please help

I went in for a study last week. I have apena. I went in last night for the test with the mask. Well, I absolutely freaked out. I tried the full mask that covers both nose and mouth. I started shaking uncontrollably. I have never experienced anything like it before. I am a little claustrophobic. I left. Didn't complete the test. I was embarrassed. They said they will call me with what to do. I don't know if I can go back. What should I do?

have you talked to your doctor about this yet?

how severe was your apnea - there are other treatments depending on how mild it is

I imagine the lab has run into this before - will probably run into it again

I suggest you call your doctor's office or go in and talk to them and see what they can find out about what next.

That's right, talk with your doctor and the sleep techs. There are many masks that should work for claustaphobia. Look thru the masks at https://www.cpap.com and you will see a lot that leave the face relatively clear. Many users use tape to keep the mouth closed instead of the full face mask that covers the mouth. Maybe tape would not trigger your claustaphobia. Hope you find a mask that works and go back for your treatment!

Others on here have talked about being claustrophobic and how they worked through it. If it becomes necessary, maybe taking some medication to help you through adjusting to treatment could be helpful.

Different mask styles feel different in how they deliver the air. I use nasal pillows and have them in place before turning on the machine, and I don't even feel the air entering. Don't give up on one experience.

Kathy

Jerome
I experienced the exact same thing. I went in for a split study but when they came in with the full face mask I had a major attack of claustrophobia so they let me sleep the rest of the night off the mask. They had me borrow a mask to slowly get used to it without the air before I went back for titration. I used a Pro Basic mask because it did not cover my eyes so badly which helped. Definitely, go in to find a mask that fits and does not freak you out before you go back for the titration. If I can do it, you can too. Tomorrow will be the start of my 4th week on CPAP so I am a newbie too.
AuntieNae

Jerome,
As the others have said, don't feel bad about your reaction. A lot go through it. I had a very similar scare the 1st time I tried a scuba diving mask

If you need to practice putting it on while awake just to get used to it. If you have the opportunity to lay down with mask & machine a few times while not in the sleep lab - that helps greatly.

Good luck

DSM

Thanks for the advice. I will call dr tomorrow.

Please do give it another try. I went in for my titration a few nights ago and was scared as anything. I suffer with anxiety and panic attacks and thought this would be the worst night of my life! I choose the nasal pillow one that you see pictured at the bottom of my message. I did not panic, it felt soft and very comfy. Infact I fell asleep in 30 minutes and only awoke twice during the night.

I hope you will go back and have it done again. My tech told me the same thing that for some they cannot do it at that time but then come back another day. So don't be embarrassed they go through this all of the time.. Good luck!

Wow.... I thought my sleep study would be horrible too, but it wasn't. The techs were friendly, reassuring, and knowledgeable. They gave me several hours to relax and get ready to sleep before they masked me up. They wired me up first, then let me relax and get used to the environment before they masked me up. It was really a very comfortable experience.

There was a gentleman next to me at my second study who left mid-way through. They said it was like the 4th time he'd tried and left early. From what I peeped of him as I was walking past to go potty, he was severely obese. I suspect he has multiple medical issues that make him vastly uncomfortable and this was just too much for him.

I wonder if you could talk to your doc about getting some valium? It calms your nerves without putting you "out," and probably won't have much effect on your airway. It is routinely given to patients these days who suffer from a variety of doctor-related traumas. I've heard of it given out for dental patients, podiatry patients, and I've taken it for minor eye surgery. I've been told all you need to do is ask - it's regularly given out upon demand.

Can't hurt to ask your doc about it.

Good luck!
Babs

I am so lucky that I don't have any of the issues you had. I'm simply annoyed by my mask .

There are options ranging from something that looks like a clear version of the old hockey goalie masks to the "no mask" which is nasal pillows attached to a mouthpiece. Your sleep study clinic should have mask options for you to try. Heck, first figure out if the MASK is the issue or the air being blown into your mask is the issue.

It really sounds like they could have dealt with your issues right then and there or at least have tried something different -- anything.

Jerome,

Adjusting to CPAP can be very difficult. Everyone here has had that moment when the sleep techs walk into the room and want to strap a hunk of plastic and rubber to their face and/or up their nose, only to have the dinosaur part of the brain say,"Oh no your not!!". It sounds like you got a double dose of this. I am truly sorry, and hope that you will not allow yourself to get derailed. If you have OSA, you absolutely must get treatment for it. Make up your mind now that you will find a way to make it work. This therapy gets easier and easier as time goes by and you adjust to it. If a full face mask is not for you, there are many, many other choices. Others have given good suggestions, like seeing your Doc about some meds, or practicing wearing the mask, or adding some soothing smells to the air to help you sleep (Pur-Sleep). Keep on trying, and don't hesitate to bring any questions or problems here. Someone will have gone through it already.

Alan

ractar28 wrote:<snip>
Your sleep study clinic should have mask options for you to try.

Ummm, yeah...they should have a selection of masks, but believe it or not...many, many labs do not. That is a crazy concept, since labs are given a real break on the price of those masks. I have heard techs complaining that they cannot get masks for patients to try.

Then again, I've noticed that some techs seem to use the "one mask for all, and all for one mask, whether it is the best choice for them or not" theory of mask fitting. Of course, that could be the result of a lack of types of masks to try on us, the eventual CPAP users.

ractar28 wrote:Heck, first figure out if the MASK is the issue or the air being blown into your mask is the issue.

THAT is an awesome idea! I think I was lucky that I was given a choice of two masks with air blowing. However, I never thought about separating the two variables. Although it didn't for me, it really could make a difference whether they were introduced separately. Well thought out, ractar28.

ractar28 wrote:It really sounds like they could have dealt with your issues right then and there or at least have tried something different -- anything.

Once again, stick around here for a while and you will be amazed at the things that people report. However, we should recall that the field of treating sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is relatively new, and there is very little taught to sleep techs about fitting masks. In fact, is anyone really taught anything about fitting masks properly?

Even the cpap.com fitting guide doesn't really do the job. I went through that thinking I would really find out some good suggestions, and then found that several of the masks recommended for me had already been discarded by me as failures, while many that were not recommended have actually been my favorites.

Further, who ever thought that we would be able to actually accumulate so many masks so quickly? IMHO, this speaks to the inadequacy of determining a successful mask without actually using it for at least a week or so, and probably longer.

There must be a better way; say, custom made masks for all? LOL...although I still want to know why ski boots can be custom fitted but a health issue like a CPAP mask is much more rare.

Karen,
Who just wonders...a lot!

An alternative is to call your dentist. He can, or point you to another dentist/orthodontist who can, make a retainer-like mouthpiece that will hold your lower jaw forward, thereby opening the airway, instead of forced air holding it open.

Billy6 wrote:An alternative is to call your dentist. He can, or point you to another dentist/orthodontist who can, make a retainer-like mouthpiece that will hold your lower jaw forward, thereby opening the airway, instead of forced air holding it open.

As I understand it, the dental appliance does not manage all apneics' sleep disordered breathing (SDB). That could be just my impression....

Karen,
Who has been wrong QUITE often