(09-20-2018, 07:10 PM)sleepymind Wrote: I have been using CPAP from past 10 months now but I cannot keep my mask on for longer than 4 hours and sometimes, less and it was causing a problem with my sleep quality and insurance compliance. I don't even remember removing the mask and I tried multiple things for that but didn't succeed. I got a call from my insurance company last week that I am not compliant and they might stop paying for my CPAP supplies. I am a software engineer, I bought these cheap 10$ wifi smart plugs from Amazon which has built-in energy usage monitoring. I build a kind of geeky solution for myself which notifies my computer if the energy usage on socket drops down a certain limit which I tested is required when the machine is running, and it plays loud sounds on my speaker and wakes me up to wear the mask again. I don't know how many other people are suffering from the same problem. The current solution works for me but it is not simple for anyone to set up. If there are a lot of you guys like me then I can work on building a simple solution like a mobile app or something. Just want to get an idea.
Compliance is a big hurdle for some people, but only because the use of the machine effectively is a problem for them. The troubles vary, and I am loath to make stuff up, but I would guess that close to one new/returning-after-a-miss user for every seven or eight has a problem with at least bad leaks, or severe deformation or deflection of the mask, or outright removal while still pretty much asleep.
(Sorry, that was long and confusing...one in eight or ten users at some point has trouble keeping the mask in place. That's just my SWAG.)
Whether it is leaks for any number of reasons, or due to frustration or anxiety and removal while still asleep, compliance is definitely subject to jeopardy, BUT....so is the person's needed TREATMENT! The mask must fit, and be held in place securely, IOW. We can't fix them so firmly that they can't easily be removed for a good reason. That would defeat the marginal users entirely, especially those suffering from anxiety or perceived temporary air starvation. But an ALARM....that could be useful.
Many years ago, my younger brother still wet his bed. He would have been about 9 or so. The physicians told us that it's not uncommon, and an indication of very deep sleep. He had to learn to respond to his bladder's signals. We had an electrified pad placed under his bottom sheet which would complete embedded wire circuits when the ions in his urine bridged wires of opposing polarity. Very simple, really, but the upshot is that he eventually learned to 'listen' to his bladder. It meant that the rest of us had to take turns rising when WE heard the alarm and to awaken him right away. I think this lasted about three or four months at most. BTW, the syndrome is known as 'enuresis'.
I took many words to get about to encourage you to keep at it and to provide a service to the comparatively few who really struggle with this. It's important to them, even if you never hear a word of thanks. Please, persist.
