waking up with mask off

rmwilliamsjr · Post by **rmwilliamsjr** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:17 pm

I've been using a cpap machine now for about 8 weeks.
it is truely a life saver and i feel A LOT better.
why i'm posting is that i've woken up the last two mornings with my mask off.
i don't remember taking it off and i know i can't really sleep without it.
i googled unsuccessfully to see if this is a symptom of something or if it is a normal thing.

does any know? it seems like a really odd thing to do. and i'm going to sleep with the thought "keep the mask on" the last thing i think about.

while i'm here. is more avid and rememberable dreams another symptom of cpap usage? or perhaps just the way my brain is catching up on long postponed dreaming?

thanks for your help.

a very satisfied cpap customer who now will not miss an opportunity to tell people who express the fact that they do not sleep well to see their doctor for a sleep test.

gaggy · Post by **gaggy** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:23 pm

The very same thing has happened to me. I have been on cpap since 8/1.
From what my RT tells me is that you should not to be surprised if you awaken and you have thrown it across the room and don't remember. She said if it got too bad try sleeping with lightweight cotton gloves so it would be harder to get off. I try to set my mind to keep telling myself to keep it on. I felt horrible when I took it off.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:26 pm

rmwilliamsjr wrote:I've been using a cpap machine now for about 8 weeks.
it is truely a life saver and i feel A LOT better.
why i'm posting is that i've woken up the last two mornings with my mask off.
i don't remember taking it off and i know i can't really sleep without it.
i googled unsuccessfully to see if this is a symptom of something or if it is a normal thing.

does any know? it seems like a really odd thing to do. and i'm going to sleep with the thought "keep the mask on" the last thing i think about.

while i'm here. is more avid and rememberable dreams another symptom of cpap usage? or perhaps just the way my brain is catching up on long postponed dreaming?

thanks for your help.

a very satisfied cpap customer who now will not miss an opportunity to tell people who express the fact that they do not sleep well to see their doctor for a sleep test.

Welcome to the forum.
You sound like a success story in the making.

Unknowingly taking the mask of during the night is pretty common at the point you're at now. It's not normal to sleep with something strapped to your face.....so try to convince yourself that you have to stop it.

The dreams mean your brain is getting more oxygen and you're getting REM sleep.....that's GOOD!

Hang in there.

Den

Fletch · Post by **Fletch** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:55 pm

My experience is exactly the same as yours. I got the more vivid dreams and have problems taking my mask off. I found that changing mask to one that doesnt squeeze the face works for me. Odd as it seems I found the less pressure you have around your nose the less likely you are to unconsciously remove the mask

TXKajun · Post by **TXKajun** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 3:04 pm

After 19 months on the hose, once in a great while, I still wake up without my mask. So not really to worry unless it starts happening regularly. Try to convince your subconscious that the mask is your best friend! That seemed to work well for me.

As for the dreaming, yep! Definitely a sign that things are working for you. Keep it up and enjoy!

Kajun

This therapy WORKS!!!

rmwilliamsjr · Post by **rmwilliamsjr** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 3:10 pm

Try to convince your subconscious that the mask is your best friend!

i intuitively thought that this would be the path to take.
i'm just so surprised that i took the mask off, obviously unconsciously, that i am a bit wonderous about why i'd do such a stupid thing. hence the reason for checking in here.

reading more here and elsewhere on the dreams makes me think keeping a dream journal might be profitable. in the past they disappeared from my mind too quick. since using the machine they linger and i can catch a thread into them more easily.

TXKajun · Post by **TXKajun** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 3:27 pm

Dream journals are really cool. I used to keep a cassette tape recorder near my bed and trained myself to use it right after each dream. I'd wake up and listen to what I had recorded and WOWZERS!! ROFLMAO! Some of them were totally outrageous!

I'm not sure how you'd do your dream recording, but keep in mind, the CPAP unit is to help you stay asleep, so don't plan on waking up even enough to record them at night. Maybe if you were to write or record them in the morning, that would work, but keep in mind, if you're like most of us, right now, you need some good, uninterrupted, old-fashioned sleep most of all!

Good luck!

Kajun

This therapy WORKS!!!

KimberlyinMN · Post by **KimberlyinMN** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 6:15 am

rmwilliamsjr wrote: reading more here and elsewhere on the dreams makes me think keeping a dream journal might be profitable. in the past they disappeared from my mind too quick. since using the machine they linger and i can catch a thread into them more easily.

I totally relate to this! Holy buckets for the weird dreams!! (And they seem even weirder as the day progresses.) I honestly feel like I have this backlog of dreams just waiting to get out. Sometimes I wake up in the morning trying to figure out just how I got any sleep because my dreams were so dang vivid. (Mind you, I am waking up rested and alert, not exhausted, from the dreaming.) A dream journal would be a cool idea. I wonder if any of my dreams could become major motion pictures?

Kimberly

waking up with mask off

waking up with mask off

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