Newbie advice on how to NOT rip off the mask?

[cleverlikeabox]

Hi All,

I'm relatively new to cpap treatment. I've been on it for three months with brief ups (occasional feelings of restfulness) and pretty typical downs (grogginess, daytime sleepiness.) The biggest problem I'm having is simply keeping the mask on during the night. Within as little as two hours, I pull off the mask in my sleep. I might wake up a couple minutes later hearing the "mask off" alarm and try to put it back on but I usually just sleep through the alarm or wake up to the sound of rushing air. I try and comply, but it's like there's a different person at night that doesn't want anything to do with the machine.

What have you folks done to adjust into treatment? Any major or minor adjustments? I know this is a really broad question and I'm looking for broad strokes.

(Sorry if this repeats any topics, links welcomed.)

[Paul56]

I believe that happened to me once in the early days.

Believe it or not... the next day I kept repeating to myself that I would NOT
remove the mask that night. I think I fell asleep chanting that to myself.

I spend that night with the mask on... and have never taken the mask off
since.

[rubymom]

I also ripped mine off the first few nights. My mental messages to myself were what solved the problem for me. I just "willed" myself to leave it on or at least make me conscious if I was taking it off so I could stop myself.

Others have tried taping it to their face (so they wake themselves up pulling it off) or wearing it for a few hours while watching TV so that your body gets accustomed to this foreign object on your face.

[Jersey Girl]

In the very beginning, I watched tv and read books with my mask on - just to reassure my brain that I would continue to breathe with the mask on. That it is a "natural" thing for me. I also wore my mask each and every night and if I was napping so that my brain associated sleep with mask...mask with sleep.

Regards,

Jersey Girl

[Mnementh]

I'm going through the exact same thing. Got my machine back in March, and I wear it for almost exactly two hours. I take it off and turn the machine off with no memory of doing so.

While what I've done has not worked for me, it has made it better temporarily. It may bring permanent results for you. First, I bought a ten foot hose so I could get the CPAP away from me. That way, when the leak alarm went off I had to get out of bed to turn it off.

In order to find out what was making me take it off in the first place, (since I had no memory of it,) I actually tied myself to the bed to force myself to have to think about it in order to turn it off. This allowed me to troubleshoot my problem to my extreme nose sensitivity. I have a new mask on the way from my DME, and hopefully that will help me.