New to CPAP and trying to find the right mask...

Hi everyone,

I am new to CPAP and just got my machine about three weeks ago. My machine is the Resmed Airsense Autoset and I originally was using the Airfit N10 nasal mask but it caused sores at the bridge of my nose and irritation. Now I am using the Airfit F10 but I feel that I am not sleeping as well and my wife said I still snore at night. Basically I am trying to figure out what mask will work best for me so tomorrow I am going back to the equipment supplier to try a nasal pillow mask.

Have people found better luck with nasal pillow masks and that they cause less nose irritation than nasal masks? I wish the N10 didn't irritate my nose so much because I definitely felt more refreshed in the morning after using it. I know everyone is different but I was just interested in hearing some opinions in regards to masks.

A mask is suppose to be comfortable and not leak. If you can get the pillows to work... go that route. The pillows are less intrusive... and I believe over the long haul, getting the pillows to work for you is best. The sore on the nose will go away, once you skin get used to the pillows. Use breast cream (can't think of the name at this moment), and it will help the sore spots and aid in the leaks. You can get the ointment in the baby aisle of the drug store. The mask search is a long journey and be somewhat frustrating. People swear by their masks, but as you stated, it's a personal thing.

Sheriff

Thanks for the input. I purchased some CPAP nasal cream and I will try that if I have irritation.

Joel

Check the poll.............
viewtopic/t104522/Poll-What-type-of-mas ... u-use.html

joeljjk11 wrote:Hi everyone,

I am new to CPAP and just got my machine about three weeks ago. My machine is the Resmed Airsense Autoset and I originally was using the Airfit N10 nasal mask but it caused sores at the bridge of my nose and irritation. Now I am using the Airfit F10 but I feel that I am not sleeping as well and my wife said I still snore at night. Basically I am trying to figure out what mask will work best for me so tomorrow I am going back to the equipment supplier to try a nasal pillow mask.

Have people found better luck with nasal pillow masks and that they cause less nose irritation than nasal masks? I wish the N10 didn't irritate my nose so much because I definitely felt more refreshed in the morning after using it. I know everyone is different but I was just interested in hearing some opinions in regards to masks.

Does your data show snoring?

These things all take time and you will not feel perfect immediately and there will be good nights and less good nights. You will also come to realize that feeling tired in the AM isn't only about cpap or mask fit. There are a myriad of issues and sometimes cpap is not a total cure.

Give things more time and if need be, your pressures may need to be increased because you may be snoring (and snoring isn't great, but its not as bad as a hypopnea, or apnea, or reras where you keep waking up out of rem sleep). Also, do you have your machine set to FFM vs. pillows setting?

Bouncing around from one mask to another without taking time to adjust will not help you. If you have a good comfortable and leak free fit on the F10 try to master it first. Once you do so, or if doing so just becomes totally impossible, only then go back to the old mask that was causing you pressure sores.

I don't believe there is a setting on my machine that shows snoring but my wife said I was. My AHI last night was 8.3 and the night before that it was 6.9. I just feel that for the first week or so of using the nasal mask I felt like a new person, I had tons of energy and it was great. Now I am tired in the morning still and do not feel as refreshed. My data does not show significant leaking but I know last night I woke up in the middle of the night a few times and had to adjust the mask.

joeljjk11 wrote:I don't believe there is a setting on my machine that shows snoring but my wife said I was. My AHI last night was 8.3 and the night before that it was 6.9. I just feel that for the first week or so of using the nasal mask I felt like a new person, I had tons of energy and it was great. Now I am tired in the morning still and do not feel as refreshed. My data does not show significant leaking but I know last night I woke up in the middle of the night a few times and had to adjust the mask.

Joel,

If you decide that a nasal mask is your best option, you might want to look at the Sleep Weaver Cloth Mask listed in my profile. It is very comfortable and definitely doesn't irritate my nose. By the way, I thought that after my septoplasty, I would want to give nasal pillows a shot but I still definitely prefer this mask.

Best of luck in figuring things out.

49er

Snoring would show up on a graph that you need the software to see.
Do you know about SleepyHead? It will work just fine with your machine so you can see a lot more than what is shown on the machine's LCD screen.
I have information on software in my signature line

and some good information here
https://sleep.tnet.com/reference

You can use either Sleepyhead (Windows and Mac versions available) or ResScan (Windows only)...and see what is going on.

Pugsy wrote:Snoring would show up on a graph that you need the software to see.
Do you know about SleepyHead? It will work just fine with your machine so you can see a lot more than what is shown on the machine's LCD screen.
I have information on software in my signature line

and some good information here
https://sleep.tnet.com/reference

You can use either Sleepyhead (Windows and Mac versions available) or ResScan (Windows only)...and see what is going on.

Thanks for the info, I did not know about that software. I will try it out tonight.

I encourage you to get Sleepyhead software... it's a game-changer for understanding what's going on at night and is the favorite by far on this forum, that means there is a lot of help available decoding your sleep data.

I also started out with the N10 and had sores on my face the first week. I used Bandaids until it was healed and my face became used to it. I didn't wash the mask before use, so I don't know if that was the problem or if I had sensitive skin. Once healed it didn't reoccur. I also ordered liners that helped with comfort. http://www.padacheek.com/ or https://www.cpap.com/productpage/remzzz ... iners.html.
I did change to the P10 that I am very happy with now but it also takes a while for the nose to get used to and may be a little sore for a while. The use of Lansolin to help relieve that break in period. http://www.amazon.com/Lansinoh-Lanolin- ... s=Lansolin It can also be bought at Walmart in the baby section.

Thanks for the info.

The only thing I can think of as to why I am not as refreshed in the morning is that my diet has slightly changed. Around the time I started the CPAP I was eating a green smoothie each morning and eating much healthier overall. Has anyone noticed that their diet can affect how they feel in the morning? I'm not sure, I could be jumping to conclusions too quickly over the F10 and that it isn't working well. Anyone have any thoughts?

My thoughts about masks in general...no mask should ever cause anything more than very minor tenderness...should never cause an open sore, blister or abrasion and it it does it's either the wrong size, fitted wrong or simply the wrong mask for the individual.

I wouldn't spend an inordinate amount of time with a mask that causes significant pain or wounds unless there was absolutely no choice. I would be trying every mask I could find or lay my hands on while I could.
I don't know if you are using a DME equipment supplier where you can swap out masks for free during a certain amount of time...if you are...use it to your full advantage. Swap often if you can...don't spend 3 weeks out of a 30 day free period with one mask. Try others...you can always go back to the first one if it ends up being the best for you.

Try any mask that looks interesting to you..."interesting" is good enough reason and you won't know how you do with it until you try it. That's what I do...if it is interesting I will try...now sometimes the only thing I learn was how bad I hated it but I always learn something and sometimes I learn that the mask actually works quite decently.
I had that happen with the Wisp/Nano trial. Tried the Wisp first and it was a disaster and decided to try the Nano but really expected it to be a disaster since they are very similar in construction but I found the Swift FX Nano cushion to actually be quite a success. Not enough to displace my favorite nasal pillow mask but I could use the Nano successfully if for some reason I couldn't use my nasal pillow mask.

So use your insurance and DME mask swapping time to your advantage if you can...if not, there are ways to get other masks to try that won't break the bank.

Yes I am going through a 90 day trial period at this point. I figured I want to take advantage of it and try as many types of masks as I can.

Just an update, I tried out my nasal mask again last night and used the CPAP cream that I have. I feel WAY more refreshed today and actually have energy. I am going to get nasal pillows today and am hoping that I feel just as good. It is a shame that the N10 irritates my nose so much, like right now it is a little sore and doesn't feel right.