Phantom Mask???

[atruvirgo]

All day long I wear the "Phantom Mask" the pressure that is left behind after having a mask suctioned to my face all night long! Kind of like when you wear glasses and you take them off and feel like you are still wearing them!!! It is such an annoying feeling. My husband doesn't understand my aversion to wearing my CPAP mask so I told him to sleep in his hat and glasses all night and see how comfortable he was!! Maybe add his shoes for good measure. I know CPAP is necessary and I am healthier and more rested with it but, doesn't mean I like to be tethered to a hose with an octopus on my face all night long! ugggggggggggggggh WOW I think that part was just plain ole venting!!!! So back to phantom mask! Anyone else have this all day long feeling???

Debbie

[Nord]

Hi Debbie...

It's a mask that keeps on giving....

Nord

[Jersey Girl]

Dear Debbie,

No, I don't have the phantom mask feeling, but when I joined the forum, I remember that one of the first posts that I read talked about, "help! I still feel like my straps are on my forhead!" So, I think that this must be a pretty common at first kind of feeling.

The good news is that through trial and error, many of us eventually find our "perfect mask", that is the mask that feels the best for each one of us. Once this is accomplished the mask becomes much more natural feeling. CPAP is kind of a journey and there are many bumps along the way, especially at first. After all, none of us was born with a mask and hose attached to our face.

Not sure which mask you are using, but often people who are new to the mask tighten the mask just a bit too much, causing discomfort. So, please make sure that you are not over-tightening.

Wishing you peaceful, restorative sleep,

Jersey Girl

[seeker01]

Where I work we have to wear safety glasses so every time I walk in WalMart I start looking for my safety glasses. You will get use to it.....it will probably take a little while...I have only been on CPAP for a little over a month and I hate the strap marks in the morning.

[echo]

yeach i know the feeling too, but it usually goes away if I have a nice hot shower in the mornings. On days when I don't shower in the morning my face sports the Phantom Mask look for at least half the day, though I don't necessarily *feel* it the whole day. Are you dehydrated?? How about that magic face cream that Froro is using in her post "cpap took 10 years off my life" ??

Have you ever tried nasal pillows?

[carbonman]

All day long I wear the "Phantom Mask"
I am healthier and more rested with it but,
Debbie

....no but....buts...

Maybe when you feel the phantom mask,
you can think of the rested, healthier you.
The phantom mask is your gateway to
a new life....a new you.

Could become a really nice, welcome feeling.

[Guest]

I don't see any marks at all and my mask fits really well. I just feel as if I am still wearing it when it is off!!! It just is an annoying feeling!!!!

[BlackSpinner]

I don't see any marks at all and my mask fits really well. I just feel as if I am still wearing it when it is off!!! It just is an annoying feeling!!!!

It is reminding you of your new life. That breath of life that is renewing your life. Maybe your brain wants you to look at the rest of your life that way, that it needs more then you are giving it.

[DreamDiver]

In college, I tried playing tetris once for three hours straight, never having played it before. For the next three days and nights, every silent moment in the day or night was filled with little shapes drifting silently down and fitting themselves into little nooks and crannies. It was pretty alarming. I've never played that or another computer game like it since.

So maybe phantom tetris?

Maybe your brain is devoting what seems like an inordinate amount of sleep and other time to digesting knowledge about how to use your mask, and it's manifesting as 'phantom mask'.

[finchy]

Oh...I remember phantom Mario Cart! Close my eyes to go to sleep and I just kept drivin!