What mask to try. Keep taking mine off.

[blackrock]

A) I have the mirage full face quattro. I keep taking mine off at about 1.5-2.5 hours in my sleep without realizing it completely.

I have tried the nasal pillow and it felt really hard to exhale against it.

I am thinking about trying a nasal mask that cups your nose instead of the pillows.

I even took a benadryl last night so I can forget about it and sleep with no success.

Will the DME let me try another mask for free, If i am only 10 days into my therapy. They were giving me crap about it when I aksed them for the nasal pillows saying that they have to throw away once they open.

B) Is there any other gadgets to track how good your sleep is ? I am considering buying the Zeo, I allready have a pulse ox recorder.

[Pugsy]

You might try taping your mask straps to your cheeks so that when you take the mask off in the middle of the night the discomfort from the tape pulling on the skin might wake you up enough to stop the mask removal.
There's no guarantee that a different mask won't have the same thing happen to it if your subconscious is fighting the mask..it might be any mask.

Please add your equipment to your profile so we can see at a glance what you are using. It helps us help you better.
Hard to exhale with the nasal pillows? Are you using any exhale relief? Each brand machine has a different form of exhale relief...maybe you just need more help with exhale. Might have just needed the next size large in the nasal pillows because the opening is larger and air moves better and easier.
What pressure are you using? Using ramp feature?

Over the nose mask? Nasal cushion masks are nice but depending on your pressure used and any exhale relief you might still have trouble exhaling. Worth looking at though.

[blackrock]

You might try taping your mask straps to your cheeks so that when you take the mask off in the middle of the night the discomfort from the tape pulling on the skin might wake you up enough to stop the mask removal.
There's no guarantee that a different mask won't have the same thing happen to it if your subconscious is fighting the mask..it might be any mask.

Please add your equipment to your profile so we can see at a glance what you are using. It helps us help you better.
Hard to exhale with the nasal pillows? Are you using any exhale relief? Each brand machine has a different form of exhale relief...maybe you just need more help with exhale. Might have just needed the next size large in the nasal pillows because the opening is larger and air moves better and easier.
What pressure are you using? Using ramp feature?

Over the nose mask? Nasal cushion masks are nice but depending on your pressure used and any exhale relief you might still have trouble exhaling. Worth looking at though.

I think the exhale fature is on. Look at the data below. Its on right??

I have a deviated septum and problems with nasal congestion, (but i still breathe through my nose mainly). may be thats why the pillows dont work. will give them a try tonight. I can exhale fine with the full face.

Ramp featre on. pressure 6-16

[Pugsy]

When you use the ramp feature the pressure starts out at 4 cm and EPR (your exhale relief) doesn't even work at 4 cm because the machine can't go lower than 4 cm.

Looks like EPR is set to 3 and you can't get the full benefit 3 cm reduction until your pressure hits 7 cm because the machine can't drop below 4 cm.
At a pressure of 6 you only get 2 cm drop.

You might try turning ramp off when you try the nasal pillows and see if the breathing is any easier. That way when you start off the night you are experiencing real exhale relief with inhale at 6 and exhale at 2.
4 cm starting pressure is simply not going to move much air and can be a problem for a lot of people especially with the nasal pillow masks which have such a small volume space anyway.

Also...the pressure changes themselves could be a disturbing factor to sleep and might be a factor in the premature mask removal. So maybe a tighter range or even cpap mode trial to see if that helps or not.
While a lot of people can sleep right through some pretty big pressure changes that doesn't mean that everyone can and some people find that even the least little pressure change is a problem so when using APAP mode a tight, tight range maybe or just use fixed pressure cpap mode .

People with deviated septums use nasal pillows all the time and in fact often say that the more direct pressure helps them rather than hurts them. It all depends on how severe the deviation. If you can normally breathe just fine through your nose during the day then there shouldn't be any reason why you couldn't be successful with them at night just from the airway patency aspect. Now if you said you can't comfortably breathe through your nose during the day then that's a different story.

[blackrock]

When you use the ramp feature the pressure starts out at 4 cm and EPR (your exhale relief) doesn't even work at 4 cm because the machine can't go lower than 4 cm.

Looks like EPR is set to 3 and you can't get the full benefit 3 cm reduction until your pressure hits 7 cm because the machine can't drop below 4 cm.
At a pressure of 6 you only get 2 cm drop.

You might try turning ramp off when you try the nasal pillows and see if the breathing is any easier. That way when you start off the night you are experiencing real exhale relief with inhale at 6 and exhale at 2.
4 cm starting pressure is simply not going to move much air and can be a problem for a lot of people especially with the nasal pillow masks which have such a small volume space anyway.

Also...the pressure changes themselves could be a disturbing factor to sleep and might be a factor in the premature mask removal. So maybe a tighter range or even cpap mode trial to see if that helps or not.
While a lot of people can sleep right through some pretty big pressure changes that doesn't mean that everyone can and some people find that even the least little pressure change is a problem so when using APAP mode a tight, tight range maybe or just use fixed pressure cpap mode .

People with deviated septums use nasal pillows all the time and in fact often say that the more direct pressure helps them rather than hurts them. It all depends on how severe the deviation. If you can normally breathe just fine through your nose during the day then there shouldn't be any reason why you couldn't be successful with them at night just from the airway patency aspect. Now if you said you can't comfortably breathe through your nose during the day then that's a different story.

Makes sense. How do i turn the ramp off??

[Pugsy]

To turn the ramp off the S9 you have to go into the clinical setup menu.
http://www.apneuvereniging.nl/forum/pdf ... manual.pdf
Go to this link and download the pdf of the clinical/provider manual and it explains the steps to get into the clinical setup menu.
I can't remember but I think you have to set the ramp time to 0 minutes (default is 45 minutes but can be adjusted in 5 minute increments) or there may be a setting to turn ramp off. I forget and my current S9 doesn't offer ramp at all so I can't go check it.

The video here may help also
http://www.cpaplibrary.com/machines.html

[imsleepynomore]

You may find the Whisp along with a chin strap might help once you get your pressures and ramp adjusted. I use the Whisp ,chin strap and tape my mouth I sleep very well. Also my hubby has a broken nose and has always had to sleep pushing his nose to the side to breath at night. Since he started and his CPAP he sleeps well and will not go anywhere without his nasel Swift X

[blackrock]

You may find the Whisp along with a chin strap might help once you get your pressures and ramp adjusted. I use the Whisp ,chin strap and tape my mouth I sleep very well. Also my hubby has a broken nose and has always had to sleep pushing his nose to the side to breath at night. Since he started and his CPAP he sleeps well and will not go anywhere without his nasel Swift X

I am gonna try pugsys tape suggestion tonight. Lets see if I can keep it on for the night.

[blackrock]

You may find the Whisp along with a chin strap might help once you get your pressures and ramp adjusted. I use the Whisp ,chin strap and tape my mouth I sleep very well. Also my hubby has a broken nose and has always had to sleep pushing his nose to the side to breath at night. Since he started and his CPAP he sleeps well and will not go anywhere without his nasel Swift X

I am gonna try pugsys tape suggestion tonight. Lets see if I can keep it on for the night.

Fail. 1.5 hours. What good is a cpap if you cant sleep. .

[Pugsy]

Let me go find my handcuffs.
Did you sleep through the mask removal?

[blackrock]

Let me go find my handcuffs.
Did you sleep through the mask removal?

No i was pretty aware what I was doing, but i got tired of waiting for sleep to come after 1.5 hours and as soon as the mas was off lights out. I wish someone would put the mask on me once I was asleep lol. I bet that would work fine.

[Pugsy]

Going to sleep and removing the mask at sometime during the night and not remembering it is one thing. The tape trick sometimes helps.

Not being able to go to sleep and then saying to hell with it and taking the mask off and then going to sleep is another thing.
The tape trick won't help because the initial problem is getting to sleep in the first place and there is a little devil sitting on your shoulder keeping you awake until you reward him by removing the mask and then he lets you go to sleep.

If the mask fit is uncomfortable...and that is keeping you from falling asleep that is one thing...if you just can't fall asleep with any mask then that's another.

So that brings us to try to figure out exactly what the problem is in the first place. Can't fix a problem till the problem is identified and even then it isn't easy.

Have you discussed this issue with your doctor? The not being able to fall asleep with the mask on...
Do you think it is associated with mask discomfort...or masks in general?

[blackrock]

Going to sleep and removing the mask at sometime during the night and not remembering it is one thing. The tape trick sometimes helps.

Not being able to go to sleep and then saying to hell with it and taking the mask off and then going to sleep is another thing.
The tape trick won't help because the initial problem is getting to sleep in the first place and there is a little devil sitting on your shoulder keeping you awake until you reward him by removing the mask and then he lets you go to sleep.

If the mask fit is uncomfortable...and that is keeping you from falling asleep that is one thing...if you just can't fall asleep with any mask then that's another.

So that brings us to try to figure out exactly what the problem is in the first place. Can't fix a problem till the problem is identified and even then it isn't easy.

Have you discussed this issue with your doctor? The not being able to fall asleep with the mask on...
Do you think it is associated with mask discomfort...or masks in general?

TBH i really cant tell. I mean its not the most comfortable tihng in the world but its not THAT uncomfortable either. My doctors not going to give a crap if i tell him. TBH.

I do have an inpatient sleep study coming up on tuesday, and was going to be off APAP for three days prior to the study, anyways. so tonights the last night trying.