Claustrophobia Help!!!

[FaethSilverwolf]

I've got my roommate who is a brand new Cpap user. She uses the exact same set up I have so you can look at my stats her pressure is 5.0 where mine is 18.0. That is the only difference between mine and hers set up. She doesn't do forums but I want to help her if I can. She has had the Airfit mask for about a week and is suffering from Claustrophobia. How can I help her get past the Claustrophobia? Are there any tried and true techniques? This is keeping her from keeping the mask on all night long.

[JDS74]

Desensitization is what is needed.

That's the process of using the mask and CPAP for short periods of time during the evening until the claustrophobia kicks in.
Then take it off, relax a few minutes, and start again gradually lengthening the time intervals. You can train yourself to get over the claustrophobia feeling of panic. It take a while.

In the mean time, in the night when a panic attack occurs, she needs to turn off the machine and go to another room and read something not exciting until the panic feeling subsides and then go back to bed, mask up and get back to sleep.
I'm making the assumption here that she can mask up and get to sleep in the evening but that the attack occurs later.

[palerider]

I've got my roommate who is a brand new Cpap user. She uses the exact same set up I have so you can look at my stats her pressure is 5.0 where mine is 18.0. That is the only difference between mine and hers set up. She doesn't do forums but I want to help her if I can. She has had the Airfit mask for about a week and is suffering from Claustrophobia. How can I help her get past the Claustrophobia? Are there any tried and true techniques? This is keeping her from keeping the mask on all night long.

Bach Flower Remedies, mimulus

[Fetou]

I've got my roommate who is a brand new Cpap user. She uses the exact same set up I have so you can look at my stats her pressure is 5.0 where mine is 18.0. That is the only difference between mine and hers set up. She doesn't do forums but I want to help her if I can. She has had the Airfit mask for about a week and is suffering from Claustrophobia. How can I help her get past the Claustrophobia? Are there any tried and true techniques? This is keeping her from keeping the mask on all night long.

I suffer from claustrophobia pretty badly in certain contexts, although it did not really bother me with CPAP masks. I never did try a full mask that goes all the way over the nose near the eyes, as I'm sure that would set me off. Is that the mask type that she has?

For me, the only way to deal with claustrophobia in a short term context (i.e. within hours, and without exposure and adaptation over a longer period of time) is sedatives, which are likely to interfere with the prescribed CPAP treatment. Others with more experience will likely have better suggestions, but the easiest solution would seem to be to get a mask that doesn't cover so much of the face.

[kteague]

A person who tends to be claustrophobic will get a double whammy if their pressure is too low and gives a sense of suffocation. I would say making sure their pressure is actually effective would be priority. Also, if their claustrophobia persists, another mask style might feel less confining. A couple things helped me early on. One was knowledge. I knew that I was suffocating in my sleep without treatment. In spite of how I felt when the air blew in my face, I knew it was actually protecting me from suffocation rather than causing it. It became the security that allowed me to relax enough to sleep. Have your roommate hold a tissue or piece of string up in front of the mask for a reality check on how light this air flow actually is. I remember describing it as gale force winds - NOT. Secondly, desensitizaion helped. I practiced doing other things that involved air in the face without coverage. That could be as simple as sitting in front of the fan or rolling down the car window. Before hooking up at night I would hold the hose up to my face and let it blow on me. Visualization of pleasant experiences might take the edge off a bit. Imagine sitting on the beach with the warm moist breeze blowing, or a dog enjoying the freedom of their face out the car window - whatever works. Aromatherapy can help make the experience less clinical. A few drops of essential oil on a cotton pad behind the air intake can accomplish that. Hope your friend finds the adjustment easier than expected.

[FaethSilverwolf]

My Roomate says it is the bindings more so than the mask itself. Does the Desensitsation work the same for the head gear part of the unit? I personally think you all have given some amazing ideas and thank you for them. I liked the cotton ball idea and will likely try using that myself who doesn't like a little aromatherapy from time to time.

[zoocrewphoto]

A lot of peopl do not feel comfortable at a pressure of 5. It is just too low, and you feel like you can't get enough air. Have her raise her pressure to 7 and see if she feels better. If it is better, but not quite enough, she can raise it some more. I suspect she will notice an improvement right away.

[FaethSilverwolf]

With our machine how do we set our own pressures?

[Pugsy]

With our machine how do we set our own pressures?

You go here
https://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap- ... tup-manual
and get the clinical/provider manual which has the secret handshake that you have to do to get into the clinical menu setup area where you can change anything you want to change.

[Janknitz]

I had a lot of claustrophobia at first. Here are some things that helped me:

1. I really inspected the mask carefully (Mirage Quattro at that time) and in particular the anti-asphyxiation valve. I learned how it worked and tested it out to make sure MINE worked. It wasn't a panacea, but it helped me a lot to understand that mechanism and the fact that it would not be possible to suffocate.

2. I resolved to do 2 things when I panicked:
I. I would count to 10 very slowly while breathing deeply before ripping off the mask.
ii. I would ALWAYS put the mask back on after a panic attack.
Eventually I got to the point where I could go for another count of 10 after the first one, and sometimes didn't have to rip it off, just by calming myself down. Never allowing myself to go back to sleep without the mask helped, too. I was forcing my body to get used to it.

3. My first machine (PRS1) was pretty noisy and always made me feel like I had to breathe in its rhythm to keep up. It was hard to relax--I would panic if my breathing didn't match up. Listening to podcasts through headphones (at first I used one earbud, now I have "sleepphones" which are flat speakers in a soft headband) took my mind away from focusing on my breathing so I could relax and fall asleep.

4. What I wish I knew at the beginning was that a lot of the panic attacks I was having were CAUSED BY THE APNEA. Once I started to be able to use the mask consistently , not only did my claustrophobia around using the mask subside, but other situations that often triggered a panic (like driving over bridges) got better too. When we have apnea as severe as mine, we spend all night bathing our organs in stress hormones. Once the treatment is underway, it reduces the stress and panic globally. So let your roommate know this WILL get better and improve her quality of life--but it takes some getting through tough times to get there. Tell her to hang in there!

[Stom]

4. What I wish I knew at the beginning was that a lot of the panic attacks I was having were CAUSED BY THE APNEA.

This was the case for me years ago, when my sinuses were more congested, which combined with my nose breathing and apnea caused me to wake up suffocating, and panicking that I was unable to breathe.

A full face mask back then (I wasn't being treated at the time) would have made me very claustrophobic, even intellectually knowing about the vents and non-rebreathing valve. (I suppose they still do, a little. It may be one reason why I really want nasal pillows to work, even if they may not really be right for me.)

I agree with setting the minimum pressure higher. 4 or 5 both feel too low for me.

[rick blaine]

Hi FaethSilverwolf,

You ask for tried and true techniques for anxiety and phobias. My therapist friends tell me this set is very effective.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C1liEFCZm4

[Fetou]

3. My first machine (PRS1) was pretty noisy and always made me feel like I had to breathe in its rhythm to keep up. It was hard to relax--I would panic if my breathing didn't match up. Listening to podcasts through headphones (at first I used one earbud, now I have "sleepphones" which are flat speakers in a soft headband) took my mind away from focusing on my breathing so I could relax and fall asleep.

This is brilliant. I wouldn't say the sound is making me anxious or claustrophobic, but I definitely attend to it and it makes me think too much about my breathing timing. I'll give this a shot and see if I fall asleep faster

[Muse-Inc]

I have both claustrophobia and a fear of suffocating. If I can see the mask while it's on, I panic. Click on the mask in my signature to see the one I use that does not trigger either fear. Might be what your roommate needs.