Dealing with long hair and CPAP mask

Hi,
My first post I have long hair and I find it is such a pain in the butt when I am putting on my CPAP mask(Respironics EasyLife) and especially getting up and down to go to the bathroom. I hate having hair in my face......I have tried using barettes,rubber bands etc. but my hair always gets pulled out to a certain degree whenever I take my mask off when I get up to pee. The last thing I want to do in the middle of the night is wake myself up even more by having to fix my hair! Does anybody have any suggestions or know of a mask that makes the problem easier to deal with? I saw an ad for the Mirage FX women's mask that says something about hair management. Anybody know about that?
I read somewhere about a being able to borrow different masks to try them out......was that here??

Thanks,
Katy

You might try a pap cap or cool cap.

Or, remember -- you don't have to take the mask off -- just disconnect it from the hose, go visit the facilities and reconnect it to the hose.

My Resmed S9 Auto makes a LOT of noise when I leave it on to go pee in the middle of the night. I have to turn it off and de-mask, and then mask up again and go thru 5 minutes of ramp again when I go back to bed.

My hair is short and naturallu curly, so not a big deal, and I don't know what to suggest for OP except what has already been mentioned, papcap. Also, you could call your DME for suggestions, or go to cpaptalk dot com and ask the question again. There seems to be a lot more active members over there that maybe someone with long hair and on the hose, could answer the question about long hair.

codinqueen wrote:
[snip]

... or go to cpaptalk dot com and ask the question again. There seems to be a lot more active members over there that maybe someone with long hair and on the hose, could answer the question about long hair.

This IS cpaptalk dot com!

codinqueen wrote:My Resmed S9 Auto makes a LOT of noise when I leave it on to go pee in the middle of the night. I have to turn it off and de-mask, and then mask up again and go thru 5 minutes of ramp again when I go back to bed.

Even if you do turn the machine off to go to the bathroom, there's no need to take the mask off. Just unplug the hose from the mask.

Turn off the ramp, at 5 minutes you don't need it.
second - turn off the machine
third - unhook the hose
fourth - go pee

I've had lots of hair issues. With the Mirage FX all of my hair slips through the large opening on the back. Much more comfortable that many of the other masks I have tried. In the past I have worn a simple cotton stretchy cap that all of my hair fits under. (and I have a lot)Then I put the straps over the cap, works well. I hate having my hair all over the place, especially in the warmer months.

I forgot to add, I no longer use the ramp, shut off the machine and unhook the hose. The Mirage FX is real easy to unclip in the middle of the night. No need to take off mask and readjust hair and things.

I use a Papcap to keep my hair under control, however it's not long, just smooth and my mask slips a lot.
When my hair was very long, I would put it in a loose braid for sleeping. That way it stayed out of the way of my face, plus it didn't pull as it would with a barrette or rubber bands.

You'll get plenty of great ideas here.

Cheers,
xena

Sireneh wrote:

codinqueen wrote:
[snip]

... or go to cpaptalk dot com and ask the question again. There seems to be a lot more active members over there that maybe someone with long hair and on the hose, could answer the question about long hair.

This IS cpaptalk dot com!

DUH!!!! I was brain-dead last night when I wrote that, it was time to go to bed, and I was running back and forth between TWO support groups for sleep apnea, so I guess I got confused about where I was. I apologize for being such a dork!! I often tell the posters at the Daily Support sleep apnea support group to come here to cpaptalk for answers to their burning quesions, because i have found such excellent advice here from so many hoseheads.

I am not sure how to turn the stupid ramp function off, and the hose is very difficult to de-attach from the mask for me with my fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis, and since my hubby is asleep and I can't awaken him to help me, I just take the mask off and turn the machine off to go pee. Someday I will figure out how to turn the ramp off totally. The DME had me set up for 20 minutes ramp originally, and I felt like I was suffocating for 20 minutes, so I managed somehow to turn the minutes down, but wasn't sure how to turn it off completely. One of these days I will call the DME and ask for directions, or take it in there but it is 45 minutes drive from my house, and I work ALL THE TIME! I was supposed to go to a CPAP support group meeting back in March at a local hospital, where there would be DME reps there to make adjustment, but I fractured my vertebra and had to cancel that meeting because I could barely walk to get into the meeting place at the time. I need to re-schedule attending a meeting coming up, but I have to take off work, or leave early to do it, and we are really busy right now and they would miss me too much. I value my job above just about everything else, and can't afford to lose it for ANY reason, since I am the sole support in this household.

jaxkaty wrote:Hi,
My first post I have long hair and I find it is such a pain in the butt when I am putting on my CPAP mask(Respironics EasyLife) and especially getting up and down to go to the bathroom. I hate having hair in my face......I have tried using barettes,rubber bands etc. but my hair always gets pulled out to a certain degree whenever I take my mask off when I get up to pee. The last thing I want to do in the middle of the night is wake myself up even more by having to fix my hair! Does anybody have any suggestions or know of a mask that makes the problem easier to deal with? I saw an ad for the Mirage FX women's mask that says something about hair management. Anybody know about that?
I read somewhere about a being able to borrow different masks to try them out......was that here??

Thanks,
Katy

My hair is right at my rear, so I braid it at noght

It shouldn't be that hard to undo the hose from the mask. Play with it at some time when you're wide awake and the lights are on. Getting the right motion may be the trick to undo the hose easily. Instead of trying to pull or twist, try a "pencil breaking" motion. Imagine grabbing a pencil in both hands and snapping it in two. Now grab the end of the hose with one hand, and the hose connector in the other and make the same motion. Obviously, be careful, gentle, and pay attention the first time you do it.

It shouldn't be hard to change the ramp settings if you want to. I'm sure someone's got a link to how to get into the clinician's menu on the board somewhere, but I couldn't find it.

I pull mine back in a scrunchie. There are certain fabric covers on the scrunchies that hold the hair better than others. I have one I use at night that tends to hold its place while I sleep. I have a silky fabric one that I use at times during the day..it tends to slide right now! lol

.

I never take off my mask if I have to get up to the bathroom in the night. I have "quick connects" (see cpap.com) on the ends of my hose (end that fits on my humidifier and the end that connects to my mask. They are great! They seem to last forever and it is easier on the rubber end of the hose to have them than to be pulling it off all the time.