Need Advice About Adapting to Mask

I think in my first post I lumped too much together and didn't make clear what I was really asking. So I'm going to try again, in a way that I hope will more clearly communicate where I could use help.

Background: When I first started using this Dreamstation contraption, I actually liked it. I found it amazingly comfortable (I am using the nasal cushion mask, which makes it particularly easy to move from one side to the other, which is what I tend to do all night) and remarkably quiet. I actually found the start of the air blowing into my nose reassuring! But after I stopped using it for a bit due to a back muscle injury and then a bad cold, I've been having a hard time adjusting to it again.

Problems:
1) I can't seem to ignore the sound anymore. My husband claims he can hardly hear it, but to me it sounds like Darth Vader is right in my ears.
2) I am too aware of it and thus tensing my neck and face too much, which is redoubling my neck tension habit and causing a return of bad headaches and stiff neck.
3) I can't use this mask without a clear nose, but I know that relying on Afrin night after night can cause rebound nasal stuffiness, so I feel like I'm stuck in a Catch-22.

Any suggestions of how to approach any of these problems? I would love to find a way to think about it/approach it/deal with it that would help me go back to the initial comfort I found with it.

Thanks for listening and for any advice anyone might have.

I threw my machine away after about a week. Air kept blowing from the mask into my eyes.

1) I can't seem to ignore the sound anymore. My husband claims he can hardly hear it, but to me it sounds like Darth Vader is right in my ears.
First, make sure your hose is not lying on your pillow or your mattress. They work as sound conductors, which may be why you are hearing the Darth sounds. Hanging your hose on your headboard or a hose hanger may help.
Jiggle your mask so that the side you are lying on is not conducting sound through your bones to your ear. It's a little challenging with the Dreamwear because the side supports are also air chambers. You may want to consider a different mask.

2) I am too aware of it and thus tensing my neck and face too much, which is redoubling my neck tension habit and causing a return of bad headaches and stiff neck.
Some deep breathing or guided meditation, perhaps?

3) I can't use this mask without a clear nose, but I know that relying on Afrin night after night can cause rebound nasal stuffiness, so I feel like I'm stuck in a Catch-22.
Don't use afrin. Consider a netti pot, or at least some saline nasal spray and a good blow before bed. Treat allergies if you have them. Try adjusting the humidity up or down to see if it helps. You may need a full face mask if a stuffy nose is a consistent problem.

If you are hooked on the Afrin then you might try eliminating from one nostril at a time so the rebound isn't so bad.
Use lots of something like Simply Saline....maybe something like Flonase too. Afrin Rebound is a bitch but you have to quit using it to get past it. Been there myself.
You can google "Afrin Rebound" and read up on why it happens and various methods of getting past it.

The Pammy wrote:I threw my machine away after about a week. Air kept blowing from the mask into my eyes.

Great...you most likely saved a garbage collector's life. If you have a family, I would increase your life insurance.

LSAT wrote:

The Pammy wrote:I threw my machine away after about a week. Air kept blowing from the mask into my eyes.

Great...you most likely saved a garbage collector's life. If you have a family, I would increase your life insurance.

Wrong thread, LSAT.

Janknitz wrote:1) I can't seem to ignore the sound anymore. My husband claims he can hardly hear it, but to me it sounds like Darth Vader is right in my ears.
First, make sure your hose is not lying on your pillow or your mattress. They work as sound conductors, which may be why you are hearing the Darth sounds. Hanging your hose on your headboard or a hose hanger may help.
Jiggle your mask so that the side you are lying on is not conducting sound through your bones to your ear. It's a little challenging with the Dreamwear because the side supports are also air chambers. You may want to consider a different mask.

I have the hose hanging over my headboard. I'll try playing with the mask side supports a bit. When I tried all the mask options in my initial appointment, this one was the only one that didn't make me feel claustrophobic. And I do like that the hose is at the top of my head, rather than like an elephant's trunk. But maybe I should ask if I can try a different one for a bit, now that I'm somewhat used to using the thing?

Janknitz wrote: 2) I am too aware of it and thus tensing my neck and face too much, which is redoubling my neck tension habit and causing a return of bad headaches and stiff neck.
Some deep breathing or guided meditation, perhaps?

Probably worth trying. I assume I'm not the only one who hates how the apnea diagnosis seems to loom so large in my life...

Janknitz wrote: 3) I can't use this mask without a clear nose, but I know that relying on Afrin night after night can cause rebound nasal stuffiness, so I feel like I'm stuck in a Catch-22.
Don't use afrin. Consider a netti pot, or at least some saline nasal spray and a good blow before bed. Treat allergies if you have them. Try adjusting the humidity up or down to see if it helps. You may need a full face mask if a stuffy nose is a consistent problem.

I confess that I can't bring myself to use a Neti pot. I do use saline; I also use Flonase and Zyrtec daily for allergies. I seem to have a humidity setting that is working now. Even before the apnea I had problems with occasional overuse of Afrin, because for some reason I am just uncomfortable breathing through my mouth, and I especially have problems switching back and forth between mouth and nose breathing. I'm thinking about seeing an ENT.

One would think that the machine blowing air into my nostrils would help combat the stuffiness. I keep circling back to the idea that much of this might be in my head and that the most important thing for me is to find a way to relax and forget about the machine being there.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Pugsy wrote:If you are hooked on the Afrin then you might try eliminating from one nostril at a time so the rebound isn't so bad.
Use lots of something like Simply Saline....maybe something like Flonase too. Afrin Rebound is a bitch but you have to quit using it to get past it. Been there myself.
You can google "Afrin Rebound" and read up on why it happens and various methods of getting past it.

I use Flonase and saline. I will try the one-nostril-at-a-time method--thanks. If that doesn't work, I will send my husband to sleep in the guest bedroom (so I can snore freely!) and go a few nights without Afrin and without the APAP to get past the Afrin rebound.

I don't know what to tell you about your issues with noticing the Darth Vadar sounds more now than you did before. It sounds like your brain is wanting to hyper focus on it because your brain has decided that maybe it doesn't like the mask and is having problems coming to grips with using it.
It worked well for a while so we know it will work. It's not like it never worked.
I know that sometimes I notice the sounds more than others and I also know that those sounds don't change but it's my perception of them that changes.

Next time you notice the breathing noises put your fingers in your ears and see if the level of noise changes. For me the level of loudness doesn't decrease and may actually increase. This is because the noise is more of a conductive noise than it is from the machine or mask itself.
Conductive in that the breathing gets amplified by the hose, machine, mattress etc.
Now some masks seem to promote more conductive noise for some reason than other masks. I don't know if changing masks will help or not but it might.

I still occasionally get the Darth Vadar noise no matter what mask I use. What I do or have done is instead of focusing on how annoying the noise is I try to change my focus to something else or welcome the noise and then the noise goes away.
We know the noise never really changes but the brain no longer seems to care about it.
Some people use some sort of white noise to help fool the brain but for me with the noise being more conductive than it was out in the room (your hubby doesn't hear anything so it's not out in the room) I didn't find that white noise was much of a help. Now maybe some white noise will give you something else to focus on and help the brain not focus on the Darth Vadar noises. Might be worth at least trying.

I believe if you are a little low in magnesium this can make you a little more
tense and sensitive to sound. It goes without saying I am not a Dr and am not
advising this but If it were me I might try a long hot bath with a lot of epsum
salt. Your body can absorb some of it right through the skin. Good luck . Oh I don't
mind the noise but my pet bird really hates it,

Woody wrote:I believe if you are a little low in magnesium this can make you a little more
tense and sensitive to sound. It goes without saying I am not a Dr and am not
advising this but If it were me I might try a long hot bath with a lot of epsum
salt. Your body can absorb some of it right through the skin. Good luck . Oh I don't
mind the noise but my pet bird really hates it,

That is an interesting point. But I do take extra magnesium at bedtime, and when I take a bath before bed, I add epsom salts, and I haven't noticed any difference on those nights...

Pugsy wrote:I don't know what to tell you about your issues with noticing the Darth Vadar sounds more now than you did before. It sounds like your brain is wanting to hyper focus on it because your brain has decided that maybe it doesn't like the mask and is having problems coming to grips with using it.
It worked well for a while so we know it will work. It's not like it never worked.
I know that sometimes I notice the sounds more than others and I also know that those sounds don't change but it's my perception of them that changes.

Next time you notice the breathing noises put your fingers in your ears and see if the level of noise changes. For me the level of loudness doesn't decrease and may actually increase. This is because the noise is more of a conductive noise than it is from the machine or mask itself.
Conductive in that the breathing gets amplified by the hose, machine, mattress etc.
Now some masks seem to promote more conductive noise for some reason than other masks. I don't know if changing masks will help or not but it might.

I still occasionally get the Darth Vadar noise no matter what mask I use. What I do or have done is instead of focusing on how annoying the noise is I try to change my focus to something else or welcome the noise and then the noise goes away.
We know the noise never really changes but the brain no longer seems to care about it.
Some people use some sort of white noise to help fool the brain but for me with the noise being more conductive than it was out in the room (your hubby doesn't hear anything so it's not out in the room) I didn't find that white noise was much of a help. Now maybe some white noise will give you something else to focus on and help the brain not focus on the Darth Vadar noises. Might be worth at least trying.

Thanks for all of this. I did the fingers-in-the-ears test and discovered that the sound is not conductive at all: when I block my ears, everything goes silent. So maybe I will try ear plugs. I also think you are right: my brain is hyperfocusing on it now because it has decided it doesn't like the mask and is having trouble dealing with it. So I will need to figure out some ways to convince my brain it is all okay.

It all seemed so easy when I started this adventure, and I was so relieved that it wasn't a bigger deal. I wish my brain wasn't fighting me on that now. Sigh.

Sleep2Dream wrote:relying on Afrin night after night

This could be your problem. "Chronic Trouble Sleeping" and "Nervous" are two of the listed side effects of Afrin. Gramps absolutely cannot use Afrin - it will keep him awake for hours.

Sleep2Dream wrote: I can't use this mask without a clear nose

Have a consultation with an ENT/Allergist. Using CPAP is so very important to your health and life.

Sleep2Dream wrote:go a few nights without Afrin and without the APAP to get past the Afrin rebound.

That is a poor way to deal with Afrin "withdrawal".

Here is the best way to get rid of rebound congestion from discontinuation of Afrin:

- Use it in one nostril only. The other nostril will be congested. It should clear up in three to four days. Then you can discontinue Afrin in the first nostril. After three to four days both nostrils should be clear.

ChicagoGranny wrote:

Sleep2Dream wrote:go a few nights without Afrin and without the APAP to get past the Afrin rebound.

That is a poor way to deal with Afrin "withdrawal".

Here is the best way to get rid of rebound congestion from discontinuation of Afrin:

- Use it in one nostril only. The other nostril will be congested. It should clear up in three to four days. Then you can discontinue Afrin in the first nostril. After three to four days both nostrils should be clear.

Thanks. That is actually what I have ended up doing. So far (two nights in), I'm managing.