CPAP newbie problem

johncuse1948 · Post by **johncuse1948** » Sun Dec 28, 2008 11:23 am

Before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea I was able to fall asleep within five minutes. Now, I am constantly waking up, adjusting my mask (ComfortGelFull Face)for leaks. As long as I stay sleeping on my back everything is fine, it is when I move to my side, I incur the leaking, Help !!!!!!!!! Is it just me or does everyone go through this?

John in Syracuse

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Sun Dec 28, 2008 11:47 am

Hi John,
For many of us the first nights are definitely not what we thought we bargained for. I called those first week "sleep apnea boot camp".

I was helped tremendously when I read the suggestion to let the hose dangle freely from above - there are many sophisticated solutions - my SOS one was a picture hook, a clean shoe lace tied to the hook on one side and to a hair scruncy on the other, and the hose through the scruchy. That way I could turn over freely from side to side, without having the hose snag and pull my mask away from my face.

rested gal's LINKS to Hose hangers and methods of managing the air hose
viewtopic.php?t=10640

O.

alnhwrd · Post by **alnhwrd** » Sun Dec 28, 2008 3:52 pm

Leaks can be caused by your mask being too loose. They can also be caused by your mask being too tight! They can be caused by your mask being the wrong size for your face. I use a product called Mack's Silicone Ear plugs to reduce leaks. You can get it in most drug/variety stores like Walmart, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, etc. It comes in 6 or 12 lumps of silicone and is normally used to plug the ears before swimming. What I do is take one of the lumps, break it in half, and roll one half between my palms to form a rope of silicone about 1/8" wide. Do the same with the other half. Take the ropes and place them around your mask cushion where it touches your face to form a kind of gasket. You should use about one lump, more or less. Put your mask on and kind of smoosh it down on your face. It should help you reduce your leaks. Good luck!

goose · Post by **goose** » Sun Dec 28, 2008 4:09 pm

Hey John,
Welcome to the board.....Look at the two icons above, "New Users" and "Our Wisdom".....You'll find a wealth of information there regarding problems and solving them - and alnhwrd is absolutely correct -- it could be too tight, or it could be too loose....It's just one of the dichotomy's we have to figure out in our treatment.....

My wife used to be shocked that I could come home from a class or work and be in bed snoring within 5-10 minutes....It takes her hours to come down......Now, it takes me 20-30 minutes to actually fall asleep and I do wake during the night when my mask leaks, but I also have to note that it doesn't seem like I "wake up"......I just make a slight adjustment to the mask to stop the leak and I'm toast again......It's not like waking up, gasping for air with the associated "body freak out" that was happening before treatment.

I'm not totally familiar with that mask, but I'd tweak it a bit -- either tighten or loosen as necessary for comfort. Keep in mind that the silicone membrane needs to be able to inflate, so you don't want the mask cranked down too tight. (My secondary mask is a ComfortGel Nasal -- I'm not sure if the FF is similar or not). Try the hose hanger suggestions as it will get the hose out of the way.

Keep coming back for help when you need it -- that's what we do here......
Also, keep us up on how you're doing....
Good luck and take care
cheers
goose

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Sun Dec 28, 2008 4:42 pm

johncuse1948 wrote:Before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea I was able to fall asleep within five minutes. Now, I am constantly waking up, adjusting my mask (ComfortGelFull Face)for leaks. As long as I stay sleeping on my back everything is fine, it is when I move to my side, I incur the leaking, Help !!!!!!!!! Is it just me or does everyone go through this?

John in Syracuse

John,

WHICH "Syracuse" do you live in? New York or another state? I happen to be familiar with the one in Nebraska.

Feel free to register on the forum. That way, you can list your equipment and pressure and people can PM you or you can PM other people. (PM means Private Message)

I'm not familiar with that mask, either, but if it's not fitted properly (including wrong size) it can make for problems. Even when everything is "right", it can take awhile to get used to this therapy. Bed pillows can make a HUGE difference with how masks work, too. There are a number of different ones that are made for (or work better with) this therapy than the "normal" pillows we used before we started therapy.

Den

johncuse48 · Post by **johncuse48** » Sun Dec 28, 2008 5:14 pm

Thank-you for all your suggestions !! Happy to have this forum to get useful tips. Looking for a long and beautiful friendship with all of you

John from Syracuse, NY

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