If you wear a nose mask - Why??

dllfo · Post by **dllfo** » Wed May 10, 2006 2:34 am

I have had my auto bipap for about 36 hours. No sleep with it on the first
night...a small amount tonight, but my severe asthma makes me believe
I may never be able to wear a FF mask.

My DME guy said "With your breathing problems, you need a FF mask."

The DME receipt says 1 EA MO27352 RESP ASST DEVICE BIPAP AUTO
Then, under the Mo27 is 421

Is this a code for the mask?

Being a little suspicious, part of me wonders if they make more money on the
FF masks?

Getting back to my subject line..if you wear a nose mask - why? Asthma??

(Oh yes, what do you think the most comfortable nose mask is)

Thanks, Dave (I will probably get my new nose mask tomorrow, so any
suggestions appreciated. Maybe I should get a ride across town to their
store? It is Apria. Maybe they would have a big selection there??)

Offerocker · Post by **Offerocker** » Wed May 10, 2006 5:39 am

dllfo: My latest and bestest mask is the Comfort Lite 2, and I use the "Simple Cushion", which is simply a shaped cushion of silicone that covers the nose. There is no plastic 'casing' or form supporting this material. It is extremely light, and has the smallest contact area of any 'mask'. The weight, smallness and less area for leakage are the reasons I prefer this mask.
Since I am a mouth-breather, I had tried a full-face mask FP431. I have a small face, and had to strap that sucker on so tight that I got a brain leak. It is great for other people, but not for me. I was about to have a plug put in my trachea (not quite, but sure thought about it, for all the trouble it would have alleviated!) I hope this helps answer your question

oldgearhead · Post by **oldgearhead** » Wed May 10, 2006 6:51 am

...fo,
I think your doc believes you breath with your mouth open, at times.
If this is really the case, you only have two options: 1) A full-face-mask
or 2) A nasal mask (cushions probably) and a means of keeping your mouth
shut during sleep. If you cannot tolerate a 'closed mouth', then the full-face-mask is the only option.

Keeping the mouth closed during sleep is my big problem. When I'm successful with the closed mouth, then the 'Blowfish' appears. When I
get control of the 'Blowfish', then gas (I can't spell the other word), becomes a problem. When I get control of the ..........., then .........
..................

When will it end??

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Wed May 10, 2006 7:08 am

I use a nasal mask because I can't use a full face mask. The full face mask pushes my lower jaw back increasing my apnea. It's not an uncommon problem, expecially among those who have TMJ issues.

Regards,
Bill

WindFlyer · Post by **WindFlyer** » Wed May 10, 2006 8:41 am

I was using the ResMed UltraMirage FF mask for the last few months and thought it was going well... But my wife said that I was still having occasional snore sessions when the mask got nudged off my face from my side-laying on the pillow. So I caved and went back to my ResMed UltraMirage nose mask and the problems with this have vanished. Plus I'm REMing alot more now (or at least having more memorable vivid dreams) with the nose mask. So, even though I don't like the annoying pressure on the philtrum I think I'll stick with the nose mask because it seems to be providing me with better therapy and less leaks.

feelinfab · Post by **feelinfab** » Wed May 10, 2006 11:19 am

For what it's worth, I switch between a nose mask (Resmed) and FF mask (also Resmed). I've been on CPAP for about 2 months, started on the nose, but had trouble since I'm a committed mouth-breather I switched to FF.

That works reasonably well. However, I always suspected the nose mask worked better. I switched backover the weekend when I read the BRILLIANT idea someone had about using Polident to keep your mouth closed. That is working really well.

I think it's an individual thing -- whatever you find most comfortable and gives you the best results. You may have to experiment around for awhile, as I have done and continue to do.

Good luck!!

dllfo · Post by **dllfo** » Wed May 10, 2006 2:18 pm

I will try this a third time. I can tell I am tired, I can't seem to remember how the back button works.
Anyway, thank you so much for your time and for listing why the nose mask
is your preference.

Apria has an RPT coming in an hour, and she is bringing several nose masks. She suggested the Swift by Mirage. NightHawkEye uses it. I hope he is happy with it, she has listened to the MEDICAL reasons I can't use a FF mask right now. Somehow, no one has caught on yet...I have severe asthma. Nearly all of us have a mucus discharge from our lungs..at least once in awhile. Mine is 24/7 and has been for months. I have two more tests being ran next week, PFT and a Methacholine test. I keep hoping they can figure it out, but I have to have a nose mask right now. I don't mind the FF mask, I flew too many missions around 50,000 ft in the Air Force. A mask and pressure breathing are nothing new. At least this air is room temp.

Offerrocker - you said you are a mouth breather. How do you know? I know
I prefer my nose. Maybe because my wife says I snore some
times. But if my nose is congested, I have trouble breathing.
And when I say congested...I mean ANYTHING blocking it.
Oldgear head- I "think" I breathe thru my nose. My wife told me she has
stayed awake to listen to me breathe. More than one night. She
confirmed that I quit breathing for periods of time, then she
usually taps me to get me to breathe again. Sometimes I find
myself standing in the middle of the bedroom gasping for air.
I am pretty sure nose breathing is what I prefer.
HighHawkEye-- I don't have TMJ, but at some angles I sure agree with you
that I also feel like my jaw is being pushed against my chest.
That is not good.
Windflyer-- Did you say REM?? I used to dream, but can't remember the
last good sleep...no wait, I do know. I keep a log because of
the morphine I have to take. April 29th was the last night I
slept all night and I did it for 3 days then. But that is it for the
last 5 months.
Feelinfab - I love some of these "handles"...and I hope you are feelingfab.
You are so right, it is an individual thing, but my previously
mentioned medical necessity may rule out the FF mask until
they get that discharge problem taken care of.

I guess I will probably wind up with the Swift. I don't know, I see a couple
of you use the ComfortLite II I think it was. I will print your comments out
and highlite them.

Again, thank you so much for your quick answers. I am a member of some
boating and RVing forums...and some times you may or may not get any
answers there, but you people are great. You bring up things a new person
just cannot anticipate......thanks again, Dave

Linda3032 · Post by **Linda3032** » Wed May 10, 2006 4:23 pm

Many like the Comfortlite 2 - it is one of the newer masks on the market. Our mask guru, Rested Gal, has tried them all. The CL 2 is her second favorite, with her favorite being the Aura Headrest. The Aura takes some tinkering with, so if I were you, I would try the CL2. Also, it comes as both a nasal pillow and the nasal mask, so you get 2 devices for the price of one.

dllfo · Post by **dllfo** » Wed May 10, 2006 5:06 pm

Linda 3032,
I missed your post. I am not sure she brought that mask with her, there were 5 as I recall. I got the Mirage Swift.

The lady from Apria had several masks, but for what I need right now, until
some of my other problems clear up, it should be great.

I didn't want to take it off. I understand any mask has some things we won't
care for, but of the four or five she brought, I liked this one the best. It seems to be simple to put on and take off and in my state of diminished capacity, I need simple. The pain meds leave me foggier than usual (as the kids say).

Thanks to some of your comments I was able to ask more informed questions and hopefully learn everything I need to know for now.

I told her I thought Apria should assign one supervisor to reading these posts. They might learn a lot about their customer base.

Thanks again, hopefully the Swift will do it all and I can sleep more than
3-4 hours tonight.

Sleepless on LI · Post by **Sleepless on LI** » Wed May 10, 2006 6:02 pm

My Ultra Mirage ff mask snores on its own (or maybe it has a severe care of aerophagia...)

dllfo · Post by **dllfo** » Wed May 10, 2006 6:29 pm

Now Lori, I don't believe that for a minute. Girls don't snore. If my precious
wife would just snore I would be much happier, but she makes the darnedest
series of sounds...Walt Disney would pay good money to hear them.

Snoring would be a major improvement because it would be one steady sound.
But what I hear is amazing. I wish I could find our little recorder, she would
laugh too. Heck, I could sell it.

Sleepless on LI · Post by **Sleepless on LI** » Wed May 10, 2006 7:50 pm

dllfo wrote:Now Lori, I don't believe that for a minute. Girls don't snore. If my precious
wife would just snore I would be much happier, but she makes the darnedest
series of sounds...Walt Disney would pay good money to hear them.

Snoring would be a major improvement because it would be one steady sound.
But what I hear is amazing. I wish I could find our little recorder, she would
laugh too. Heck, I could sell it.

Trust me, dllfo, women/girls snore. That was one of the main reasons I suspected OSA, when my husband had to leave the room to get some rest. Now there's nights I need to leave the room because of him!

So what exactly are those noises your wife makes, hmm???

snoozie_suzy · Post by **snoozie_suzy** » Wed May 10, 2006 9:40 pm

[quote="WindFlyer"] Plus I'm REMing alot more now (or at least having more memorable vivid dreams) with the nose mask. So, even though I don't like the annoying pressure on the philtrum I think I'll stick with the nose mask because it seems to be providing me with better therapy and less leaks.

_________________

I started on Swift pillows for a few weeks back in January but I kept opening my mouth, and despite mouth taping, and chin straps the air would still hiss out of my lips. So for over 2months I switched to UMFF mask, and my snores went up, leaks down, AHI was low. so all in all pretty good. Then 3 weeks ago my FFmask broke so instead of reverting back to the Swift, I used the Comfort Classic nasal mask that I got from the sleep lab in October as a spare/backup. For three weeks, my snores have gone WAY down, I am dreaming more, and I don't have to tape or use a chin strap, and I swear its giving me more effective treatment, or so it feels that way. Not to say FF masks don't give effective treatment, just for ME personally, the nasal seems to help ME better. However the FFmask is great for when I have colds or allergies etc.

Suzy

Offerocker · Post by **Offerocker** » Thu May 11, 2006 4:37 am

dll wrote:

Offerrocker - you said you are a mouth breather. How do you know?

I know because I've been informed of same, although I can snore either way! Also, when my nose gets plugged up, the mouth opens. I now use a Neti pot, which helps, plus the AYR gell or a generic.
You didn't say how your asthma affects your choice of masks, etc. I am not informed on that subject.

pharmwoman · Post by **pharmwoman** » Thu May 11, 2006 6:11 am

im on of those people who just LOVED their breeze nasal mask--but Im a mouth breather and I was not getting full benefit of cpap. I couldnt imagine using a ff mask--well I got the fisjher paykel FF mask and after several days adjustment--I love it!! I dont have to worry about the mouth breathing and I do feel a lot better--so think about it..........

If you wear a nose mask - Why??

If you wear a nose mask - Why??

If you wear a nasal/nose mask - why?

Me too....

Machine	Mask	Humidifier