Need advice please

Good morning--

I know there have been many threads about this topic and I have read most of them but I have pretty much exhausted the advice in those threads. Two nights in a row now I have woke up with my mask off and machine running. I have been wearing mittens at night to try and keep my mask on but these past two nights it hasn't helped. I can't tape my mask to my face, my skin reacts horribly to the adheasive in the tape. Does anyone have any other tips?

Thanks and happy Sunday!
Rome

PS Go Packers

How long was the mask off? Give yourself some time. I took mine off alot when I first started. I turned the Smartstart feature off and that helped because at some point I would hear the mask blowing and put it back on.

I am guessing that my mask was off most of the night... because I am tired as heck this morning.

RomeinDNVR wrote:I am guessing that my mask was off most of the night... because I am tired as heck this morning.

Are you taking any sleep aids?

Not the past two nights... perhaps I should.

RomeinDNVR wrote:Not the past two nights... perhaps I should.

So you're not waking up when you take the mask off and think that taking a sleep aid will help? I don't agree. You need to figure out why you remove the mask w/o waking up. Maybe you are NOT getting enuff air?

I think you should at least be aware that you are removing the mask first.

Unfortunately, you are using one of the most low profile, comfortable masks (I think) that exists; it is not even that easy to tape down (if you had to).

You might want to try something like the Ultimate Chinstrap, and wear it over (rather than under) your headgear, to make the straps more difficult to dislodge.

I wouldn't give up on tape, though. I don't know how many of the brands for "sensitive skin" you have tried, but there are quite a few out there. Some special tapes for babies, breathable paper tape, hairstyle use, etc. One of them might be the charm.

Another solution might be to secure your straps with some strong clips (like you use for documents) or safety pins right through the velcro, to make the straps impossible to take off without removing the safety pins. It would force you to pull the mask away from your nose to take it off, against the resistance of the straps, which would be very difficult to do while still sleeping. You would have to wake up to do it.

Randys advice to put a chin strap over your mask should wake you up.. OR.. use a hair pin or paper clip to fasten the top strap of your mask to your hair.
I see no help that sleeping meds could produce. They would keep you asleep longer (better) without the mask.
Gotta get a signal when you remove the mask.

Thanks all for the advice, I will explore some different types of tape... if that doesn't work I will try the chin strap.

Most often people remove their mask because the are not getting enuff air = choking. Unfortunately your machine won't give you any info. Have you considered asking them for another machine?

I am getting a new machine this week, the remstar pro. Hopefully it will give me some data that I can use to figure things out.

Gumby's point about feeling like you are not getting enough air is valid -- if you are getting a new machine, maybe you can see how your data looks first; it might be that your pressure is not enough to make you comfortable, or minimize your events.

I think almost all of us take the mask off a few times in the first few weeks. I stopped doing it when the air pressure was adjusted to automatic and then the CPAP determined how much air I really needed which was higher than the initial prescription, after that, I didn't take the mask off. Adding a chin strap over your mask will stop you from removing your mask at least in your sleep. Perseverance is the key, you will get there eventually

Cheers Katagal

Well I made it the entire night with out taking the mask off, hopefully it was just a bad couple of nights.

Thanks again for all of the advice!

Rome