straps hurt back of neck

I am so sleep deprived, I can't see straight! I've had my cpap machine/mask for 9 months now. 1st month was great. After that things went down hill. I injured my neck 12 years ago and the straps kill the back of my neck! I've checked out all my other options & Cpap is the only one for me. machine puts out extreme pressure because of how severe my sleep apnea is. Sleep study showed that I stopped breathing 50 times in 1 hour! last 30 days I've averaged less than 4 hours per night with mask. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Welcome to the forum!
We need a little more information from you. Please fill out your profile listing your make and model of your CPAP machine and mask. Additionally, we need your pressure settings and, if you are using any sleep analysis software, the name of it.

Hang in there!

There are different mask with a different type of head gear.. .there are some that don't go on the back of you neck.

Good luck!

Jalatyis,

Welcome to the forum.

It would help us help you if you would take the time to fill out your profile and tell us about your equipment. In particular, since you say:

I injured my neck 12 years ago and the straps kill the back of my neck!

We need to know the exact make and model of the mask you are using. The size of the headgear would also be useful if you are using a mask that comes in different sizes. As a general idea, it sounds like you may have the headgear adjusted too tightly. Or this particular mask's headgear is hitting the back of your neck in all the wrong places and a change of mask (or even mask style) may be needed.

machine puts out extreme pressure because of how severe my sleep apnea is.

We need to know what "extreme pressure" means to you. Some people feel overwhelmed by 8 or 9cm of pressure; others have to use 18+cm just to keep their OSA under control. But in general it is harder to fit masks for very high pressures. So we need to know just how much pressure you are using.

You're mistaking severity of apnea with the need for high or low pressure - not at all the same thing. You may have very mild apnea, but because your particular airway/throat anatomy is narrow, require a higher pressure to do the job... and if you have severe apnea (and others have been far worse actually than you) you may still only need a low pressure of air if your airway is of an adequate size to benefit from that. Severity of apnea does not correlate to how much pressure you need. Period.

I have updated my profile information. Any suggestions?

My thought is that it might be a good idea to visit your DME and explain the difficulty you're having, and ask to see other masks and headgear ... to see if you can find something that doesn't hit your neck where this one does... as another poster has mentioned, some headgear can avoid the back of your neck. This could mean changing to a different mask style, i.e switching from FF to pillows... I don't recall what you currently use. I think you would actually have to see the headgear rather than look at pictures on cpap.com, but by looking there you could at least see the many different styles of headgear.

Another thought Is that maybe a neck brace with the headgear over that would work, if you can manage sleeping that way. It would keep your neck in proper alignment, and the headgear wouldn't aggravate it. I'm not sure I would be able to sleep that way, but sometimes we do what we have to for a good night's sleep. Maybe just a big piece of foam to wrap around your whole neck, fasten with Velcro and then put the headgear on... Good Luck!

Jalatyis wrote:I have updated my profile information. Any suggestions?

Yes -- have you tried a nasal pillow mask? My Aloha mask, for example, has a back strap but it is much higher up than the back of the neck, doesn't contact the neck at all. And there are other NP masks that would work too.

What about just a small slice of memory foam under there...?

Jalatyis,

You really are using very high pressures. It can be difficult to seal a mask at those kinds of pressures.

Some things to consider trying:

1) Loosen the headgear as much as possible. Yes, this may increase some leaks in the short run, but if the head gear is appropriately loose, then you might be able to reseat the mask by simply tugging it away from your face.

2) Make sure that you are adjusting your mask at your full pressure levels. You may be overtightening the headgear in an effort to eliminate leaks. It looks like the mask you are using has an air cushion. If that cushion can't fully inflate, you get leaks, but the correct thing to do is to try to loosen the mask straps and pull the mask away from the face to allow the cushion to fully inflate and settle back down against your face.

3) You might want to try a strap pad/cushion of some sort. If padacheek doesn't make one, send her a message from here padacheek.com web site and tell her exactly what you need.

4) Julie's idea of using a small slice of memory foam under the offending strap is well worth trying.

5) Changing the mask to one with a different headgear is worth investigating. There are people who can successfully use nasal pillows or a nasal mask at pressures similar to yours. The nasal pillows masks' backstraps usually do not touch the neck at all.

Thanks so much for all the suggestions! I'm meeting with my ex mother in law tomorrow to see about putting some fabric/cushion on the headgear to see if that helps.

With all due respect to your mother in law, I think memory foam would be a better choice in terms of function and fit, etc. Fabric may only encourage leaks and add to the pressure you feel.

Jalatyis wrote: I injured my neck 12 years ago and the straps kill the back of my neck! Thanks

I am very sympathetic to your issue.

I also have neck problems which make me very sensitive to headgear with straps across my neck and scalp.
In my first 30 days, I went through 3 masks before ignoring the biased and incorrect opinions of my DME.

First mask - WISP nasal mask could not seal with my original prescribed pressure: minimum EP 12cwp, minimum Pressure Support 8cwp, maximum IP 25cwp which resulted in average IP pressures over 23cwp.
Second - ESON Full face mask quickly caused almost unbearable headaches. My record for keeping it on is 11 minutes.
Third - AirFit F10 Full face mask was better than the ESON due, I believe, to wider and better-positioned straps. Unfortunately the strap pressure to make it seal was excessive and it too generated headaches. Record for persisting was a just a tad over 4 hours, and it still would not seal properly even with the cinched down straps.

At this point, my 30-day mask exchange with the DME ended so I bought my own masks for trial.

Fourth - Aah yes, some relief at last. The TAP PAP was a huge improvement over the preceding three masks! NO HEADGEAR was needed as it is anchored with a dental appliance. It also proved that nasal pillows were easily capable of handling high pressure - neatly contradicting my DMEs claims.

It also revealed that I was an drop-jawed, cheek-puffing, loose-lipped mouth breather! And that was a good thing because it led me to try mouth tape and a soft cervical collar. These enhancements reduced Large Leaks while enabling another reduction of my AHI. And formed the basis for choosing my current and likely long-term mask choice.

Also of great benefit, the Tap Pap reduced Large Leaks sufficiently well that, after the comments and support of experienced members here who examined my SleepyHead data, I was bold enough to reduce my minimum EP pressure and minimum Pressure Support to much more manageable levels. This has worked very well.

Fifth and maybe final mask - The Airfit P10 nasal pillow mask does have straps. However they are so tiny, and the nasal pillows require so little force to keep in place, that I now can sleep straight through for seven+ hours with no headaches at all. My Large Leak rate is now near zero due to the surprisingly comfortable mouth tape and soft cervical collar I mentioned. And my obstructive apneas are now consistently below 2 AHI.

There is a mask and pressure solution out there for you too Jalatyis. Keep questioning and striving until you find it.

Best of luck!
Dennis

deforeman wrote:There is a mask and pressure solution out there for you too Jalatyis. Keep questioning and striving until you find it.

for many people, finding the right mask is the hardest part.

I'm glad the p10 is working for you!

palerider wrote:for many people, finding the right mask is the hardest part.

I'm glad the p10 is working for you!

Mask selection has certainly been the biggest part of my CPAP experience to date.
The Airfit P10 was a big step forward in comfort and minimizing LLs. It looks like a long-term keeper .

PR your assistance in mask selection and your comments on my Sleepyhead data have been a major factor in my progress, and I thank you for it.

As you doubtless have nothing better to do
here is SH Night 44 of my cpap experience: