Trouble staying asleep with CPAP

Sonya wrote:I'm about 3 months in and I still wake quite frequently. My big mistake has been to pull off the mask for comfort and then I fall right back to sleep without it. I'm trying to get out of bed and then mask up again.

I get itchy nose sometimes. I'll pull the mask off, give everything a vigorous rub and then back on for sleep again. I do wish that I wouldn't wake up so frequently, but it's all about the baby steps.

Sounds like we're in the same boat! I hope we both start taking bigger steps soon!

Sonya wrote:I'm about 3 months in and I still wake quite frequently. My big mistake has been to pull off the mask for comfort and then I fall right back to sleep without it. I'm trying to get out of bed and then mask up again.

I get itchy nose sometimes. I'll pull the mask off, give everything a vigorous rub and then back on for sleep again. I do wish that I wouldn't wake up so frequently, but it's all about the baby steps.

One solution that has worked for many people is to tape the straps (headgear) to your face using some gentle tape (not duct tape!). It's just a reminder to help you not to pull it off in the middle of the night.

After three months, if the mask is not comfortable, chances are it's either not the right mask for you or you have it cinched down too tight. Many strap their mask down tightly to prevent leaks, and one would think that it makes sense to do that; but the mask cushion is supposed to somewhat "float" on the face so it can fully inflate with the pressurized airflow. Adjust the straps a bit if you think it's too tight and see if that helps you to keep it on all night.

BTW, I'm assuming your therapy (pressure settings, AHI, leak, etc.) is otherwise okay.

Once you explore all the normal routes, if you are still experiencing problems you may want to consider going a little "outside the box."

The goal is to get a good nights sleep.

"Something" is waking you up after a few hours of sleep.

Instead of just scratching your nose and trying to fall back to sleep, how about swinging your feet over the side of the bed, taking your mask off, and actually getting up. Walk a few steps, rub your nose and your face, let your thoughts settle, then jump back into bed for the next round.

If you decide to consider this, start it on a weekend. You may end up more tired for a day or two, but you may also find that eventually the time between waking up grows longer until you are sleeping through the night.

The idea for this comes from taking care of sick children. They cry out in the middle of the night, you comfort them, they fall back to sleep, and eventually the body heals and they sleep through the night.

It is a bit of a wild thought, but when everything else fails what have you got to loose?

BleepingBeauty wrote:After three months, if the mask is not comfortable, chances are it's either not the right mask for you or you have it cinched down too tight.

Thanks for that. Yeah, the mask is fitting correctly. I'm a woman of a certain age and sometimes I sweat. A LOT. Sometimes I wake up with a little puddle forming in the bottom of my N10 Mask and have to take it off and wipe it out and wipe down my face. That's when I need to be sure not to lay back down with it in my hands instead of on my face.

I'm trying to do what HoseCrusher described. I try not to be horizontal with the mask off. If I have to take it off, I make sure my feet are on the floor and stay on the floor until the mask is back on. It's just too easy in the beginning to sleepily decide, "It's okay if I just leave it off for a minute" zzzzzzzz snore snort zzzzzz.

Sonya wrote:

BleepingBeauty wrote:After three months, if the mask is not comfortable, chances are it's either not the right mask for you or you have it cinched down too tight.

Thanks for that. Yeah, the mask is fitting correctly. I'm a woman of a certain age and sometimes I sweat. A LOT. Sometimes I wake up with a little puddle forming in the bottom of my N10 Mask and have to take it off and wipe it out and wipe down my face. That's when I need to be sure not to lay back down with it in my hands instead of on my face.

I'm trying to do what HoseCrusher described. I try not to be horizontal with the mask off. If I have to take it off, I make sure my feet are on the floor and stay on the floor until the mask is back on. It's just too easy in the beginning to sleepily decide, "It's okay if I just leave it off for a minute" zzzzzzzz snore snort zzzzzz.

Been there, done that.

In that case, you might try less humidity. I find that if my humidity setting is too high, the air in the mask is much warmer than I feel comfortable with; I usually keep my humidifier set to 1.5 or 2 (in the winter months) out of the five settings. The 1.5 setting is enough for me in the warmer months, even in Aridzona. heh Or you could try passover humidity (no heat at all) and see if that might help. Some people don't use a humidifier at all.

HoseCrusher's suggestion is a good one, too. Do whatever you need to in order to always sleep with the mask on. Getting used to xPAP and making it work definitely is a process, figuring out works and what doesn't for each of us.

OK, so I set my machine to CPAP mode at pressure 10.0. I have been feeling some tightness in my chest lately, so along with that change I increased the Exhalation Relief to MED (it was LOW). I rubbed my nose all over vigorously before I put the mask on, as tan suggested.

For the first time ever, I managed to continue CPAP therapy through the night. I did wake up a few times, but not as often. Once I took off the mask completely and got up to use the bathroom. The other times I used tan's suggestion of a popsicle stick to scratch my nose. It worked for most itches, and kept me from having to readjust the mask (thanks, tan!), but a couple were in places I couldn't reach, and required pulling the mask off then putting it back on. Still, I'm super happy that I still had the mask on my face when my alarm clock went off this morning. That is a first for me!

I had a red mark on my nose this morning, so I guess my mask still needs some adjustment. And I still want to prevent nose itch. Maybe next time I go shopping, I'll look for a product like BlackSpinner suggested.

Anyway, thank you everyone who responded with your helpful advice. By a combination of different ideas, I saw some real progress in my sleep therapy last night. You guys are the best!

MamaGeek wrote:
I had a red mark on my nose this morning, so I guess my mask still needs some adjustment. And I still want to prevent nose itch. Maybe next time I go shopping, I'll look for a product like BlackSpinner suggested.

Anyway, thank you everyone who responded with your helpful advice. By a combination of different ideas, I saw some real progress in my sleep therapy last night. You guys are the best!

Congratulations.

You may want to try a mask liner. You can make a quick one out of an old tshirt or you can get them from Padacheek a member here who makes divine ones. My nose has never accepted a mask against its skin which is one of the reasons I use the hybrid or if I use my quatro there is a liner between the mask and my skin. Some people use something called moleskin.

Having trouble staying asleep, please advise