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.

most masks rely on straps to hold them in place and it takes practise to get the tension on the elastic just right
tell him to be patient

many new users become panicky or stressed and overbreathe

it helps to fix the airhose to the bedhead to avoid winding the hose around the neck when turning over in sleep


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respironics comfort gell mask,resmed S6 lightweight CPAP, pressure 10 no humidifier
NO DOCTOR EVER ASKED ME IF I SNORED

I toss and turn all night. After a couple of weeks it just became instinct to me(yes...even while asleep) to hold and readjust my mask as I was turning. Maybe he'll just eventually find what works best for him. Even though I say CPAP is my best friend...it was definitely a LOVE/HATE relationship at the beginning.


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EVERY SILVER LINING HAS A TOUCH OF GREY
-Grateful Dead


CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO~ http://tinyurl.com/69q52a

I don't think your husband is going through anything the rest of us haven't been through: "Been there, done that," as they say.

Some people get accustomed to looking and sounding like Darth Vader right away.  Others take a week or two.  Some take a month or more.  The proper frame of mind is important: he's gotta WANNA!  If he's serious about CPAP, he's got to stick with it in the beginning.  Changing masks might help.  Many people go through oodles of masks to find the right one - which really sucks, being that masks aren't cheap.

HSMom,  I had trouble with mine coming off at first too.  I found that the weight of the cord is what was causing the problem.   I ended up velcroing my hose to the top of my headboard so that it didn't hang.  I now have little to no trouble with my mask slipping.  I started with the swift II nasal pillows too and even switched to another mask to see if that helped. It turned out the hose was the problem for both mask and I have gone back to the swift as they are the most comfortable for me.

I have a few ideas for suspending the hose if you are interested just let me know and I will post them again for you.  There are things you can buy for this but they are expensive and often cumbersome.  My ideas are cheap and take little time to implement.  

I hope your husband appreciates your concern and care to help get him healthy!!   : )


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~ElleMarie~ One day at a time, ARE YOU KIDDING ME! Sometimes it's just a minute at a time.



AHI 100 -Diagnosis June 2007-

I would suggesting a Resmed Activa mask. That sucker is hard to dislodge, no matter how much flop around during the night. YMMV.