Hello everyone. Someone very close to me has sleep apnea. Her apnea keeps getting worse and she is wondering if this trend will continue. She has the mask but cannot use it cause she knocks it off as soon as she falls asleep. Other than surgery, are there any reccomendations on what she could do to help? I've read about losing weight, adjustable beds etc. and I've gone through several posts and you all talk alot about the mask. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

CPAP is still the first line therapy for obstructive sleep apnea.  Some people take to the mask like duck to water, more often though it is a bit of a struggle, sometimes for months.

Attitude is everything, or at least 99% of everything!  If she really does not want to use the mask when she sleeps then she won't ever do it.  For that remaining 1% this site has so many valuable tips and experiences I'm sure she can find a way to adjust the mask she has or get one that fits her better and allows her to sleep well.

You mentiond you've been reading the posts here.  Surely you know that "feeling better" is a side benefit.  The real benefit to successful treatment of apnea lies in eliminating the damage that is inflicted night after night on the body.  Damage that is linked with high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, to name a few.  

If you haven't already done so, please take a minute to watch this short flash video animation on Sleep Disordered Breathing and see how the damage is inflicted:

   http://www.resmed.com/en-us/clinicians/understanding-sdb-english-640x380.swf

This video might be a good thing to show her, she may not be fully aware what she is trading for by not doing everything in her power to use the mask.

Blessings,
--pseudonym

Finding the right mask is key.  She may also have a high pressure setting and she is having trouble exhaling...or a low pressure setting and feels it is suffocatinfg her.  If it is either one of those two, she needs to speak with her sleep Dr to see if another type of xPAP may better suit her.

There are tips on keeping the mask on.  This taking off in the night is often a thing that happens to beginner users...if she has not tried to work that out then she can struggle with it forever.  Taping the mask on or using clips to hold it in the hair sometimes works...anything that will cause enough irritation/pain to make her not do it in her sleep.

However again...it is the willingness to get past that stage that is the most helpful....it may not just be a deal with it as is situation...she may need a new mask...may have to try several...different machine i.e something with exhalation relief, APAP, BiLevel.  Many of us have worked through this...hope she can too.


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pseudonym, thanks so much for the link! Although I've researched apnea, it was really helpful to see the animations.

You're welcome.  It *is* a really good link.  The link used to be in a Sticky Post at the top of one of these forums, but I didn't see there anymore.  Perhaps I just missed it, it really is a good illustration.

Blessings,
--pseudonym