Newbie here, cannot fall asleep with mask on

AuroraProject · Post by **AuroraProject** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 5:35 pm

Hi, I was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea after a sleep study at Kaiser. They gave me a Philips System One with a humidifier and 3 different masks. I am 38 years old, and overweight. I have always had trouble sleeping in general, falling asleep takes me at least an hour most nights. I can't remember the last time I woke up feeling refreshed.

I have tried each of the 3 masks they gave me for a few nights each. The Opus nasal pillow is by far the most comfortable for me. I do have some issues getting a good feel though, I sleep on my side 90% of the time. Given the fact I already have a difficult time falling asleep, with the mask on it's near impossible.

My doctor gave me Ambien for 2 weeks, which does knock me out, but it's still a struggle with the mask on. he won't give me anymore Ambien, and states it is for short term use only. That is ok with me, I'd prefer not to take drugs to sleep.

So, what can I do here? I want cpap to work, and the possible health consequences have me concerned. Does anyone have any tips on getting a fussy sleeper down with this contraption on my face?

Thanks!

NateS · Post by **NateS** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 5:56 pm

I use a nasal pillow mask similar to your Opus, called the Swift FX. In its initial configuration, it too would get knocked out of place everytime I tried to sleep on my side.

Two things changed that:

1) I switched to the Bella Ear Loops for the Swift FX and got rid of the headgear. Hung from my ears instead of the top of my head, the nasal pillow mask stays in place better; and

2) I got a pillow (mine is a cpapMax pillow but there are several good brands) which had firm squared-off edges instead of the tapered soft edges of a conventional pillow, which enables me to lay my head down with my cheek right at the edge of the pillow, allowing my nose and mask to hang off the side. This may sound as if it requires lots of concentration but it became automatic after one or two nights with the pillow. And turned out to be actually more comfortable for side sleeping.

These two changes enabled me to sleep on my side without knocking the nasal pillow mask out of my place.

You might consider these two suggestions.

Good luck!

Nate

LSAT · Post by **LSAT** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 5:59 pm

You could try sitting around in the evening with the mask on.....give yourself a chance to get used to the feel.

greatunclebill · Post by **greatunclebill** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 6:04 pm

as silly as it sounds, get over it. put the mask on and go to sleep. use it like you're going to die or be disabled if you don't, because you just could. put it on and leave it on even if you lay there all night long because as much as you think you won't sleep, you will. lots of people say they don't sleep, but they have to. think of it this way, you're going to wear that mask every night for the rest of your life so you may as well get over it and get used to it as soon as you can. nobody can talk you into using it. you have to do that yourself. none of us liked it in the beginning. good luck. theres no shortcut or easy answer.

CpapPorkchop · Post by **CpapPorkchop** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 6:06 pm

Hello there. I am a newbie too. Going on my third week with my machine. I had a hard time with my mask at first but now i can start to get to sleep with it easier. Not saying I can fall asleep as quickly as i can without it yet but getting there. I was told it takes time and that time is different for everyone. I can not go to sleep with it all night yet either. My cousin who has been on a cpap machine for a while says it took him a while too. I just keep at it. I know it will be worth it in the end. Good luck and hang in there i am sure it will happen. Take Care.

ameriken · Post by **ameriken** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 6:53 pm

What are you doing to acclimate yourself to the mask?

First week, I was taking 20 minute naps to get used to the mask and machine (never nap without the mask). Then about 20 or 30 minutes before bedtime I put the mask on and turned the machine on and read a book just to get used to wearing it.

You can also do like LSAT said, wear the mask around the house while you're awake. It is unnatural to go to sleep with a mask on, so you've got to do everything you can to get used to it. I'm so used to it now that I often forget I even have it on sometimes, you just forget it's there. At bedtime, as soon as I put the mask on I instantly feel sleepy...my mind and body knows that masking up means beddie-bye.

So I ask again, what are you doing to acclimate yourself to the mask?

Maxie · Post by **Maxie** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 7:11 pm

I agree with greatunclebill that you have to get your mind literally wrapped around sleeping with the mask on. I guess that at 2.5 months I'm still a newbie and I use the opus 360 nasal pillows. One thing I learned from this site is that you can work through problems associated with the mask, machine, etc but that you have to work at it and have the right attitude. I would change "cannot" to "having trouble" and then to "I'm getting the hang of sleeping with a mask or nasal pillows of some type." You have to have confidence in yourself that you can solve this "problem" and move on.

greatunclebill · Post by **greatunclebill** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 8:17 pm

i said what i said above in a very caring, yet very firm way. we post because we care about each other in this big cpap family. i was first diagnosed in 1990 and got my first cpap in 2001. i fooled around until december 2011, finding every excuse i could to not put it on or take it off during the night. then i spent the night in the ER with a problem directly related to not using my cpap. i had an o2 generator til i got my new sys one auto a-flex and got used to it. now i'm on it every night all night no matter what. to me its not a feel better thing. its a life saving thing. i wish i would have had somebody tell me like it is way back in 1990. maybe i wouldn't have some of the problems i have now. maybe if you listen now you won't have medical problems further down the road.

AuroraProject · Post by **AuroraProject** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 11:11 pm

Some good points. I take no offense, I have already told myself "just suck it up and do it", but as with most things, easier said than done. I will definitely try wearing it while I read or listen to some music to get acustomed to it. I need my health to get better, not worse, as such I don't have a choice but get used to it.

robysue · Post by **robysue** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 11:37 pm

AuroraProject wrote: I have always had trouble sleeping in general, falling asleep takes me at least an hour most nights. ...

Given the fact I already have a difficult time falling asleep, with the mask on it's near impossible.

My doctor gave me Ambien for 2 weeks, which does knock me out, but it's still a struggle with the mask on. he won't give me anymore Ambien, and states it is for short term use only. That is ok with me, I'd prefer not to take drugs to sleep.

So, what can I do here? I want cpap to work, and the possible health consequences have me concerned. Does anyone have any tips on getting a fussy sleeper down with this contraption on my face?

Thanks!

AuroraProject,

I bid you a sad welcome to the CPAP & Insomnia Club. I also want to let you know that it can bet better, but you will need to work on the insomnia because until you are sleeping in the first place it will be difficult for you to tell much difference in how you feel during the day. (But you still need to use the machine all the time so the OSA does not continue to damage your body.)

You ask for tips. I'd suggest that you start by reading through my blog entry Taming the CPAP Induced insomnia monster.

Like you I had a long history of difficulty falling asleep before I started CPAP And after starting CPAP it grew worse. And the longer I lay in bed trying to get to sleep, the more uncomfortable I would become. And on worst of the bad nights, I also got angrier and angrier fighting to get to sleep.

In my case, a very long set of CBT finally allowed me to teach my body how to get to sleep within about 5-15 minutes of climbing into bed. This has been critical in my finally getting comfortable sleeping with the BiPaP I now use instead of dreading bedtime.

Best of luck

jweeks · Post by **jweeks** » Sat Mar 10, 2012 1:17 am

AuroraProject wrote:I have always had trouble sleeping in general, falling asleep takes me at least an hour most nights. I can't remember the last time I woke up feeling refreshed.

Hi,

This is probably the heart of the issue right here. Since you are not sleeping well due to your breathing disorder, you wake up tired. You are so tired that your body is taking 10 to 15 second cat naps all day long. In fact, you are getting so much sleep (albeit poor sleep) during the day (10 seconds at a time) that you are not tired when you go to bed. Then you cannot fall asleep easily. You then don't sleep well, so you repeat the cycle over again the next day. Your brain is so used to this that it no longer knows how to sleep, and your sleep cycle is destroyed.

I know this because this was my story for nearly a decade.

I found I just had to deal with it, as uncomfortable as the situation was. Once I started to get good sleep, then my body learned how to sleep again, and now I fall asleep within 5 minutes of hitting the sheets. I have so much more energy now that I go out and do things during the day, and I end up really tired at bed time, and so I drop off into sleep very quickly.

To complicate the process, I found that every mask that my DME had was painful to wear. The big break-through for me was finding on-line sites where I could order my own masks. I went through 8 before I found the Swift LT, and I have tried 6 more since that time and keep going back to the Swift LT. Adding to the complexity is that I had a hard time doing basic problem solving and had very little motivation when I was so tired. Now that I am sleeping better, my mind is clear, and the problems that looked so hard 4 years ago today seem like little more than speed bumps.

I am sorry you are stuck with this disease, and I am sorry that the path to success looks so difficult. However, there is a solution, and it will change your life when you figure it out.

-john-

acer0001 · Post by **acer0001** » Mon Mar 12, 2012 8:42 pm

I am a relatively new CPAP user and what helped me recently is the delay function on the machine, once I figured out it was there and what is was for. It does very light pressure in the beginning and gradually increases during the delay time giving you time to fall asleep. I used to have it at 45 min, but 20 min is all it takes now. When I forget to start the delay function, it is harder to fall asleep.

You wil get used to it. Right now it's something new, but soon it will be part of your routine.

Good sleeping!

John
Denver, CO

sleeptimeinNY · Post by **sleeptimeinNY** » Tue Mar 13, 2012 6:41 am

I, too, am new to this (3 weeks and have only slept one whole night with my mask on) and struggling with it and once I found this site, I realized I am not alone. I am having trouble getting to sleep, also, and trying not to take the Ambien my doctor gave me. Read Robysue's article on insomnia, it's really good and might help you.
We just have to keep positive (although it's hard at 1:00 a.m. when I feel like ripping the mask off because it's leaking!!).. Good luck!

robysue · Post by **robysue** » Tue Mar 13, 2012 10:46 am

sleeptimeinNY wrote:Read Robysue's article on insomnia, it's really good and might help you.
We just have to keep positive (although it's hard at 1:00 a.m. when I feel like ripping the mask off because it's leaking!!).. Good luck!

Thanks for the positive feedback.

And good luck in getting out of the CPAP&Insomnia Club.

chunkyfrog · Post by **chunkyfrog** » Tue Mar 13, 2012 11:29 am

The first few nights, I lay down pretending I was a space explorer;
setting out for places unknown --(in a galaxy far, far away, as it were)
The scenario was that I had to be in stasis, because the journey would take many years;
but I would awaken to an amazing adventure.
I meant to feed my dreams, (and have amazing ones) but I slept so well, I remembered none.

Newbie here, cannot fall asleep with mask on

Newbie here, cannot fall asleep with mask on

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