desaturations! Well that was enough insentive for me to keep using the machine!
I might also add for 18 months prior to getting my VPAP Adapt SV I went through Hell! I started off on CPAP and then CPAP with supplemental O2 then BiPAP with O2, in 18 months I had six full in house sleep studies, most were titration studies, during that time I continued to get worse, actually with each increase in pressure my central apneas also increased! , I didn't know that at the time though, just as I didn't know that I had a sleep Doctor that did not believe in the ASV technology, he thought it was to new and unproven! It wasn't till he got sick and I had to go to another sleep specialist that I then found out that the sleep center had been recommending and ASV titration study since the second time I went there, My new Doctor ordered the ASV titration study and last May I got my machine, and the rest is history! What a Godsend that machine has been! With in two weeks of having the machine my severe night sweats disappeared, as did the nocturia, and with in 3 months the tiredness and fatigue was finally losing its grip on me! I still have my days now and then but I would never ever quit using my machine, I will not ever willingly go back to that dreaded Sleep Apnea Brain Fog!
My tips especially for a newbie would be, Attitude, keep a positive attitude, if you think you can do it you can! Patients, you didn't get sleep apnea over night and the symptoms from it will not go way over night either! be patient with your treatment and especially with yourself!, Persistence try try and try again, do what ever you need to do to make XPAP work for you! Perseverance, you never give up, never ever! you force your self to use the machine and mask every night all night long! Humor, a big huge dose of humor will get you over the rough spots, and keep things in perspective for you! And come to forums such as this for help, advice, and support and just to vent your frustrations, I think most of us has done that a time or two! And of course, the friendship and just knowing your not alone in this CPAP adventure is probably one of the best things that helps! I know that it does for me!
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White Beard, I needed a little destraction when I came home this evening. I decided to see what you had to say. I am more than distracted, With your history, it is a miracle that you are alive. Pain for 24 hours of the day, without a break, However with complex apnea, the stress of oxygen - and its noise, you sound to me like a positive person, and you have to be a brick mentally.
I would like to see the way you have rigged your mask, and all your equipment - I call that creative genius. Do you think that the reason your Sleep Center didn't find a way to let you know you were on the wrong equipment - was that they are bound by some strange form of medical ethics? It seems like you suffered cruel & unusual punishment by having that information blocked..
I am very new to sleep therapy, and I feel guilty saying this to you - with all the extra severe problems you experienced, but I have not found it easy to adjust to cpap.I have minor problems compared to yours, and actually it puts them in perspective to hear what you have gone through. Instead of complaining, you say your new machine is a Godsend, well I say you are remarkable..
I have only been at Sleep Guide a couple of weeks - I began cpap in mid January, and I banged around a couple of forums, but found them very busy and I felt lost in them. Since I began here, I have not petitioned anyone to be a friend - but I was smitten by your site marker - There is so much likable humor in that,, I asked you to be a friend, and I thank you for accepting. I think I will be calling on your expertise in this CPAP Adventure. My best to you friend, Ruth
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Ruth I carved that figure, it is a self portrait of me. I made that in a sculpture class I took 5 or 6 years ago. So that is pretty much what I look like. I am glad that you asked me to be your friend! I Thank You! The main reason I did not know about what the sleep center was recommending was I was uneducated in the ways of Sleep Apnea, I did not go to any of the sleep apnea web sites till September of 2007, and I was first diagnosed in January of 2007. I just trusted my sleep doctor who was a neurologist, I found out that he was not only a quack when it come to sleep apnea, he wasn't a very good neurologist either! He diagnosed me with Parkinsons, and had me on medication for it, my new neurologist just sent me to Rush movement disorder clinic in Chicago and guess what? I don't have Parkinsons, and I have been weaned off all the Parkinsons medication!. That is the good news, the bad news is they are not sure what is wrong but they are recommending more test! I will see my neurologist the end of this month! Anyway I will be more than happy to help you in anyway that I can, on your new CPAP adventure!
I wish you only the best my friend....White Beard
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Permalink Reply by Rhonda McPherson on
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I was sleeping with the mask. When I got up in the middle of the night and went back to sleep I would forget to use it. I would have an irritation around my nose and mouth. Sometimes I wouldn't put the mask on anyway.
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If I get up in the night I usually don't take my mask off I just disconnect the hose from it and leave the mask on! I have it set up so when I disconnect the hose the machine automaticly turns off and when I reconnect it and start breathing the machine turn on! Of course with my mod it's easier to do it that way, rather than going through the trouble of taking the mask off and then having to put it back on!
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