Desperate for sleep

Thank you for all your help.

Lost in this long and useful thread about the importance of knowing the machine's settings, getting the appropriate manual and software, and obtaining the card reader needed for that proprietary data card are these two comments, one from the OP and one from another newbie:

kaiya2465 wrote:Hello, This is my first post ever. I have not been compliant with my APAP since I was put on it back in 2009. Not for the lack of trying. I have tried approx. 5-6 masks & still can not sleep with it but for 2 hrs at the longest.

ozze_dollar wrote:I also am still deserate for sleep. I suffer from insomnia and would love to sleep for 8 hours. I seem to have adapted to the machine ok though. Unfortunately the machine will help you to sleep better when you do sleep but doesnt help you to sleep more.

ozze_dollar is right: You have to sleep with the machine before the machine can help you sleep better.

The key to dealing with the insomnia is to admit that it's a problem that is not going away all by itself. You have to figure out a way to treat the insomnia as well as the apnea and asthma that both kayiya and ozze_dollar also have.

The first thing to do as far as the insomnia goes is to report it to the sleep doc as well as the other docs dealing with your medical problems. And hold their toes against the fire or the the sleep doc in particular will likely just say give it more time. Kaiya (the OP) has been working off and on for quite a while without getting this problem among many others addressed

Second, really examine your sleep hygiene and how it relates to your use of the machine. The whole point of working on adjusting to CPAP is to teach your mind, body, and spirit there is a deep triple association:

Time in Bed = Time to Sleep = Time to Mask Up

And until this triple association becomes an integral part of how all parts of you (mind, body, and soul) regard sleeping, the insomnia when using the mask is likely to remain a problem.

Next, if prescription sleeping meds are offered, you need to know how you feel about them. If you have no problems taking something like Ambien on a short term basis, it may be enough to get you over the hump and start sleeping longer with the mask. But you need to be careful: How long is short-term? And what happens if it doesn't work? Or what happens if the insomnia comes back as soon as you're taken off the pills?

It's also important to sort out why you can't seem to sleep more than a couple of hours with the mask. And what you do when you find yourself lying awake with the mask on unable to sleep in the middle of the night.

For plenty of potential ideas on what might work to get the insomnia under control, read my Taming the CPAP Induced Insomnia Monster

Also lost in the discussion is this point:

kaiya2465 wrote:Right now I have 2 masks the Quattro fx & Swift fx for her. The swift is the 1 I like the best because I do sleep on my tummy. Setting starts out at 8 goes to 12, no ramp, yes on exhale relief. The to masks I listed are the best out of them all, the trouble I think I'm having with either of them is that the headgear is to big, & it is the smallest they have. I am 112 lbs, & am prediabetic.

I'm only 108 lbs or so and still the size I was when I was in 8th grade. So I understand where you are coming from when you say that the masks seem to big.

With the Swift FX for Her: How tight are you trying to adjust the straps? This mask can (and should) be worn very loosely. I can easily get three or four fingers (plus the Padacheek cover) under the top silicon strap. I have approximately a dozen notches left for further tightening on that top strap with where I currently have my strap adjusted. On the cloth backstrap, I've got about an inch or inch and a half between where the two tabs are; that provides enough room for me to get a finger or two under the backstrap without having to actively stretch it out to accommodate the fingers. But if the mask is really, really loose with the tabs on that cloth backstrap touching and with plenty of room under the top strap when you've got it adjusted as tight as it will go, it may be that you will need to lab-rat the FX's headgear.

With the Quattro FX: I believe this is a FFM? Since there are pediatric patients with OSA, there are masks that are designed for children. It could be that if adult sized nasal masks and FFM's are too big for your face, then a pediatric mask might fit better.

With the Swift fx for her, it is as tight as it will go & it still flops around. I have talked to my vender & they said there is nothing he could do about either one being to big because they are both small. I don't want to ruin the fx trying to make it fit.

kaiya2465 wrote:With the Swift fx for her, it is as tight as it will go & it still flops around. I have talked to my vender & they said there is nothing he could do about either one being to big because they are both small. I don't want to ruin the fx trying to make it fit.

Once the pillows fill with air, do THEY stay put even if the headgear is flopping around? If so, it may not be as big of an issue as you think it is.

Lab-ratting it:
The first thing to try on the back strap is simple and non-destructive: Let the tabs overlap by whatever is needed and use a safety pin to keep them where you want them. And consider gluing or sewing a bit of the hooky-side of some velcro to the inner part of the back strap so that it clings to your hair a bit more to stabilize it.

And then just leave that top strap adjusted on the tightest notch it goes to. If you can get the back strap comfortably tight, the top strap may not matter.

Regarding the fit of the Swift FX for her...too big for you.
I have an idea.. when I added the Padacheek thicker fleece side covers and the barrel cozy I had to loosen the straps a bit because it was too tight with the extra stuff.
Can you sew? Make something in the thick fleece to add to side straps??
Like this
http://www.padacheek.com/PAC_SwiftFX.html

The cozy is more difficult to make but not impossible.
http://www.padacheek.com/PACSwiftII_Barrel_cozy.html

The added bulk may help take up some of the slack. I had to loosen strap quite a bit when I added these last winter.
Besides...they sure are comfortable. I wouldn't be without either now. I don't sew so I bought them from PadaCheek.

Thanks for some ideas to try. Going to try altering the back strap 1st. The pillows actually fit right so if I can just get the straps right I think I'll have it made on that issue. I toss & turn most of the night so I bump the pillows as of now with no support from the straps.