Child taking cpap off in sleep

[Danielsmom]

Hey,
My son (16) keeps taking his cpap off in his sleep. If I’m up I can get it back on him, but by morning it’s off again. He’s getting maybe 1-3 hours a night. Some night we are lucky and gets 6. Any tricks to keep it on? Suggestions? He does wear it for at least 30 min before bed to try and train himself, but it’s been about a year of this. Doc says he has no help. We’ve tried all the different mask types. I’ve tried taping the connections closed. He has mental health issues and it’s exacerbating his symptoms. Any help, suggestions is appreciated

[Pugsy]

Bump to get Danielsmom's attention because she keeps getting new accounts and posting duplicate posts...
Use this account name...it's been approved and you can post with it.

[colomom]

I understand your frustrations my son was 16 when he started CPAP and it took him many months to keep the mask on thru the night. Do you or your son have any idea of what the issue could be?


In my son’s case he had no memory of pulling off the mask, thru trail and error we found solutions, not sure if they will work for your son but, perhaps what worked for him can give you a few ideas of things you might try.

Hose management:
My son is a restless sleeper the hose was constantly getting wrapped around his neck and arms. The combination of a hose hanger and a switching to the Dreamwear mask which has a hose connect on top of the head really helped.

Leaks:
A proper fitting mask is important, you say your son has tried many the key question is is he comfortable with his mask? For my son after a few tries we found a mask that was comfortable, but it wasn’t enough. My son is a restless sleeper and often rolls onto his side which can cause leaks, getting a CPAP pillow that has cutouts in the side for the mask helped lesson the leaks.

Expectations:
The vast majority of people diagnosed with sleep apnea are elderly and the majority of those people get frustrated and quickly give up on therapy. Kudos to you son and you for sticking it out, few 16 year olds have the perseverance. Keep at it and don’t loose hope, he’ll get there!

[tlohse]

Just keep trying is all I can say what works for some might not work for others but there is the right mask and cpap for everyone. I have found mine and soon you will figure it out.

[Danielsmom]

Thanks @colomom. What were some of the other things you did? he has tried a mask with a hose on top. We have several different mask. Most recently we had him try using a hoodie to keep it on. They've prescirbed sleep meds, those dont help.........I will check out the hose hangar. He isnt aware that he pulls it off. He is cooperative when I check on him and put it back on.

[chunkyfrog]

Comfort is key.
You failed to mention the mask he wears.
If the provider supplied a full face mask, then I totally understand.
I can not tolerate that much coverage while sleeping--though I can wear a "daytime" mask.
Fear of confinement is a very basic response--especially while sleeping.

[tweeter829]

After starting CPAP months almost a year ago, more nights than not I would take the mask off in my sleep. This went on for seven months until I bought an alarm that monitors the amount of oxygen in your blood. It works like the oxygen sensors that are placed over your fingertip. It is a ring that you wear on a finger, and it connects to your phone via bluetooth. On the app you set the alarm to ring when your oxygen level drops to a certain point. The ring vibrates (very weakly), and it sets off an audible alarm on your phone. The only problem is that the audible alarm will only go off if you have the app on the phone to the screen that shows the oxygen level displayed, AND the phone has to stay awake. That burns the battery down quick. I have the app set up on an old phone that I only use for that, and I turned the brightness on the display way down. The battery on the phone makes it through the night, barely.

Wellue Overnight Oxygen Saturation Tracker with Notification for Low O2 Level and Heart Rate, Free APP PC Report for Sleep Insights

[Dog Slobber]

...
The only problem is that the audible alarm will only go off if you have the app on the phone to the screen that shows the oxygen level displayed, AND the phone has to stay awake. That burns the battery down quick.
---
I have the app set up on an old phone that I only use for that, and I turned the brightness on the display way down. The battery on the phone makes it through the night, barely.

Why don't you just keep the phone on the charging cable overnight?

[tweeter829]

If I wake up in the night and look at the screen it is bright enough to read, but not so bright that it "wakes me all the way up," and the next day I need to charge the ring again, and the ring and the phone take the same amount of time to charge, so it all works out.