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Is it really this difficult?
I was diagnosed about a month ago and got a machine a week ago. My sleeping since has been awful. I have to use melatonin to get to sleep at all, then wake up a couple hours later and just lie there listening to the mask and myself breathing. Does it get easier? I feel noticeably worse than I did before I got the machine. Pretty sad to get something that viciously expensive and it just makes your life worse than it was before. Sorry, I'm just completely bummed out. I had high hopes for this and now. . .
Views: 284
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Judy on
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Well, let's face it, sleeping w/a mask and a PAP blowing air in your nose isn't the way we've slept all of our life until now, and it certainly isn't the most natural thing we've ever done. BUT - if you really want PAP therapy to work for you you are going to have to get more specific about the problem(s) you are having w/PAP therapy.
Mask causing discomfort, sores? Pressure too high? Pressure to low, can't breathe? PAP too noisy? Mask constantly leaking? Mask too noisy?
Share some specific problems w/us and we can probably help you out. We've all been thru an acclimation period w/PAP, some taking to it easier and sooner than others.
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Permalink Reply by Don Dodge on
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Thanks, Judy. The mask is understandably uncomfortable because it's so foreign. No sores, pressure 9 and doesn't seem too high or low, PAP seems to make no noise at all, no leaks, mask is noisy. When I wake in the middle of the night, I seem to just lie there listening to myself breathe in the mask. It seems like I'm breathing consciously, rather than it just happening. I loosened the mask up a bit and had a better night last night. Maybe it's looking up. Thanks, again.
Judy said:
Well, let's face it, sleeping w/a mask and a PAP blowing air in your nose isn't the way we've slept all of our life until now, and it certainly isn't the most natural thing we've ever done. BUT - if you really want PAP therapy to work for you you are going to have to get more specific about the problem(s) you are having w/PAP therapy.
Mask causing discomfort, sores? Pressure too high? Pressure to low, can't breathe? PAP too noisy? Mask constantly leaking? Mask too noisy?
Share some specific problems w/us and we can probably help you out. We've all been thru an acclimation period w/PAP, some taking to it easier and sooner than others.
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Permalink Reply by Bex on
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Oh Don, I so feel your pain! I started on the mask a few months ago and still sometimes find myself waking and listening to me breath. I can tell you that it gets better though. I fought it all the way and hated putting "that stupid thing" on every night, but now it's a habit, part of my nightly routine. I can't say I am in love with the "monster mask" but it has made a tremendous impact on my day. I now can say that I never, never fall asleep in the middle of a sentence, fade out in while in the middle of an appointment with a client or have to pull over to take a nap during a 20 minute ride home from work. Hang in there buddy, I was the biggest c-pac whiner there was and now I'm a believer! (Just check my earlier posts if you want to hear me whine!)
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Permalink Reply by Donna B. on
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Hi Don,
I was diagnosed in August with OSA, it took me over a year to be diagnosed. I was just like you in the beginning, I hated it !
I found these folks at SleepGuide and they kept me going. I asked a lot of questions and each day I would feel just a teeny bit better. It is now 4 months later and I feel like a new person !! I don't have that horrible exhausted feeling anymore and I haven't had to nap in a long time. It does get better, it really does, you just have to take it one day at a time. Please don't give up, it is a new way of life for a better life :)
Donna B.
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Thanks, Donna. I didn't sleep well at all last night, but at least I'm not depressed today. I'm going by the provider and get a full face mask tomorrow to see if it is any better. It helps to know that others have had to face this, too.
Donna B. said:Hi Don,
I was diagnosed in August with OSA, it took me over a year to be diagnosed. I was just like you in the beginning, I hated it !
I found these folks at SleepGuide and they kept me going. I asked a lot of questions and each day I would feel just a teeny bit better. It is now 4 months later and I feel like a new person !! I don't have that horrible exhausted feeling anymore and I haven't had to nap in a long time. It does get better, it really does, you just have to take it one day at a time. Please don't give up, it is a new way of life for a better life :)
Donna B.
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Tried a full-face and a CPAP pillow last night. The pillow is nice, but the full-face has lots of leaks, depending on what position you happen to be in. I don't know if I prefer it to the nasal mask or not. I still woke up several times during the night.
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Ah, Don. My first 30 nights on CPAP were the absolute WORSE 30 nights of sleep of my life!! But then gradual improvement began. Not fast enough for me, of course, since I am a very impatient patient. In my case it took 2 pressure adjustments and I have no idea now how many masks I went thru. From Oct 2006 until sometime last year I know I've gone thru at least a dozen masks. Plus, again in my case, I have COPD so eventually (March 2008) was switched to a bi-level PAP. BUT, as I said, each change brought gradual improvement.
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Hey, Don, most people don't have the problems I had getting the most and best from my PAP therapy. I have COPD which can really complicate PAP therapy.
Vent all you want and need to. Most all of us have been there, done that and even bought the T-shirts.
One thing you can do is on the weekends, in the early evening when you get home from work, etc. take your PAP into the living or family room, don your mask, turn your PAP on and read a book or magazine, work a crossword or jigsaw puzzle, watch TV, whatever occupies your mind w/other than "I've got to get to sleep". It really does help you get acclimated to PAP therapy and mask w/o the stress of needing to go to sleep NOW!.
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Thanks for the idea. I'll give it a shot. I thought last night was going better, then I woke up with the mask lying beside me on the pilow, blowing air on my wife. Hmmm.
Judy said:
Hey, Don, most people don't have the problems I had getting the most and best from my PAP therapy. I have COPD which can really complicate PAP therapy.
Vent all you want and need to. Most all of us have been there, done that and even bought the T-shirts.
One thing you can do is on the weekends, in the early evening when you get home from work, etc. take your PAP into the living or family room, don your mask, turn your PAP on and read a book or magazine, work a crossword or jigsaw puzzle, watch TV, whatever occupies your mind w/other than "I've got to get to sleep". It really does help you get acclimated to PAP therapy and mask w/o the stress of needing to go to sleep NOW!.
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