Becoming Frustrated!

[CMorrison64]

HELP! I am finding myself only wearing my CPAP a few hours and taking it off; I feel like I'm suffocating. I've tried Xanax, I've tried Benadryl. It sucks because the 2 nights I slept 6 and 7 hours with it I felt fantastic. Any ideas?

[jnk]

HELP! I am finding myself only wearing my CPAP a few hours and taking it off; I feel like I'm suffocating. I've tried Xanax, I've tried Benadryl. It sucks because the 2 nights I slept 6 and 7 hours with it I felt fantastic. Any ideas?

What do you mean by "I feel like I'm suffocating?" Could it be you need more pressure to feel comfortable?

You had very severe sleep apnea for a long time, untreated. So it is natural that your brain has learned to be frightened about your sleep. Until your brain gets used to the idea that the stuff hanging off the front of your face is there to save your life, not to threaten it, it will be a little skittish.

Eventually, the brain "gets" it, but it is a little confused still. It assumes it is missing the signals since your airway is staying open more. Give it time. Be nice to it. Don't fuss at it. Be understanding with it. For example, don't say things to it like: "You idiot brain, why did you wake me up to make me rip off the very thing that is keeping us alive?!" That hurts your brain's feelings. Instead, say things like: "Hey, brain, I get it--you got concerned because you are used to having to wake me up several times an hour to keep me alive, and now you don't have to do that, so you are worried you aren't doing your job. But, hey, look over there at that nice shiny machine! It is taking care of us. You can relax now. No need for all that panic juice to jar me awake any more. Let's laugh together, curl up in peaceful contentment, and just go back to sleep now, shall we?"

Be firm with your brain, because it needs its O2. But don't get angry with it. Give it time. Be reassuring to it. It did a good job keeping you alive all those years while you slept, and now it needs to relax enough to get its sleep to.

It took years to learn how to sleep the wrong way. So a few months of good sleep hygiene is well worth it to teach your body and your brain to sleep the right way--meaning, while breathing.

jeff

[govol]

Give it some time we tell everyone that Cpap for the most part is not something you do the first few nights and think it's wonderful. For most people it takes several weeks of therapy to acclimate yourself to use. if you are using Ramp skip it the full pressure may make you feel less like smothering also make sure you are ready for sleep...lying awake thinking about breathing is very hard to overcome, Cpap is designed to meet pressures normally in your sleep, when you are wide awake you find yourself struggling against the pressures that you meet normally in a relaxed sleep state. Again give it some time and try not to over think the situation. Frustration is a common problem and can be overcome with repated use..GoVols

[CMorrison64]

No worries I won't give up .... I like the way I feel ... I know everything has an adjustment period. I guess I get frustrated easily esp. when my charge RN at work tells me how her husband never had an issue ... I want to be that way

[newhosehead]

It IS hard when you hear about someone else who had no problems getting used to this. As someone else said, perhaps you need more pressure, sorry I dont remember if you are using ramp or not, if you are try not using it.

FWIW, I had a really easy time falling asleep at first, and then it got more difficult. My way of dealing with it is surely not for everyone (plenty of people won't like this one at all, perhaps you are one of them) but I turn the TV on and set the sleep timer for 30 minutes. I can't see it bc I sleep on my side but just listening to some inane chatter, (not difficult to find at ALL) seems to distract me just enough to drop off) Again, just way of dealing with it.

Good luck,
Jeanette

[bailachel]

I do something similar. I play solitaire on my palm pilot. I can do this with the lights out since the screen lights up. It is boring enough to put me to sleep, but keeps my mind from running on about other things. This may not work for anyone else, but it does work for me.

[msudawg]

Is the cpap on ramp? I feel the same way when the pressure is to low.

[btesterman]

I've only been on CPAP 2 1/2 months but it's interesting to read posts from newer users. I'm sure many of us are saying "Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt...." My first week was filled with nights with maybe 3 hours use. I finally raised my pressure, turned off the ramp, also went from small to medium nasal pillows but even then had a few nights when I'd wake up the next morning and find I'd taken off the mask during the night but couldn't remember doing it. I finally seemed to get used to it. I can't say as I love wearing the mask but at least it stays on all night. I feel some better than before treatment but not great (then at 63 I may never feel "great"), I do usually sleep through the night and don't get up for bathroom visits which is a big improvement. Evidently it takes some people longer to start actually FEELING better but just knowing not as many brain cells are meeting their demise every night is an encouragement. Good luck and know that there are many others out there who have struggled but overcome their problems. Hang in there!

[jweeks]

HELP! I am finding myself only wearing my CPAP a few hours and taking it off; I feel like I'm suffocating. I've tried Xanax, I've tried Benadryl. It sucks because the 2 nights I slept 6 and 7 hours with it I felt fantastic. Any ideas?

Hi,

My suggestion is to get a copy of the clinical manual for this machine, and find out what the settings are. Then post that information. I know nothing about your machine. Like others have indicated, this sounds like a classic case of too low of pressure. Most people have issues trying to breathe at a pressure of less than 8, but many DMEs set up machines to start off at a much lower pressure. Also, if you have some kind of CFLEX or EPR, some DMEs set them up incorrectly. The only way to tell is to find out how the machine is set up.

-john-

[CMorrison64]

HELP! I am finding myself only wearing my CPAP a few hours and taking it off; I feel like I'm suffocating. I've tried Xanax, I've tried Benadryl. It sucks because the 2 nights I slept 6 and 7 hours with it I felt fantastic. Any ideas?

Hi,

My suggestion is to get a copy of the clinical manual for this machine, and find out what the settings are. Then post that information. I know nothing about your machine. Like others have indicated, this sounds like a classic case of too low of pressure. Most people have issues trying to breathe at a pressure of less than 8, but many DMEs set up machines to start off at a much lower pressure. Also, if you have some kind of CFLEX or EPR, some DMEs set them up incorrectly. The only way to tell is to find out how the machine is set up.

-john-

I did not know I could change my settings; I thought what they put it was what they were told to and it had to stay at that. This is good to know. Will drag out the manual tonight.