Hi all, Hannah(8) has been on CPAP for two weeks now. Last night we made it to six hours with the mask on. I am actually very encouraged since previously she had not made it past three hours. Sleep DR checked her smart card and it is definitly reducing her apneas greatly. What I am wondering about though, is that she still thrashes around her bed while she sleeps.She does the sit up and flop forward thing a lot. It has actually pulled the hose off the mask and woken her up at least three times. I called and left a message with her DME about getting a longer hose. Do you think in time she flopping around will stop as she adjusts to it all??  I am also worried that she will pull the machine off the nightstand. I tried putting it over her headboard but that makes the hose so short that she can't move much and it wakes her.


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Heather-Mom to Hannah(8-hose head) and Logan(4), wife to Paul (also a hose head)

Heather-
Congratulations on Hannah's reaching the 6 hour mark. I hope it is only the first of many similar nights of as much sleep or longer.

Did Hannah have these episodes before starting on CPAP? If so, were they seen during her sleep study? Do you have any ideas as to what they might be?

The DME might be able to help with the hose although I think I remember reading where changing the length of a hose can affect the pressure through the mask. Some people have reported using a little pole (like a pole used in hospitals for intravenous drips) to route the hose (similar to the headboard idea). Perhaps a coat rack might work as well.
You would want to make sure that these are not positioned in such a way that Hannah might trip over them or run into them if she got up in the middle of the night.

On a different note, I recently pulled my CPAP over in the middle of the night (my first such episode in almost 10 months of CPAP) and the machine came out well. I am given to believe that most CPAP machines are pretty solidly built. If this is a cause for concern, you may want to discuss with your DME also.

Best wishes,
Bill