Excellent advice from 2listless !!!!
It's an easy thing for doctors and DMEs to say, "Just give it time, you'll get used to it" about any number of painful things. You can bet if THEY were experiencing it, they'd be doing something about it for their own comfort.
A mask that digs into the bridge of the nose, sometimes even causing open sores...
A machine/pressure that is extremely difficult to breathe out against...
A pressure that causes swallowed air (aerophagia) and painful bloating...
A machine with no heated humidification, causing extreme dryness of the nasal passages and sometimes even nose bleeds...
A chin strap torture device instead of suggesting more comfortable ways to control mouth air leaks...
A cheap leaky mask as standard "first mask" for new users who trust the professionals to recommend what will work well for them...
Sorry about the rant, but COMFORT with this kind of inherently uncomfortable treatment is too important to dismiss with: "Oh, that happens...stick with it and it will get better...you just have to get used to it."
And they (the professionals) wonder why so many cpap users drop out of treatment. Sheesh.
We really have to be our own advocates. Learn all we can about what can make it more comfortable and more effective. Sleep disruptions from dealing with equipment problems ranging from annoying to painful can leave a person just as exhausted (or even more so) as pre-cpap.
Yes, it does take time to get used to this whole new way of trying to sleep. But I'm a big believer in making it as comfortable as possible right from the start. Don't try to tough it out when there are ways to make it better. The message boards are a godsend for learning about ways to make it more comfortable...endurable, even!