frusterated with cpap

sleeper101 · Post by **sleeper101** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 11:11 pm

I have only been on cpap for about a week and a half. Started out enthusiastic and hopeful of having more energy. The biggest problem is it takes me an hour or so to fall asleep wearing the mask and then I wake up numerous times during the night moving hose, fixing leaks, etc. I am determined to be compliant but am feeling frusterated and and hoping it gets easier. I really want a nights sleep without it so I can move around freely and fall asleep in a few minutes as usual. I am feeling no more energy than I did before using, maybe even less. Need feedback from anyone that had difficulty adjusting to this whole deal.

Rabid1 · Post by **Rabid1** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 11:15 pm

Hang in there my friend. If it were easy EVERYBODY would have OSA

pedroski · Post by **pedroski** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 11:30 pm

Hi Sleeper101,

Like Rick said hang in there, you WILL get the hang of it. I notice you've got a Resmed. (If the Compact has Settling Time) Have you tried the Settling Time option to help you go to sleep? It lowers the pressure while you sleep and then gradually ramps it up to your treatment pressure. What is your titrated pressure? Some have found it helpful to mount the hose above the bed so they don't have to fight it.

It is normal to go through some aggro while you get everything sorted out. You've found a good resource here, keep reading and keep asking questions and you'll crack it for sure.

Peter

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): resmed, hose

sleeper101 · Post by **sleeper101** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 12:08 am

Thanks for the encouragement. I realized I just needed to hear someone say who is going through the same thing "to hang in there". Unless you've been there it is hard to understand the frusteration of just trying to get a normal night's sleep and feeling rested. w/o all the drama
I am going to stick to it and will believe that it gets easier....
Thanks for support here.

FLMike · Post by **FLMike** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 6:45 am

Sleeper, I am about where you are. Last night I was thinking that I deal with stress all day, and here I am stressing about stopping leaks and getting the mask comfortable enough to get to sleep. When I woke this morning, I felt rested and awake. That makes it worth it! Guess I will keep working on it... (in my third week with CPAP).

Michael

Sleepy-eyes · Post by **Sleepy-eyes** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 8:05 am

Encouragement! Encouragement! Encouragement! Encouragement! Encouragement!
Just hang in there..................even if you have to hang by the last knot on the rope. I've been at it since last September and am just now (in the last couple of weeks) getting to where it's not a total disaster to sleep at night. I don't like the therapy. Hate all the inconveniences of the mask, the chin strap, mouth strap, elastic bands around my head to hold the mask on, sleeping with a hose under my covers, the noise of the machine, the pressure of the air, etc., etc., etc. (do you get the point I don't like having to do this?) But I'm just starting to get good numbers, so I'm getting good treatment. That means fewer apneas, hypopneas, and snores. The lower the numbers are for those things, the healthier I'm going to be. I never liked taking Castor Oil as a kid..............but it sure made my tummy feel better when I came home sick from eating too much junk at the State Fair! Just hang in there. All will come around someday and things will get better. Now excuse me while I "have some fun"........gotta go dismantle my equipment and clean it!

SleepGuy · Post by **SleepGuy** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 1:08 pm

Hang in there. Remember that even a few hours on cpap is better than the illusion of sleep with OSA--you're not getting any sleep without your pap not to mention oxygen deprivation.

It can take a while to get used to it. The biggest thing for me was to get used to breathing out against the pressure (I just have a normal cpap, pressure 9). It feels like you're being smothered. Over time you will get used to that and it will feel like you're breathing out against normal air (it's very weird when that starts happening because you feel like you're not getting air!).

Good Luck!

frete50 · Post by **frete50** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 3:38 pm

Sleeper, I am were you are right now. I have tried four masks. All with problems. Due to these problems I have not used my machine for about three weeks. I am so frustrated in trying to get professional help in finding the correct mask - I am about ready to give up on the whole cpap thing. Not sure were to turn next.

Carsonsmom · Post by **Carsonsmom** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 7:18 pm

I am where you are too. One week on my CPAP. My major issue has been swallowing air. It is so painful. Was set on 12 and today got it moved to a 9 to see if it will help. I was waking up with air leaks too but you can customize my gel mask. I did the customization and now it hardly leaks at all.

The most sleep I have gotten in one night this week was 4 hours. Now with my lower pressure, I am hoping to go longer tonight. I am determined to make this work because I cannot handle feeling so tired all the time.

roster · Post by **roster** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 8:30 pm

sleeper101,

Giving up is not an option. Do hang in. The process is complicated for most of us:

-finding the right mask
-getting the headgear adjusted properly
-finding the proper humidifier setting
-finding the best way to manage the hose
-developing good sleep hygiene habits
-getting the spouse on board with the process
-building self confidence that the process will work for you
-dealing with setbacks
-learning that if you have a bad night you can still survive the next day and the next night can still be good
-etc.

Give it some time and read the message board and post when you have questions or are frustrated.

svh · Post by **svh** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 8:37 pm

Hang in there! I so know what you mean--it's so tempting to just go to bed, the old way, knowing how quickly and easily you'd fall asleep. Just remember, though, you wouldn't feel good in the morning. I have been at this for 4 months, and it is now automatic. I fall asleep quickly, can adjust for leaks without really waking up, and feel rested in the morning. I no longer feel any urge to nap, AT ALL, which I consider a huge improvement. I have gone off prozac, which I was taking for irritability. No need for it anymore.

You can do it! I won't get any harder, just easier. I just pushed through--never went a night without the mask (I felt that if I did, I'd just quit--had to be all or nothing...) After several months, it just became second nature, and it doesn't bother me. That's not to say I like it--it's a pain in the neck, for sure, but it's worth it to feel normal again.

I guess all I mean is that if you just push through, one day you'll realize that you haven't actually worried about it in a few days/weeks. It creeps up on you--the getting used to it. I don't even really check my data regularly anymore, since I feel good, and whenever I do check it, my AHI is routinely about 1.

Hang in there, and good luck!

todd105 · Post by **todd105** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 8:50 pm

[quote="frete50"]Sleeper, I am were you are right now. I have tried four masks. All with problems. Due to these problems I have not used my machine for about three weeks. I am so frustrated in trying to get professional help in finding the correct mask - I am about ready to give up on the whole cpap thing. Not sure were to turn next.

_________________

I am exactly at this point. Ive been on CPAP since December and still cant get comfortable or relaxed to sleep. 3 nights ago I was so fustrated that I threw the mask on the floor and broke my head rest piece on my mirage FF mask. I know, control the anger. but it was too fustrating to control. I havent used my cpap since. I am in a very big hole and cant get out. Its so bad that depression is setting in since im so tired.

So I feel your fustration and pain

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 9:24 pm

todd105 wrote:I am exactly at this point. Ive been on CPAP since December and still cant get comfortable or relaxed to sleep. 3 nights ago I was so fustrated that I threw the mask on the floor and broke my head rest piece on my mirage FF mask. I know, control the anger. but it was too fustrating to control. I havent used my cpap since. I am in a very big hole and cant get out. Its so bad that depression is setting in since im so tired.

So I feel your fustration and pain

Maybe this is what you need......a break from your "frustration"......so you can remember what it was like before you started.

The reason I say that is because two weeks after I started my therapy, I came down with a terrible cough and cold. I couldn't keep my mask on at night and finally had to stop using it for 10 nights until I got well enough to keep it on as best I could. In those 10 days, the daytime "sleepies" came back and I felt like crap. I couldn't wait to get back on my machine.

Just think of all the people who have not found the forums for this therapy.....and have quit in frustration. I wonder how THEY feel.

You HAVE found a source to help you with your therapy......all you need to do is search here, ask questions and try to LOGICALLY figure out how to make yours work better.

Best wishes,

Den

Vader · Post by **Vader** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 9:56 pm

sleeper101 wrote:I have only been on cpap for about a week and a half. Started out enthusiastic and hopeful of having more energy. The biggest problem is it takes me an hour or so to fall asleep wearing the mask and then I wake up numerous times during the night moving hose, fixing leaks, etc. I am determined to be compliant but am feeling frusterated and and hoping it gets easier. I really want a nights sleep without it so I can move around freely and fall asleep in a few minutes as usual. I am feeling no more energy than I did before using, maybe even less. Need feedback from anyone that had difficulty adjusting to this whole deal.

Rather than repeat all the good advice you have already gotten here, just remember that all of us go through this.
And it does get easier, and you WILL find it to be all worth it, if you stick with it.
You owe this to yourself, and loved ones.

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 11:04 pm

you need to do the things that make it easier to fall asleep:

1. Take a shower, this always works for me.
2. Take a OTC sleep aid like TylenolPM, Benedryl, Nyquil etc.
3. Reduce the noise level. The higher the pressure the more noise the mask and machine will make. If you can temporarily lower the pressure you make it more comfortable for sleeping. Your machine has a Ramp feature, set it up and use it! I wouldn't start any lower than about 6cm pressure and I'd set it up for 30-minutes. If you are not asleep in 30-minutes, hit the Ramp button again.

Setting the humidifier to a particular range has virtually no impact on you getting to sleep, if the incoming air is too cold warm up the room with a space heater or consider a heated hose. Turning up the humidifier in an attempt to warm up the incoming air is a wasted effort, all that does is make the air more humid which can lead to congestion and rainout.

If you have to cinch up on the straps so much to stop leaks that it makes the mask uncomfortable, you are using the wrong mask.

frusterated with cpap

frusterated with cpap

frusterated with cpap

Re: frusterated with cpap

Re: frusterated with cpap

Re: frusterated with cpap

Mask