please help me

[albertascott]

I have severe sleep apnea and use a good cpap machine (Resmed Autoset 2). I have a fairly comfortable mask (swift nose pillows), but I keep on taking it off during the night. I wake up several times a night to use the bathroom or just simply wake up. During this time I am only half awake, because I fall asleep again very quickly. I seem to take the mask off almost every night and i end up with about 2-3 hours of sleep a night. I cant tell you how horrible i feel when i wake up! People have suggested things like trying a new mask, dont take your mask off when you awaken, check for leaks, etc, etc. Nothing has worked. I just can't force myself to make clear decisions when I am half awake. One person even suggested that I tape my mask to my face (I dont think so). I dont know if it makes any difference, but I also take percocet and ativan at night...as well as a homeopathic pill called calms forte. I dont know if that distrubpts me sleep or not.

Anyways I am extrememly frustrated and need some help please.

[BlackSpinner]

One person even suggested that I tape my mask to my face (I dont think so).

I do think so. Use masking tape and make sure it cover some hair so it hurts if you try to take it off.
Also get a quick disconnect so that you don't need to take the mask off to go to the bathroom.

[nobody]

Those drugs certainly do disturb the normal sleep stages/cycles and could be causing the frequent waking and mask removing behavior. However, do NOT just stop taking the ativan. I was on that drug before and when I tried to stop taking it I had a very severe physical reaction with bad pain in my stomach, vertigo and seizures. If you can slowly wean yourself off that drug it might help you, but I do mean SLOWLY. It is nothing to mess around with going cold turkey...but the problem with ativan is that it has a very fast half life, so there's no way it lasts through the night (and it causes physical addiction) so that could also disturb your sleep. Percocet is another addictive drug, but I don't have as much experience with it as with ativan.

[nanwilson]

Hello Abertascott from another Albertan
I get up to go to the bathroom too, but I don't take my mask off to do it. I just disconnect the hose from my mask and leave the mask on. Don't even turn off the machine, just disconnect from the mask. I know if you have a data capable machine it will show a large leak, but as long as you know what it is why bother about it. Stick to it and don't give up, keep reading the info on this site and you will learn that you are not the only one with your problem and there are lots of ideas on how to keep the mask on for the whole night. Once you do (keep your mask on that is) your body and brain will thank you by sleeping the night through and get up rested and spry in the morning.
Cheers...Nan

[DoriC]

Are you taking these meds for pain and anxiety? I would think they would be disruptive to cpap therapy but that is something you need to talk to your prescribing Dr about. I believe these drugs you need to be carefully and slowly weaned off them if that is yours and the Dr's decision. Maybe there are other meds that could be substituted.

[torontoCPAPguy]

Have a friend who got up and went to the bathroom without taking off the nosebag. It fell in.

I have no problem removing my mask going to the bathroom. And the Autoset II has an alarm should your mask come off or leak excessively.

Then again, there are always staples and pop rivets.

[elena88]

I have heard that many people have anxiety because of OSA, are you taking the ativan for anxiety?

If your apnea is treated, often the anxiety disappears.. as you are in a fight or flight death struggle every night while youre sleeping,
an all night panic attack, and that can spill over into the daytime..

I know I have panic attacks every night, but that sort of anxiety does not enter into my daytime routine, so Im lucky..

[tattooyu]

You might want to talk to your psych. or doctor about switching to klonopin, which is longer-lasting and a more level/smooth med. Ativan's half-life is ~14 hours so it could last through the night depending on when it is taken.

My bet is that the Percocet is the one making you feel more groggy, but the combo (short of really being bad for someone with OSA) is probably compounding things. Are you on Percocet for back pain or something like that?

[nobody]

Note: all benzos interfere with sleep. You can't go through the proper sleep stages on that stuff.

[torontoCPAPguy]

The less chemicals that you are putting into your body the less confused your liver is going to be while processing things; attended a seminar on drug interactions a few weeks ago and that was the crux of it.

I can tell you from personal experience that the less medication I take the better I sleep. Used to be on Oxycontin at one time - wicked stuff that is 11 times more addictive than Heroin. I have severe back trauma that they really don't want to work on for fear of doing more harm than good. Go figure. But a month on my back on life support seems to have done wonders and I am now taking Extra Strength Tylenol when I need to. And even that seems to affect my sleep patterns. As does caffeine, etc.

One thing for sure though and that is that I am sleeping better and better with the APAP as I get used to things and tweak things, etc. It is not a 'flip the switch and presto' cure. It does, for most, take some time to get used to the mask(s) and the noises, and the change in sleep positions, adjust pressures, educate the doctors, etc.

Hang in there. Keep searching for answers and they will come, albeit perhaps a bit more slowly than one would like, but when I compare before APAP/CPAP and today's results? My Gosh! What a difference. Pity we have to do so much on our own.... you need to be your own advocate. Keep asking questions and getting educated and things will improve as you do.

I know that I can't thank everyone on the board enough for all of the help received over the past months. I may make jest at times but it is to keep from crying.

[Janknitz]

Have a friend who got up and went to the bathroom without taking off the nosebag. It fell in.

I'm guessing Alberta is of the female persuasion. Less chance of that because we face the other way

[kteague]

Are you going back to sleep so quickly after getting up you don't get the mask back on? I did that a lot early on. First tried the rule for myself to not lay down until it was on. No good. I could sleep sitting up for hours. New rule - ALWAYS put mask on while still standing. No exceptions. I could go to sleep in a microsecond so I had to be very regimented about this. It took a few weeks to stop taking my mask off in my sleep, but I did stop. Some say what worked for them was positive selftalk. I must be a knucklehead cause I had to go the negative route. I knew our brains tune in to danger signals even when asleep, so I made a big deal out of every time I found the mask off. Drama queen, hoping my brain wouldn't tell the difference between feigned alarm and the real thing. I just figured fear might have a better chance of breaking thru my zombieness. I did use a bandaid a few times to help remind me to keep it on. Pain can break thru sleep. Be stubborn and and unyielding until your brain finally gives in and accepts the mask. And it will.

[bdonahueweedman]

Regarding the Percocet: my Mother has to take Lortab for her Restless Legs. Its the only thing that works. *I* take Suboxone, which ios a very powerful opiate antagonist, in fact my Doc said that the Suboxone is the REASON for the 'Central' part of my 'Central & Obstructive' part of my diagnosis. I was a drug addict for many many years, and this medicine is a miracle for anyone addicted to pain meds. One pill in the morning and its the end of the obsession. I'm not trying to start a debate about the use of Suboxone (for more info, if one IS addicted, please visit http://www.suboxforum.com), my point is just that lots of folks have to take narcotics for various reasons, and I would hesitate to say "just get off" of the Percocet or Ativan. *I* had to make a choice; stop the Suboxone and more than likely go back to being addicted to narcotics, or get a BiPap machine. I chose the latter; Central Sleep Ap is a small price to pay for being rid of a crippling, powerful addiction. This post caught my eye because I too cannot keep my mask on at night. I am a newbie and am frustrated as hell. Full mask, nasal mask & chinstrap; it's like a claustrophobic kind of panic that wakes me up ripping this thing off of me. I suppose I am only offering *my* experience, that I would think we must work within the framework of whatever meds folks have to take for whatever reason. Even though I am a VERY new Newbie, narcotics I know a LOT about. Good Luck with your mask problems; please let me know if you come up with a solution and I will do the same! Again these are only my opinions and experiences, take what you need and leave the rest! Beth In Nashville

[nobody]

Ok that was the choice you made and I'm sure you're a grown up and can make your own decisions. But I want to make sure people know that central apnea is not the only problem that these drugs cause. It's very important (for unknown reasons!) that we go through the all the stages of sleep at night. These drugs are known to suppress certain stages of sleep, depending on the type of drug. Also, at one point in time I really believed that I NEEDED ativan, but it turns out it was only a matter of what I really believed. I didn't need it at all. I found it helpful for a time, but certainly didn't need it and it became more of a problem than not. That's just me. Again, I respect that adults can make their own decisions about what to do with their bodies, but in order to do that people need to have all the facts. I'm just giving the facts as I know them and my advice is still to get off as many/as much of the drugs as possible.