snuzyQ

Hi Woody:

It appears that your brain has successfully made the association between CPAP and "Itch".

You must un-train your brain now. You must never, ever fall asleep without your mask and CPAP on. It isn't safe for you to do that anymore. Here's how to correct it: When you put your mask on and your scalp begins to itch, remove the mask as you get yourself out of bed. Go out of your bedroom and read a book, relax in a chair with a hot cup of soothing tea...just stay out of bed until you start feeling sleepy again. Then, go back to bed and put your mask on and turn on your machine. Relax. If your scalp begins to itch again, take your mask off and leave the bedroom once again. Go back to your book, drink another cup of tea, listen to some relaxing, soft music until you get sleepy again. Then, try again and repeat this process until you fall asleep with your mask and CPAP on. If you are awakened by an itchy scalp, get up again and go through the process once more - or twice more - or however many times it takes to finally fall asleep again with your mask and machine on. You will finally need sleep so bad that your brain won't pay any attention at all to any itch anywhere.

Keep at this until your itch just disappears. Keep repeating the process each night. As you are waiting for sleep to overtake you, with your mask and machine on, think about all the good things that CPAP is doing for you in great detail. Eventually, your brain will associate CPAP with relaxation and sweet, refreshing sleep.

Wash your hair more than once per week with your dandruff shampoo and follow with a soothing conditioner (the kind you massage in, leave for a few minutes, then rinse out).

Keep up the good work.

The adjustment to CPAP is often stressful. After all, we've been used to sleeping a certain way for a very long time. Our brains truly resent any deviation from the norm. For those who have a history of GAD, GAD recurrence could certainly happen once CPAP treatment is started. I'm sure it has likely happened to others. Have you checked in with your doctor about this? If not, please do so and ask if he/she would recommend a change in medication or dosage to help you cope right now.

It takes time, patience and persistence to adapt to CPAP treatment. For the fortunate few, the adjustment takes place in a day or two. For most others, it takes anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months. The time period is shortened for those who commit to sleeping with their CPAP at all times. Here's the reason why...our brains will interpret any repeated stimulus as "normal" and "expected", if that experience is repeated over and over again. Also, if the stimulus is repeated in the same setting, (nighttime, bed, covers, sleep), our brains will come to expect the stimulus every time we are in the associated setting. The setting itself leads us to expect the treatment which then brings relaxation, repose and sleep. It's an "ah" moment and from then on, we can't even imagine sleeping any other way than with our CPAP. It's just what we do at night. The trick in getting there is in over-riding our brains' initial natural reaction and in sleeping with CPAP anyway, over and over and over again. Convince your brain that CPAP is your very best friend.

The CPAP pressures keep our airways open so that our tissues and organs can be oxygenated. The health rewards of CPAP treatment are almost too many to count. We'll get to experience a longer life and better quality of life along the way. It's worth everything we do and pay to make our treatment comfortable and even pleasurable. There are lots of tips on how to do that here on this forum.

So, hang in there, friend. There are better days ahead!

Sleep tight, Texas!

I've seen the advertisements for these devices and tend to agree with wiredgeorge on this...it does look like a waste of money. I'm sure that they are safe to use, but the bigger question is...why? Husband and I have been dualies on CPAP for the past 6 years and have never been sickened by the hygiene routine that wiredgeorge describes. My husband is also an asthmatic. No problem...his condition continues to be static.

My brother-in-law has been on CPAP much longer than we have and he doesn't clean anything ever, (I know...that is just gross). He does change out his hose and mask every 6 months and changes out the filters regularly, though. He seems to be a happy camper and doesn't experience any more than the occasional cold. While I don't recommend his strategy, I do think that the sellers of these super, duper CPAP cleaning devices are going after the OCD-meticulous crowd and have found an effective marketing niche. They prey on the CPAP newbies. That upsets me a bit.

Einstein apparently slept 12 hours every night. We will probably never know exactly why. Everybody is different. Ten hours to one is as 5 hours for another. I wish I was a 6-hour per night person. Then, maybe I could get more than a little something done during the day. I'm a perfect 10. Too bad, but that's the way it is.

Thank you, sleeptech...your posts are so helpful!

My own study was done overnight at home, with the "wristwatch" method. I had to return the "wristwatch" by 8:00 am the next morning at a pulmonary clinic, 30 miles away - in commute traffic ala SF East Bay Area here in California. This was no easy feat. Within a week, I was assigned a date at another clinic to get a machine and mask for a 2 week titration at home. After the 2-week titration, I returned the machine and mask to the clinic and an appointment was made to pick up a new machine and mask of my choice at a Durable Medical Equipment supply close to my home. A respiratory therapist there fitted me for the mask and calibrated my new machine via my doctor's prescription. And that was it. Thus, the insurance plan was able to minimize costs and get the job done in a reasonable length of time. Unreasonable to me, though, because my sleep was suffering so much - severe OSA.

The "wristwatch" method, I know, is not the best sleep study one can have...it leaves out so much useful information. It is only diagnostic for obstructive sleep apnea. You have to struggle through quite a length of time before you become eligible for the in-clinic study, which is 55 miles away from my home. I, fortunately didn't need one. I think most patients wouldn't need one. It's just unfortunate, in my insurance plan, for the slightly more than few who do.

If treatment pressures are way high, the nasal pillows will produce too many leaks and might not be recommended for that reason. What are your treatment pressures? What type of machine do you have? Make and model?

That technician or respiratory therapist owed you a direct answer to your question. You shouldn't have been left to wonder if "it kinda seems that way". If she brushes you off again, as you described above, remind her that you're the one who'll be sleeping with whatever mask you get and while you appreciate her input, you expect your informed decision to be respected. Tell her again what you want. Explain that you'll not cut off your beard and you want a mask that will accomodate it. Ask why she thinks the nasal pillows mask is the wrong mask for you. Sometimes pillows masks leak simply because they haven't been sized right to fit the patient's nostrils. Yup...even the therapists can make mistakes. Make them accountable. Be nice but insistant. Ask lots of questions and be firm that you're not going to leave without some reasonable answers and a mask that you'll be willing to try out.

Sorry to say it, but you actually need to make another trip to meet with them as soon as you can. Bring in your machine and current mask. I would go see them with or without an appointment and just explain that you need to be seen right now by any of the repiratory therapists, it doesn't matter who. Ask the therapist for a mini test run in a mask and with your own machine, right then and there. Don't let them brush you off. You deserve much better, so, insist on it.

Welcome to the forum, texasplumr. We've all been there at some point. Lots of support here.

Best wishes to you in your sleep apnea journey.

Hi Doug and welcome to the forum. It seems like you have things well in hand. Keep checking in and let us know how things are coming along.

Access the menu and turn off the auto on/off feature. That way you will have to turn on your machine yourself and it will neither turn on automatically nor turn off automatically. This should solve your problem.

Our machines are not monsters that whimsically do random things. They do what we tell them to do. The machine isn't broken...it's operator error 99.999% of the time.