my mask wont stay on my face

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
cuteangel1963

my mask wont stay on my face

Post by cuteangel1963 » Mon Sep 01, 2014 2:33 am

i started using a cpap about a week and a half ago but every morning when i wake up the masks is not on my face. the guy who brought the machine here said soemthing about medicare wants me to use it a certain amount of time each night. any ideas on how i can get this mask to stay on? should i call the guy who brought the machine to me?

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49er
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Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2012 8:18 am

Re: my mask wont stay on my face

Post by 49er » Mon Sep 01, 2014 3:40 am

cuteangel1963 wrote:i started using a cpap about a week and a half ago but every morning when i wake up the masks is not on my face. the guy who brought the machine here said soemthing about medicare wants me to use it a certain amount of time each night. any ideas on how i can get this mask to stay on? should i call the guy who brought the machine to me?
Hi cuteangel,

If you could use the link in my signature to fill out your equipment profile, that would be a good first step so forum members could better tailor their responses to your situation.

It is pretty common for newcomers to therapy to unintentionally take the mask off due to not being used to the sensation of having it on the face. Which mask do you have? Is it comfortable? If it comfortable, perhaps find a way to make it difficult to remove the mask so that if you do, you will wake up and be aware of it. Of course, if you have a hard time getting back to sleep, this is not useful advice.

Another strategy to try if the mask is comfortable is to position yourself in the bed as far as possible from the machine to make it harder to take mask off and then turn the machine off.

If the mask is not comfortable which could be a cause of you intentionally removing it, I would definitely call the guy who bought the machine to you and let him know you want to try another mask. Most DMEs provide a 30 day return policy but make of this when trying them out because they all seem to do things differently. Some of them will let you try as many as you want while others have a strict limit which could be low as trying just two.

Regarding medicare, in order to be in compliance, you have to use it at least 4 hours a day for a certain time period. Have a vague memory that this has to be 70% of the time but hopefully, folks who know better than me can chime on this.

Best of luck to you.

49er

cuteangel1963

Re: my mask wont stay on my face

Post by cuteangel1963 » Mon Sep 01, 2014 4:10 am

my mask is swift fx nano and it is very comfotable. i think someone mentioned a chin strap. would that help?

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49er
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Re: my mask wont stay on my face

Post by 49er » Mon Sep 01, 2014 4:20 am

cuteangel1963 wrote:my mask is swift fx nano and it is very comfotable. i think someone mentioned a chin strap. would that help?
Definitely possible. Wouldn't hurt to try.

49er

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Julie
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Re: my mask wont stay on my face

Post by Julie » Mon Sep 01, 2014 6:24 am

What helps is taping the cheek straps to your face (use blue painter's tape... won't hurt coming off) to make it harder to remove the mask, hopefully enough so you wake up, reposition the mask, and go back to sleep without losing it entirely.

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chunkyfrog
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Re: my mask wont stay on my face

Post by chunkyfrog » Mon Sep 01, 2014 10:23 am

You can also wear the mask with the machine running while watching TV or reading
to desensitize yourself to whatever is making your "bad self" take it off.
(and also to get your hours up to at least 4.1 every night.)
Be sure to let your doctor know about your problem,
---in case you need an extension to your compliance period.

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