how long to get used to CPAP? - Sleep Disorders Message Board

farscape66 · 10-13-2003, 10:07 AM

Well I finally got my machine last thursday. Have yet to go more than 4 hours using it before waking up. My pressure is 7, which is fsirly low. I just find thid mask thing totally uncomfortable. It's really a lot like nightly torture. I feel as if I am locking myself up for the night.
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There has to be a better way out there, this is so primitive and barbaric.

I use the Profile Comfort Classic mask, and I just ordered a Nasal Aire to try a less restrictive mask.

Corinna_H · 10-13-2003, 03:22 PM

Hi farscape, well it can take a long time, and these are very early days, but persist, who knows, you may actually get like my cousin who prefers his CPAP to nothing

)

One reason you wake after 4 hours may be that your body isn't used to getting much sleep with the apneas and 4 hours quality sleep may be more than you were getting with a much longer night of apneas. Do you sleep after removing the mask?

It certainly is worth trying the Nasal Aire and also going to a site like CPAPman's if you haven't already, to see all the different types. It isn't just the type of mask, there are different types of headgear as well.

I haven't made it to the full night either and I've been trying since July, though I think I am doing unusually badly. it really is quite something to get used to, isn't it.

My main trouble seems to be my nose interior reacts to the CPAP by swelling during the night so I end up fighting to breath,the very opposite to what it should be doing!

i have been trying the Mirage ultra mask which I alternate each night with the Breeze nasal pillows.
I really need a different headgear for the Breeze, though, as I find it hard to lie on my back with.

I am hoping to try the Oracle mouth mask,I know it won't be the answer to everything as I may find my dehumidifier can't deliver enough moisture to keep my mouth comfy,

There is such a variety of stuff to try, but like the nasal Aire, the Breeze Nasal pillows deliver a much more concentrated blast of air into your nose and it can feel colder and stronger, a humidifier is vital i think, and you might need to turn it up.

It helps to be secure with your titration which I hope was done by a proper measurement and not by the crazy 'nurse listens at the door now and then to see if you are snoring' method I suffered as I'm not sure if half my problems aren't the pressure being wrong. I am someone that doesn't snore despite apnea, so they really weren't doing any titration on me at all.

Good luck, anyway, it is a pain, but worth it!

[This message has been edited by Corinna_H (edited 10-13-2003).]

farscape66 · 10-13-2003, 03:35 PM

My tests were done will the full array of torture electrodes. They actualy glued the electrodes into my hair. What a mess and the glue smelled very bad.
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This whole process has been torture. I had a 43% sleep ratio before , so 4 hours would actually be less than 2 hours real sleep.
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Still there must be a better way, this is just not natural. I scare myself when I look i the mirror while wearing the mask and headgear.
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Why cant they just develop a pill. It's so primitive.

Corinna_H · 10-13-2003, 03:46 PM

Yes, a pill, now that would be good! I sometimes imagine a sort of spring put in to hold my throat open so's I can breath, but that would hurt, LOL!
Then again, a tracheostomy could have its atractions

Meanwhile, its that horror mask!
I haven't dared look at myself in it yet, I put it on in the dark!!

ControlFreak · 10-17-2003, 11:29 PM

I found that the Nasal Aire is much more comfortable than a normal mask or even Nasal Pillows. However, I still (3 years later) have some trouble with waking up when I try to roll over in my sleep.

A pill sounds good

ControlFreak