I Just Can't Do It

NYLady · Post by **NYLady** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 7:19 pm

I've had my CPAP since last summer and can't sleep more than 3 or 4 hours with it and I'm yanking it off. This is my second mask... I had a full mask first and I couldn't sleep at all. Now I have the pillow one and I can fall asleep but can't stay asleep. I wake up more with the machine than I did without it.

I am a very restless sleeper and do a lot of flipping and I'm not sure what happens but it starts hurting or pulling or becoming dislodged... probably due to my restless sleeping. I sit up yank it off, throw it on the floor and go back to sleep.

It seems like I dream all the time without the machine and with it I don't.

I am sooo tired and fatiqued. I wish I could sleep with it.

I'm hoping they will come out with something I can live with.

sleepycarol · Post by **sleepycarol** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 7:27 pm

Many of us have been on the quest for the "perfect" mask. If you have just tried two masks that is probably where your problem lies.

It may take several masks to find the one that will work for you.

I have tried the Fisher and Paykel 431 full face mask, Snapp, Ultra Mirage Nasal, Nasal Aire, Comfort Lite 2, Comfort Curve, Breeze, Infinity, Vent Lab, Ultra Mirage Full Face, and others.

Check with your sleep lab and see if they have a mask fitting at their lab where you can try different masks at your pressure. If not, check with your local DME that you are using and see what their return policy is -- many will let you use a mask for up to 30 days and return it if it doesn' work out for you.

If you are purchasing without insurance and on-line purchase the additional insurance or trade on the forum with other members via the roulette thread, try craigslist, eBay, or cpapauction for good used masks.

Please fill out your profile, along with your pressure so we might be able to make suggestions to help you find a mask that will work for you.

Read our collective wisdom (the yellow lightbulb above) and the red question mark for additional help on masks fitting and modifications to help make the masks more user friendly.

RipVW · Post by **RipVW** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 7:27 pm

Hello NYLady,

Many of us just cannot tolerate a nasal pillow mask like the one you're using. Have you tried a nasal mask or a full face mask?

mbrown · Post by **mbrown** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 7:29 pm

Have you had a sleep study? Did they find any restless leg syndrome or any other reason that you might not sleep soundly? How bad was your apnea to begin with?

Have you tried different pressures and such or are you on the same pressure as the beginning?

More information might help the form to give you some suggestions at least to try.

sleepycarol · Post by **sleepycarol** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 7:31 pm

I see where you did fill out your profile -- thanks. Sorry I missed it.

With a nasal mask you will have to be sure you are not leaking your therapy out your mouth. Many users leak out their mouth and it makes it difficult if not impossible to get adequate therapy.

You have a Remstar Plus machine. This machine is adequate for many users but does not supply any data in order to track your therapy. Do you use a humidifier with it? If so what type of humidifier do you have?

What is your pressure set at?

NYLady · Post by **NYLady** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 7:37 pm

I do have restless leg syndrome.

My pressure is set at 10

I can't afford the humidifier... haven't really had a problem with dry nose or anything.

The full mask was worse... I couldn't fall asleep at all. The pillow was good...for a few hours.

My insurance has a $1000. deductible before they will pay. I bought my machine online for just under $300 and paid another $69 for my masks.

mbrown · Post by **mbrown** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 8:13 pm

Are you being treated for the restless leg syndrome? If not, you might do a search for treatments and see wht you think would be most effective.

Other than that, many people on here have tried at least a dozen masks before hitting the right fit. Everyone is a little different. I have tried four masks in just over a month of therapy and am still switching out depending on how my nose feels after wearing the nasal pillows.

Good Luck! Think Positive!

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kteague · Post by **kteague** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:11 pm

Hi. Do you also have Periodic Limb Movement Disorder in addition to RLS? I have these and they sabotaged my cpap therapy. Are you being treated for the RLS? Does your sleep study show many arousals from the movements? If a person has OSA and PLMD, both can cause arousals. If the apneas are stopped by cpap, for some that allows the PLMD to worsen and cause more arousals. Can you talk to you sleep doc about this? I was a quitter on cpap, and between the three disorders, went downhill so badly I was too willing to revisit cpap treatment.
Kathy

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MartyR · Post by **MartyR** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 6:26 pm

sory to hear aboutthe strugles- i am new at this (only amonth now)

thus far i have only be able to sleep 2-3 hours night with themask, but i do feel better than when i want using it at all.

hang in there try some of the advice form the more experienced folks on here

lifeartist59 · Post by **lifeartist59** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 11:46 pm

I really feel for the woman who posted this, I also struggle to use my machine longer than a couple hours. I did some searching online and found this article on a RT group's webiste:

"Is CPAP compliance really low?
There is no standard definition of CPAP compliance because there is no definite agreement on frequency and duration of optimal CPAP treatment. In some studies,47,49 new patients were expected to use CPAP effectively for at least 4 hours on 70% of the days to qualify as regular users. Moreover, when discussing CPAP compliance, we need to differentiate between three types of CPAP compliance: subjective—based on patient reports; objective—based on the time treated with CPAP; and effective—based on the actual time a patient is treated at an appropriate pressure. While patients tend to subjectively overestimate their CPAP use by up to an hour, objective compliance recorded with hour counter meters is surprisingly close to effective compliance obtained with true pressure-time recordings.

Second, is subjective and objective improvement in symptoms equivalent to good compliance? We believe it is. It is known that CPAP use correlates with symptomatic improvement. No definite agreement on the minimum CPAP requirement exists. Early studies have chosen 4 hours as a cutoff point and today, after 8 years, that seems to be a fairly close estimate.47,49

CPAP has a residual or carry-over effect, which can decrease the severity of OSAS for the rest of the night..."

I now try to make myself use it 4 hours if at all possible, but I still sometimes stop at 3.5 if my nose is stuffed by then. At least I am getting some benefit from it and the article went on to say that residual effects are generally up to 3 hours after use of the machine. Maybe this article can encourage her to keep trying since she is getting some benefit at 3-4 hrs?[/b]

sharon1965 · Post by **sharon1965** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 6:23 am

i couldn't stand the swift...i don't know what improvements have been made to the swfit II, but i still don't want to try it...i don't think it's a good option for restless sleepers, IMHO...at least this restless sleeper (me)

i agree with sleepycarol...two masks is not a fair trial for most people (i know there are some out there who nailed it right off, but i wasn't that lucku)

by the time i had been on cpap 3 months i had gone through 8 masks...i gave each one time to try work for me, but not enough time to discourage me from continuing therapy, which i think too much time on the wrong mask can definitely contribute to if not cause

i've been on the same type of interface since last april, but today i have a fitting appointment for a new mask, in the hopes of improving my therapy even more

i strongly suggest trying more interfaces before coming to any conclusions, along with the suggestions about researching anything else that could be causing arousals

sharon

lifeartist59 · Post by **lifeartist59** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:17 pm

I noticed several people say they went through a significant number of masks before they found one that worked. How did you manage these, did you pay for them yourselves? I was told that my insurance will only cover one mask every six months at the earliest.. and I have already purchased one myself. I think paying for many different masks perhaps is cost prohibitive for many people, any ideas?

dieselgal · Post by **dieselgal** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:25 pm

If you can do it at all I would try to get a humidifier. I was having troubles recently sleeping and even though I didn't think it was having the humidifier to low it turned out to be that!
Also I move a lot at night turning from side to side. I have tried several masks. All but one purchased by me (mostly before Ebay quite allowing the sales) Even though I really wanted to use a pillows mask I find that I can't because it does dry out my sinuses.
I now have 3 mask that work better than others. The Activa is the best for me and most active sleepers. I also like the Somnoplus and the F&P 407.
It is expensive trying different masks, but maybe you can use the Roulette thread to trade one that doesn't work and try something else.

sleepycarol · Post by **sleepycarol** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 4:54 pm

My insurance has paid for 2 masks -- a Fisher and Paykel 431 and an Optilife. The rest I have purchased from eBay, cpapauction, traded on the roulette thread and with other forum members. eBay has put a stop to most masks sales and so if you do happen to find one there if it has a buy it now use that option as the ad maybe pulled prior to the auction ending. Cpapauction has lots of great buys on masks. Many have been gently used and all they need is a good cleaning and you are good to go. I did purchase a few masks from craigslist as well.

Unless I picked up these masks at a reasonable price or traded I would be unable to afford them.

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