Newbie

I am on cpap for 2 nights now. After having the full face mask on for about 3 hrs. and after dozing in and out I take it off so I don't a take chance of loosing a whole nights sleep, hoping to eventually to get used to it and wearing all night. Does this sound like a good plan or not. Thanks. Plumber

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Welcome to the forum.
If you could be more specific about why you take the mask off to "get some sleep" and what mask it is, someone could maybe offer ideas to make it work better. That said..yes it might be a plan but a better plan would be to try to figure out what you can do so that you keep the mask on all night.

It can be hard for some people to get used to sleeping with all this stuff attached to our face. 2 nights into this is very new so I won't blast you..just caution you that it is real easy to get into the habit of taking the mask off to get "some sleep" and a hard habit to break.

If you are consciously removing the mask...bad idea. Rewarding the evil side of you that says it is okay to sleep without the mask....it isn't.

So how about we try to figure out what is going on with the mask? That way maybe a bad habit can be prevented?
Leaks? Comfort? Just having new stuff on your face? Anything in particular?

Hi and welcome.

To answer your question, No it doesn't sound like a good plan. Most insurances like to see a compliance of at least 4 hours a night but if you are not using it all night you are not getting the full benefits of this therapy. With that said I realize that you have to start somewhere, but the goal should be to use it all night and as soon as possible ( easier said then done for a lot of people).
I suggest that you read, read, read everything you can on this forum it is a great help. Also go to your profile and fill out your equipment, in text, so we can better help you.

I don't think it's a good plan at all because you're starting a bad habit. A better plan is to acclimate yourself to the mask. Wear the mask (no hose) around the house when watching tv or reading a book during the day or evening. About 20 or 30 minutes before going to bed, put the mask and machine on and read for a while before lights out. Or take a daytime catnap with it on.

You've gotta get used to wearing it and taking it off can become a habit that is even harder to break. Do what you can to get used to the mask so that you don't have to take it off at night.

I am very new to CPAP myself. Last night was my third. I work very early so I am up at 3:00am every day. Getting to bed at night is very hard to do at a reasonable time. My first night on CPAP was 6.4 hours and my best. The second night was 6.5 hours and almost as good. Last night was only 5.5 hours and I could not sleep well??

I kept waking up feeling hot and "closed in". I wanted to pull that mask off but knew I shouldn't. I did get up for an unneeded trip to the bathroom. I messed around for about 10 minutes and got rigged back up and laid down. This was no help and I could not sleep. I don't have the words to describe how tired I am today. Not any words I can post here anyway!!!

I can see that my AHI has improved and the humidifier is making me very comfortable so I will keep after this thing until I handle it better. We live in the desert and my wife wishes she could get the humidity!! We have dry mouths and sore noses most of the time plus being "stuffed up" feeling. The humidifier on my CPAP has corrected all that!!

I don't think taking your mask off is a good idea. I hope you will choose to tuff it out and get used to it better. The benefit is great.

Good Luck
mowdoc

mowdoc wrote:I am very new to CPAP myself. Last night was my third. I work very early so I am up at 3:00am every day. Getting to bed at night is very hard to do at a reasonable time. My first night on CPAP was 6.4 hours and my best. The second night was 6.5 hours and almost as good. Last night was only 5.5 hours and I could not sleep well??

I kept waking up feeling hot and "closed in". I wanted to pull that mask off but knew I shouldn't. I did get up for an unneeded trip to the bathroom. I messed around for about 10 minutes and got rigged back up and laid down. This was no help and I could not sleep. I don't have the words to describe how tired I am today. Not any words I can post here anyway!!!

I can see that my AHI has improved and the humidifier is making me very comfortable so I will keep after this thing until I handle it better. We live in the desert and my wife wishes she could get the humidity!! We have dry mouths and sore noses most of the time plus being "stuffed up" feeling. The humidifier on my CPAP has corrected all that!!

I don't think taking your mask off is a good idea. I hope you will choose to tuff it out and get used to it better. The benefit is great.

Good Luck
mowdoc

Mowdoc
You do not need to take your mask off to go to the biffy or wander around the house at night. Just leave it on and unhook your hose from your mask. That way you don't have to waste time doing that, just unhook hose, go pee, and go back to bed, re-hook up hose and go back to sleep. If you have a data capable machine you will want to shut if off prior to unhooking.

Thanks nan, great idea!! I feel kinda stupid I had not thought about that. I am new to this if that bails me out!! This same idea will make getting ready for bed easier too, I can put my mask on at the mirror and then hook up the hose in bed.

thanks again and have a wonderful, restful holiday
mowdoc