That first unmasked breath in the morning...

zart · Post by **zart** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 5:21 pm

Ok, here is something that I am interested in hearing...

What do others experience in the morning when you first take off the mask and breath on your own...

What does that air smell like, taste like, feel like, and does it make you want to put the mask back on...?

For me that first breath has a stale and unpleasant taste and smell. It feels hot and dry. If it wouldn't tether me to my bed I think I would wear it all day.

The idea of wireless/hoseless CPAP is a real interesting dream!

snowdog · Post by **snowdog** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:28 pm

Wow, for me it's exactly the opposite. I find the air in my mask to be stale in the morning and can't wait to get my mask off for the first breath of the day. Of course I'm wearing a FF mask so I get the wonderful "morning breath" build up during the night.

FairSpirit · Post by **FairSpirit** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:50 pm

Well, I (still) get up several times to use the restroom, but each time my mask is removed, it's so wonderful and refreshing! I love it!

~Jenn~

IWannaSleep · Post by **IWannaSleep** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:55 pm

Now that I have all my settings tweaked, optimum pressure, humidifier, mask fit, and so on, I find I breathe so much more freely with my mask on and at pressure.

For me, that first breath without my mask is a bit of a let down. My APAP and Swift combo is keeping my sinuses open and air flowing so well that I feel a bit of a suffocating feeling when I first take the mask off. It quickly goes away, but I prepare myself for it now I know it's coming. I sit on the edge of my bed, and press the off button at the same time I pull off my mask. After a few breaths I adapt to the real world air and get up and start my day.

Ron

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 7:46 pm

Whew! i was beginning to think i was crazy.

Thanks for the post Ron...

Mary · Post by **Mary** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 8:50 pm

When I wake up in the morning very often I spend a good 5-10 minutes just enjoying breathing with my cpap. Thought that I had a real problem until I talked with some other folks that really didn't wont to give up the beautiful breath. So yes I would probably wear mine all day it it were not attached to the wall.

mesocosm · Post by **mesocosm** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 9:14 pm

I have the same experience... the first breath in the morning is like breathing in a bunch of old stale air out of a cardboard box that has been sitting in the attic a long, long time... kind of chalky, stale, almost synthetic tasting... really weird.

MissAmethyst2U · Post by **MissAmethyst2U** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 9:59 pm

I feel the exact way IWannaSleep does in the m morning...

JimH · Post by **JimH** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 10:10 pm

The stale taste and dry mouth are the second thing I notice when I remove my mask. the first is the let down of easier breathing. I immediately go back to being a mouth breather and and it doesn't quite feel releaving. Then I get used to it and move on.

UKnowWhatInSeattle · Post by **UKnowWhatInSeattle** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 10:59 pm

The first thing I notice is the dust in the air. The next thing that happens (this time of year) is that I start sneezing. Let's hear it for getting 8 good hours of very well-filtered air every night!

WindFlyer · Post by **WindFlyer** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 1:05 pm

I really don't notice any difference when I go from the masked to the un-masked state. The air doesn't smell different nor does it feel different temperature-wise. One thing I do know is that for me when I wake up in the morning and I'm breathing through the mask it's just as effortless as un-masked breathing during the regular day because my respriatory system has adapted to it so well.

The bigger contrast is in the evening when I go from the un-masked to the masked state. Then I notice the increase in pressure for the first few breaths with the mask on. But like I just said my respiratory system adapts to the change in pressure very quickly and I am breathing absolutely normally within two to five mintues of strapping the mask on.

ahujudybear · Post by **ahujudybear** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 1:16 pm

From my very first trial using the BiPAP at the proper settings (10-12/2-3), I noticed how much more difficult and laborious it was to breathe without the mask. I have now taught myself to sit on the side of the bed for a few minutes after removing the mask in order to get all my muscles working again. My first breath after taking off the mask is hardly even a whisper.

- JB

TXKajun · Post by **TXKajun** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 3:34 pm

Down here in the desert SW of New Mexico, my first couple of breaths in the morning definitely have a deserty-dry-smoky smell.

Thanks for starting this posting. I thought it was just me!

zart · Post by **zart** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 7:56 pm

I think that I am doing well on CPAP but there are things that just seem weird to me. The first feeling when putting on the mask and crankin up the machine is one of being in a hard wind where it takes your breath away. I feel like it takes less and less time to get used to that feeling now (after two weeks). I know this treatment is helping but I also know that I have not completely adjusted to being a "hose head" but I will. Morning air just isn't as pleasant as CPAP air. And you are right Judy the ease of breathing with the CPAP compared to having to do it on my own is more of a struggle.

I am glad this post was popular, reading about all of your experiences is helpful as well as interesting.

ballast949 · Post by **ballast949** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 1:58 pm

[quote="IWannaSleep"]Now that I have all my settings tweaked, optimum pressure, humidifier, mask fit, and so on, I find I breathe so much more freely with my mask on and at pressure.

For me, that first breath without my mask is a bit of a let down. My APAP and Swift combo is keeping my sinuses open and air flowing so well that I feel a bit of a suffocating feeling when I first take the mask off. It quickly goes away, but I prepare myself for it now I know it's coming. I sit on the edge of my bed, and press the off button at the same time I pull off my mask. After a few breaths I adapt to the real world air and get up and start my day.

Ron

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