Newbie having serious issues removing mask at night.

Hi all,

Been on a CPAP for a week and am having some serious problems. I take ambien and have done so for a few years now, did the Sleep study and they found ~20 disturbances an hour. Put me on a resmed 10 autoset with ramps at 4 and pressure from 5-10, and a full face mask. Every morning I wake up and the mask has been removed, I don't remember doing it, and it feels like someone took a wire brush to my throat.

I switched masks yesterday to an Amara View, which I do find more comfortable. Also they provided a chin strap. Problem is, I woke up this morning with it laying beside the bed and the CPAP reporting 2 hours of use time. If I keep getting less than 4 hours my insurance is going to quit paying.

Any advice on what to do? I have this week off but next week I go back to school for finals, and I have been in now shape to function anywhere near the level I should be. I thought using a CPAP would fix thing but atm it is hurting more than helping. Any advice, ANY would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much.

Well, you have to find a way to keep the mask on...possible taping to your face so you will wake up if you pull the mask off. Meanwhile, try wearing the mask with the machine running while watching TV. At least you will accumulate the time needed for compliance purposes.

mtclifford wrote:Hi all,

Been on a CPAP for a week and am having some serious problems. I take ambien and have done so for a few years now, did the Sleep study and they found ~20 disturbances an hour. Put me on a resmed 10 autoset with ramps at 4 and pressure from 5-10, and a full face mask. Every morning I wake up and the mask has been removed, I don't remember doing it, and it feels like someone took a wire brush to my throat.

I switched masks yesterday to an Amara View, which I do find more comfortable. Also they provided a chin strap. Problem is, I woke up this morning with it laying beside the bed and the CPAP reporting 2 hours of use time. If I keep getting less than 4 hours my insurance is going to quit paying.

Any advice on what to do? I have this week off but next week I go back to school for finals, and I have been in now shape to function anywhere near the level I should be. I thought using a CPAP would fix thing but atm it is hurting more than helping. Any advice, ANY would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much.

Use Sleepyhead software and then you'll be able to SEE what's going on and maybe why you're taking it off.

What you're experiencing and doing is very common for many new users. It's been a very frequent topic for the history of this forum. You just need to train yourself NOT to do it.......like the rest of us. It's not normal for us to be sleeping with this stuff strapped to our faces and can be a subconscious reaction to take it off during the night.
It COULD be your pressure settings......too low......pressure changes......too much humidity.......leaks.......


Den

.

Hi, a little something else... you said you use the ramp at 4 for a starting pressure of 5. That means you're not fully treated for whatever time it takes the machine to reach the quite minimal pressure of 5. No point whatsoever in using the ramp at all in that situation (most of us stop using it within the first wk of starting out unless our pressure setting's much higher than yours... so I'd certainly just turn off that feature entirely as it's effectively doing almost nothing but prolonging full treatment.

At some point in your therapy you may find 5 is really not high enough to do the Cpap job you want and you could likely end up setting it higher, but unless it's a LOT higher, you're still not likely to want the ramp.

Try to cut back on the Ambien. That helped me leave the mask on all night.

mtclifford wrote:Hi all,

Been on a CPAP for a week and am having some serious problems. I take ambien and have done so for a few years now, ... <SNIP> ... a full face mask. Every morning I wake up and the mask has been removed, I don't remember doing it, and it feels like someone took a wire brush to my throat.
... <SNIP> ...
I switched masks yesterday to an Amara View, which I do find more comfortable. Also they provided a chin strap. Problem is, I woke up this morning with it laying beside the bed and the CPAP reporting 2 hours of use time.
Thank you so much.

Sorry that you seem to not had a significant reply yet.

"ambien" is a "downer" drug, so that helps create strange sleep and memory problems. If you take other medically active substances (pure-sugars, nicotine & caffeine-type stimulants, alcoholic drinks, etc),
then very often this can create strong sleep behaviours, like mask removals, etc.

Non-CPAP stressors,
along with this novel medical "remedy" might also have temporary effects on everyhing.

You fail to mention whether you still have dry-throat with the second full-face mask. Still?
In mature internet forums, different to this one, there are STICKIE threads, which people like yourself should read before needing to post your issue here.

1) STICKIE -
Explain your equipment, etc

This Stickie has yet to be devised. Like myself, the User Setup here is deliberately unexplained at the moment. When "they" or myself will rectify this, there will no need for you to tell us your equipment every time you post a message here.

2) STICKIE -
DRY MOUTH, THROAT.

This is very common to all CPAP users. Causes and remedies are very well known and easy. Again, I might need to write this myself, since the old timers here canot see the need for it yet.

3) STICKIE -
FOOD, DRINKS, DRUGS, effects.

I have covered this already in another unpopular post on this. I might need to re-write this post as a permanent stickie, as post it elsewhere on the internet, rather than here.

4) STICKIE -
PROFESSIONAL EXPERTS

Again, like in 3) above, this is very well known and covered by myself already. You did not say who is advising you ... one doctor, or a commercial seller? All of these have strengths and shortcomings, just like this CPAP forum that you and I have just discovered.

5) STICKIE -
MASK REMOVED ??

I have not yet written the expert's view on this. It exists, but only inside the head of yet unknown experts. Mask "accidental" removal is SOP: "Standard Operating Procedure". It happens often, especially to newcomers to CPAP changes. CPAP changes include medications, stress, novel equipment, worn-apparatus, etc.

Again the Causes & Treatments are boringly well know.
Unfortunately there is more to my life besides CPAP.
Anyone wanting these Stickies to be written might need to search for CPAP advice, if they cannot find it here.
Apologies to the minority readers here who find experts to be arrogant, remote and off-putting.
I tend to agree with the iSheep - that good, reliable information is worth the large money of money which you are forced to pay for it. Cheap, easily gained information is silly and unreliable, for the Apple iSheep.

mtclifford wrote:Hi all,

Been on a CPAP for a week and am having some serious problems. I take ambien and have done so for a few years now, did the Sleep study and they found ~20 disturbances an hour. Put me on a resmed 10 autoset with ramps at 4 and pressure from 5-10, and a full face mask. Every morning I wake up and the mask has been removed, I don't remember doing it, and it feels like someone took a wire brush to my throat.

I switched masks yesterday to an Amara View, which I do find more comfortable. Also they provided a chin strap. Problem is, I woke up this morning with it laying beside the bed and the CPAP reporting 2 hours of use time. If I keep getting less than 4 hours my insurance is going to quit paying.

Any advice on what to do? I have this week off but next week I go back to school for finals, and I have been in now shape to function anywhere near the level I should be. I thought using a CPAP would fix thing but atm it is hurting more than helping. Any advice, ANY would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much.

mtclifford,

Are you limited to full face masks? The reason why I am asking is I did this constantly with them and it didn't matter which one I wore. Once I switched to the elan cloth mask listed in my profile, the problem completely disappeared.

It could be you find them very uncomfortable and would do better with a nasal/nasal pillow mask. But I realize this advice may not be practical if you are a serious mouth breather.