Full bearded guy. Tried p10, pilario Q, airfit 10, mirage q.

Hello everyone.
Having problem finding mask which won’t stop waking me up. I have a full beard (rather trimmed).
I have lots of bearded friends who suggested airfit p10 and f&p pilario q. I got both of these, and both of them are leaking. Resmed p10 more than pilario q.
My biggest problem is leaking thru my mouth. Usually around 4-5 am my cheeks are like ballon and my lips are letting air escape. I tried poligrip denture strips, paper medical tape. I’m noticing it’s not my mouth being wide open, but more just the pressure of the air building up in my mouth, causing the ballon like effect.

As far as full face mask... airfit 10 was ok so far. Getting some leaks where the mask touch the beard. So I have to tide it up fairly strong.

My resmed autoset10 always shows leaking around 20-22 in the morning.
And smiley face.

Finally ordered AirTouch F20 and I’m hoping this one will seal better. Still, rather would prefer pillow masks. But I’m a Side and belly sleeper, and seems the pillows masks tend to be very fragile, when you toss from side to side.

Anyone whit similar experiences? Thank you.

I've got a full beard and I use a Comfort Gel nasal mask (size medium). Mask fit well over 90%; often 100%.

Don't assume that you'll need a full face mask until you're tried a nasal mask. Even many who report chronic mouth breathing find that with the correct CPAP pressure, they can nose breathe just fine.

cub4bearin wrote:My resmed autoset10 always shows leaking around 20-22 in the morning.

You need to understand what it is reporting on the LCD screen. That's what we call a 95% number and all that means is you were at OR BELOW that number for 95% of the night. People tend to think it is an overall average and it is not an average at all. That "or below" part of the definition is real important.
95% numbers are easily skewed to the high side with just a relatively short period of time at higher numbers. You need to use available software to see just how high it went and for how long and how much time was really well below that 22 L/min number.
If you are sleeping well and feeling decent and leaks aren't waking you....that number is acceptable and doesn't warrant doing anything extraordinary to fix it.

The mouth cheek thing...we call it chipmunk cheeks and there's been a lot of discussion on the forum as to how to reduce that annoyance.
It is common enough with nasal interface masks but it can just as easily happen with a full face mask.
Air goes up the nose and the tongue drops down and opens the back door to the airway and that air flow going down the airway tries to exit through the mouth since the door is open. Lips are shut...hence the cheeks inflating etc and then we finally have to open our mouth to equalize the pressure.
The advantage to the full face mask of course is that you aren't losing therapy pressure out the mouth when you open the mouth.
How big of a problem is it if you lose the therapy pressure by using a nasal interface mask....it depends on how much mouth opening/leaking/breathing you end up doing and how often does it wake you up.
5 minutes of mouth breathing probably not the end of the world but 50 minutes might be a different story depending on just how deep into large leak territory that mouth breathing takes you.
So it's not so much that the mouth breathing happens as it is how long and how deep into large leak territory does it take you.
Need to evaluate the leak graphs using software to do that.

cub4bearin wrote: I’m a Side and belly sleeper, and seems the pillows masks tend to be very fragile, when you toss from side to side.

They aren't fragile despite their appearance. Even that ultra thin soft cushy Brevida which is very similar to the Pilairo Q pillow
They can handle any amount of tossing and turning you want to dish out. I am all over the place every night in terms of sleeping position...they won't tear just from movement.
So set that worry aside. It's not a factor.

Now mask movement from tossing and turning...that's something that can happen with any mask and the more surface area touching the skin the greater the chance of mask movement happening and the seal getting broken.
Complicated by facial hair obviously. Not something that can't be fixed but it does create additional challenges.
Mask liner might help...so you might look at that if you wish to continue with the full face mask.

Also there are liners of sorts for the nasal pillows that might help with stability issues if you wish to continue with nasal pillow masks.
Padacheek.com look at Karen's website for liners and barrel cozies.

full bearded myself and while not LONG not especially well trimmed. so, tape is right out the window and chin strap wasn't doing that good of a job. then a forum member, jay, suggested this-

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=112758&st=0&sk=t&sd ... i#p1086296

these hair bands should be available at your local drugstore and they are very inexpensive. you can keep them usable for a longer time by tossing them in the clothes washer.

works for me and i hope it will work for you....

I love using the P10 so I control mouth leaking by using the Ultimate Chin Strap. http://sleepapneasolutionsinc.com/

thank You everyone... tonight I am going try mouth guard (since I already have one and never thought about it as remedy)... before I start spending more money for expensive chin straps ($50++++ ).

cub4bearin wrote:thank You everyone... tonight I am going try mouth guard (since I already have one and never thought about it as remedy)... before I start spending more money for expensive chin straps ($50++++ ).

Lots less than $50..... https://www.cpap.com/cpap-mask-parts/cp ... straps.php

LSAT wrote:

cub4bearin wrote:thank You everyone... tonight I am going try mouth guard (since I already have one and never thought about it as remedy)... before I start spending more money for expensive chin straps ($50++++ ).

Lots less than $50..... https://www.cpap.com/cpap-mask-parts/cp ... straps.php

Someone suggested this above: http://sleepapneasolutionsinc.com/

cub4bearin wrote:

LSAT wrote:

cub4bearin wrote:thank You everyone... tonight I am going try mouth guard (since I already have one and never thought about it as remedy)... before I start spending more money for expensive chin straps ($50++++ ).

Lots less than $50..... https://www.cpap.com/cpap-mask-parts/cp ... straps.php

Someone suggested this above: http://sleepapneasolutionsinc.com/

I stated that this is what I use, not what you need. What LSAT is pointing out to you is that a regular chin strap is cheaper. That may be enough for you. I know of no reason to think that a standard mouth guard will help but let us know how it goes.

I have one idea for you as far as the leaks from your FFM. There is a silicone-type product I have used that somewhat improves the seal of my nasal mask, that is specifically sold to improve the seals around scuba masks... naturally, I found out about that on this forum!
I am a woman and do not have a beard... but I did see that others with a mustache had found it helpful.

It is called Mask Seal, costs about $12 for a small tube and can be found at some dive or "reef", snorkelling supply type shops.

Good luck

with the mouth guard used for last two nights and with F&P Pilario Q... here are my results:

cub4bearin wrote:with the mouth guard used for last two nights and with F&P Pilario Q... here are my results:

Sooo....what about sleep quality and how you feel?
Did you really sleep and feel as good as the report seems to point to?

I have to say, it was better than most of previous nights... I didn't get awake by hearing air escaping around my nose (worked more on better secure for the headgear).... and didn't get chipmunk cheeks.. Friday night I have mouthguard and Mueller Support wrap, last night just the mouthguard (but I could feel my mouth were dryer last night vs. night before with support wrap)...

As far as those results I posted... I am still new to this and don't understand all of that.. do they look OK in your opinion?

Lastly, I know that if I am going to stick with nasal pillow mask.. it will be F&P vs. Resmed p10.. the only thing, I am looking into getting Brevida vs. Pilario Q seems to be kind of big and too warm around my nose..

I also have AirTouch 20 coming in mail tomorrow, but not sure I will keep it if I can sleep more comfortable with nasal pillows.

cub4bearin wrote: As far as those results I posted... I am still new to this and don't understand all of that.. do they look OK in your opinion?

They look to die for good. They look like you should feel like superman but I numbers don't always tell the whole story.
In terms of AHI and leak management and what the data shows...damn near perfection.

cub4bearin wrote: Lastly, I know that if I am going to stick with nasal pillow mask.. it will be F&P vs. Resmed p10.. the only thing, I am looking into getting Brevida vs. Pilario Q seems to be kind of big and too warm around my nose..

Do look at the Brevida. One of my main complaints about the Pilairo was that cushion size. It was a bit overwhelming/annoying and the Brevida cushion is considerably less overwhelming in terms of size. It might just end up being perfect size for you. I liked the Brevida a lot more than I liked the Pilairo for that reason.
I didn't spend much time trying the Pilairo because of that reason but I ended up spending several months trying the Brevida and I don't spend time with a mask if I don't like it a lot.

Ended up going back to the P10 mainly because the cushion on the Brevida just still seemed a bit large overall for my nostrils/nose. I wish they had offered a smaller size in general for the cones, etc. They don't though.
For me the XSmall/Small...was maybe not small enough.
At least the Brevida offers 2 sizes...the Pilairo just has the one universal size and that cushion itself is just bigger in general and not just the nostril cone thing.

Pugsy wrote:

cub4bearin wrote: Do look at the Brevida. One of my main complaints about the Pilairo was that cushion size. It was a bit overwhelming/annoying and the Brevida cushion is considerably less overwhelming in terms of size. It might just end up being perfect size for you. I liked the Brevida a lot more than I liked the Pilairo for that reason.
I didn't spend much time trying the Pilairo because of that reason but I ended up spending several months trying the Brevida and I don't spend time with a mask if I don't like it a lot.

Ended up going back to the P10 mainly because the cushion on the Brevida just still seemed a bit large overall for my nostrils/nose. I wish they had offered a smaller size in general for the cones, etc. They don't though.
For me the XSmall/Small...was maybe not small enough.
At least the Brevida offers 2 sizes...the Pilairo just has the one universal size and that cushion itself is just bigger in general and not just the nostril cone thing.

As far as the size difference for the pillow part in Pilario and Brevida... do U think the Pilario size was closer to the MEDIUM/LARGE on brevida? Its a matter of extra $10 to get SMALL/MEDIUM and MEDIUM/LARGE... or something like that... would prefer just order one and save those $10 but will never know, what if? lol