barbz

My nose will give me trouble in the beginning of the night. I use a liner made from an old 100% cotton t-shirt. What helps me with the itchy nose is a CRAFT type popsicle stick. I stress the CRAFT type as the edges on these are much smoother than a real popsicle stick. I just slide it under my full face mask and rub my nose. I would not do this if half asleep as you could poke your eye!

I keep telling myself to rub my nose good before putting my mask on...but rarely remember.

I wish that would work for me, but there are numerous individual reasons for why we experience what we do. My CAs are the result of a silent stroke. Yes, I do take 81mg ASA (baby aspirin) daily. Luckily I do not need blood thinners in any way. Hope it continues to work for you.

What I find ginger to be of great value for, is my indigestion! Since I am an incessant worrier, I have always carried candied ginger in my purse. No Tums for me. It takes just a small chip of the ginger (one half inch sliver) and my tummy settles down. This has always amazed me as ginger is so tart tasting.

Like Sherry, I use an alternative means to check on my sleep. I use an app on my iPhone. It is called 24/7 (MotionX). It shows my sleep levels. I can see if my sleep was relaxing or if it was restless. I do not have to keep it plugged in all night and it sits on my bed. You can also put it in an arm gizmo like runners use. While it does not say why my sleep is how it is, it does give additional insight. I too, need nine hours to begin to feel better...been that way all my life.

I have a chatter box brain and sometimes find that listening to binaural rhythms, nature sounds etc. helps. I found a soft rain mp3 track does wonders for me! Often when we have a negative reaction to 'going to sleep' like I did for many years, we need to find a means to change it. For a long time I used the Insight Timer app to try, note I said 'try' to relax my mind before sleep. In time, it did help.

Hope you can find exactly what you need.

Do I ever relate to this...it will help if you let us know which pillows mask you are using?
Regarding Vaseline...NEVER put Vaseline in your nostrils. Even though you may think there is not a clump...you can still possibly inhale a minuscule amount. Unless the ingredients and masks materials have changed, it is not the product to use. I have used a pure lanolin product called Lansinoh. You might feel funny asking for it. :-) It is used by nursing mothers! I am not aware of another pure lanolin product...maybe someone else can help here.

Did you have someone help you with fitting your mask? It sounds as if you are having a fitting issue and that is why it helps if we know which mask you are using. There are nice strap coverings that will help make your straps less irritating. I just buy flannel material and wrap my straps myself. You can buy strap covers from Pad a Cheek ( http://www.padacheek.com/ ) for specific masks also.

I have pain sometimes when using a nasal mask on my upper teeth. I have a bite guard my dentist made for my upper teeth that I now wear when using a nasal mask. Before, I used a bite guard from the sports dept (you heat it in water and fit to your bite) It worked just fine too. It would also be good to check whether or not the mask is a bit too tight. Sometimes, just a tiny loosening of the mask strap makes all the difference. In this case, it may be the lower strap. Worth a try! Your headgear has a lot to do with the comfort and success when it comes to using the CPAP mask.

Regarding your success in becoming relaxed wearing the mask, try wearing it while reading or watching TV...with the machine and all if possible. Sometimes I read in bed (a paperback!) all hooked up and my CPAP running. Have a special pillow I use for this.

Does your machine have a little window where you can view the basic information? They show hours used, AHI and other data. Check with your manual...or your DME.

I am another long term Cpapper who still has issues with tiredness. It is no way as severe as it was before starting CPAP, but it is still present. There may be issues with your meds like wiredgeorge stated, or some other underlying issues not yet discovered.

I have to get some exercise in to get deeper sleep. When I was working, I stood a lot, but that was not exercise. I needed to get a walk in after work. A 20 minute walk did it. It unwound that stress from teaching. That exercise is needed even more now that I am retired. Some days I can 'go like the wind' and other days I barely finish, but anything that I can do helps.

"Central sleep apnea can be due to problems with the brainstem..."

I learned about this after experiencing a 'silent stroke' in my brainstem. The official term for it was 'pontine lacunar infart.' The main change that followed was to my sleep. My last official sleep study showed the presence of centrals, but my then sleep doctor did not address it. To his credit, when I asked, he did write a script so I could purchase a BIPAP and I chose one that could track centrals. Well, what I discovered, using the Sleepyhead software confirmed that centrals were indeed a regular part of my sleep. I now have a BIPAP autoSV machine. My new sleep doctor says I have one of the best for treating centrals.

For that dry mouth, I use a product called Xylimelts. Here is a link. Xylimelts. I get mine from Amazon, but have also gotten it from a local pharmacy. It says to use two tablets in your mouth, but I use just one. Since I use the oral Oracle mask, I have good reason to have a very dry mouth and this helps.

Is your machine a straight CPAP or an APAP? I know I have that problem also. It was because I have weak exhalation. Perhaps getting a pulmonary function test could verify if this is your issue. I found that having an APAP made it easier as it has two pressures. One that works for inhalation (IPAP) and one for exhalation (EPAP). The exhalation pressure is put lower. As you found out, the full face was easier.

I have a friend that has taken Ambien for over 10 years without a problem. I guess it depends on how your body reacts to it. I could not take it myself.