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[CPAP] CPAP COMPLIANCE
#1
CPAP COMPLIANCE
I had an appointment to check my cpap compliance today. Bad news as my results show my compliance is only 26%. I was told that the doctor will be getting in touch with me soon and may take the machine off me as my compliance has been very poor the past 6 months.

I go to sleep with using cpap every night. My problem is I wake up a hour or two to use the bathroom and sometimes to eat (medication makes my hungry). When I get back into bed I fall asleep without cpap.

I think I am very tired and drowsy from my mental heath meds that I am half zombie when I wake at night.

I can admit that there are times I am being lazy and don't put my mask back on as it is more comfortable without it.

I was told to leave the mask on when I wake at night and take the tube off only but when I wake it is a natural reaction to just remove the mask from my face.
Also it would be very hard to eat with my mask on or aim for the toilet lol.

If anyone could give me and advice or tips to help my cpap compliance I would be very grateful

Thanks guys and gals!
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#2
RE: CPAP COMPLIANCE
I think you've been given good advice and should consider trying to follow it. It's your life though.
Ed Seedhouse
VA7SDH

Part cow since February 2018.

Trust your mind less and your brain more.


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#3
RE: CPAP COMPLIANCE
Train yourself to leave your mask on. Sit down to pee at night, I do. Then there are no aiming problems and you can just leave it on.

If you are going to eat, leave the mask on. Put it next to your plate to remind yourself to put it on again when you finish. If you are awake enough to get food and eat it, you should be awake enough to notice the mask and put it back on.

It is really all a matter of planning and self discipline.
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#4
RE: CPAP COMPLIANCE
Going to be mean here, but you have to stop making excuses.
Need to pee, need to eat, just forget, too sleepy, blame the medication, uncomfortable......
Face the fact that its just not your priority.
If it was important to you, you would do it.... its not.
No one in the world can do this for you.
There is NO easy way except to be disciplined and just do it.
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#5
RE: CPAP COMPLIANCE
Hi dizzy1. I take psych medications, too, and know how they can cause disorientation when you wake up at night. I've been fortunate in that since starting CPAP therapy last winter, I almost always sleep straight through the night now.

I know from past experience, though, that if I am doing something or not doing something when I wake up at night, and I want to change that, I have to do some planning during the daytime when my head is clearer.

One thing I'm not clear about. How did you end up with a full-face mask? Do you have problems breathing comfortably through your nose?

I was wondering because a nasal pillows mask like the AirFit P10 is very easy to pop on and off with almost no adjustments required.

You also could try limiting your fluid intake for 4 or so hours before bedtime, and eat a snack right before you go to bed.

I think it's important for you to do everything possible to keep you from needing to get up again after you are in bed and wearing the CPAP mask.


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#6
RE: CPAP COMPLIANCE
Thank you for your more understanding reply Green Wings. I am glad your cpap therapy is going well.

I was given a full face mask as I do not breathe well through my nose partly due to a deviated septum. I tried a nasal mask at the hospital but I didn't get on with it.

I will listen to your and others advice.

Thanks guys I need to pull my finger out.
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#7
RE: CPAP COMPLIANCE
There is another solution to be considered -- that is, if you have really tried to be compliant as suggested by others. And that is to seek a waiver for an atypical sleep pattern with frequent disturbances. I barely passed my sleep test because I normally go to sleep at 3am and sleep to 11am. The full sleep study started at 10p and went to 6pm and the abbreviated pap nap study went from 12pm to 5pm. My doctor noted the atypical sleep pattern and made it part of the diagnosis. I am now on APAP and doing well.

I encourage you to try some of the suggestions offered by others. Including forming a habit of laying your mask and hose in your bed so you will remember to put it on when you return to bed. Best of luck.
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius
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#8
RE: CPAP COMPLIANCE
dizzy1, you will find that many people try and don't make it for all kinds of reasons-I think the biggest of which is that they "can" sleep without it and some just do.

It is a bother, it is not natural, it can be uncomfortable, it works, but not always as easy as we would like.

Some people here, like my father in law, put it on and made one or two adjustments and are doing great with it. Then others like me have been adjusting since day one, it is getting better and is certainly better than the ZERO sleep I was getting before CPAP.

If you have sleep apnea it is proven to be good for you to use CPAP and just sleeping better is not all that it helps. It most times takes work and there are many people here that will help you. Find the links telling you how to post your sleepyhead data and lets give a look.

Coming here and talking about it is a great start! Lets start walking and see where we get.
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#9
RE: CPAP COMPLIANCE
(05-31-2016, 02:48 PM)dizzy1 Wrote: I can admit that there are times I am being lazy and don't put my mask back on as it is more comfortable without it.

That will change, and you will find it's more comfortable to sleep with the CPAP therapy as it makes it easier to breathe.

Perhaps you can motivate yourself by realizing that without CPAP therapy you are straining your cardiovascular system. This increases your chances of a heart attack or stroke.

The sleep deprivation is likely causing many of the other health problems you're experiencing. It's very likely that CPAP therapy will relieve a lot of the symptoms that you are currently treating with medication. Try to visualize the better life you'll lead when you can eliminate these medications and their annoying side effects.

There are three categories of CPAP users. The lucky ones easily adapt and we tend to not see them here on the forums. The unfortunate ones don't adapt and put their machines in a closet and again we tend to not see them here on the forums.

The rest of us are somewhere in between. We need the support we get from each other to succeed. The effort is worth it. I encourage you to not give up. Your life depends on it.
Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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