Bad Boy!

Made you Look

Sorry. I have only been on CPAP for 6 nights now. And on Sunday Night I started being a bad boy . I took off my mask around 0300 hrs and slept on until 0530 without it. Then on Monday night I took off my mask around 0100 hrs and slept on until 0530 without it.

Since my wife has not chastised me for it .............it becomes easier to do.
I thought if I 'confessed' my sins out here I might feel like I was accountable for my 'sins' and get back on track to wearing my mask all night.

I know I need to wear it..just have to stay with it until it becomes the 'normal' for me.

Thanks for all of the great advice everyone has posted.........I have been doing alot of reading here.

You need my "mask off alarm" - it's my husband rolling over and swating me

I know it sounds silly, but try to identify what is getting you to take the mask off. Mine was rainout - once I cured that things got better. There are others here who had the problem worst that I did that might have some other suggestions.

BTW - Let your wife know you need her help with this. She may simply think that you don't need the moral support a scolding provides.

Do you have the software? Do you use it?

I woke up the 2nd night with my machine acting strange, and I flipped the power off and got up for a little bit to go to the bathroom and re-up on the Benadryl. When I went back to the bedroom and sat back down I just kind of stared at the APAP machine and threw a nice little pity party for myself thinking, "@!#%, I have to wear this @!#%ing thing for the rest of my life". I really wanted to just lay down and go to sleep without the thing because it irritated me that it woke me up with it's shenanigans. But I knew the software was going to show me in the morning that I was being weak and being a little "wussy", so I went ahead and strapped back in, read for a little, and then fell back to sleep and I was sure glad. I'm sure once you start ditching the mask for "only a couple of hours", it gets easier and easier to slide down that slippery slope.

I've got two huge reason to continue with the therapy, an 11 year old daughter and a 13 year old son. Case closed.

Pineapple wrote:I know it sounds silly, but try to identify what is getting you to take the mask off.

BTW - Let your wife know you need her help with this. She may simply think that you don't need the moral support a scolding provides.

Oh I know darn good and well what is getting me to demask.......ME! I just wake up and think, "how many times am I gonna wake up?"..........then I decide to remove it.
I will let my wife know she should start 'nagging' me about the mask too..............she will be all too happy to oblige me

SharkBait wrote:Do you have the software? Do you use it?

I woke up the 2nd night with my machine acting strange, and I flipped the power off and got up for a little bit to go to the bathroom and re-up on the Benadryl. When I went back to the bedroom and sat back down I just kind of stared at the APAP machine and threw a nice little pity party for myself thinking, "@!#%, I have to wear this @!#%ing thing for the rest of my life". I really wanted to just lay down and go to sleep without the thing because it irritated me that it woke me up with it's shenanigans. But I knew the software was going to show me in the morning that I was being weak and being a little "wussy", so I went ahead and strapped back in, read for a little, and then fell back to sleep and I was sure glad. I'm sure once you start ditching the mask for "only a couple of hours", it gets easier and easier to slide down that slippery slope.

I've got two huge reason to continue with the therapy, an 11 year old daughter and a 13 year old son. Case closed.

I do not have the software or the reader yet.............as soon as I get the dough together for it I am going to buy them. And yes it was much easier to 'decide' to remove the mask the 2nd time.
Just have to keep from back sliding and get used to it............I just had a weak moment.

Thank you both for the encouragement and advice.........

Memo to Chips wife: To help Chip be a good boy and keep his mask on, no sex until he keeps it on all night for a week or more! How's that for a nudge from your wife?

OldLincoln wrote:Memo to Chips wife: To help Chip be a good boy and keep his mask on, no sex until he keeps it on all night for a week or more! How's that for a nudge from your wife?

Ouch! That is hitting below the proverbial belt!

ROTFL!! Good one, OldLincoln!

Since Chip's wife may enjoy sex as much a he does (or more...) I don't think it's fair to make forgo her pleasure . Let's keep her out of it.

There is one think absolutely under your control here, Chip.
And that's going back to sleep without your mask.

If you're serious about using the mask, then make yourself simple rule: If you take off your mask, you have to get out of bed and go to another room, and if you want to go back to bed, you have to put your mask back on.
If you're very kind and firm with yourself about that, you'll find out that the little imp who has decided to test your perseverance will give up eventually - once he discovers that he can wake you up - but he cannot, in any way tempt you to go back to sleep maskless. Eventually, he'll prefer sleeping with the mask to staying awake and out of bed.

O.

ozij wrote:Since Chip's wife may enjoy sex as much a he does (or more...) I don't think it's fair to make forgo her pleasure . Let's keep her out of it.

If mama ain't happy, nobody's happy!

ChipsXJ wrote:I took off my mask around 0300 hrs and slept on until 0530 without it. Then on Monday night I took off my mask around 0100 hrs and slept on until 0530 without it.

I'll give you a slightly different response, which is don't beat yourself up about it too much especially during the early weeks.

I've been told that the average CPAP patient initially (and I'm not sure if that's a few weeks, a month, two, or more) uses their machine about 4 hours a night. Funnily enough, 4 hours/night is exactly the minimum of what Medicare and insurance companies seem to require as a baseline to prove 'compliance'.

Obviously, you need to wear it longer, and you know exactly why that's the case. If you come here complaining about still being tired while only wearing it a few hours a night, I'll also promise to move from supportive to a slightly different tone.

But relax. Take your time if you're having problems keeping it on all night, and don't put pressure on yourself to get everything right from day 1. It'll happen eventually, and as long as you're aware that it's something you need to do you'll get there.

old64mb wrote:

ChipsXJ wrote:I took off my mask around 0300 hrs and slept on until 0530 without it. Then on Monday night I took off my mask around 0100 hrs and slept on until 0530 without it.

I'll give you a slightly different response, which is don't beat yourself up about it too much especially during the early weeks.

I've been told that the average CPAP patient initially (and I'm not sure if that's a few weeks, a month, two, or more) uses their machine about 4 hours a night. Funnily enough, 4 hours/night is exactly the minimum of what Medicare and insurance companies seem to require as a baseline to prove 'compliance'.

Obviously, you need to wear it longer, and you know exactly why that's the case. If you come here complaining about still being tired while only wearing it a few hours a night, I'll also promise to move from supportive to a slightly different tone.

But relax. Take your time if you're having problems keeping it on all night, and don't put pressure on yourself to get everything right from day 1. It'll happen eventually, and as long as you're aware that it's something you need to do you'll get there.

Thanks.

I am very surprised, but , I was able to keep the mask on all night last night..........even fighting the congestion issue. Used the saline nose spray at 2230 bedtime and hit the sack. Woke up about 0230-0300 and had to hit the spray again.....then finished the night out until 0530.

I am surprised that I was able to keep the congestion down enough to wear the mask all night! Since I suffer from a touch (albeit a heavy touch) of the claustrophobia, when I get congested and try to wear the mask the claustrophobia feels compounded 10 fold. So last night was a definite victory!

Thanks for the support.

Yeah, when lackanooky enters the picture you'll be amazed at what you can do!