Still hate my CPAP

[jamie1666]

Well its been 6 weeks and I still dread the thought of going to bed at night. It doesn't matter how tired I am as soon as I put that mask on my face I am wide awake and all I can do is lie there and hope to fall asleep. Most of the time I just take it off after an hour.
I have tried mild sleeping aids but they do not work. I guess it is all in my head but it is frustrating the heck out of me.
I told my wife I would keep trying but most of the time I feel like throwing the machine away.


Res Med EliteII
Mirage Quatro Mask
Humidifier

[DBoone]

What is it that is bothering you? Is it too much air, too little air, uncomfortable mask? It does take some getting used to and it takes longer for some than others. Is your wife being supportive?

[Julie]

And sometimes you need to radically switch your thinking, i.e. not go to bed with the attitude that you're about to try and win a battle, but that it's a great place to crawl into and let your body do what it needs to, i.e. breathe. It's hard, but it makes such a difference if you can learn to love it all, not just know intellectually what the benefits are, but actively look forward to gearing up and letting yourself be taken care of by the thing!

[cpapqueen1]

you need to try a smaller interface. Also try putting the unit on the evening before falling asleep; near the couch or chair and get used to it that way. It may take you a longer period to adjust to the cpap, however each hour you try it puts you closer and closer to wearing it every night. You can do it!!!!!

[kteague]

Take my suggestion with a grain of salt, as I don't know your family and work obligations. But if you still have some time off coming up over the holidays and your situation allows, maybe you could force the issue. If you think it's a mental block keeping you from falling asleep with the mask on, make a commitment that you will not sleep, not even for a minute, without using the machine and mask. Sooner or later you will have to yield. It may mean a few long miserable nights, but could get you over the barrier. Don't even worry about going to sleep when you go to bed. Have the mindset you are going to bed with the only expectation being to rest. The frustration of sleeplessness can be self perpetuating, so remove it from the equation. As was suggested already, address any known issues with the equipment or treatment that make it difficult for you to go to sleep.

I'm not real big on self talk, being more of a "buck up and do it" personality, but sounds like you could benefit from some "love language" between you and your mask. Name her, carress her, tell her how much you appreciate her dedication to making your life better and apologize for pushing her away when she's only trying to help... ok, maybe I've gone too far now.

The danger in giving yourself an out every night is that your brain learns if it just holds out it will win. Not a behavior you want to reinforce. Wish it could be easier for you - sleep is such a headstrong thing - tends to do what it wants. But in removing the mask, you are removing any opportunity for sleeping with the mask to happen. Give yourself every opportunity for success. I know, easy for me to say. I was a late cpap bloomer myself. Didn't come easy for me. But it was worth my perseverence.

[Wulfman]

Well its been 6 weeks and I still dread the thought of going to bed at night. It doesn't matter how tired I am as soon as I put that mask on my face I am wide awake and all I can do is lie there and hope to fall asleep. Most of the time I just take it off after an hour.
I have tried mild sleeping aids but they do not work. I guess it is all in my head but it is frustrating the heck out of me.
I told my wife I would keep trying but most of the time I feel like throwing the machine away.


Res Med EliteII
Mirage Quatro Mask
Humidifier

Possibly, but that isn't much information for us to go on. How are we supposed to help you?

What is the pressure the machine is set to?
Are you using Ramp?
Are you using EPR? If so, what setting?
What humidity setting are you using?
Is your mask leaking?

Do you have the instructions (or provider manual) to go into the "setup" settings and look at all of these things?

http://www.apneaboard.com/CPAP%20Adjustment.htm


Den

[Gerryk]

Jamie, many of us have been there and can possibly help you. In order to help you we need more info such as the info other people have asked you. Why not just register on here it's free and then you can list your equipment. You can also go back and look at your posts and search through them.

Gerry

[RN Ricky]

Does your mask fit properly? Phone the MD and let him know about the hard time you are having. Pressure adjustment? I fought the HOSE as it pulled the mask and caused leaks galore. There is a home made hose tamer on this site Called .. -made by Greg. Sorry I can't remember the exact label term. But it works well.

When I first started I could not figure out how in the world dogs could stick their heads out of a car window with the wind force so high and breath. The pressure from the mask made me feel like it took my breath away instead of helping! I had to think about the first time on an 80 foot dive how the regulator felt. Like I was not pulling any air off at all! At that depth you had better calm yourself and think, I am getting air and I will do this! CPAP is better, as you can't drown! (If you don't have too much rain-out )

Keep trying everything everyone has said before and after this post. Someone will have an answer for you! You will get air and you will do this!!

[Patrick A]

Well its been 6 weeks and I still dread the thought of going to bed at night. It doesn't matter how tired I am as soon as I put that mask on my face I am wide awake and all I can do is lie there and hope to fall asleep. Most of the time I just take it off after an hour.
I have tried mild sleeping aids but they do not work. I guess it is all in my head but it is frustrating the heck out of me.
I told my wife I would keep trying but most of the time I feel like throwing the machine away.


Res Med EliteII
Mirage Quatro Mask
Humidifier

There were times that I felt the same way. I wanted to throw the whole works out the window many a time. You will work it out do not give up, having a wife that stands beside you in this treatment helps.
I have been on Cpap Therapy since 06/21/2005 I would venture to say that I really do not hate my therapy....because I think that if I had not had doctor that was sharp and told me I had sleep apena before I was ever tested; I would probably not be here to write this reply to your post.
It's a minor inconvenience when compared to many, many other health conditions and diseases that are much more "challenging" to deal with.

Example this is a minor inconvenience as compared to getting deaded from not treating Sleep Apnea.


Happy Hose Worship!

[Jaylee]

If you post some more info someone here can probably help. They are a knowledgable and helpful group

For me, the machine scared me the first week or so. But I just eased in to it. I took some sleep aids and waited until I was really tired before putting the mask on. Eventually I adjusted to it. In the end I was more afraid of dying because my oxygen level was below 50%, so compared to that, the mask and machine weren't as bad. Now I honestly don't even feel the mask on at night. I don't notice it. I put it on and it is sleepy time.

[Spirit]

Hi Jamie,
I use the Quattro mask, and love it. Actually the mask, worked the opposite for me. I first began using, nasal pillows, then the hybrid pillows, which worked really well. But I could not stand the constant pressure, running through my nose, and hoping the pillows didn't pop out, and all types of thoughts. I Get the Qauttro, and now it's natural breathing for me, no worries. Sometimes, doesn't seem like any pressure is there, so I pull the mask up to make sure, Lol !!!

Alot of not being able to sleep, can be psychological issues, being new to the cpap world. I had this difficulty, when I first began, just all types of thoughts running through my head. What helped me was distraction. Falling asleep watching a movie. 8 weeks later, I get the Quattro, I could no longer watch tv, cause of the nose bridge, giving me double vision. I stop watching tv, put my mask on, and I'm out in less then half an hour. It's just a comfort factor adjustment period. This phase will pass for you, the longer your using your equipment.

[rjm46]

Jamie, I remember that feeling of dread about going to bed at night. I would stay up extra late, hoping to fall asleep easier. Besides the unfamiliar & uncomfortable sensation of the silicone against my face, I usually would wake up about an hour after (finally) falling asleep - to this awful noise of air blowing out from the mask! This then would be the pattern for the rest of the night....adjust the mask, fall asleep, wake up, adjust the mask, fall asleep, wake up....But I want to tell you that I have found something that has REALLY helped with all of that! I use a soft fabric liner called a RemZzzs which allows me to fall asleep quickly & STAY asleep. No more loud "farting" noise or fiddling with my mask all night long. You might want to read about it on their website. I hope this may have encouraged you even a little bit.

[BlackSpinner]

Well its been 6 weeks and I still dread the thought of going to bed at night. It doesn't matter how tired I am as soon as I put that mask on my face I am wide awake and all I can do is lie there and hope to fall asleep. Most of the time I just take it off after an hour.
I have tried mild sleeping aids but they do not work. I guess it is all in my head but it is frustrating the heck out of me.
I told my wife I would keep trying but most of the time I feel like throwing the machine away.

Good so you reward your self for your tantrums by taking it off again - great I bet that is really helping.

Get therapy It is all in your head, you know that so do something about it so you wife won't be a widow soon.

[Wrenna]

What is it that's keeping you awake? Are you feeling claustrophobic with it? Is it the sound? Discomfort? Leaks? Or just a sense of intrusion?

I sometimes feel like I'm suffocating (esp w/ nasal pillows like swift lite) and have this urge to rip it off. It's very hard to fall asleep when you're forcing yourself to not rip it off and throw it across the room. Things I've found useful: Reading in bed with the mask on, Turning on a wave sound machine and imagining myself at the beach, Imagining myself doing something relaxing like snorkeling. I find if I imagine myself doing something and try to add in as much visual and sensory detail as possible (like feeling the water) I can distract myself from the machine and mask and fall asleep.

You might also want to try a different mask. I always have two different styles so I can switch off. Sometimes a mask just doesn't work for me for a few days or a week, and I have to use the other one. You're using a full face mask, right? Can you try a hybrid with nasal prongs/pillows? Maybe a different style would help? I thought I couldn't adjust to cpap therapy until I tried the Comfortgel nasal mask and it was so much easier for me to handle mentally. Once I got used to it with that mask I had an better luck using other styles too.

Imagination, Distraction, and Switching work about 98.5% of the time for me. There are still the very rare nights when nothing works and I'll give up and watch tv so as not to wake up my husband. But I feel so much better after a good night sleep with cpap therapy, it really is worth it! (Hubby seriously appreciates it too )
Hang in there!

[OCNorsk]

I still hate/love mine, too.

But this is how I handle it. I get everything all set up and ready to go. Then I lay the mask beside me where I can easily reach it. Then I just go to sleep. Of course, I'm going to wake up pretty soon, I have sleep apnea. But by then I'm relaxed and sleepy. I just put the mask on then and go back to sleep.

I do not have severe apnea, and I'm a light sleeper so this works for me. If I'm pretty much awake when it's bed time, and I put the mask on, I become obsessed with it. How it feels, how it sounds, my mouth is dry. My tinnitus is getting worse. I can't breathe. etc. etc. etc.