My husband will have his cpap a week today. He is adjusting some what when sleeping on his back. Has slept 3 hrs tops so far while using his Comfortgel, which isn't bad I guess, from all I've read from here. He has to take the mask off for the rest of the night.

Several times now, when he rolls over on his side he starts gasping for air as the mask has slipped off when rolling over, lost it's seal. So this leaves him in a little bit of a panic. Any suggestions in regards to rolling over?

He also has gasped for air while asleep on his back. I hear him making this awful gasping sound and then I hear a "ripping" of the velcro. So this of course leaves him panicky. I don't blame him.

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I have told him there are other masks out there but at this moment I can't say too much or I am afraid he will give it up all together, if he feels I am nagging him.  

Thanks so much,
a desperate wife!!

P.S. He did try the nasal pillows and the first night those little babies came off. He said it was too much air/pressure or something. He didn't like those at all like he thought he would.

Does your husband breathe through his mouth some?  If he mouth breathes while using his Comfort Gel mask, then he's using the wrong kind of mask.  

I use a Comfort Gel mask, and I have a kind of pillow that allows me to lie on my side with my cheek on the end of it and the mask overhangs, seldom touching the mask.  Maybe some sort of memory pillow or something might help.  Some people really like the Resmed Activa mask, I'm told it is pretty flexible and comforms well to the face while moving around.  You might ask him if he's scheduled for a followup appointment with a sleep doc, sleep study center, or cpap supplier to see how he's doing.  It's very common for new patients to need to go back to where they got their machine to try another mask.


Linda


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as far as the follow up appt. for his dr. yes, but not till late in May. I think I've talked him into seeing if he can get another mask. I too wonder if he isn't mouth breathing. I have seen him do it asleep in the recliner so I'm sure he's mouth breathing in bed after he's sound asleep.

I have suggested he just stop using it until we can get something different (it's the weekend) because I'm a little concerned of just the constant trouble with it all, he might give up on the whole idea.

Thanks for you reply and I'll keep you posted.

well after an all day ordeal with talking to the respiratory lady(?) and the doctor's nurse, the best I could do was get him a chin strap for his Comfortgel.  The respiratory lady said his ins. won't pay for another mask until June, the nurse said she told her May. Such confusion. The new mask would be over $250.  I was hoping the nurse would talk to the dr and see what he says. But I guess she didn't. I hinted to the fact.

Oh well. I'll I know to do is for him to try it. Hopefully this will help.

Do not take the equiptment provider's word for what your insurance provides. Call your insurance and ask them what type of coverage you have.  I did, I found out I am not under the 6 months rule that the DME was trying to hold me to, as long as I have a prescription from the doctor , the mask is covered.  Virginia


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Resmed elite , 17, mirage quattro ff . 25 + years of untreated OSA

Thanks so much for letting me know this!!!!!!! If the chin strap doesn't work, I will call his insurance co. Thank you! These forums are such a blessing. I am praying the chin strap will work!! If it could only be that simple.

The prescription? Now that would be this whole thing that the dr has ordered right? I mean the cpap mask everything? I guess what I"m asking is you didn't have to then recall your dr again did you, when you found out that your ins. would actually cover another one?

(My question sounds confusing even to me as I reread it. ha)

I informed my DME what my insurance benifits were, he told me to call the doctor and ask to have a prescription for the type of mask I needed, full face,  fP 432. The mask didn't work out for me, My high pressures just blew it off of my face, but at least I gave it a try.  You shouldn't need another appointment for it, the nurse should be able to write it up. Virginia


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Resmed elite , 17, mirage quattro ff . 25 + years of untreated OSA

My DME has a 30 day policy under which I can exchange a mask for up to 30 days unless a specific mask is specified by the doc.  My insurance allows one mask every 6 months.  

If this problem continues, your husband needs to see the doc about it.  It is common for people to have problems adjusting to cpaps.  The treatment has to be flexible enough to work around the problem.

Ok, so he has the chin strap, but last night he was snoring with his cpap on!! I read some where on the forum about it could be the machine "snoring"? It was for sure him. I contacted the nurse and am waiting on her to call back.

He is not adjusting to this at all. It's very frustrating for him. It will be 2 wks today that he has had it. Are we expecting too much too soon? As he has told me he can't sleep without it and he can't sleep with it.

Is not being able to sleep of a night (while not on cpap) also a symptom of sleep apnea?

Thanks!

about exchanging the mask, when he purchased the nasal pillows, I ask the lady and she said no once he uses it he can't return it. Which is a bummer because he didn't even use it 20 minutes the first night....way too much air!!

(What does DME stand for?? ha! Hate to sound cooky but this is all new to me with everyone's abbreviations. ha!)

He definitely should not be snoring at all while he is using CPAP.  Make sure that there are no leaks, and make certain that he is not mouth breathing --  that includes any air leaking from his lips.  If there are no leaks and no mouth breathing, call his sleep doctor as soon as possible.


DME stands for Durable Medical Equipment.  Lots of new terms, lots of new abbreviations.

Thanks for the tips and the abbreviations. There needs to be a place here just for the abbreviations. ha!

With the chin strap, can he still be leaking air thru this mouth? While he was asleep I put my hand close to his face and felt no air.

Now, one night awhile back, when he had it on, I felt air on my face while laying on my side of the bed. ha! He did discover he had an air leak.

homeschoolmom2 wrote:

about exchanging the mask, when he purchased the nasal pillows, I ask the lady and she said no once he uses it he can't return it. Which is a bummer because he didn't even use it 20 minutes the first night....way too much air!!

There is an auction site for CPAP equipment (search for "CPAP Auction" and you should find it) where you may be able to sell unwanted masks and recover some of your investment.

What pressure is he at?

It's too bad your DME provider doesn't have the 30-day exchange policy like some do. The only way to know if a mask will work is to try it out, and some people go through lots of masks before they find the right one.


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Respironics Auto M Series, Pressure: 12 cm
Fisher & Paykel Opus 360 Nasal Pillows
My Sleep Blog

his pressure is set at 12.

Thanks for the info about the cpap auction. I will have to check it out when all this other stuff settles down.

I'm using nasal pillows at 12 with no problems. Maybe the headgear wasn't adjusted right. It might be worth another try, although it sounds like he needs a full face mask anyway. You may be able to get one at that same auction site a little cheaper.  


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Respironics Auto M Series, Pressure: 12 cm
Fisher & Paykel Opus 360 Nasal Pillows
My Sleep Blog