How to keep from removing my mask subconsciously each night?

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
Bartimaeus
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How to keep from removing my mask subconsciously each night?

Post by Bartimaeus » Wed Jan 28, 2015 3:03 am

I started CPAP therapy in June of 2014, but only lasted for a couple of months. I found that no matter what I do, I consistently remove my mask during the night. I'm not sure I can fully express how disconcerting and even unsettling it is that I seemingly have no control over my own actions. I firmly set in my mind that I will NOT do that again, yet my hands go and act completely against my own will, time after time. I don't remember when I stopped trying, probably August or September.

I told my Doctor about it on October 31, and she said she would order a new mask. I only just got to go in and get it today. They changed me from the AirFit F10 to the Quatro Air. While the Quatro Air is a tiny bit more comfortable than the F10, I'm not at all confident that this will do anything about my issue. It seems to me that I'm going to need a mental or psychological solution. I've heard that this is a common issue for people to struggle with, so I figured I'd ask here. If you've ever experienced this, what tricks have you come up with to convince your subconscious mind to leave the mask alone?

Thanks in advance for any help.

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kteague
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Re: How to keep from removing my mask subconsciously each night?

Post by kteague » Wed Jan 28, 2015 3:36 am

Early on I would take my mask off while asleep. A few things helped me. 1) Getting my treatment dialed in to better assure it wasn't events due to too low of pressure causing me to remove the mask in an attempt to breathe better. 2) Getting a good fit on a mask that was reasonably comfortable. 3) Placing a bandaid or tape across the side straps onto the skin of my cheeks so the pain of removal would wake me and I could stop the act. 4) Time for the treatment to become familiar enough that my sleeping brain didn't interpret it as a threat to be removed. 5) Adopting a mindset of my mask being like a security blanket. After a while I didn't need the tape - just quit taking the mask off for some reason. Guess my brain accepted it as my new normal.

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49er
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Re: How to keep from removing my mask subconsciously each night?

Post by 49er » Wed Jan 28, 2015 3:42 am

Bartimaeus wrote:I started CPAP therapy in June of 2014, but only lasted for a couple of months. I found that no matter what I do, I consistently remove my mask during the night. I'm not sure I can fully express how disconcerting and even unsettling it is that I seemingly have no control over my own actions. I firmly set in my mind that I will NOT do that again, yet my hands go and act completely against my own will, time after time. I don't remember when I stopped trying, probably August or September.

I told my Doctor about it on October 31, and she said she would order a new mask. I only just got to go in and get it today. They changed me from the AirFit F10 to the Quatro Air. While the Quatro Air is a tiny bit more comfortable than the F10, I'm not at all confident that this will do anything about my issue. It seems to me that I'm going to need a mental or psychological solution. I've heard that this is a common issue for people to struggle with, so I figured I'd ask here. If you've ever experienced this, what tricks have you come up with to convince your subconscious mind to leave the mask alone?

Thanks in advance for any help.
Hi Bartimaeus,

Welcome to the forum. First of all, these things happen and you need to start by not being hard on yourself. You took a good step by asking for help on the forum.

First of all, is your nasal breathing optimized because even with a full face mask, if you become congested, it can lead to discomfort and cause you to unintentionally remove it?

Assuming it is, my next question would be are you limited to full face masks due to being a mouth breather? It could also be that you are finding the full face mask uncomfortable which again leads to unintentional removal and might do better with a nasal mask that is less confining.

Additionally, if you haven't done so, I would use the link in my signature to download sleepyhead to make sure your therapy is optimized as perhaps you are having breathing events that are causing the unintentional removal of the mask. Do you know your pressure range by the way as many newbies are set up with a wide open range of 4 to 20 which is a disaster since it will take machine a very long time to react to hypopneas and apneas?

Anyway, these are some of the possibilities as to why you might be removing your mask that I would investigate before assuming you have a psychological or mental problem. No matter what, hang in there.

49er

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Sheriff Buford
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Re: How to keep from removing my mask subconsciously each night?

Post by Sheriff Buford » Wed Jan 28, 2015 6:11 am

Removing your mask at night is not a "mental" problem. It is quite common. Place a piece of small tape on your mask and your face. When you take the mask off at night, it will awaken you and you can put it back on. After a while, you'll stop.

Sheriff

Bartimaeus
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Re: How to keep from removing my mask subconsciously each night?

Post by Bartimaeus » Wed Jan 28, 2015 1:27 pm

Sheriff Buford wrote:Removing your mask at night is not a "mental" problem. It is quite common. Place a piece of small tape on your mask and your face. When you take the mask off at night, it will awaken you and you can put it back on. After a while, you'll stop.
Thanks for the idea. I suppose I worded that part of my question quite badly. I didn't mean to imply that removing the mask was a mental problem. What I had been thinking was that the best solution would be something that I change in my mind or way of thinking, rather than a physical change like getting the new mask. However there have been a few good ideas for physical solutions posted here that I'll be trying.

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LSAT
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Re: How to keep from removing my mask subconsciously each night?

Post by LSAT » Wed Jan 28, 2015 3:36 pm

Bartimaeus wrote:I started CPAP therapy in June of 2014, but only lasted for a couple of months. I found that no matter what I do, I consistently remove my mask during the night. I'm not sure I can fully express how disconcerting and even unsettling it is that I seemingly have no control over my own actions. I firmly set in my mind that I will NOT do that again, yet my hands go and act completely against my own will, time after time. I don't remember when I stopped trying, probably August or September.

I told my Doctor about it on October 31, and she said she would order a new mask. I only just got to go in and get it today. They changed me from the AirFit F10 to the Quatro Air. While the Quatro Air is a tiny bit more comfortable than the F10, I'm not at all confident that this will do anything about my issue. It seems to me that I'm going to need a mental or psychological solution. I've heard that this is a common issue for people to struggle with, so I figured I'd ask here. If you've ever experienced this, what tricks have you come up with to convince your subconscious mind to leave the mask alone?

Thanks in advance for any help.
I think the cushion on the Quattro Air and the F10 are very similar. I don't think the change will stop you from removing the mask. Have you tried just sitting and watching TV with your mask on to get your face accustom to the feel of the mask? You could also try a chin strap on top of the full Face Mask.
Some people tape the mask to their face so they will wake up if the mask is being pulled off.

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Re: How to keep from removing my mask subconsciously each night?

Post by chunkyfrog » Wed Jan 28, 2015 6:25 pm

Even if an action seems to be spontaneous, and appears to be a "mental" thing,
inserting a physical cue, like tape, may involve the conscious mind, and help stop the action.

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justin25taylor
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Re: How to keep from removing my mask subconsciously each night?

Post by justin25taylor » Sat Jan 31, 2015 1:10 pm

I did the same thing when I first started. I tried everything. What finally worked for me was to put socks (tube type) over my hands. A buddy told me about this. Good luck!
Justin

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Bartimaeus
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Re: How to keep from removing my mask subconsciously each night?

Post by Bartimaeus » Sat Jan 31, 2015 2:49 pm

49er wrote:First of all, is your nasal breathing optimized because even with a full face mask, if you become congested, it can lead to discomfort and cause you to unintentionally remove it?

Assuming it is, my next question would be are you limited to full face masks due to being a mouth breather? It could also be that you are finding the full face mask uncomfortable which again leads to unintentional removal and might do better with a nasal mask that is less confining.

Additionally, if you haven't done so, I would use the link in my signature to download sleepyhead to make sure your therapy is optimized as perhaps you are having breathing events that are causing the unintentional removal of the mask. Do you know your pressure range by the way as many newbies are set up with a wide open range of 4 to 20 which is a disaster since it will take machine a very long time to react to hypopneas and apneas?
I'm not quite sure what you mean by "optimized" when speaking about nasal breathing. I don't seem to be having any problems with that aspect, if that's what you're asking.

Yes, I am a mouth breather and have to stick to using full face masks. We tried the other type during my sleep study and it just didn't work well at all.

I tried importing my data into sleepyhead this morning, but it told me that my machine is not data capable. If it isn't data capable, why is there an SD card in it?

My machine is using a constant pressure setting of 8. I don't have a pressure range, unless you are talking about the ramp function. I can choose to have it start off at 4 and ramp up to 8. Maybe I should try that again. I had a great night Thursday night, but removed the mask again last night. Thanks for the help though.

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grayghost4
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Re: How to keep from removing my mask subconsciously each night?

Post by grayghost4 » Sat Jan 31, 2015 3:02 pm

I don't know how else to say this ..... you got stuck with a "Brick"
go back to the DR. and ask her to prescribe a data capable machine "DS560P
If you're not part of the solution you're just scumming up the bottom of the beaker!

Get the Clinicians manual here : http://apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-press ... tup-manual

Bartimaeus
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Re: How to keep from removing my mask subconsciously each night?

Post by Bartimaeus » Sat Jan 31, 2015 3:26 pm

grayghost4 wrote:I don't know how else to say this ..... you got stuck with a "Brick"
go back to the DR. and ask her to prescribe a data capable machine "DS560P
I would love to have a data capable machine, but I'm doubtful that they would go along with changing it only for that reason. They don't expect us to be looking at that anyway, right? If the machine is giving me the pressure it's supposed to, their attitude is going to be that it is working as intended. Now if I had noticed this issue within the 30 day return window, I might have a chance. That's what I get for giving up on using it for all of these months until now.