Posted by Captin Cannuck on April 23, 2007 at 05:31:37:

In Reply to: Re: CPAP removal while sleeping posted by Fred on April 20, 2007 at 05:16:37:

Two theories: 1) Could be psychological or (2) could be caused by people feeling uncomfortable or underventilated.

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS:
First, people might be "in denial" or depressed about having to rely upon what the see as a kind of respirator. People might be young, and worry about the social stigma that wearing CPAP would mean. They might wonder what their friends would think of it, or even what impact it might have on their relationships or even their sex lives. Pulling the CPAP off could be their subcontious crying out: "No! Not me! I dont want this to be part of my life!". In other words, the psychological aspect of it needs to be confronted. We need to accept CPAP.

Another psychological issue is the issue of having something on your face. Although CPAP is very small, it does sit on our noses. Some people who suffer from claustrophobia might have difficulty accepting a foreign object being on their body. I think that in many cases, we can adapt. Our brains can learn to accept a new object in our environments. However, some people might not be able to overcome the claustrophobia.

PEOPLE FEELING UNDERVENTILATED
Second theory is that people are underventilated. I really felt that I was not getting enough air, and felt as though I was rebreathing my own exhaled CO2. I wrote a kind person from a CPAP complany, and she was good enough to write me back and tell me how I could jack up the pressure. Once I did that, I did not feel underventilated. I feel that the higher pressure drives the CO2 out of the mask more forcefully. I am now using a pressure higher than what I was prescribed (I was prescribed only 5-20 cms and now I have it set on 10-20). This setting feels right. I feel like I am getting fresh air without CO2. I do not feel the desire to remove my mask.

ADVICE:
My advice is to try to get your head around CPAP if possible. Just resign yourself to it. Dont fight it. Always focus on how wonderful the benefits are and try not to think about the negative aspects.

Follow Ups:

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