Trying my first night with the cpap after being told I have sleep apnea. Wish me luck! This mask and headstrap is soooo unsexy though- hope I don't have to wear the chinstrap if I'm a mouth breather. Here goes nothing.

I thought I would never get used to mine. I had to change straps and the nose cover twice to find one I could live with. I finally settled on the "nasal pillows" and a strap that does not go under my chin. Just keep making yourself wear it and you will get used to it. Now, I can't stand not to use it. It will make you feel so much more rested in the mornings.

Oh, also meant to tell you...I bought something called a "hose snuggy" to put over the hose. I ordered it off internet. It is so much more comfortable when the hose touches you to feel the softness instead of the plastic. I also bought a hose holder that slips between the mattress behind your head. It holds the hose up off of your body. Those two items really helped me.

Oh' date=' also meant to tell you...I bought something called a "hose snuggy" to put over the hose. I ordered it off internet. It is so much more comfortable when the hose touches you to feel the softness instead of the plastic. I also bought a hose holder that slips between the mattress behind your head. It holds the hose up off of your body. Those two items really helped me.[/quote']

Thanks for those tips! I'll look into both of those items. One night down and I actually feel better already- woke up early with less than 7 hours sleep ready to go. I need the energy today too- we're having a painting party to paint my new garden shed. I am really hoping this helps with my brain fog- sometimes I haven't even been able to pull the word "sock" out of my brain when I've needed to.

I thought I would never get used to mine. I had to change straps and the nose cover twice to find one I could live with. I finally settled on the "nasal pillows" and a strap that does not go under my chin. Just keep making yourself wear it and you will get used to it. Now, I can't stand not to use it. It will make you feel so much more rested in the mornings.

I *HIGHLY* recommend nasal pillows over the full-face mask or nose cup. It made a world of difference to me. I hated being awakened in the middle of the night because of the squeak of a leak using the nose cup. I find that nasal pillows seal better and stay on no matter how much I move in my sleep.

Nose cup or full face mask, I still wake up after about 4 hours gasping and in a panic. I'm not sure if I will ever be able to wear it all night long. I wish I could I'm sure that I would feel better.

Still havent set my surgery date yet, but I'm in the first month of using my cpap with a full face mask. Some days are better than others, but for the most part I'm feeling better when I wake up. I was getting restless legs before bed and horrendous headaches in the middle of the nite. I also wake up to the noise of the mask un-suctioning from my face so I just make it tighter and fall back to sleep.

For anyone that's interested, this is a nasal pillows mask. This one is the Resmed Swift FX.

For anyone that's interested, this is a nasal pillows mask. This one is the Resmed Swift FX.

This almost exactly like the one I use. I love it.

Im a mouth breather lol

Im a mouth breather lol

Hey - no democrats in my thread.

I'd like to try the nasal pillows- I have the nose mask right now. The tech who fitted me said I have tiny nostrils and the nose pillows would be harder to exhale with so he recommended the mask. But the mask sometimes hits my upper lip and puts pressure on my teeth and gets uncomfortable. If I move it up, it hits the bridge of my nose and air escapes from the sides of the mask. My husband doesn't use his machine anymore and he had the pillows so I may borrow his for a few nights to try it out!

When I did the sleep study I woulda bet $100 that I did NOT have sleep apnea. Always woke up early, did not snore (much). Imagine my surprise when it turns out that I had 60 apnea events of more than 10 seconds an hour!!!

So short story, I use CPAP, and luckily quickly adjusted. I use the nose mask, and it works well and I feel great.. Woo Hoo!

I have never been diagnosed with sleep apnea but I snore really loud and I wake up tired every day so I may have it. I cannot possibly wear a mask. I am not kidding about that. It is a nonnegotiable. I panicked even looking at the pictures.

What is the purpose of getting diagnosed with sleep apnea? Doesn't losing weight cure sleep apnea? I know I must be missing something important. I am pretty early to my research so bear with me.

Thanks...

I found I couldn't tolerate the nose pillows well, but I can stand the nose mask to some degree (I don't sleep the whole night with it on, as at some point I am apparently annoyed with it and fling it off my face in the middle of the night).

PhatKat - if you snore a lot and wake up tired, you quite probably do have sleep apnea.

While there will likely be great improvement in sleep apnea after weight loss and it may well be resolved, there's no guarantee that it will be fully resolved. I've been told mine will probably be resolved because it's pretty minor and it's pretty clear that the onset was weight related, but that's not certain, just likely.

Newbie, there are a LOT of options. Sadly sleep Apnea is related to a lot of bad cardiac stuff, like heart attacks, congestive failure and strokes... sigh...

But they have a bazillion things you can try and you may find something that WILL work despite today's panic!

Me, I just say I'm a BORG (from Star Trek) and carry on!