Your tips for sleep apnoea patients about to start CPAP

[Joe McManus]

I just wrote a lengthy blog post about how to make sure CPAP therapy succeeds. It is in response to another person's blog post who is skeptical about CPAP and subsequently, his wife's treatment was aborted.

I pulled out many links to evidence that patient education, training, assistance and simple 'acceptance' of the therapy is important.

What would you recommend a newly diagnosed sleep apnoea patient does prior to being equipped with CPAP? What are your killer tips which will ensure they make it through the vital first few weeks?

[puffin]

A number of things came to mind.

First: Face hair. I had to shave my goaty off. The hair allows air to get past the mask.

Second: Nose hair. Had to get a nose hair trimmer, as the air went past the hairs they would flap around, causing itching. Keep them real short.

Third: Greasy skin. This transfers to the silcon of the seal. If you do not clean your face nightly before sleeping and the mask every morning, the grease builds up. Result mask and face lose friction between each other and air pressure pushes the silicon seals out with lose of air seal.

Fourth: Be propared to experiment with different masks. I am on mask number five, this is the closest we have got to a near perfect fit so far. Could do with a half or inbetween size.

Finally: Stick with it, its your life and those of others that are at stake!

[Joe McManus]

Very good tips, thanks.

About the greasy skin, the oils and waste excreted by the skin (one of the body's elimination channels) can also break down the mask over time. So for equipment longevity, it's also a good idea to wash your face daily.

Sticking with it is a must indeed. A 'proper go' means weeks at least, not days. Only after 6 weeks minimum, I think you can evaluate where you stand in terms of effectiveness. And as puffin says, that includes swapping masks, adjusting straps etc. during those first few weeks. It's a bit like getting married. You have to date a few partners first, do the walk of shame a few times because you'd have to be very lucky if the first one is THE one.

[puffin]

Yes, forgot about the straps, that can take ages to get right!
When you adjust the strap on one side make sure you do the other side the same amount. Other wise the mask will be lope sided.

Wash the straps at least every a week. I've found they relax after a week or so and washing tightens them up again. Like a pair of jeans. Once you have the right fit, do not change it, or let anyone else change it, as it can take a few weeks to get right. Prephaps marking the final position of the velcro ends with a water proof marker may help.

[JackTheSnorer]

Talk with people who use CPAP already. Forums like this one and support groups around the country are great for getting real-user advice and support. Getting a doctor to tell you everything will be fine is one thing, but hearing it from a peer worked much more comforting to me.

Also involve the people around you. Kids, wife, brothers and sisters, parents. Openness will remove some of the emberrassment involved with the whole mask situation.

Someone said it helped when they wrote down their expectation of the therapy. By writing it on paper it becomes clear in your mind what will happen, what you want to happen etc. It prepares you well.

[katiemcewan]

Also involve the people around you. Kids, wife, brothers and sisters, parents. Openness will remove some of the emberrassment involved with the whole mask situation.

Good point, Jack. I also helped my husband scouring the web for usage tips etc. Especially when you share beds, it's important to involve your partner.

[puffin]

Something extra that I have just worked out with strap adjustment. When you first put the mask on at night, the muscules in you face will be pumped up from a days work. (Smiling at not being sleepy ). You will also be somewhat hydrated as you go to bed. As morning approches you face has relaxed and dare I say it "sagged" a little in another direction other than towards to your chin. This along with some dehydration via some night sweating, will allow the mask to slacken a little allowing a little air to escape.

This is when the straps would benefit from re-adjustment by a few mm, before you sit up in bed.

[Gaspin]

Just started (2nd night out of Papworth!) and I love it already

I totally agree with puffin about the overnight slackening thing: about 3 a.m-ish I started to get eye-puff leaks, so I stayed where I was on my right side and tweaked the straps up about 1/4 of an inch: not leaking, but sleeping!

When I put it on the next night it felt too tight at first, but no leaks - Yaayyyy!

Do I feel tired today? No! Am I going to go to the Gym and try to lose weight so I can (maybe) also lose the mask? YES!

[mart9012]

Oh God, he is sooo right..

My beard really should go but I simply cannot face the world without it! The washing face stuff works too, I'm sure the rash i get around my nose is air escaping over a prolonged period.

My only tip is just to believe in it and use it. When I can't quite get up into bed of a night and stay on the couch without it I notice the poor sleep quality pretty much straight away.

Mart

[Gaspin]

After the first couple of nights I got a few (3) spots on the bridge of my nose, right between my eyebrows. This area was (still is) red and sore. It's just where the top '^' of my mask presses and hurts like hell :-(

I've taken to putting a short strip of Micropore tape over it before going to bed, but the mask still presses painfully on that spot.

To reproduce the feeling, frown and screw your nose up as if you've just noticed a really bad smell, then press your thumbnail firmly on the very top of your nose. Hurts, doesn't it?

Any tips?

[Joe McManus]

Spots are caused by bacteria causing inflammation. No bacteria, no spots. So cleaning is important. Bacteria feed off what your skin excretes, toxins, oils etc. so mind what goes in and make sure bowels are in good condition to relieve the skin from waste moving duty.

Nightly face cleaning before bed should make a difference though it may take a few days to see the difference. Also clean the mask every day, especially in that area.

[retsyo]

Pressure on bridge of nose

As a very new user of CPAP - one week - I found the mask loaned by the sleep clinic impossible as it hurt my nose and caused nasty sores. If you go to www.cpap.com you can find the right mask to suit your facial measurements. You put your measurements in and they come up with masks right for you. I did this and found the mask issued to me was totally wrong. Now have a Resmed Mirage Swift II - used for 2 nights. Sadly have suffered severe congestion since using it - any suggestions on this problems please.

[Joe McManus]

Hi Retsyo, welcome to the forums!

Do a search on the forum for 'jala neti', 'nasal spray' or 'sinus irrigation' and see what we discussed. There are some good tools out there for this. A humidifier can also help.

[puffin]

Joe, is it worth condensing this thread and making it a sticky for the new members on here?

[SteveP]

... condensing this thread and making it a sticky... ?

Not a bad idea at all !

But the problem with stickies is that they stick a bit too much... What I meant is that they take quite a bit of valuable space at the top of pages. One notorious US site has so many stickies that if you're not careful, you won't notice there are new threads underneath...

A possibly better solution would be a separate section labeled "top notch information" or "Starter Kit" or "Best Advice", or whatever else, making sure it stands out, but does not take the space of current discussions.

A good example is the addition of your new Classified section. I won't say it is perfect, but it stands on it's own, it doesn't take space away from active discussion, etc.

Anyway, pooling together a subject like the one Puffin is suggesting is a great idea.