I QUIT!

trying 5 different kinds of masks over the week I have had the machine...no success. If it isn't too tight, it leaks. My setting is 14. I have gotten less sleep trying to constantly adjust masks during the night, I just don't want to try anymore. I didn't have this problem in the sleep study and have used the same kind of mask! I have read all the suggested mask threads also.

Anyone know any good use for a brand new CPAP machine other than a door stop?

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Wow, that question might get you some answers you didn't anticipate. Considering your frustration after five nights of misery, I'm going to take the high road and just suggest to you that it's far too soon to give up. An investment of 1 week is not enough in view of your decision's potential impact on your entire future.

You won't be the first to have quit for a while. I did for a few months. But you probably should hang on to that machine, many return when they realize whatever brought them to this point in the first place has only worsened. Then they are starting over when they could have already achieved success in working things out.

But, if you want to give some redeeming value to the thought of quitting, you could choose someone who desperately wants and needs a machine but can't afford one and has no insurance, and bless them with it. Better than wasting away in the closet. Or there's always the auction. Of course that's if it is not a rental.

Hopefully in the morning light you'll feel that since you've survived this ordeal one more night, you'll keep going for that next one more time. You've got 7 good reasons to not give up.

About those masks, trying them for a night may give you an idea which are your least favorite, but cannot be counted as an adjustment period. Revisit the ones that were the least uncomfortable, leaked the least, etc., and give it a chunk of time to get used to it and tweak if need be. Cpapauction will love you.

Hang in there.

Kathy

I sure understand your frustration with masks. I think mask issues are the main reason people drop out of cpap treatment. I hope...really, really hope...that you'll be able to find a way to make one of the masks work for you.

You may have (probably have) already tried these things, but I'll go through my litany in case it might help a new user who hasn't tried them:

1. Rig a way to hang the main air hose overhead.
LINKS to Hose hangers and methods of managing the air hose
viewtopic.php?t=10640

2. If you have a mask that you think would be ok "if only" it didn't keep shifting out of place during the night and springing leaks...stabilize it with a homemade strap. The leg cut off a pair of pantyhose tights (not regular pantyhose..."tights" material is a little thicker and stays in place better as a "strap."

Even though the mask in these retouched pictures is a "Headrest" mask (a mask that was formerly called the Aura and the Twilight NP) the kind of homemade strap(s) routing can work with many other masks, including traditional nasal masks and full face masks:



To keep a homemade strap from slipping up and down on the slick plastic front of a traditional mask, stick some adhesive backed pieces of velcro at strategic spots on front of mask. The velcro will "catch" the pantyhose tights material, reducing chance of slippage (geeze, that's not a word, but it describes it well. lol ) Slipping.

You know how you can reach up and lightly, ever so lightly, press with the tips of your fingers on the front of a mask that's leaking...and stop the leak? That's the same idea behind using that "leg" strap to put a little bit of pressure on the front of the mask. Doesn't take much pressure at all, so the homemade strap doesn't have to be tight. Another plus is that you usually don't have to wear the mask's own straps as tight, when you have a helping "leg" doing some of the stabilizing.

Might take some trial and error to figure out the best routing for one or two homemade straps, but that sure can make a tremendous difference in keeping a mask fairly leakproof throughout a toss'n'turn sleeper's entire night.

Here's a link to a website that shows the kind of knot that works extra well, for tying the homemade strap behind head. This knot stays flat, is easy to adjust during the night, doesn't come loose until you want to take it off in the morning; very easy to take off then.
http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/doublestartknot.htm

There are quite a few masks that I absolutely have to use at least one "leg" strap with to make them be usable at all. They would be leaky disasters on me if I didn't put that extra strap around the front. My favorite mask for the past two years would become dislodged and leak like crazy if I didn't use the extra strap. It would be absolutely unusable for me instead of being my most comfortable favorite.

If instead of leaks, the problem is traditional masks (traditional meaning nasal mask that covers the nose, or full face mask covering nose and mouth) hurting the face, I'd switch to nasal pillows masks -- and use that homemade pantyhose tights strap to cradle the nasal pillows slightly upward and more against the nostril openings. Again, that strap doesn't have to be tight.

Mouthbreathing or mouth air leaks? If a chin strap ineffective to stop that, and the person thinks they have no choice then but to use a full face mask.... there are ways to stop mouth air leaks so that you can wear masks that might be more comfortable (if you can breathe out of at least one nostril):
LINKS to: Mouth leaks - Air Leaks - Tape - DIY Guard
viewtopic.php?t=8011

I was a bigtime mouth breather in my sleep. Used full face masks my first several months. Hated how I couldn't lay the side of my face comfortably against a pillow. Tried chin straps, but air would still gush out no matter how tight I did the chin strap, even to the point of clenched teeth. Began taping my mouth instead. Only then was I able to switch to MUCH more comfortable (for me) nasal pillows masks...with the added infamous leg strap, of course.

Taped my mouth for three years...every night. No problem. Amazingly, since this summer I've been able to stop using tape. Chin straps had never worked for me before, but they do now. Possibly the years of mouth securely taped shut allowed my tongue to finally form the habit of staying in a leakproof position. Tape was a necessity for me for a long, long time though.

You've probably read the "Lab Rat Awards" fixes for various masks, daddyof7 and maybe none of the tweaks worked for you. This link is for new readers:
LINKS to Lab Rat Trophy awards
viewtopic.php?t=15104

Hope you get your mask problems worked out and eventually post your own fix to help others.

Good luck!

Hey Guy,

I've been wondering how my doc would look wearing the mask!

Tonight I bought a new pillow from target. $25. has both down & feathers and can be shaped to any contour you want.

My memory foam pillow and regular pillow were both pulling my mask off. I could not sleep sideways. This pillow helps a lot because my mask also sinks in it. But, it's just a regular pillow, spendy because it has both down & feathers in it.

I've been as frustrated and ready to quit as anyone. I don't blame you one damn bit! I have still not slept through the night, even after 2 months. But, I am up to 4+ hours and that is good.

Even if you quit for awhile, don't give away the machine. try it later - and CHECK YOUR PRESSURE - I could not breath out on 11 and now it is at 9 which works much better.

good luck

The graveyard id full of people with your attitude.
If, at first, you do not succeed, quit.

If you tried 5 different masks in one week, then you are not giving either a chance.
It takes TIME and patience and a positive attitude.
If you use your reasoning powers to think the mask leaks because it is not tight enough, then you are doomed to ffailure.
Counterintuitive, yes, but a loose mask is better.
Your health, your life, your choice.
Take a deep breath
and start oveer.

trying 5 different kinds of masks over the week I have had the machine...no success

This might be the problem. It can take several nights before you get a mask tweaked just right for you. It also takes time to adjust to wearing a mask/hose/machine. You haven't given it a fair chance. You need to stick to one mask for a few nights and tweak a bit each night(maybe several times a night). By changing masks so often, you aren't giving any of them a chance to be tweaked enough to work. I do hope no one told you this would be easy. It can be very, very hard. BUT once you get it working for you, you will be so gad you stuck with it!
Try posting each mask you've tried and what tweaks you have tried on them, and what problems you had with each(be detailed in the post). Then you can get input on other tricks to try for each of those masks. Sometimes it's the tiniest thing that will make the difference!
It helps to keep telling yourself that it WILL be worth it in the end!

Brenda

Who didn't feel like quitting after the first week! It just isn't an option. Put those masks on when you're awake, not tired & grumpy. Tweak them to get the most comfort so it will be all ready for the next night.
It sounds like maybe you're using full face masks. Do you have to use one of those? You can train yourself to breathe through your nose. I wouldn't give up until I tried a Nasal Aire II!
Read all the mask threads & try the ones that seem to be favored by the most posters. List the kinds of masks, someone may be able to give you some help with a specific mask.
It really does get better! Bite the bullet!

What masks have you tried? Have you tried nasal, pillow, and full face? I'm sorry to hear about your frustration and hope you can find a mask that suits you. When you find the right combination, CPAP therapy is life changing. It has greatly improved my quality of life as I'm sure CPAP has improved countless others on this forum. I recently started using a ComfortFull 2 and found it to be the most comfortable mask for me. I had similar problems as you with the Resmed Quattro and the New Version Breeze. I found an inexpensive ComfortFull on the cpap auction site and decided to give it a try.
viewtopic/t23869/CPAPAuctioncom--Find-D ... Money.html

You can also try trading your current masks for others until you find something that works for you.
viewtopic/t19546/Play-MASK-ROULETTE-Giv ... -mask.html

Best of luck.

Have you tired the Resmed Activa nasal mask???

I actually started out with the Activa. I have tried several other masks(a total of about 9 I think.) and I have came back to the Activa every time.

I don't even look at mask any more. Activa is the most confotable mask I have found and it DOES NOT LEAK!!!!!!

About the only complaint I have about the Activa is.... I do wish the exhaust port was quiter.

I've often thought that the way I came to know that I have SA made it easier for me to accept the cold hard fact that I have to make the therapy work. Undiagnosed SA lead to complete respiratory failure,near death, and a long expensive hospital stay. I came home on a walker with a trachea tube in place. A sleep study showed severe SA(pressure 20)and an RX for a BI PAP that allowed one pressure (20) for inhale, and another lesser for exhale. I was lucky in that my mask(Ultra Mirage) worked for me after small adjustment over the first week. Your machine shows straight pressure (14) with no relief for exhale, maybe this is a big part of the problem. daddyof7, it sounds like with seven counting on you, you have to find a way to be compliant. You have some of our most learned posters(not me)here to help get you through this therapy. Good luck

[quote="daddyof7"].......... I have gotten less sleep trying to constantly adjust masks during the night, I just don't want to try anymore. ............

Hey Daddyof7, I assume you have some kids from your screen name. If that's so, I suspect that your kids need you and need you to be healthy and alert. I have grown kids and one reason I care about making this work is that I want to watch my young grandkids grow up and have fun with them. Given my family history, without cpap, I could have a stroke instead. That's not how I want to relate to them.

When you are sleep deprived it's hard to figure things out, like how to get the mask to work for you. Been there, done that. I just couldn't figure out stuff like that too well at first, but I made it my main priority.

What about the mask you used during your sleep study? If it worked then, it should work now. OOps, I reread the original post and see you are using that one. How was the sleep study different? Perhaps the person who helped you put the mask on that night can help you with making it fit better. Since this is such an important issue, it would be worth it to see if you can get their help.

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Reading through the responsed to your post, twice, I just could not find anybody in support of you quitting. Even considering the opportunity to maybe get a cheap machine from you did not garner support.
So, that should tell you how important this therapy is to your health. It is not easy or there wouldn't be sites like cpaptalk. There is nothing you are going to face that the people on this site haven't already faced. You will find support, answers and suggestions here.
Don't give up on the therapy. You did not give your body near enough time to aclimate mask and sounds. You should also not make more than one change a week, not five. It took me a month to feel somewhat comfortable with my mask. But, I worked with it a lot while watching TV while laying down in a sleeping position, reading and playing on the computer. It's much easier to get used to it when you have some distractions rather than laying there in the dark hearing and feeling everything.
Put on the most comfortable of your five masks and work with it for a week or two. You'll find yourself back here telling us about each small success you have.
Tom

As other have stated... you might also see if you can get an AutoCPAP and I would also recommend the M-series with A-flex. That could make the treatment a lot more comfortable. Also, I believe you need a data capable machine and card reader to be able to track you therapy. Without it.... you are kind of flying blindly.

Please don't give up.

I've been at it for 6 weeks. Like you I did much better before cpap, until now I hope anyway.

I have fought masks like you night after night, had rain out took forever to get that solved. I had chimpmunk cheeks, you name a problem and I've had it.

There were many a time that I was fed up and ready to throw it in the closet, but I kept reminding myself of the health problems esp. the heart.

I already have 3 stents and have had 2 heart attacks. Any more and its.
by-pass surgery. I also remind myself of my brother, he died at the age of 56 from a heart attack due to OSA. He had refused to wear his mask.

I am hopeful that I finally have solved most of the problems as the last two nights have been good. And I do feel better.

It is very frustrating to say the least, but please please don't give up. Your not alone in this, there are lots of us fighting to get it right.

Love to all
Pam

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