new at this - CPAP stops me from sleeping....

[Wanderer1]

Hi

I was recently diagnosed (via sleep lab) as having moderate sleep apnea. A doctor recommended CPAP and the hospital that did the lab referred me to a technician who visits them on a weekly basis to meet patients. The idea seems to be to improve the quality of my sleep, relieving my daytime fatigue and reducing my blood pressure.

the technician lent me a CPAP machine with a nose mask - I surprised myself on the first night by actually managing to sleep 4-5 hours (waking up once), but after that the mask became very uncomfortable, it took a long time for me to fall asleep, and I would wake up after an hour or 2 feeling uncomfortable. I removed the mask, eventually slept a few hours, and walked around all day in a fog.

After a week of this I asked the technician for a nostril mask or a full face mask (used by colleagues of mine). The guy told me "OK, but most people find the nostril mask less comfortable than the nose mask, and if you found the nose mask uncomfortable, the full face one will be much worse". I told him that I thought his job was to encourage me, not discourage - and he responded that he had to be honest with me.

Not surprisingly, this has not led to success. I have both masks for comparison. I managed to fall asleep once with the nostril mask, but woke up after an hour with a "dry" feeling in my forehead. Since then (about 10 days ago) I have tried to use the masks alternatively a couple of times, but have not succeeded in falling asleep. After an hour or so I removed the mask, and then found it took a long time to fall asleep. The exhaustion in the morning was horrible, so I have stopped using the machine completely until I see the doctor at the end of this month in the hope that he will have a solution.

I am at my wits' end - can't fall asleep with the CPAP but have no trouble falling asleep without it - am more tired than before I started trying the CPAP 3 weeks ago (even though I am not using the machine) and am about to throw the machine back at the technician when I see him tomorrow. Maybe try another CPAP vendor who a friend recommended.

I chanced upon this forum and it seems I'm not the only person with problems falling asleep with the machine. On the other hand, I have seen it claimed that "most" people adjust to using it. I don't think I can face months of adjustment - I feel I am already falling apart.

Anyone out there who can offer advice/encouragement?

TIA

Wanderer

[zoocrewphoto]

Can you tel us what machine you are using, what pressure settings you have, and what masks you have available? Are you using ramp?

In what ways are the masks uncomfortable? Too tight, leaking, etc. Odds are, somebody here has dealt with the same problems, so we can advice once we know the specifics.

[avi123]

Taking a 10 mg of Zolpidem ( generic Ambien) helped me before CPAPing with my fragmented sleep for years. But long before starting CPAP I managed to withdraw from this drug by cutting the doze in half every week.

When I started CPAP, 3 years ago for plain OSA, I started to take half a tablet of 10 mg Zolpidem at 11:30 pm as soon as I put the mask on my face. This allowed me to fall asleep within 15 min but the sleep lasted for 3 to 4 hours. Then I got up to pee and took another half a tablet (5 mg) which let me sleep for 3 more hours. For the hangover the next morning I took two tablets of Tylenol and for the ingested air I took Pepto Bismol.

After I sort of got used to the CPAP I have decided to withdraw from the Zolpidem. So I repeated my previous method. I think that I could do it easily b/c I kept taking a low dose all along. Otherwise, see here what would be involved in withdrawal:

http://www.non-benzodiazepines.org.uk/zolpidem.html

Presently, I take 0.5 mg of Xanax ER, once daily for anxiety. Also 300 mg of Gabapentin before sleep. Usually, I sleep for 7 hours, with one or two wake ups for peeing.

[sawinglogz]

Mask fit is one of the hardest parts of treatment. Everybody's different. Definitely try more masks, including the same kind of mask from a different manufacturer. They all fit and feel a little different. Folks here will be able to point you to specific ones, but they'll need specifics:

What machine and pressures are you using?

What masks did you try?

When you say "uncomfortable," what specifically do you mean? Was it tight? Did it leak? Did it press on a your cheekbones? Nose? Etc. The more detail you can provide, the more help people can provide with alternatives. There are people here who have tried pretty much every mask known to man.

Also, simply adjusting to therapy can take a while. If you're able to get a few hours with the mask on each night, great! Start with that. When you can't take it any more, take the mask off for the night. Try again the next night. Many people slowly work up to wearing the mask for a full night.

[ellen1159]

Don't give up. I'm in the same position, have had my machine for a month now but haven't been able to tolerate it for long er than 90 minutes. But I keep trying, because I have severe sleep apnea and this is the only treatment likely to help. My life depends on it.

I'm on my second mask and it makes a difference. I used a full face mask during my sleep study because I tend to mouth breathe (allergies, deviated septum). My pressures are set very high because of the degree of my obstruction: 15/25. Feels like gale force winds blowing up your nose and taking your breath away. I'm not going to get used to it overnight (although my ex husband took to his machine like a duck to water, sleeping like a baby his first night at home with it), both the nurse at the sleep center and my own internist told me it takes months for most people to work up to a full night's sleep.

I totally understand you're not wanting to wait that long, I felt the same way a week after I took delivery of my machine and realized that I have to re-train myself how to breathe, I have to make sure the mask fits right (I use a cloth liner to eliminate leaks), and I have to battle the physical discomfort of a dry mouth/throat which even the humidifier doesn't completely eradicate. I know what it feels like to be nearly crazed with fatigue. But the carrot dangling in front of my is the thought of waking up after a full night's refreshing sleep, with no headache or groggy hangover feeling, no nodding off over my keyboard at work, and being able to participate in life again.

I got great advice from people who have been there, done that, on how to acclimate myself to the machine by using it during the daytime and then trying to nap with it on weekends, then putting the mask on after my first awakening before my brain can register fear. The insurance carrier gives me 90 days to show some benefit from the machine, so there's a clock ticking for me, but the severity of my apnea is enough of a motivator to get me to mask up for a while tonight.

This machien is huge adjustment. The people who have no issues from the first use are a minority.

[Pugsy]

Don't understand your terminology for the nose masks.

There 3 main classifications of masks. There are a couple of other variations but not so commonly used.

Full face masks...cover the nose and the mouth in some fashion.

Nasal Pillow masks....use small inflatable little pillows that barely go into the nostrils. Nothing touches the nose anywhere except at the nostrils.

Nasal Mask....cover the nostrils, then end of the nose and rests up on the bridge of the nose somewhere.

Which masks have you tried or are trying now? Specific model name would be really helpful.
https://www.cpap.com/cpap-masks.php

[Xney]

The most comfortable mask is the one that fits your face. Try as many as you can, and don't worry about what anybody "says" about them being comfortable or not.