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Tarutan wrote:I just can't. I have had the machine for over a month now, I put it on everynight before I go to bed. I end up waking up 2-3 hours later to take the mask off before falling back to sleep. I just can't handle it

I started a little over 3 weeks ago, and I'm having similar problems. I think the full face masks are a lot more difficult to adjust to. Moving to a nasal mask isn't really an option for me. If it is an option for you, I'd echo what others here have already said and say give that a try.

I'm not at a point where I'm giving up on it... but it is really frustrating. I also wake up after 3-4 hours and take the mask off. Sometimes it takes me 1-2 hours to fall asleep with it on... and sometimes I take Unisom and sometimes not. I think when I wake up and remove it, at first it was just a gut reaction to waking up and being startled by the unfamiliarity of the mask and the air pressure. Half the time I don't even remember taking it off.

Right now I'm leaning more towards thinking it might be the higher air pressure that's bothering me. They started me on a range of 5-20 and did call and tell me today I can take the machine in and they can adjust it, but I think I'll just try to figure out how to do that myself.

I am trying to put it back on when I wake up and take it off, or I'm trying to stop my immediate reaction to remove it and I try to fall back asleep without touching it... Right now, that's not working well for me. I can't fall back to sleep with it on. And the longer I can't fall asleep, the more I start to panic because I know I'm going to lose even more sleep trying to get used to the mask than I did to apneas and I'm going to have to go to work feeling like crap and being completely sleep deprived.

It's been a long 3 weeks! geez. I don't know what the answer is - but don't give up on it yet. Try the nasal mask if you can, and/or try getting the pressure adjusted a little lower and see if that helps. From what I hear, it can just take some of us longer to adjust. I'm kind of trying to allow it to be okay with myself if I remove the mask after a few hours... It's a big adjustment and a few hours is better than nothing... with more time I think our bodies and brains will adjust and when it becomes the new "normal," we should sleep better (longer). I hope.

Hi Tarutan,

I agree with the advice about switching to nasal pillows if you can. It might enable you to lower the pressure without compromising your therapy. I read on another forum that a sleep tech had this experience with a patient.

Hang in there.

49er

Tarutan, if it's any consolation.....you're not alone! Last night I took the mask off when I woke up because I was annoyed from a phone call I got and couldn't fall asleep easily. I won't let that happen again, I hope. Hang in there and follow advice of there's wise hoseheads!

cheary!!

with a pressure of 15 that is high. try a lower setting like 10-12cm. any mask is designed to leak that is how the exhaled air get out. also you might want to check out the setting on your cpap. respironics m cpap has 3 different settings dealings with exhalation. easy, med, and hard to exhale is what i call it. not sure what your cpap machine has.

Some people say full face masks may increase your pressure requirement because they push your jaw back and make your airway narrower.

archangle wrote:Some people say full face masks may increase your pressure requirement because they push your jaw back and make your airway narrower.

aa, is that also the case with the FF masks that actually go all the way under the chin? Thinking about trying one because I'm getting a sore jaw from pulling my chinstrap so tight -- relentless mouth opener.

Some people can use PAP the very first night and never look back.

Unfortunately, I was sort of the opposite of that. It took me almost a year to sleep 6 hours or more with it on at the pressure setting necessary.

The first thing you want to do is have a positive attitude about it. I too hated the PAP machine, but it doesn't help you. Think of it as a puzzle that you have to solve for it to work right for you, something to get used to over time.

It absolutely requires a comfortable mask. For me, all masks were uncomfortable at first, but through a lot of trial and error I found the one I could wear, and then get used to wearing it. It was probably the 5th or 6th mask I tried, and I tried another 5 or 6 to see if I could do better. Some people it just takes a lot of tries.

A pressure of 15 is pretty high to start out with. I would talk to your doctor about starting at a lower pressure, like between 6 and 10 that's comfortable, and work your way up every few days, one notch at a time. Maybe try out bi-level.

Also, check if your PAP device has a "ramp" feature, where it starts out lower and goes up over 15-30 minutes.

I had a lot of trouble with taking the mask off constantly, just had to put it back on every time I woke up with it off. I'd try my hardest to keep it on while trying to fall asleep, which was very hard at first.

It can be done, the alternative isn't acceptable. Good luck!

I too have been struggling with mine. My first step was to go back to where I bought it with my logs (personal handwritten) of how I felt, what time I put it on, how long the machine said I had used it and what felt different from the previous trial machine.

They turned off the EPR on the machine and I've been able to get past the 2 hr mark without taking the mask off. I'm happy to get 4 hrs a night. It's more than I have been getting for the last 2 years without a machine at all.

Baby steps.

And I found a friend who has a hobby in common with me who also uses CPAP. He's a great support asking me daily how i'm doing with it. He's been on it a number of years he said and just knowing I can ask him questions is a huge part of my putting it on nightly. I don't want to disappoint him when he asks me tomorrow and I say "nope didn't use it". I can tell my husband no but I can't tell this caring friend no. Find a support person like that.

Hi Tarutan (and others),

People have given some great advice about checking your data and trying different masks. I second them. It took me a REALLY long time to adjust, and it took trying over 10 masks of different shapes/sizes to see what would work for me. If your insurance won't pay for you to try new masks, let us know. Many people have spares lying around. We want you to succeed and will help you do whatever it takes. A mask with nasal pillows and a chin strap is a LOT more comfortable for me than a FF mask. It might be worth a try for you.

But practical stuff aside, I want to say: you can do this. Truly. For many of us, it's hard and painful and feels impossible. But it's worth it. Your health is worth it. So please hang in there and keep trying. You've got a lot of people on your side, and we're all here if you need us. For me, I now look forward to going to sleep with my APAP. I know I'll feel good in the morning when I use it, and I know it will keep me healthy. My dad has slept with his for 20 years and has named it (he calls it Bappy, <-- at my corny dad, ). He jokes he'd kick my mother out of bed before he'd kick his BiPAP out, ha! Stick with it. You'll get there too.

Now, you do have higher pressure needs, and it may mean you need to switch to a BiPAP for your comfort. We'll cross that bridge with you if necessary. But in the meantime, lower your pressure, look at your data, and try some other masks. These problems will get fixed.

All the best!

kaiasgram wrote:

archangle wrote:Some people say full face masks may increase your pressure requirement because they push your jaw back and make your airway narrower.

aa, is that also the case with the FF masks that actually go all the way under the chin? Thinking about trying one because I'm getting a sore jaw from pulling my chinstrap so tight -- relentless mouth opener.

Do you have a particular mask in mind? I'm not familiar with masks like that.

archangle wrote: Do you have a particular mask in mind? I'm not familiar with masks like that.

I had seen this video review of the Innomed hybrid mask -- just a minute or so into the review he talks about how it goes under the chin, not on it like the Liberty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUsNgcMVPGQ

I do not have either of these masks so was just looking at the descriptions. Your thoughts? (Another member pm'd me that she was also interested in this question so thanks for replying here.)

I went with this mask (Innomed Hybrid) due to it not having the pressure of pushing my chin back... this for me is a better design for my TMJ than a full face mask that puts the pressure that would push my chin back.

I also like that there are multiple adjustment points.

kaiasgram wrote:I had seen this video review of the Innomed hybrid mask -- just a minute or so into the review he talks about how it goes under the chin, not on it like the Liberty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUsNgcMVPGQ

I do not have either of these masks so was just looking at the descriptions. Your thoughts? (Another member pm'd me that she was also interested in this question so thanks for replying here.)

Thanks for the info. That's interesting. It might not push your chin back, but I'd really need to try one to get a good idea.

I'm not 100% sure the idea about full face masks affecting pressure is right, but some professional people who seem to know what they're talking about say it does. Others say it doesn't. A few people on binarysleep are adamant about FFMs doing this.

It does make sense that it might press some people's jaws back and affect their pressure needs.