I believe that this or similar problems have been discussed on the forum before, but I could not find the link. I apologize for any redundancy in advance.

After a long hiatus of not following any regimen, I have been religiously using my BiPap each night.  For a about a month everything seemed to be going well.  I was actually beginning to feel some relief from feeling CONSTANTLY TIRED.  Now things seem as they were when I lost motivation years ago.  For more than two weeks I have been waking up with my Resmed Mirage Swift II mask laying next to me.  Obviously I have been removing the mask in my sleep.  Yet, I don't find the mask  particularly annoying.  The BiPap does not bother much me either, if fact, I rather enjoy the feel of the air in my throat as I breathe.  I am most frustrated and as tired as ever! Help!


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Never Let Age Define You

Maybe someone else can dig up the thread that would have a bunch of better ideas in it, but I would suggest:

1. Increase your humidity setting.  You could be getting dried out and uncomfortable and pulling the mask off due to this discomfort.

2. Since you're still in the 'getting adjusted' phase, it could just be your body's frustration at this foreign object you've placed on it.  Try wearing your mask around during the day as much as you can to accelerate your body's ability or comfort with having it on.

For new users, it is not uncommon to take your mask off at night.  This may last a few weeks to a couple of months, but it should go away.  Some people have actually turned off their machine and carefully put their mask away and in their sleep.

I posted in 'Can't get used to the cpap machine! Need advice'.  There is quite a lengthy thread concerning all MY problems getting used to the mask.  I am a success story though so don't get discouraged by reading my pitiful posts.  I have come a LONG way in just a little over 3 weeks.  I, too, would find my mask/hose affair all neatly laid on my bedside table in the morning upon waking.  I don't remember taking the mask off but there it would lay.  It was crazy.  As time has gone on though, I am now leaving it on all night long.  I did have my pressure lowered from 10 to 8 and that seemed to ease that feeling of suffocation I was having.  I've also experimented with the snugness of the head gear and found that loosening it a little seemed to help.  It's really a trial and error thing in the beginning.  Like I've told my RT, there are just nights that I am not comfortable with it on.  I usually have it on for at least 5 hours but the other night I put it on around midnight and by 4:00 am I was needing to take it off.  It was uncomfortable and I seemed to have had enough therapeutic time (4 hours is what they tell me) with it on.  I fell back to sleep and felt like a million bucks the next day.  Hopefully you'll find that you're leaving it on after you've gotten accustomed to having it on.

if you tape mask to face the pain will remind you to not remove it


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resmed S6 lightweight, respironics comfort gell mask using CPAP since 1995, no humidifier
during my many years of severe fatigue, no doctor ever asked me if I snored

Can this happen when pressure is lower than the user is comfortable with? I just finished a 10-day test on an APAP and mailed the data card for evaluation. While my normal pressure is '9', the doctor set a range that started at '7'. At bedtime, I didn't like the sensation of not getting an adequate airflow. I rarely took the mask off on the original CPAP, but did it often the last 10 days. Although I have the APAP for another 2-1/2 weeks, I'm switching back to the CPAP because of the unpleasantness of this lower pressure.


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RemStar Plus w/C-Flex. New Breeze nasal pillow mask. Pressure: 9.