shutting off CPAP midway through sleep

[TX18366]

Hi all,

I've only been using CPAP for about a week.

Out of the past 5 nights, my machine has said I've done 5.5 hours, 7.0 hours, 5.5 hours, 4.1 hours, 5.4 hours of CPAP. All of those times, I have fallen asleep with the machine on and then after about 3 hours, I woke up "enough" and my mind was tricked into thinking it was closer to 5 AM rather than 1 AM, so I'd take off the mask and turn the machine off thinking I only had another hour or so to go and could "live" without the CPAP for the remainder of my sleep time. I'd wake up again later and actually look at the clock and realize that I had plenty of time to go so I'd put it back on and go to sleep. I wake up at my normal time.

The first couple nights I did this, I still felt fine throughout the rest of the day. This morning however, I felt so tired, I needed more than my usual amount of caffeine pick me up.

So here's what I recall from last night, fell asleep at about 10:00 with CPAP on. Sometime (probably around 12 or 1 in the morning), I woke up and was tricked by the light outside that I thought it might closer to early morning and turned off the machine and took the mask off. At 3:40 AM, I woke up again and saw that I still had plenty of time left to sleep. I turn the machine back on and slept the rest of the sleep time until my alarm went off at 6. I still hit the snooze button for another 30 minutes until I got up and turned the machine off. It said I had only 5.4 hours of usage.

Are there any suggestions you fine people have as how to train myself not to pull my mask off? Also, prior to starting CPAP, I felt that I never woke up during the night but have noticed how awake I get with the machine on. Will this go away?

I think the machine , mask, and pressure work fine.

Thanks,
Cory

[roster]

IMO, you have done well for the first week. You might want to just wait and let the habit of using CPAP all night gradually develop. As well as you have done, I am guessing that might happen any day now.

One suggestion on that light from the window, I once was staying in a shared apartment on a long term business assignment and had that problem. I went to a local cloth store and asked them to recommend a cheap black cloth to hang over the window at night. They cut it to size and I also bought some velcro tape and would attach the cloth to the top of the window frame each night and take it down each morning to let the sun into the bedroom. Very little trouble relative to the benefit.

[jdm2857]

You might also try to get in a mindset where it is not OK to take the mask off unless you are actually getting out of bed.

[TX18366]

Thanks Rooster & jdm,

I was able to sleep all the way through last night and didn't take my mask off until I was getting up.

-Cory

[Slartybartfast]

And pretty soon you'll be like . . . er . . . some of us, who turn off the alarm and lie in bed with the machine still running because it feels so good we don't want to turn it off.

[Britishbulldog]

Hi,

Turning the machine off in the night and taking the mask off in the night are common problems when starting out on cpap therapy.
Your body must become accustomed to the alien face hugger thats attached there each night,it may take some time to overcome this but with patience you will do it,
Cpap will be a walk in the park and it will become your greatest friend.

Good luck and keep up with the therapy ,

Regards.

British Bulldog x

[chunkyfrog]

Hey, Bart; I am the same way.
I really LIKE the warm humid air, helping me breath in.
it's soo relaaxing. . .
Doggone that alarm clock!

[robysue]

And pretty soon you'll be like . . . er . . . some of us, who turn off the alarm and lie in bed with the machine still running because it feels so good we don't want to turn it off.

I've only been using CPAP for five days, and in spite of all my problems getting to sleep with my mask on (which I've posted about in other threads), I'm already doing the lying in bed after the alarm goes off with the CPAP still running because it feels pretty to be breathing that nice, pollen-free filtered air. So I guess there's hope for me ....