It's imperative that your masks fits and seals onto your face or you're losing the benefit of using it in the first place. I hooked a shower curtain ring around my bedpost to keep the hose off my shoulder and have the hose go up over the top of my pillow. By doing this, you won't have as much drag on your machine and risk having it fall. IF your CPAP mask or nasal pillows fits CORRECTLY you should see a difference in the quality of your sleep almost immediately. I find that I have to use a small half moon pillow to be able to sleep on my back as I've been a side sleeper for over 50 years.

Diana

I definitely feel for you. I have very mild sleep apnea, my settings are only at 6(lowest it goes is 4) and I feel suffocated by that so I can only imagine how 12 feels. I don't sleep with my mouth open but they gave me the small nose mask. Forget it, first night I wore it I had the worst panic attack of my life and cried myself to sleep without it on. I couldn't do it. I work at the doctors office that my pulmonologist is in and I went to her that morning upset about it. She gave me a nasal mask which helps a lot for me. Since you sleep with your mouth open that mask wouldn't be an option but what worked for me is wearing it for an hour or so while watching tv to get used to it. I wore mine on and off for 4 hours during the day before I put it on at night. Also, if the pressure seems to hard for you I would call your pulmonologist after a couple days and ask her to read the card to check if maybe the pressure is too hard for you. My mask comes off EVERY night at some point and I do not have any memory of taking it off. I panic about it and put it back on because I worry I am not meeting my 5 hour mark at night(most pulms only require 4 hours) .  You eventually get used to it but it IS hard. My pulmonologist even though I work at her office won't clear me for surgery if I don't use it. She told me it was my surgeon *****quired 30 days compliance but I called him and they said now it's onl 2 weeks. I would call your surgeon and see what his requirement is. If it's less than 2 months find out and then bring that up to your pulmonologist. I don't know if that will work for you since your episodes are not mild at all I don't know if maybe that's why she's requiring it longer to see if the machine is helping. Good luck with it and it does get easier. Just keep wearing it each day for an hour or so watching tv to get used to it

I'm a side sleeper and sleeping on my back doesn't last for long. I always end up on my side. I would also suggest using a shower curtain ring to hold your hose off your shoulder so you can roll easily. You can hook the ring or use a rubber band to hold the ring on the headboard.

Diana

I too had problems adjusting to using a CPAP. I used both nasal pillows and a full mask. As I lost weight my titration numbers actually increased and I still need to use my CPAP. I used Vaseline in my nostrils and also used moleskin on the silicone pillows so I didn't sweat as much on the upper lip.
The most important thing I did was to lie down in the afternoon with the CPAP on and keep on lenghting the time that I kept it on. Eventually, usually after about 1 month, you should be doing better acclimatizing to it. And once you realize how much better you feel, you'll find it easier.

Hope this helps.

Diana

I am waiting for approval but just had my pressure increased from 13 to 15 because I had gained weight since last time I had the sleep study. I doubt that it will have any influence on your surgery except that it will be better for you. Hopefully like Michelle just posted we can then lower or eliminate the cpap from our lives after weightloss. Good luck!