I can,t keep my mask on at night

[alfhart]

Hi I have been using CPAP for over a year now and everything was fine untill recently. My problem is I cannot keep my mask on while I am asleep, I use a resmed mirage quattro full face mask the straps are adjusted correctly and I get off to sleep just fine but within an hour I am having an apnoea which wakes me up to find the mask is on the floor beside me, this is happening several times a night and I cannot find a cure for the problem. Please help this is causing me several problems especially with my wife because of my snoring..

[Tigers Fan]

and many others

Dear alfhart

There seem to be several sufferers of this problem currently - based on the several threads started on the topic.

If suddenly your sleep behaviour changes after a year of success, surely we have to look for causative changes? Put on some weight over Xmas? - perhaps need to increse your CPAP/base pressure. Lost some weight? - decrease pressure maybe. Started sleeping on your back? Has your machine lost some delivery pressure? Room temperature changed?

In what position do you wake up? back, side, front? Sleeping on your back is always an apnoea problem.

Tigers Fan

[James @ Intus]

Building upon Tigers Fans thoughts, it may also be stress etc. disrupting one's sleep. Having recently read testimonials of Pur-Sleep.com's products (soon available in the UK) I came across one which solved the problem you describe with these nice scents. They can affect mood, even subconsciously, putting you more at ease.

[Julian]

I've only been using CPAP since late November last year (which has resulted in an almost miraculous transformation for me!) but I've had a couple of episodes where I've "consciously" woken to find that, at some point earlier in the night, I've "unconsciously" removed my mask. Other than these handful of occasions I've tollerated the mask much better than I expected.
One thing I've found helps me "relax" more (and sleep better) is a small (very small!) drop of aromatherapy oil in the water tank of my machine. Don't expect I'm supposed to do that, but it's certainly helped in my opinion!

[James @ Intus]

Hi Julian,

Welcome to the forums!

Most aromatherapy oils are not for ingestion. By putting them in the water tank, you risk ingesting it.

Much better is to put a few drops on a cotton pad of sorts (I can send you a few for free if you PM me your address) and place this in front of tha air in-take. I have a few of these pads and a nifty fold-out stand for them left and as per my signature, anyone with mask problems like these are welcome to PM me to get a few samplers of these pads along with some actual scents that have been specially designed for CPAP users.

[michelle]

scent pads

Hi James, been off the net but I'm back now and still not having much luck. Am I too late for a free sample of the "pads" to put near the inlet on my CPAP? I have been using a drop of Lbas Oil in my reservoir but have been told not to do this. I am in a very high Limescale Area and wonder if the oil is causing buildup in the reservoir.

[Tigers Fan]

Pads?

Hi michelle

If James' pads are all gone, you can use a folded tissue or a square of cloth. It's what goes on the pads that counts - PurSleep oils. Please don't put Olbas Oil in your humidifier water - it isn't good for you! Instead, put it on said pad by the air intake, so you can't ingest it.

Olbas Oil won't cause scale build up in your humidifier chamber, but a lack of flushing will. Every night you should have a full charge of fresh water in the tank. I empty mine each morning, rinse with fresh water and dump that, too, and finally fill with fresh water for the night.

Using water filtered through a Brita filter will reduce scaling. Using Highland Spring bottled water will just about eliminate it and it's not that expensive.

Whatever you use, rinsing and filling from empty with fresh water will help you.

Tigers Fan

[SteveM]

Getting back to Alfharts problem, this is going to sound daft, but have you considered wearing boxing gloves whilst asleep? ( i got the idea from an episode of Red Dwarf ! ) surely then you won't be able to undo the catches ?