Problems with CPAP: dh pulls his mask off at night

We would greatly appreciate some help. DH began CPAP therapy 6 months ago but has not been able to find a set up that works for him. The problem is that he pulls the mask off of his face every night in his sleep. For whatever reason this rarely triggers the alarm and so he has no idea how many hours go by each night without therapy. He just switched from a Swift LT to a Mirage Activa LT but if anything the problem is worse now. Any ideas? Thanks so much!

He can try taping the mask to his face. Just a bit of tape on the headgear and skin. This may cause enough pain to wake him.

He can try wearing the mask during the day while awake(with the machine on). Read, watch TV, listen to the radio, anything to keep his mind off the mask. Start with wearing it for a little bit and work your way up to greater lengths of time. This will help him get used to the mask and pressure quicker.

How are his leaks? If there are alot of leaks he may be removing the mask because he isn't awake enough to fix the leaks. If the leaks are higher than they should be, adjust the mask under full pressure while laying down.

Is the mask comfortable? If it's hurting him he may remove it. Find what's uncomfortable and fix it.

He can try wearing mittens on his hands to make it harder to remove the mask.

Brenda

Thank you so much, Brenda! You gave me lots of great ideas.

The swift LT mask was comfortable but did leak. The Mirage is less comfortable but does not leak - he took both of them off,

I wish we knew we should adjust the mask under full pressure while lying down when we had the swift LT mask -

I will go out and get some surgical tape.

If he got mittens, he would probably take those off too and would need to tape them to his hands - maybe he missed his calling as a stripper!

I am wondering: are there any masks out there are more secure so he would not need the tape? He does not like the Mirage mask very much anyway -

Thanks

Jama

We each have our own favorite mask. What works for one won't work at all for another. The only way to find a perfect mask is to try alot of them. Finding the right mask is the hardest part of xpap therapy! You can also search the forum for tweaks to whatever mask he is using at the time.

Brenda

Thanks so much, Brenda