This is my first post. I was recently diagnosed with both obstructive and central sleep apnea (on the cusp between moderate and severe for the obstructive) and am now going thru titration to find out what kind of equipment I need and what settings are best. I've had a Respironics REMstarAuto M at home for 5 nights to figure all this out, and I find it uncomfortable. Each night I've managed to fall asleep with it but in my sleep I rip it off my face within the first 2 hours. If I wake up and put it back on, I remove it again while sleeping. Years ago I tried sleeping with earplugs while traveling and always did the same thing: in my sleep I removed them. Any advice? This stuff doesn't bother me so much when I'm awake but it's just too weird to sleep in. My device has nasal tubes that I find uncomfortable. And after 30 minutes my skin under the straps itches, even tho they are fairly loose and comfortable when I am awake; I think that's what I'm ripping off in my sleep. When I try to sleep on my side, the whole thing shifts and the tubes dig into my nostrils, which now are sore. There is no humidifier and the air makes my throat painfully dry; it's hard to swallow. In the morning my stomach is uncomfortably full of air. My insurance just announced to me that they will not cover medical devices, only the diagnostic tests. I currently have low income, I cannot switch insurance as I am self-employed and not covered by a group plan, and as of a week ago this is considered a pre-existing condition. I am not the slightest bit overweight, and I seem to be in good health otherwise. I am finding this experience most unpleasant and am questioning how long to stick with it. On the other hand I am exhausted from lack of real sleep. Thank you for any insights.

It is common for people to remove their mask when they first start CPAP, and you will probably reduce and stop doing this as you become more accustomed to CPAP.  The air in your stomach is called aerophagia; some people get aerophagia, and it should also reduce and then stop.  

Although noisy, the REMstarAuto M is a good machine.  Your dry mouth may be caused by mouth breathing.  One way to detect this to see if you have a high leak rate; your machine records leak rate on a memory card and your sleep specialist can read this card to see if you have a high leak rate.  

If you are mouth breathing, you may need to get use a full face mask, which covers your nose and mouth.  Some people can stop mouth breathing with a strap that keeps their mouth from opening.  If you are not mouth breathing, you might do better with a nasal mask rather than that one you are currently using.  There is a water based gel called Ayr Saline Nasal Gel, that you can get from a pharmacy that might reduce the irritation of your nostrils by your current mask.

The itching from the mask straps could be caused by a sensitivity to a material in the straps.  You could try wrapping the straps with Kleenex or soft fabric.

If you are paying for equipment out-of-pocket, you can save quite a bit of money by using on-line CPAP suppliers.  If you cannot afford equipment, you might want to check out Awake In America http://www.awakeinamerica.org/

Thank you very much, Bearded One. Very helpful. Yes, I realize now that I am mouth breathing in the middle of the night... I don't think a mouth strap will work for me (although wrapping the other straps in linen did help the itching). I will try to get the sleep clinic to switch me to a full mask for the rest of the titration period but they are extremely overworked, understaffed, understandably impatient and quite difficult to reach. Won't hurt to try, though. Thanks!