No memory of taking off mask

[btesterman]

Well, my quest to find the right settings had a snag last night. I woke up this morning to to find my mask lying on my pillow - have no idea when or why I took it off during the night. I've read other posts to see that this is not uncommon but it sure does feel weird. I'm guessing I was not feeling comfortable (feeling suffocated again?) and my body's response was to get rid of the offending factor. I'll try again tonight! I'm ashamed to say that when I woke up it felt good to be without the mask! I know, however, that in the long run I will feel better overall when I wear it and get the AHI down.

[calamityjane403]

I can sympathize with you. I not only would take my mask off and not remember I would sometimes wake up in the morning with an entirely different mask on. Blows my mind that I can completely disconnect one mask, hook up another and put it on with no idea that I have done it.

[bearded_two]

The mask is foreign and uncomfortable when you first start using it, you are just getting rid of an irritant. You will gradually stop taking it off at night as you become accustomed to using it.

[harry33]

it helps to tape mask to face so the pain will remind you to leave it in place
many new users remove mask in sleep at first, I did

[Gerryk]

You will get used to the mask after a while and not be taking the mask off. Once you have reached that point, you may hit some bumps in the road and take your mask off again for reasons you won't remember.

I have hit some of those bumps, but now I remember taking the mask off but not why. I am thinking that increased stress in my life recently has caused a change in my sleep which is causing the mask to be removed. We just need to accept it and work through it.

I wouldn't recommend taping a mask to your face so it is too painful that you wake up when you take it off, I would rather recommend working through those tough times.

Gerry

[Geminidream]

As you have read, taking off the mask and not having any recollection of it is not unusual. It usually happens within the first few days. I was 3 weeks into therapy when I did it and it gets even more weird. Apparently, I took off the mask, went to the bathroom (which is rare for me in the middle of the night), had a 30 seccond conversation with my significant other (who was startled and already in the bathroom when I barged in), did what I needed to do, went back to bed, was informed that my mask was off, acknowledged that fact and went to sleep. When I woke up with the alarm clock going off, I had no recall of any of that and of course my mask was still off. Boy, did I feel like crap that day.....I quickly remembered why I have a CPAP machine. I have been having a pity party for myself of sorts lately......wishing I could just sleep normally and curl up the way that is most comfortable for me again. I understand the feeling of "feels good to be without the mask", but its really not good for our health. Hope tonight is better for you!

[sleepsalot]

I have the same problem, I went a week sleeping with it on all night and now almost every night I wake up and it is next to me on my bed and I feel horrible! I feel badly I figure because I ended up not sleeping with the mask half the night. Good to know this should stop because I feel great when it stays on. Another thing that just happened last night was I woke up with my mouth wide open and the dryest mouth ever. I don't normally sleep with my mouth open so hopefully this won't happen again, I would hate to have to get used to a new mask all over again!

[NRA_Bear]

I had a very similar experience when I first started CPAP last March. For the first few days things were fine and then for no good reason I started taking the mask off in the middle of the night. It took me about 1.5 - 2 weeks to phase out of that habit, but I'm over 10 months in now and haven't had a problem with it since. I remember waking up on those mornings drenched in sweat, looking at the mask on the bed next to me, cursing, and then steeling my resolve to keep the mask on that night. I know it's frustrating and worrisome, but give it some time and I'm sure you'll be "fully compliant" in no time . I've got the same machine as you btw.

[montana user]

I also found my mask on the pillow a few times, but the best one was waking up with my mask ON, but I had shut the machine off! My girlfriend realized I was snoring and knew something wasn't right. Thank goodness for her or that night could have been very miserable for me!

[btesterman]

I'm going through a crummy cold right now - can barely breathe without a mask let alone with nasal pillows - so I haven't used my machine. Since I'd only been on it about 2 weeks (counting the past two nights I haven't tried to use it) I'm wondering if I'll be "starting all over." Tues. night I had 0 leaks and better AHI but I woke up after 4 hours with my nose so sore that I took it off. I got the mask tight enough to eliminate leaks but too tight for comfort. Aghhhhh..... I guess this will all come together at some point.

[tattooyu]

I'm going through a crummy cold right now - can barely breathe without a mask let alone with nasal pillows - so I haven't used my machine. Since I'd only been on it about 2 weeks (counting the past two nights I haven't tried to use it) I'm wondering if I'll be "starting all over." Tues. night I had 0 leaks and better AHI but I woke up after 4 hours with my nose so sore that I took it off. I got the mask tight enough to eliminate leaks but too tight for comfort. Aghhhhh..... I guess this will all come together at some point.

Remember, that the Swift nasal pillow seal in the nares better when the mask is a bit looser (not too much so).