Still can't go all night

Continueed

There are articles on "sleep hygiene" which sounds like something involving cold tiles and surgical spirit, but in fact are about forming good sleep habits.

I suggest you look them up and think about some of the principles you could apply to get your whole self, subconcious and all, ready for sleep which remember includes wearing your mask. Spend half an hour to an hour purely on a before sleep routine. Could include a pleasant bath, meditation, a milky drink, maybe a massage with a SO????

You probably will continue waking at 3 am for quite a while. Don't just react to this, be proactive. Plan.

I went through this for some time due to the menopause and also depression.

Once you know you are awake and can't get back to sleep with a change in position, get up. Sit up first, then take your mask off so you can't go back to sleep without your mask.

Go and do something else for a while. Keep warm. Have a warm drink, read a chapter of a book (sitting up so you can't fall asleep). You will start to feel sleepy again. Then mask on and sleep. If no sleep, up again.

You have to treat your subconscious like a child that needs to be taught. Keep it simple, be consistent. It is not hard once you have made your mind up to do it.

Good luck

good luck

Di

Wow. It's heartbreaking to find that you're having so much trouble with this. It's encouraging that you're sticking with it.

When I first started (a year ago) I didn't know about this group. I was pretty much doing everything by myself. I would want to take the mask off after a couple of hours. I made a few deals with myself. My ramp was set at 15 minutes, and it was ok to hit it again if I wasn't asleep by then, but it wasn't ok to take off the mask. It was ok to loosen the mask (I didn't know anything about leaks) but it wasn't ok to take it off before falling asleep. I read the hours on the machine every morning (no software yet) and kept a chart. It wasn't ok to have a night less than four hours. I would try to look at the clock and make sure that I had done my four hours, but there were times that I'd find the mask on the floor in the morning. The good part was that I would have another chance to do better that night. I may have made some other little deals, but I don't remember them now.

After finding this group I discovered Ayr Gel. This little gob of grease took me to all night with the Swift almost immediately. The difference was HUGE. Then I bought the software and by then I was consistent enough with the mask to start working on my AHI. My titration was at 7, which was not producing a low enough AHI. I raised the pressure slowly, and it's now acceptable. But that's a discussion for later. First we have to get you comfortable with the whole process. It's obvious that you know the importance of success and the consequences of giving up, because you haven't done that. And I'm pretty sure that you won't. The actual therapy right now isn't as important to you as being able to sleep comfortably with the machine. When this happens everything will get better.

My theory is that it's always about the mask. When you get comfortable with the mask your anxiety will go away. If you're still using the Swift, try Ayr Gel, and don't keep the straps too tight. There have been lots of good suggeations offered, and you can't do them all at once. Baby steps. Try different things, and not just one night at a time. Give things time to work for you. Do your best to improve just a little every night.

You CAN do this! Stay in touch here and let us know how it's going. We care!

Sam

Daddy,

Just to piggyback on what Rested Gal said, there have been several stomach sleepers on here say that the Headrest works for them. I use it also. Your comment that you take it off and turn over on your stomach and go right to sleep makes me wonder if some of your trouble is you're trying to sleep in unnatural positions to accomodate the mask.

For a great part of my first year on cpap, I would take the mask off in my sleep. Even when I quit that, through the next year I had this thing about the mask that when I woke up it absolutely had to come off. So I would take it off and go to the restroom, go get a drink. By then when I got back to bed and put the mask on, it felt like a mental cue it was time to go to sleep. Only the last couple months can I awaken, turn over, and go back to sleep without removing the mask. I really thought that would never happen.

Hopefully you'll get some tips on here that will help you one day make peace with your mask.

I can't add much to all the excellent advice. Except that I would wake up at 3 a.m. frequently (both before and after cpap) and not be able to get back to sleep. My doctor suggested I use melatonin (3 mg). As long as I do this, I stay asleep. The reason, as I understand it, is that if you don't have enough melatonin naturally (as we age we lose it) you have a hard time staying asleep. It really does the trick for me.

There may be a very good reason your doctor doesn't want you to take sleep meds, but if it's just a rigid position on his/her part, I'd find a doctor who works with both supplements and prescription drugs and get a consultation. Having a good nights sleep makes it worth the extra work/money to find a good doctor. I know how hard it is when you are sleep deprived to do any of this stuff. But hang in there and keep working at it. Others have succeeded, why not you?