[Treatment] Newbie - 3 nights so far

[Jenkersting]

I am only 3 nights in to using my newly acquired apparatus - or as I call it my darth vadar nighttime accessories; gotta embrace the therapy LOL

Data seems to reveal that it is in fact working (pre therapy # was 40) Machine is telling me AHI is less than 1 so I suspect this is good news. My problem is, i am not wearing the mask all night, i am waking up and finding that the F10 full face mask is beside me. Data indicates good seal, etc. I just take the darn thing off. I want this to work SOOOO badly and will definitely give some of the suggestions here in this forum a shot.

I am thankful to everyone here, the support and camaraderie is awesome.

[OpalRose]

Welcome to the Apnea Board Jenkersting,

What you are experiencing seems to be quite normal for just starting out, and wearing a mask is the most difficult part of therapy.
It's like having an alien on your face. Believe me, in time you wont even notice it on. I wake up sometimes to feel my face to be sure mask is on and machine is running, because I no longer notice it.

Does your machine shut off when you unknowingly remove the mask? I would go into the provider settings and turn Auto On/Off to the Off setting, so that when you remove your mask the air will still blow and wake you up.

http://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-pr...tup-manual

What does your leak rate say in Sleepyhead? The mask may not be a good fit or something about it is uncomfortable. Keep trying to work with your mask, and if it doesn't work out, try a different style mask.
Good Luck.

[Jenkersting]

What does your leak rate say in Sleepyhead? The mask may not be a good fit or something about it is uncomfortable. Keep trying to work with your mask, and if it doesn't work out, try a different style mask.
Good Luck.

thank you Opal, Leak rate appears to be minimal, machine is reporting good mask fit so I suspect as you said, its just a matter of getting used to it.

Opal, thank you for the encouragement and thank everyone for the support given here. It means so much to know there are others that have the same struggles and the freedom to talk about it is liberating.

I will talk to DME service next week and see if the numbers are acceptable which i think they are.

[MitchS]

Hello, Jenkersting.

It looks like you are off to a good start. Once you get used to everything it will become second nature to use your CPAP. The key right now is getting used to your mask and wearing it at least 4 hours a day. Good luck with your treatments.

[trish6hundred]

Hi Jenkersting,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
It sounds like you are doing well, keep up the good work.
Good luck to you with your mask, it's the hardest part of the therapy, but if you just can't get used to it after you have tried it for several days, don't be shy about asking to try as many of them 'till you find one that works well for you.
Much success to you with your CPAP therapy and hang in there for more responses to your post.

[PoolQ]

For me there are 3 things to watch with CPAP therapy
1. are you being treated and you are looking good here
2. the physical of having all this new stuff around and on you while sleeping, alien on the face syndrome
3. all the comfort settings: starting pressure, ramp, humidity, temperature, EPR, for Her mode.

#1 is you and your medical staff
#2 is getting used to it
#3 is figuring out the best settings for you and these may change over time and weather

All of these need to be adjusted to the best they can be for you and then get used to the rest

[FrankNichols]

Hmm, maybe duck tape or super glue, I would avoid epoxy for keeping the mask on.

(just kidding)