Keep Taking Mask Off at Night

[Daktari]

I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions that would help me keep my mask on at night. I really want to give this a good try because I've waited my entire life to figure out why I'm so tired all the time. At first I was super excited and very positive about it. Now I've been using the mask for about 1 week and can't seem to keep it on all night. I wake up in the morning with the mask lying beside the bed. I have no recollection of taking it off either. I'm a little discouraaged and wondered if anyone could help.

BTW.. sleep study was 3 weeks ago. Moderate SA with around 70 apneas per night. They put me on a Respironic M series BiPap w/ humidifier. I'm on a 14 / 9 pressure.

[bdp522]

I think most of us did this in the beginning. One thing that might help is to wear your mask with the machine on while awake. Read, watch TV, listen to the radio, anything that will help take your mind off the mask and machine. Start with a short period of time and work your way up. If you can do this more than once a day, all the better.
Is there anything about the mask that bothers you? Leaks, discomfort, slipping headgear? Any of these things may be causing you to remove the mask at night.
Some have had luck just telling themselves 'I NEED to do this and DO NOT remove the mask'. Of course as soon as you realize that you have removed the mask you should but it back on, even if just for a few minutes.

Brenda

[rom623drh4]

I did this a few times because I felt like was suffocating. so I increased the pressure a couple of points and haven't done it since.
wearing it while awake sounds like a good idea that would get you use to the feeling.

[alnhwrd]

Some have reported success using a product called Pur-Sleep, which adds a pleasant aroma to your CPAP air and in theory relaxes your subconcious so that you don't fight the mask and take it off in the night. I have read about people taping the headgear to their face with a bandaid so that if they take off the mask they feel a tweak from the bandaid being pulled off and they wake up enough to not take the mask off. This passes for almost everyone in time, so no matter what keep trying, you'll wake up with the mask on in the morning soon enough.