Been on CPAP for a couple of years and still struggling to keep the mask on

[mw1655]

Hi All

I have been on CPAP for a couple of years or so. It has certainly helped but have struggled to keep my mask on throughout the night and I am still tired by the afternoon. Consistency for me has been a problem. The last night was a bit weird, for the first time I woke up to find myself struggling with the machine. Most nights I yank the mask off but last night i ended up adjusting the mask and falling back asleep. There were two or three occasions where I felt the machine was not keeping up with my breathing or it felt like it was out of sync and I ended taking some deep breaths before falling back to sleep. Not sure if this was due to the machine, panic attack or something else. Heres's the chart. Any one able to tell me what the problem was. Any help would be appreciated

[OpalRose]

mw1655,
Your minimum pressure is fairly low and may be causing you to feel "air starved", which in turn may cause you to pull your mask off. Of course, there could be other reasons for pulling a mask off and that could be simply a bad fit for you. Have you tried other masks?

Take some time to read the Mask Primer for some tips.

http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...ask_Primer

Most important is your statement that you felt the machine was not keeping up with your breathing is a common problem when using the Flex feature set at 3. I suggest that you turn it down to Flex 1 or Flex 2, and set your minimum pressure to 6cm.

[kwhenrykerr]

4 was too low for me as the machine returns to that low pressure when things are going well. I raised the lower limit and have very seldom had any problems. As I change I adjust things to help with comfort.

[mw1655]

Thanks both. One change at a time I guess