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vetteless · Post by **vetteless** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 11:42 am

Hey folks!

Just started with CPAP last month. I've been trying 3 different masks and always wake up within 3 hours of falling alseep...take off the mask, turn off the machine and go back to sleep.
How long does it take to get used to this?

Yes, I have no patience and would like to see immediate results Just need some reassurance that it will all be worthwhile

amos · Post by **amos** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 12:10 pm

Welcome. I think your response to cpap is typical of most of us - perhaps there are a few rare exceptions. Three hours is a good start. Try for four - then five and so on. Cpap therapy is often, slow, subtle, and steady. Make it your firend and stay with it.

garytx · Post by **garytx** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 2:26 pm

Boy, I feel like I'm in the same boat. I've been using my CPAP for just over a week, and haven't gone a night without removing my mask in my sleep. When I'm not doing that, I'm dealing with a leak from under my mask (presumably from rolling around in my sleep). Bottom line for me is that I'm feeling even less rested than before I started using the machine, which I never thought would be possible.

Provigil in the morning to try and stay awake all day, Requp (just started) before bed to try to still various "limb movements" in my sleep (not RLS). Arghhhhh.

oldgearhead · Post by **oldgearhead** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 2:32 pm

Have you tried Lunesta, or at least Tylenol PM?

Remember, I'm not a medical professional, just an xPAP user.

Did your wife make you sell the vette?

kavanaugh1950 · Post by **kavanaugh1950** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 2:38 pm

FOR LOTS OF PEOPLE IT TAKES AWHILE TO GET USED TO CPAP. MAKE SURE YOU WASH YOUR FACE WITH SOAP AND WATER BEFORE PUTTING THE MASK ON TO HELP IT SEAL BETTER. CPAP IS WELL WORTH IT WHEN YOU CONSIDER IT CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE. STICK WITH IT . IT GETS BETTER OVER TIME. PAT

vetteless · Post by **vetteless** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 2:46 pm

oldgearhead wrote:Have you tried Lunesta, or at least Tylenol PM?

Remember, I'm not a medical professional, just an xPAP user.

Did your wife make you sell the vette?

Haven't tried any sleep aids yet, not a big fan of chemicals but I just might give it a shot.
And no, the wife didn't make me sell the vette. The ex did

Thanks for all the feedback folks...I appreciate your insight.

DreamStalker · Post by **DreamStalker** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 2:55 pm

I try not to be a big supporter of the pharmco industry myself. I have read that some around here have had some luck with more natural remedies such as melatonin ... try doing a search and see if it appeals to you.

Linda3032 · Post by **Linda3032** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 4:01 pm

Vetteless and GaryTx. If both of you will fill in your equipment section of your profiles, that will help us try to offer some suggestions.

Masks are the biggest issue of successful therapy. Let us know which ones you are using and we will try to help.

pedroski · Post by **pedroski** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 4:21 pm

[quote="vetteless"]Hey folks!

Just started with CPAP last month. I've been trying 3 different masks and always wake up within 3 hours of falling alseep...take off the mask, turn off the machine and go back to sleep.
How long does it take to get used to this?

Yes, I have no patience and would like to see immediate results Just need some reassurance that it will all be worthwhile

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 6:13 pm

vetteless wrote:Just started with CPAP last month. I've been trying 3 different masks and always wake up within 3 hours of falling alseep...take off the mask, turn off the machine and go back to sleep.

and

garytx wrote:Bottom line for me is that I'm feeling even less rested than before I started using the machine, which I never thought would be possible.

That's not unusual at all for many people. If you think about it, even though the cpap is warding off the "events" (apneas/hypopneas) that used to disrupt sleep unbeknownst to the sleeper, you've now traded for a whole new set of sleep disturbing elements...the mask, usually.

Trying to sleep with something on your face -- something that often tugs, presses uncomfortably, and leaks -- is not really conducive to "sleep."

Takes time (and often a lot of experiments with different masks, including figuring out "fixes" to make at least one of them work ok for you) before we can really "sleep" with cpap treatment going.

While we're working it all out, it certainly can leave a person feeling more fatigued than before, 'cause a sleep disruption is a sleep disruption, no matter what the source. On the good side, at least you know that you're preventing the most damaging things from happening (apneas and hypopneas) even if arousals from equipment issues are wearing you down.

Keep working on finding the right mask and "fixing" it right to suit you. Figure out if mouth air leaks are interfering with effective treatment. Figure out if the pressure is really "enough" for effective treatment. It's work to figure everything out, and the doctors and DME's are generally not much help in doing that. Gotta be your own detective and your own "fixer."

It's not much help for a doctor or DME to say, "Well, keep trying -- you'll get used to it" if IT (again, usually the mask) is so uncomfortable that it keeps waking a person up, either all the way to "awake" or just bumping you up into lighter sleep without your being aware of it. The mask, the mask, the mask....that's the key to really being able to get restful treatment, so don't "keep trying" with a mask that is a big problem. DO keep trying to get the DME to let you try mask after mask at home until you find one that is reasonably comfortable AT HOME.

This message board has a wealth of tips to deal with the disruptions from equipment issues. It takes digging into old posts as if one were a medical student studying for the exam of your life. Because that's what it is....the treatment is that important. Look for ways to make it as comfortable as you can.

I wouldn't even count it as "I've been on cpap x number of days, weeks, months" until the day you have a mask that suits you well. Start counting, "I've begun cpap treatment" then....when you can actually use a mask reasonably comfortably all night.

Yeah, it can be hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel during the early days when the treatment is leaving you feeling even more tired than before. Most eventually get there, though...with the help of the message board. Keep reading and reading...

GoofyUT · Post by **GoofyUT** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 7:30 pm

RG-

Even after nine months, your kindness, wisdom and compassion stills leaves me speechless.

You are simply amazing.

C

kteague · Post by **kteague** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 7:48 pm

When thinking about this reply, I realized what I want my motto this year to be - WHATEVER IT TAKES!

For some the cpap road is quite smooth, for others it is like an uphill climb on a slippery slope. Having dual sleep disorders can make it more tricky to pinpoint all the causes of continued sleep disruption. I too deal with limb movements. Hopefully the Requip will soon help you with those.

I'm still climbing that slippery slope, and my greatest regret is that I didn't say "Whatever It Takes" over a year ago. Even so, the degree of recovery I've experienced in the last year is phenomenal. If I'd had a machine that was set at a therapeutic pressure and the energy to keep returning masks till one worked, just maybe I wouldn't have deteriorated to the point of being unable to work, plus now I'm dealing with an enlarged heart.

There is no good outcome or happy ending for untreated sleep apnea. Pay now with a myriad of adjustments, or pay later with a myriad of adjustments and compounding health issues. May your self-described lack of patience push you toward doing whatever it takes to achieve therapeutic treatment.

Worth it? YES!

Kathy

vetteless · Post by **vetteless** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 3:13 pm

Thanks folks, for all the great feedback.

I'm certainly motivated to get thru the "initial" stages. I could certainly use a good nights sleep for a change

I'll post back with updates. By the way, where is the best place to get masks from? I'd rather go retail, since this whole adventure has been an insurance nightmare!

cflame1 · Post by **cflame1** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 3:32 pm

cpap.com is great for masks... good selection

deebatt · Post by **deebatt** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 3:59 pm

i'm not quite 2 months into cpap, but started out on the positive side. lately i've had a few minor speedbumps but i am tackeling them. hang in there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the day i went to pick up my equipment, I remember the RT at the DME telling me not to get all worried if i found myself taking the mask off in my sleep or not being able to wear it a full night for a while. He told me not to get frustrated, and do what my body tells me it can do for the first few weeks. He also commented that I had been sleep deprived for a long time, and that even a few hours a night to start with was better than none, the key was to not give up and keep going.

For the first week or so I would have the mask on for maybe 2 to 4 hours, take it off for an hour or two, then put it back on. Although It woke me up doing that, I still felt much better and more rested than using no cpap at all. I guess it was a much higher quality "disturbed sleep" than before cpap. Each night i was able to keep the mask on longer and longer. Before i knew it i kept it on all night. Now that i am past the "honeymoon" stage, i do find myself taking it off briefly once in a blue moon, but i end up putting it back on and continuing.

New to forum!

New to forum!

Re: New to forum!

Brava!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Worth it?