Newbie~problems with mask, machine, etc

Sheila777 · Post by **Sheila777** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 4:29 pm

I was recently diagnoised with sleep apnea, major fatigue, etc. I had a sleep study and was told I was stopping breathing up to 10 times per hour. They gave me the machine set at a 9.

I hate it, somewhat clausterphobic, but mostly because I have to get up to go to the bathroom like a million times each night & to put it back on is very difficult. Any suggestions?

Help! I can feel myself stop breathing numerous times per night & I feel like I am going to die of a stroke, heart attack or something.

Sheila~ Central WI

Stefernie · Post by **Stefernie** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 4:41 pm

The bathroom trips should get less cuz your sleep will be deeper.

Tell us about your setup...what kinda mask and machine do you have? And what kinda mask issues are you having? Leaking, etc.

Believe me, SOMEONE on here has the same mask as you and has probably fixed it...more than likely involving duct tape or velcro.

Other than that, it's just something we have to adjust to. It isn't easy. It's taken me seven weeks and I'm STILL not 100% compliant. Just stick with it and wear your mask EVERY. NIGHT. TRY your best to wear it all night.

Good luck and keep us posted!

drummergirl410 · Post by **drummergirl410** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 5:13 pm

Hi, and welcome!

Oh, in dealing with restroom visits... if you aren't doing this already.... an easy short cut is to leave the mask and headgear on and detach the hose from your mask. Then just wear the apparatus to the restroom and reattach when you come back to bed. Somewhat awkward at first but easier than taking off the headgear completely.

My only caution is that you might be more sensative to smells when you first detach the hose. I had to do that last night during titration study and the "bathroomy" smell was a bit of an issue at first. It went away really quick though.

Panhandler · Post by **Panhandler** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 5:23 pm

Sheila:

You're on the right track, and the comments you've received so far parallel my experience, about six months ago. For the first week, I was struggling, making tiny adjustments to the mask and headgear from the way the therapist set them up. Finally in frustration, I took the whole thing apart and started from scratch. It seemed much better. Since that time, I've pretty much taken charge of my own treatment, and while I wouldn't go directly against medical advice, the initiative is all mine.

There is a wealth of information on this forum from people who are in the trenches every night.

You might get more specific help if you were to edit your profile and let us know what equipment you're using. (It will automatically show at the bottom of your posts.)

Welcome aboard.

Sergey45 · Post by **Sergey45** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:48 pm

drummergirl410 wrote:Hi, and welcome!

Oh, in dealing with restroom visits... if you aren't doing this already.... an easy short cut is to leave the mask and headgear on and detach the hose from your mask. Then just wear the apparatus to the restroom and reattach when you come back to bed.

Yes, this is much easier than putting the head gear again. It comes with experience thou.
Also I am trying to restrict consumption of any liquids 2 hours prior going to bed. There is a lot of thing called sleep hygiene.