I'm taking my mask off subconsciously...suggestions?

Hi,
I have a bit of a problem. I am taking my mask off while I'm sleeping, I don't even realize it's off until I wake up in the morning. My machine is also turned off also, I don't have auto off enabled, so I must turn my machine off in my sleep too. I am not claustrophobic and don't have any problems wearing the mask. I don't really know why I take it off while I'm sleeping. I never remember removing it when I wake up. Has this happened to anyone else? Do any of you have any suggestions? I sleep much better when I use my machine all night long. I would appreciate all feedback.
porete

Have you tried contact glue?

pax
Roger

I have really sensitive skin, so I don't think that would work.

Porete,

If you haven't searched for this already, here is just one search that might provide something to help, or can at least give you something related to look over while you wait for someone who can specifically help with information about your situation.

search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&keywords=%2BU ... ++%2BOff++

John

Its the old fly on the nose. I think most people have been through this at some point, this morning I woke with my mask on and my hose ripped off lying on the floor spewing air everywhere

How Ive managed to ripped the hose and connecter of my mask is beyond me but the other day I woke with a 4inch gash on my head, how or where that came from is beyond me (Sharp pillow maybe lol) Take it with a pinch of salt once your body adjusts it will get less frequent.

Ps you could always wear a crash helmit on top

I'm (kind of) a new user, and when I first got my F&P Icon I was taking it off also. Some mornings I would vaguely remember getting startled by drips of cold water and then taking it off. I had the humidifier set at its lowest setting, but because we keep our house so cold at night it was still condensing in the tube. So, I set the humidifier at zero and emptied the water reservoir. I haven't taken the mask off in over three weeks and I'm up to 6.8 hours of use a night.
Still, I'd like to use the humidifier, so I've been looking at the hose covers and I believe this model also supports a heated tube, so I'll look into that also.
Good luck! Persistence pays off - I had my first CPAP in 1995 and I barely used it; had an operation in 1998 that "cured" me until 2008 when I tried the CPAP again with no success, and finally last Nov when my doctor scared the "stuff" out of me I decided I really needed to get with it. It took about a month of pretty much sleepless nights, but it was well worth it.

Most of us have done the same thing from time to time. I know that I have. Fortunately I didn't make a habit of it and times were rare.

You can try the usual...use a bit of tape to secure the mask to your face so that you wake up when removing it and thus jar the brain to leave things alone. Doesn't have to be a large amount of tape and hopefully mild enough tape to not damage your skin. Some people have even resorted to wearing socks or mittens at night to help prevent the hands from removing the mask and turning the machine off. Perhaps use something over the headgear to help prevent slipping the headgear off. Something like the Papcap over the headgear or perhaps one of those bandana things that bikers wear. I forget the name.
Anything that would put up a roadblock to the removal process that would cause you to wake up a bit and realize what you are doing and stop it.

With time, your body and your brain will no longer view the mask as a foreign entity to be removed. You aren't alone...lots of people have gone through this...just some more than others.

Thank y'all very much. My mom suggested I put a hair clip in my hair and clip the headgear to my hair. I'm going to try that as well as the gloves. My sister said I may have a bald spot in the morning. LOL LOL!!

Place the machine so it is difficul to reach or tape something over the button so you don't turn the machine off without waking up. At least if you hear the air blowing you might put the mask back on.

I think most people don't really take the machine off in their sleep. They wake up just a bit, decide to take off the machine, and then go back to sleep. If you wake up just a bit and go back to sleep right away, you often don't remember it in the morning.

Tell yourself you're never going to take the mask off and stay in bed. If you wake up and must take the machine off, get out of bed first, and leave the bedroom for at least a few minutes.

Tell yourself that if you get up to use the bathroom, you're always never going to lie down for just a minute before putting on the mask. Never get into bed without putting the machine on first.

Try figuring out some way to know if you've gotten up to go to the bathroom and just didn't mask up when you got back. Close the door, put something on the lid, whatever.

Porete.........

Your sub-conscious (the brain that's "in charge" while you're sleeping) is not convinced that CPAP therapy is necessary.

Have a "sit down talk" with your sub-conscious and reason with it. Your life is going to be shortened if you don't use CPAP. Also, tell your sub-conscious that you may end up as a "drooling vegetable" because of a stroke....if you don't use your CPAP machine.

Once your sub-conscious is convinced, it'll help you keep that mask on all night.

G

boxing gloves, straight jaacket, one of those upside down lampshade things they put on animals necks to stop them chewing. hypnosis. a piece of plywood that goes over your body to make a barrier between the chest and head, hang from chain from ceiling. desperate situations call for desperate measures. electric fence wire across chest a foot higher, that will speak to your unconsious mind after a few shocks, it works on animals.

I've tried taping but it doesn't work for me and need to find another solution. even oven mitts don't help, I think taping really heavily works sometimes. I think it helps to use the humidifier. I also tried adjusting the interval on the ramp to smaller so the pressure ramp changes are more gradual