CPAP and SLEEP APNEA?
I’ve had my CPAP for a year and a half now and I just can’t adjust to using it. I have tried three different facial masks and I invariably wake up in the morning with the mask on the bed beside me or on the floor. The straps on the masks give me a headache and, if I loosen them, they don’t stay on. I sleep so much better without the mask anyhow, but the machine was terribly expensive, as were the additional masks, and i know that I should be using the machine regularly. Any suggestions as to how I can get used to it and use it regularly? Thanks!
Whoa. Don’t you think a tracheatomy is a little bit drastic? Thanks but no thanks. I think I’ll just continue looking for a different mask before I do something that drastic.
Tagged with: cpap • facial masks • headache • little bit • mask • sleep • tracheatomy
Filed under: Sleep Apnea Machine Questions
If you have sleep apnea, then CPAP may be life-saving. (see link below). But if you are unable to tolerate the mask, then the alternative is to have a trachotomy and attach that to the CPAP or ventilator at night. I know that you know that, due to the low Oxygen levels that can develop at night, when we breathe more shallowly, that patients with sleep apnea can develop Ventricular Tachycardia (VT) or heart attacks at night AND DIE! CPAP has revolutionized the treatment of such types of respiratory failur.
I know my mask can be annoying, but I never had any trouble adjusting to it. If your pressure settings are low enough, you might be able to try the thing where these little pillows insert directly into your nose. Some people like them better.
Alternatively, there are other ways to treat sleep apnea if you just can’t tolerate the masks. Some of them are radioablation of the soft palate or surgical removal of it. The most extreme is a tracheotomy, in which a hole is cut into your trachea. It is covered during the day and opened up at night while you sleep.
You’ve got to find a way to manage it, though, since the consequences of sleep apnea are really bad, like stroke or heart attack.
Yes, a tracheotomy IS very drastic. I agree with the other answerer about trying other masks or nasal pillows. I use CPAP also with 8cmH2O and I wear the nasal pillows and I am very comfortable with them. You may want to try those out and see if you like them. Also, do you use the ramp time on your CPAP? I use it on mine. Mine starts out on 4.0cmH2O and goes up to 8cmH2O in about 10-15minutes to give me time to adjust to it. It really helps a lot by not blasting the air in all at once. Hope I helped a bit. :)