Feeling confined

My husband tried twice today. Made it about an hour but was awake during this time. Tonight he said he was going to lift to sleep. He had machine in with him. I figured it was a trick so I wouldn't know. Sure enough I got up to get some water he was asleep without cpap. I woke him up, told him to put it on. Of course it was a fight but he did. As soon as he had it on he said he felt he wasn't getting air and took it off saying he felt confined. I got him to just put the mask on (P10) he said he felt confined. I tried to get him to put it back on without hitting the ramp which takes pressure from 4 to 7 to see if he felt he was getting air and not feeling confined. He tried to tell me he felt leaking. I checked - BONE. Again he said he was confined and of course off it came. I told him the entire volunteer to go to lift was a trick thinking I wouldn't know he wasn't going to use the cpap. He said he felt confined again.

Is he just refusing to adjust sleeping with full mask? We have also tried one that looks like a half mask that a cushion goes under his nose but nose and mouth are still covered. Is it resistance or claustrophobia?

I called distributor this morning to be told their phones were down so another day goes by with no help. Would some sort of nasal mask help? He does breathe more from his nose. Any suggestions?

Welcome! We are glad that you found us and many people in similar situations have gotten help here.

Please go to the User Control Panel in the upper-left corner, right under the search box. Click on it, and then click on Profile. Then, in the left column, click on Edit Equipment and fill in the sections on cpap machine and masks. Then, your equipment will show up at the bottom of every post, like you see at the bottom of this post. Then you won't have to keep answering the same equipment questions again and again.

It sounds like the machine is set to the default settings, ie, "wide open": and this setting does not work for many people as the starting pressure is too low to breathe comfortably. The experienced folks here can help you adjust the settings to fix that. But they need the details of machine and mask first. Also, once you have a good minimum pressure where he doesn't feel starved for air, he will be able to wear it while watching tv or surfing the net. This is one of the best ways to get used to wearing the mask and then it's something familiar when it's time for bed.

Don't be discouraged - you're on the right path. Just provide the needed information and you can get some excellent advice here.

I agree with the other post. Most people feel like they can't get air when the pressure is too low. You need to set the minimum to at least 6.

Tell us what machine and mask he has. And what the pressure settings he has. There is free software available, and we can help you find the right settings. We can also help with mask fitting, leaks, etc. It is a hard therapy to adjust to, but once you succeed, it is awesome.

TD- welcome. I have a question-- why are you posting instead of your husband? He is the one who needs the cpap, right? Is he interested in what we have to say?

Your husband has the P10 nasal pillow mask?? See the link in my equipment profile to see if this is the mask he is using.
If it is ....what size nasal pillow is he using? Size of nasal pillow can affect the perceived amount of air movement.

If he is really claustrophobic (and not just using that as excuse number one) then going to a mask that covers his nose may not help unless you meant the F10 full face mask (which covers both nose and mouth) and not the P10.
The P10 is about as minimal of a mask as there is and to go to something that covers the nose is going to likely be more "stuff" on the face.
Now if you meant a F10 full face mask and not the P10 nasal pillow mask..then yeah...going to a nose mask might definitely help if the issues are real claustrophobia.
Unlikely to help if the problem is just that he doesn't want to use the mask and machine for whatever reason and is using any excuse he can think of to not use it.

Also..in one of your other threads I mentioned starting the ramp at higher than 4 but lower than 7...ramp starting pressure can be adjusted. 4 cm starting pressure does cause a lot of people to feel like they are suffocating...they aren't but it sure feels like it to some people.
If the 7 cm prescribed pressure feels like "too much to handle"....ramp can be changed so that it starts higher than 4 cm but lower than 7...just play with the pressure till you find one lower than 7 that he is okay with but higher than the 4.

So....is it the P10 or F10 mask?
If the P10...what size nasal pillow?
Did you see my note about changing ramp starting pressure?

Please answer Pugsy's questions. It's impossible to help if we don't have enough information. And keeping all your posts about this in one thread will let people follow it more easily.

In another thread, you mentioned using a 45 minute ramp. Using the ramp reduces the pressure during the ramp period, which will make his feeling starved for air worse. Most people that are used to cpap turn off the ramp because during the time that the ramp is on, you are not getting maximum therapy.

The best way to get used to the machine and mask is to turn the ramp off, change the settings to what Pugsy suggested, and then turn the machine on, put the mask on, and enjoy a good movie or read a good book. Also, this use while awake will count toward compliance requirements, while running the machine when it's not hooked up to a person will not. You can't cheat the compliance counter.

It really isn't that hard to get used to the mask and machine but attitude is a huge part of it.

Put the pressure to 7, put on a good exciting movie and have him put the whole stuff on and watch the movie together. That will get his body/mind used to the mask. Do this every day until he wears it all night.