My first post and I'm new to CPAP

John37 · Post by **John37** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 9:50 pm

Hi,
What a great forum this is...
I just got my CPAP about a month ago but I've only used it about 4 or 5 times. I think I kinda got discouraged after a couple of times because of the noise from the air that leaks out when I turn to my side(s). Though I recognize that I get better sleep even though I wake up from the noise as opposed to not having good sleep from snoring all night, it's still very bothersome to me.
I have the mask pretty tight as it is and the lady told me at the orientation that if I did it too tight I would have a mark on my face from the gel.
Does anyone have any advice for me that would help me get a better seal on the thing? I use the mask that covers just the nose.
Thanks a lot....
JOhn

bdp522 · Post by **bdp522** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 9:55 pm

Welcome to the forum John!

We will be better able to help you if you fill in your profile with your machine and mask. It will also help to let us know the pressure you use. The more info you give the better answers you will get.

It will also help you to click on the yellow light bulb at the top of the page. Loads of info there that may help.

Brenda

tomjax · Post by **tomjax** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 9:56 pm

I would suggest you click on the yellow light and read all you can and then look thru many pages of the forum.

You need to click on your profile and list the equipment you use.

You may have the mask TOO TIGHT.
Sometimes looses is better than tighter.

read read read.
welcome

blarg · Post by **blarg** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:08 am

Welcome to the forums.

What you're describing is something that shouldn't happen on CPAP. You're rolling over and your mask is leaking.

Don't think you need to adjust to this noise. Either your mask needs to be adjusted or you need a different one. Masks are the hardest part of this whole equation to get right. I would still encorage you to be using your CPAP every night as the effects of untreated sleep apnea are not happy.

Definitely glad you found this place and hope that you get a great night's sleep in short order.

sharon1965 · Post by **sharon1965** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 7:48 am

welcome john, from a relative newbie

i've been on cpap for 8 weeks and am already on my 5th interface...blarg is right, the mask is the thing...there are many posts on here that will help you navigate the interface highway

good luck,

sharon1965

OldHippie · Post by **OldHippie** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:34 am

WELCOME!! I have been on CPAP for a little over a month. I have used two masks...first ResMed Ultra Mirage Full Face Mask and then tried the Swift Nasal Pads. After a few days I went back to the Ultra Mirage and have since adjusted to it very well and must say I am very comfortable with it!!

At the beginning I thought I was destined for a life of miserable nights but I hung in there and can honestly say that I don't mind wearing it at all. In fact, and you may think I am exaggerating here but I am not, I look forward to putting it on and nestling into my bed and getting a good nights sleep.

In other words, don't get discouraged despite a bad start. HANG IN THERE and don't give up. Once you begin to see improvements in your sleep pattern and how you feel, you will start to see the whole treatment, including the mask in a different way. You may not feel quite as I do but then again you may.

Thank God for medical science and informed doctors!! (AND of course, this forum!!!)

nana · Post by **nana** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:03 am

John 37. I have been on cpap for two months and have been compliant. It hasn't been easy every night. but I do feel better. I had been switching between four masks. Found that I need a small or petite nasal mask. I've never used the full face mask so I can't be of any help there. I have been working on not making too many changes at one time and sticking with it. I also felt that the noise of breathing and the machine was surely going to end my treatment. With a short time and nightly use, I have gotten used to the noise. Husband still uses his ear plugs.... because of the machine, not from my snoring. Things are better because of all the true life experiences shared on this forum and all the tips from our cpap users.
John, the mask has been the biggest issue. Sometimes it is just trial and error, but you've got to be on the machine to be good to yourself. You will find friends to help as you post your questions.
Nana

kavanaugh1950 · Post by **kavanaugh1950** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 12:58 am

WELCOME. I USE THE FULL FACE MASK BUT YOU NEED TO CLEAN THE SEAL ON THE MASK AND WASH YOUR FACE GOOD TO REMOVE OIL FROM IT AND THE MASK WILL SEAL BETTER. I USE BABY WIPES TO CLEAN MINE. GOOD LUCK AND HANG IN THERE. PAT

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 1:43 am

John, as the others have said, the right mask is 99% of being able to do this kind of treatment. If I were you, I'd go back to the DME (the home health care store) and ask to swap the mask for one of these:

ComfortLite2 with TWO sizes (Medium and Large) of the nasal pillows to take home with you.

Twilight NP with TWO sizes (Medium and Large) of the nasal pillows. If the DME has never heard of this mask, tell them it's carried by Invacare. If the DME buys things from Invacare (like wheelchairs, walkers, etc.) they surely can order this mask from Invacare.

Activa nasal mask - if you get this one, be sure to wear the straps rather loose.

Soyala nasal mask - made by Somnotech.

Swift nasal pillows with at least two (Med and Large) of the three sizes (small, med, large) that come with it.

If the DME is not willing to swap masks in order to help you get something you can actually sleep in, you might want to take your business elsewhere....if your insurance has a list of other DMEs you can choose from.

The right mask is soooo important that I'd urge you to do whatever it takes to keep trying masks until you find one that suits you. Even if that means having to do what so many of us do -- go through the expense of trial and error buying them out of your own pocket from an online store like cpap.com
No prescription is needed to buy a mask from an online store.

You already know how important cpap treatment is going to be to your health...to your life. You want to do it. You just haven't been able to, due to the mask. I hope your DME will bend over backwards to let you try mask after mask after mask. If they don't, it's really going to be important for you to find it yourself.

You're going to be spending one-third of the remainder of your life "sleeping." You don't need to be having apneas during a large part of the remainder of your life -- shortening your life, or struggling along with less than the best quality of life you can have.

It's all about the mask, the mask, the mask. Do what it takes to get one you can use:
LINKS to MASKS - nasal mask, nasal pillows, nasal prongs
viewtopic.php?p=35286

dwilson · Post by **dwilson** » Sat Mar 10, 2007 5:45 pm

I use a pillow mask that fits pretty well.

Since this is the least expensive part of the set up, and totally replaceable, I use a sticky cosmetic product for that "extra seal," and it works.

When the pillow part deteriorates, I'll get another.

The product is Murray's Beeswax, and is actually found in the black people's hair section - I know they have it in WalMart.

It's very sticky, whereas oil is slippery. It's made of beeswax and petrolatum and a tiny bit of fragrance. I have smooth white people's hair, but I like this product for, say, my lips, as it stays on forever and traps moisture in.

In the same way, it traps air out. I don't know if it would be uncomfortable for you - we are all SO different.

As I said, probably not generally recommended, but I'm an artist, and I'm desperate to sleep and desperate times call for desperate measures.

The thing stopped leaking and the world kept spinning.

Lemme know if you try it.

Regards, Dee

Software

Additional Comments: decapitated aura, comfortsleeve, padacheeks, papillow, pur-sleep, pressure 9.5, back to using polident strips

My first post and I'm new to CPAP

My first post and I'm new to CPAP

newbie

probably not generally recommended, but I did this