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how does anyone sleep with these masks
#41
RE: how does anyone sleep with these masks
Ambien 5mg can help you get to sleep, but if you've been following the forum, then you know that some people take longer than others to acclimate to a CPAP mask. If you're looking for a short-cut to the adaptation process, you probably won't find it. Virtually everyone on the forum has adapted to the therapy, but it didn't come easy for most. Some of us have a drawer full of masks and other gadgets that were part of the learning curve. At some point, slipping on the mask will become a part of your bedtime ritual like brushing your teeth. You won't think about it, and it will no longer bother you. When I first began therapy, I was convinced that I couldn't do it either. One year later, it seems so natural that I wouldn't think about not using it.
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#42
RE: how does anyone sleep with these masks
(11-14-2015, 10:11 PM)Jim Bronson Wrote: Ambien 5mg can help you get to sleep, but if you've been following the forum, then you know that some people take longer than others to acclimate to a CPAP mask. If you're looking for a short-cut to the adaptation process, you probably won't find it. Virtually everyone on the forum has adapted to the therapy, but it didn't come easy for most. Some of us have a drawer full of masks and other gadgets that were part of the learning curve. At some point, slipping on the mask will become a part of your bedtime ritual like brushing your teeth. You won't think about it, and it will no longer bother you. When I first began therapy, I was convinced that I couldn't do it either. One year later, it seems so natural that I wouldn't think about not using it.

I will keep trying, maybe if I get tired enough I can make it through a night.

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#43
RE: how does anyone sleep with these masks
I found years ago that increasing the ramp time helped immensely. I have always had a great deal of difficulty adjusting to the mask on my face. After several months of frustration, my internist prescribed a small dose of lorazepam, a short-acting analogue of Valium, that I dissolve under my tongue just before I put my mask on, which worked like a charm.

I would consider this to be a last-ditch solution, ONLY if you just can't adapt to your mask and ONLY after detailed discussion with your physician. Adding in another prescription drug is a serious matter. However, as a physician myself, I can tell you that the health consequences of untreated sleep apnea, both mentally and physically, are slowly cumulative and severe, just like untreated diabetes or hypertension (both of which, interestingly, are aggravated by OSA). I have examined many people over my career whose lives were severely shortened by untreated OSA.

Good luck, and don't get frustrated. You are not alone.
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#44
RE: how does anyone sleep with these masks
(11-14-2015, 10:01 PM)I_will_never_sleep_again Wrote:
(11-14-2015, 09:52 PM)Sleepster Wrote: There's no shame in needing sleeping pills. It's a temporary measure. I have some, but I only take them when absolutely necessary.

Thank you, I really do appreciate any advice or tips. This forum has already given me hope. I am not negative about this, just so frustrated.

Trying to go to sleep is actually what keeps us awake. I know how it goes, having suffered insomnia for many years. In order to sleep we have to somehow stop trying and just let it happen. This is difficult in a society that demands we keep trying and never give up. We get very little practice in "letting go" so it's hard for us to learn without a bit of help.

If a pill can help us to let go then I don't see any problem. I take a sedative myself. Being on an APAP machine takes getting used to, and some take to it better than others. Being on the machine makes the sedative perhaps somewhat safer than it would be without the machine.

Ed Seedhouse
VA7SDH

Part cow since February 2018.

Trust your mind less and your brain more.


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#45
RE: how does anyone sleep with these masks
In my opinion, if you feel a pill is what is needed for you to adapt to pap therapy, that is what you need to do. If you chose to keep trying without it, that is fine too. But the issue is to do what you think suits you the best as you know yourself better than any forum member.

49er
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#46
RE: how does anyone sleep with these masks
(11-14-2015, 11:02 PM)Stiffdoc Wrote: I have examined many people over my career whose lives were severely shortened by untreated OSA.

This statement, standing alone, is about all anyone needs to know about whether this is all worth the hassle, fight, and discomfort to try and adapt to and stick with xpap therapy as a first line defense to OSA. I suppose for some people surgery is an option but if I recall another post by stiffdoc, surgery, even if successful initially, rarely is a permanent solution and some people find themsleves back on xpap anyway. Please stick with it.
Coffee

Happy Pappin'
Never Give In, Never Give Up




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#47
RE: how does anyone sleep with these masks
(11-14-2015, 09:07 PM)I_will_never_sleep_again Wrote: Still haven't slept 10 minutes with mask, each night I try and fail. Tried a wisp mask last night. Epic fail. My wife said let me try so I can see what all the bitching is about. She slept for an hour with no problems on her first try. Why is this so hard for me?


Sounds like anxiety. Next question is if you want to resolve it and if yes how will you do so?
Desensitization would be my suggestion and that means what you have already heard. Hose up and read or watch TV w/o any thought to going asleep. Just say to yourself I can do this for one minute. Rinse and repeat. I use the Wisp and find it very easy to tolerate from night #1.
I do not use ramp at all as I feel like I am not getting enough air. Sit quietly somewhere and thank your mind for protecting you from unknowns but CPAP is very well known and you are OK. Clench and release is a very powerful relation technique and I used it often. Now I am so conditioned that as soon as I think about it I start yawning Smile
I use my PAP machine nightly and I feel great!
Updated: Philips Respironics System One (60 Series)
RemStar BiPAP Auto with Bi-FlexModel 760P -
Rise Time x3 Fixed Bi-Level EPAP 9.0 IPAP 11.5 (cmH2O)
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#48
RE: how does anyone sleep with these masks
Couldn't agree more with what Mark Douglas said. Hose up and watch TV. Forget using it for sleeping for a while and spend time getting acquainted with it.
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#49
RE: how does anyone sleep with these masks
Yes, I had the big time UPPP surgery in 1986, with 5 days in the hospital, and it bought me 19 years. Modern day CPAP is the gold standard, and I am grateful that advances in technology have pretty much eliminated the radical surgery I had. I don't regret it; I was developing psychosis from sleep deprivation. The surgery saved my sanity; when I needed it, the CPAP did the same, and I know that my life would have been shortened otherwise.

Untreated OSA causes pulmonary hypertension, an irreversible condition, with eventual right heart failure. When heart failure develops, most everyone is dead in 5 years.

I'm not meaning to scare you; I trained back in the day when doctors were taught to be honest with their patients, which is quite different from today. OSA is unique in that treatment is essentially 100% responsibility of the patient, with the help of physicians and, fortunately, others with experience as are on this forum. Fortunately, OSA is also unique in that effective treatment also prevents the bad complications 100% of the time!

You CAN do it. Be patient, read the useful suggestions on this forum, and talk to your doctor. You will find the combination that is right for you, and you will feel great. And, you won't ever know it, but your body will have the terrible stress of OSA eliminated.
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#50
RE: how does anyone sleep with these masks
I drink both Sleepytime, Chamomile, and Peppermint tea.

All 3 help me doze off at night. Not sure why.

Give it a try.
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