Lose ground if I take a night off?

[talktobon]

I'm a newbie and have only been able to use my machine a few hours a night. I'm not sleeping well with it. If I take a night off (to catch up on sleep) will my body be starting from square one again as far as trying to get accustomed to it? I'm waiting for a chinstrap to come in, and my therapy isn't doing any good because the air is going out my mouth. I've been taping in the meantime.

[Linus]

Stick with it. Loose the tape, that can be dangerous. You will get used to CPAP and the benefits will start to show up. The chinstrap helps a lot.

[Goofproof]

Stick with it. Loose the tape, that can be dangerous. You will get used to CPAP and the benefits will start to show up. The chinstrap helps a lot.

If you do loose the tape, make sure you loose the nasal interface too. Get a FF mask that fits. P.S. Chin straps aren't the answer either. Jim

[freepostg]

I'm a newbie and have only been able to use my machine a few hours a night. I'm not sleeping well with it. If I take a night off (to catch up on sleep) will my body be starting from square one again as far as trying to get accustomed to it? I'm waiting for a chinstrap to come in, and my therapy isn't doing any good because the air is going out my mouth. I've been taping in the meantime.

Absolutely do not take a night off. I am petrified of not having my machine for a night and have never missed. You are doing a good job by continuing to try! Keep up the good work. GoofProof is dead right. If you quit taping, ensure you use a full face mask properly fitted. I tape and use a chinstrap..I wish I didn't have to use either but both seem to work quite well for me together.

[jnk]

I'm a newbie and have only been able to use my machine a few hours a night. I'm not sleeping well with it. If I take a night off (to catch up on sleep) will my body be starting from square one again as far as trying to get accustomed to it? I'm waiting for a chinstrap to come in, and my therapy isn't doing any good because the air is going out my mouth. I've been taping in the meantime.

Try not to take any steps backward. Try standing still, as far as how many hours you use it, if you have to, but don't let your inner CPAP-rebel get the upper hand on your therapy. It's sort of a battle of wills with yourself at first. Your body/mind has to learn that it IS going to get used to CPAP, and if you give into yourself and stop moving forward, it becomes that much harder the next time you feel like taking a step in the wrong direction. Be assured that any unpleasantness with the effort to get used to CPAP will pay off big time in the days ahead. Once you break through to the other side of total CPAP compliance, you will start reaping the benefits that will KEEP you compliant, all night, every night. Don't put off the rewards that are coming your way. Do all you can, within reason, to get to the future--clearer thinking, better health, more refreshing sleep.

[JoyD.]

talktobon,

My advice would be NOT to start off with bad habits . . . stick with it no matter what. You just have to get through the early difficulties and figure out what you can do to improve the situation.

Like all of us had to do . . . you need to "bone up" on the basics to get started. We can try to help as well, but you must "dig in" and learn HOW to use this site to your best advantage. Click on NEW USERS and OUR WISDOM at the top of the screen and start reading. Also jule's posting on the Home page: WHERE A CPAP NEWBIE SHOULD START. Be proactive and you will find the answers and the help you need.

THEN . . . we are here listening and eager to offer our experience & suggestions.

Be encouraged, you WILL DO WELLl . . . we all have our own learning curve. We were all where you are. You will catch up, as I did! In the meantime, you may lose a little sleep but the benefits of hanging in there are TOO GREAT to slacken. So . . . dig in and learn! We are pulling for you.

Joy

[Quinda]

A neighbor of mine "took a night off" and he was found the next morning dead by his family (that was just a few months ago), he was only in his mid 40's ... also, I was just at my dentist's being fitted for a night gaurd and I brought my mask with me so the dentist could see the issue I was trying to address, when I was checking out the receptionist saw it and made the comment that they had just lost a patient to sleep apnea, turns out she was not using the CPAP regularly because it wasn't comfortable for her, now she's dead, she was in her mid 30's ...

I wouldn't sleep without mine, ever, even when I take the occasional nap I always use my CPAP ... my advice to you would be to not take a night off since it could very well be your last night ever ...

[SharkBait]

I'm a newbie and have only been able to use my machine a few hours a night. I'm not sleeping well with it. If I take a night off (to catch up on sleep) will my body be starting from square one again as far as trying to get accustomed to it? I'm waiting for a chinstrap to come in, and my therapy isn't doing any good because the air is going out my mouth. I've been taping in the meantime.

Taking the night off can be a slippery slope, but I hate to just put my foot down and say "no one should do it" because we're all a little different. Unless my mask was causing a big sore that had to heal up making a mask unbearable, I'd personally just keep sticking with it. I honestly don't know if you would lose ground so to speak, but I am weary of suggesting someone get in the habit of taking the night off. It does get easier and hopefully the weekend is a good time to get caught up with some napping (while using the CPAP...).

[Paul56]

I'm a newbie and have only been able to use my machine a few hours a night. I'm not sleeping well with it. If I take a night off (to catch up on sleep) will my body be starting from square one again as far as trying to get accustomed to it? I'm waiting for a chinstrap to come in, and my therapy isn't doing any good because the air is going out my mouth. I've been taping in the meantime.

You will lose ground if you take a night off... there is no such thing as a night off.

Taking a night off the hose won't help you catch up on your sleep as your apnea events will kick in again.

[thimarine]

Ditto to what Goofproof says. I tape also. The ffm caused a severe sore on the bridge of my nose. I still have the scar. I officially don't recommend taping to anyone since it's discouraged by the people who are supposed to be in charge of our therapy. But, a chinstrap doesn't work for me and I will never wear a ffm again. I tried the hybrid and it was worthless. I have been through two power outages and one rainout while taping. I woke up and was able to breathe with no problems. It's a risk I'm willing to take since the benefits of nasal pillows and my therapy have been great.

To answer you question about a night off, it is not a good idea. Whenever I've had a rough day and fall asleep in front of the tv for an hour or so, I pay for it the next day even though I have a good night's therapy on my machine. I never take an intention nap without the machine and am mad at myself for not going to bed when I'm really tired and know there's a danger of nodding off. I feel like I've done my body a disservice. I wish you luck with your therapy, but urge you to not "take a night off."

[OldLincoln]

OK, all those who have been on the hose for over a year and have never taken a night off - for ANY reason raise your hand!

I agree that one should not take a night off just for the heck of it, but I believe there are exceptions. I for instance had a sore throat and the air blowing past it put me into a fit of coughing. I took the cough syrup, etc but the throat was raw and getting more raw so I skipped a night - so what.

I also recognize some could expire without it even for 1 night, but I don't believe the same degree of risk applies to everyone. However, I offer an alternative to our OP, talktobon.

Fatigue can lead to serious consequences, even those that CPAP is intended to prevent such as falling asleep while driving etc., and illness. Since you have a weekend I suggest you nap for an hour or so, with someone to monitor you. I don't mean hover with a mirror under your nose, but close enough to hear you breath. If you snore, so much the better. Think of it like uhh... having protection to avoid unintended consequences if you get my drift and make fun of it. It is important to catch up on sleep before you hurt yourself or others.

Good luck.

[alnhwrd]

My hand is up. Been at the cpap game almost a year and a half and have not skipped a night. Never. Not even in the beginning when the leaks were driving me crazy.

To talktobon,

Kudos for sticking with your therapy. Ask yourself the following questions.

Would you take a night off of insulin treatments if you were diabetic?
Would you take a night off of sobriety if you were a recovering alcoholic?
Would you take a night off of birth control pills?
Would you take a night off of medication to treat a heart condition?

OSA is a serious medical condition that requires treatment every night to be effective. Skipping one night probably won't kill you, but one night leads to two, which leads to a week, a month, and the next thing you know your machine is boxed up and sitting on the closet floor. And that will likely lead to even more serious, even deadly, health problems.

The bigger question is why are you struggling? Is it mask problems (the #1 pitfall of newbies) machine noise, what? Bring those issues here and someone who has struggled with them like you will happily help you. You have a great machine that will provide excellent therapy, its may just be a matter of doing some adjust or find a mask that works for you to get you sleeping right.

Rather than skipping a night, if it were me I would try sleeping with the mask for at least a few hours every night and working up a bit every night from there. That way at least you are getting some therapy each night. Best of luck to you.

[Paul56]

Six months on the hose... NO nights off here.

I would need a very compelling reason to take a night off the hose.

[Wulfman]

I'm a newbie and have only been able to use my machine a few hours a night. I'm not sleeping well with it. If I take a night off (to catch up on sleep) will my body be starting from square one again as far as trying to get accustomed to it? I'm waiting for a chinstrap to come in, and my therapy isn't doing any good because the air is going out my mouth. I've been taping in the meantime.

I agree with alnhwrd......you need to figure out why you're struggling.
If you think you have to take a night off to catch up on sleep, you've got to figure out what's wrong.
Are you having nasal congestion? This can contribute to mouth-breathing or mouth-leaking if you can't breathe through your nose.
Is your pressure too low? It contributes to mouth-breathing.

Full face masks "cover" many of the problems.

If the machine in your profile is correct, you should be able to see how you're doing with the summary information in the LCD screen.

Den

[DoriC]

My husband is on Cpap for 6mos and never missed a night except for 2 nights in the beginning when he had an infection on his nose bridge. Every night before "hosing up" he would always say, "here we go again" as if he were dreading it. I wondered if he would ever stop saying that and he finally did after 3mos. Now it's just routine. So stick with it every night, read all you can, ask all your questions and seek encouragement here. They will guide you. We couldn't have done it without the wonderful people here.