Removing mask in my sleep....help!

[Donkey]

Hey all

So my first 6 weeks on CPAP went brilliantly. 100% compliance and after the 1st few weeks of trying different masks and finding the right one, everything was great.

Now nothing has changed as far as my mask or settings go and the mask is actually quite comfortable. But every night for the last week or so, like clockwork at 2am I remove my mask in my sleep. I normally realise around 5am or 6am when I'm woken up by the sound of a tornado next to my ear. So now I'm only averaging around 4 hours of use a night.

Has anyone else gone through this? Any suggestions???

Cheers
Donkey

[jweeks]

Donkey,

The best tool to solve any problem is duct tape. Well, actually, in this case, 3M surgical tape. Put a strip of tape across any two straps from your masks on the sides of your face. This is sticky enough that any attempt at taking off your mask will wake you up, and then you can think twice about, hopefully deciding not to.

This happening after 6 weeks can actually be a good sign. You have gotten so used to CPAP that you are doing stuff like adjusting your mask in your sleep.

It is possible that something is waking you up enough where you start taking off your mask. It might be that you are dropping into a deeper sleep state about that time, and you are starting to have events that wake you up. If your machine is data capable, you might want to take a look at the graphs. See if you are having some events just before the mask comes off. If you have an auto machine, you might be maxing out on pressure, or your machine isn't reacting quickly enough (possibly due to the lower pressure being too low).

-john-

[Donkey]

Hey John

Thanks mate, some great ideas there, particularly the 3M tape.

I've just gone back over the data and looks like there is a pattern. In the 1/2 hour before "de-masking", there is a rise in pressure from min to max and at the same time, a huge rise in leak rate. I assume the noise of the leaking wakes me up enough and I want to stop the noise, so I take it off. Hopefully taping the mask to my face will make it difficult enough that I don't take it off but rather adjust it.

Thanks again mate, will give that a go tonight.

Cheers
Donkey