OK I give.... Help with starting over

1. I need to make friends with my mask. This is not going to happen as long as I have leaks. On the Liberty there is an extra length of hose.... I keep pulling it loose while trying to get comfy. The top plastic straps come loose while I'm trying to put on the mask. Suggestions please?

2. I found that with the nasal pillows I have to have heated humidity. I couldn't tolerate the cold air blowing up my nose. I solved this one by setting the humidifier on 3. I think I'm good to go with this one.

3. I really need help on how to quit clenching my teeth so tight. I think that is the second biggest barrier to me falling asleep with the mask. Ideas???

Any other words of wisdom?

You could try a mouth guard. Boil and bite type. $0.97 at Walmart in the sporting goods department.

Here is an idea from "outside the box..."

Caution: While these ideas may seem foolish, and crazy, they are actually based upon "real world" experiences.

In order to "embrace" (at least mentally) your mask and relieve some of the anxiety associated from having a "space alien" hanging off of your face, you have to spend some time "normalizing" the experience.

First you need to disconnect the little hose from your mask. We will get to that later.

At noon, put your mask on and make yourself a sandwich. Sit down and get comfortable. Remove the mask and take a bite. Before chewing, put your mask back on and adjust it. When the mask is back on, chew your bite.

Repeat until the sandwich is gone.

Now, take a break. If you have broken out in sweat, you may need to take a shower. Don't worry, it gets easier...

Find a short children's story that you love, or a dear poem. Put your mask on and read the story or poem out loud. OK, that was acceptable for a first run, but do it again. This time put some expression into it. Let your face animate the story.

Time for another break...

If you have children, your husband and children should be laughing their heads off by this time, but if they aren't, this next exercise will send them rolling on the floor.

There is a caution associated with this exercise. The purpose of this one is to learn to compensate while having a "snake" (the long hose) hanging off of you. The problem is that there will be no air flowing through the belly of the snake, so you need to make sure your mask is on, but not sealed. You want to be able to breathe without re-breathing the air you exhale.

A starting place would be to put your mask on, then pull it down under your chin. You will need both hoses for this exercise, so attach both hoses. You will not be using your xPAP machine, so disconnect the long hose from the machine before hooking everything up.

The idea here is to go about your household activities with the mask and hoses attached. The goal is to find a way to accommodate the hoses so they don't come apart or get in the way. Its kind of like learning to compensate for a cast on a leg or arm or wrist or finger. Do your laundry, load and unload the dishwasher, catch up on your email, vacuum the rugs, and so on. The more you move around, the more you will "learn to dance" with your "snake."

Sleeping at night with the mask and hose is like dancing, except you have a really STUPID partner. Most of the time you will have to lead, and sometimes you will just have to drag your partner into proper position.

By this time I am sure your family will have suggestion on variations you can try. I am sure they will eagerly awaiting your next performance.

After a few days of this, another step would be to disconnect your humidifier and find a suitable extension cord for your machine. Plug your machine in, mask up, and stroll around the house holding your machine in one hand and using the other hand to manage the hose. When you reach the limits of the extension cord, take the mask off, set the machine down, and find another outlet to plug the extension cord into.

Remember to wash and rinse your hoses and mask after all of this playing and prior to setting up for sleeping at night.

The goal with all of this is to find out how your face works and how much you can move your face around before everything starts leaking. Also, you need to develop a "sense" of where the hoses are so when you roll over in your sleep, it is a smooth dance turn rather than simply running into a brick wall.

While you may find these exercises funny, this is what they will do for you.

1. By taking your mask off, taking a bite of your sandwich, and putting the mask back on you will gain experience in putting your mask on and adjusting it. The more often you do this, the easier it will be to get it properly adjusted.

2. By chewing with your mask on you will begin to understand how the mask interfaces with your face.

3. By reading the story out loud, you learn how your various facial expressions effect the seal of the mask. Sometimes the difference between a good seal and a leak is simply flaring your nostrils. Also, if it is a really good story or poem, you will attach some positive emotions with the whole experience. It won't be enough to actually "make friends" with your mask, but it will take the edge off.

4. By learning to "dance with the snake" you will develop an awareness of it. That will help you move around without having the connections pull apart or ending up pulling your mask off of your face.

5. By spending all this time with your gear, you will loose your anxiety about it, and that may be all you need to stop clenching your teeth.

In industrial settings, variations of these exercises are used to insure that people wearing respirators while working in hazardous areas are protected.