Noob with questions ...Mirage Liberty, Amara View, AirFIT 20

Hi everyone!

Thank god and all of you for the site. It's been a such a huge resource!
Ok so I'm still figuring things out, and leaning ... everything haha
What's my condition, what equipment do I have... what should I try, what should I be asking for...

On the quick I'm using a AirFit 20 and still learning what my machine really is and does....
The AirFit headgear is really making me break out, especially on the back of my neck.
I like the mask but it does require a fairly tight fit, and I'd like to get some better vision when its on. Sitting lower on my face.


I've tried the Mirage Liberty as well and like it too but those pillow hurt my nostrils. They're pretty painful and leaks are an issue from time to time. The fit may just not right for me...

I was thinking about coming out of pocket and trying the Amara view. I do like the liberty if I could only remove those pillow and just skip them all together. Wish there was a way to just not use them at all and seal it off !

Everyone says I do have a really small nose for a guy, but I do have a 90 degree deviated septum. Never breath out of my noise...
never have, most likely never will haha

Right now I am only sleeping around 4.5-5 hours a night. Exhaling is hard sometime but I'm getting mixed signals as to if my machine is actually dropping pressure when I do. My script is a pressure range is 12-20 I believe.

So any suggestions or pointers? I'd really love the help on Masks and fit and anything I should keep watch on.
Thanks everyone and hello from a Newbe !

Zak2nd wrote:
I was thinking about coming out of pocket and trying the Amara view. I do like the liberty if I could only remove those pillow and just skip them all together. Wish there was a way to just not use them at all and seal it off !

I actually tried to seal that off and just use the mouth cushion. I couldn't get it to work. I had major leaks from the nasal pillows, so even though I wasn't breathing through them, they were causing problems. I had to quit using that mask.

Everyone says I do have a really small nose for a guy, but I do have a 90 degree deviated septum. Never breath out of my noise...
never have, most likely never will haha

I -use my nose some of the time during the day, but rarely at night. I don't know why. When I lay down, I just stop using my nose. AT the dentist, they have teh hardest time keeping me from breathing through my mouth while they are working. Sometimes, t hey have to cover my mouth to force me to switch.

A mask you may want to try is the Oracle. It is a mouth only mask. I use it sometimes. I need to later mine to get it to work better for me. Rather than a bubble around the mouth, it has a piece that goes into the mouth. I am so used to breathing through my mouth with my mouth barely open that I am not used to having my mouth held open a tad more than I am used to. But it does work well for me, and I don't even need the nasal plugs. I can breathe with it just fine, and no air escapes from my nose.

Otehrwise, I use a full face mask and just ignore the nose. Once, I did intentionally inhale through my nose to see what it felt like. Ick. I hated the feeling. Tickled, didn't feel good at all. So, I use the quattro fx and just ignore my nose. It took me awhile to master the fit, but now it is no problem.

Welcome to the group!

Thanks for the insite and tips!

Glad to see i'm not the only one thinking about ways to make the Liberty work. I really like how it feels on my face, and it seals pretty well except for those painful pillows.

I was thinking about the oracle mask too! Are you have any drool issues? I may give that a shot 1st as the price makes it intriguing as well

Well if you never ever want to use your nose there is this mask. Have you looked at the Oracle?
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/fisher ... -mask.html

For mask strap issues...causing the skin to break out you might look at making or buying some sort of strap padding.
Padacheek makes some nice ones but if you or you known someone who is handy they are easy to make yourself.
Check with Karen at Padacheek about which strap would fit the mask you end up wanting to use as your primary mask.

I have never even seen the AirFit F20 but I have seen the Liberty and own the Amara View.
For the nasal pillows you might check Roosters hints on the Liberty (works on the Innomed/Respcare Hybrid also) fitting.
wiki/index.php/Hybrid_Mask_Modifications

Between the Liberty (and its cousin the Innomed Hybrid) and the Amara View I had much better luck with the Amara View. Much easier to get and keep the seal and more comfortable along my neck area where I have some cervical spine issues and anything at the base of the skull will potentially cause me problems. But that is just me and my preference and there's no guarantee that you will have the same luck. When it comes to masks one man's trash is another man's treasure.

The Amara View is offered in 2 packages at cpap.com.
One package you choose the size of cushion you want and that package comes with free return insurance. So you have 30 days to get it back to them (30 days from the day they ship it to you and they even will email you a prepaid return label) and get your money back if you end up hating it.
The other package is what we call the "fit pack" and has all 3 sizes included. It doesn't have free return insurance...instead you have to pay for it separately.
If you decide to just buy it yourself and you want to buy from cpap.com do call and get the special pricing which is about $20 less than price shown.
I forget exactly how much...so don't hold me to that $20...it might be a little more.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/respir ... -mask.html

Insurance on the package with the fit pack costs around $31 which of course you don't get back that portion of the cost.

There is a sizing template you can print off and get an idea what size you will need plus the frame is universal...if you buy a medium and decide you want to try a large you can just buy the cushion all by itself. At least you don't have to buy a complete new entire mask package if you want to try a different size and don't have it.

The Oracle...that's a mask that not many people use but we do have a few forum members who use it as their primary mask. I don't remember right off hand who it is but if you want to try it let me know and I will figure out who it is because he has some hints in his signature line about managing the Oracle. I have never even seen one and I have to breathe with my nose or I am miserable so it is something I have never been interested in trying.

The Amara View is a very nice little full face mask. I kept mine just in case I ever had a situation where I simply couldn't use my nasal pillow mask. So far I haven't needed it but I did try it out for a week and slept very well with it. That's saying something coming from me because myself and full face masks don't get along very well.

Zak2nd wrote:Thanks for the insite and tips!

Glad to see i'm not the only one thinking about ways to make the Liberty work. I really like how it feels on my face, and it seals pretty well except for those painful pillows.

I was thinking about the oracle mask too! Are you have any drool issues? I may give that a shot 1st as the price makes it intriguing as well

I do have drooling issues some nights, but I have them with the full face mask too. Some nights, no drool. Other nights, major drool. I suspect it depends on how much I sleep on my back. I think my mouth opens more when I sleep on my back. I keep a kleenex box in bed with me, so no big deal. I just dry it and go back to sleep.

My only issue with the oracle is that I would prefer not to have the piece inside my mouth. It is on my to-do list to make the piece smaller and see if I like it more that way. I can sleep with it, but it takes me longer to fall asleep with it.

zoocrewphoto & Pugsy THANK YOU BOTH sooo much

You've both giving me a ton to think about!
Great stuff I really appreciate all the info

I tried the Liberty as well and it was painful! I've tried the Amara View. Sometimes it works well for me, but most of the time I can't get it to stop leaking. Pretty much the only mask I use is the Innomed Hybrid that Pugsy mentioned. Hope you find something soon!

I tried the Liberty and the Hybrid with no luck getting a good mask seal. I used the Amara View mask for over a year and liked it pretty well. My only complaint was my nose is too big for the large size mask cushion. When I get up in the morning, there is a red spot on the end of my nose where it presses against the cushion at night. I now use the ResMed Air Fit F20 mask. I had a badly deviated septum and could never breath through both sides of my nose at the same time. I had a septoplasty done around 20 years ago, and have never regretted it. I have had very few sinus infections since then, and breath much better than before my surgery.

Thanks guys !
Ok I'm thinking, and i know this might be crazy but I'm going to give both the Amara View and Oracle a shot.

I am having some other issues that you might be able to help with.... it pretty hard to exhale.
I've only been up and running for a month but I'm only getting around 4.5 to 5 hours a night.
And it's not like I'm not using it... It wakes me up and well then I'm just up.

I do actually feel pretty refreshed but that all the sleep i'm getting a night.
My Dr says i just need to get used to it, when i asked about a Bi-Pap. and I only heard about that from reading as much as I could.
I brought it up when he ResMed rep/respiratory person did their check in. They agreed as they said it most likely not Mask related.

Any suggestions or thoughts ??

Are you using the EPR exhale relief available on your machine and if you are at what setting?

Don't know about EPR...check this manual.
https://sleep.tnet.com/home/files/resme ... -guide.pdf

Zak2nd wrote:Thanks guys !
Ok I'm thinking, and i know this might be crazy but I'm going to give both the Amara View and Oracle a shot.

I am having some other issues that you might be able to help with.... it pretty hard to exhale.
I've only been up and running for a month but I'm only getting around 4.5 to 5 hours a night.
And it's not like I'm not using it... It wakes me up and well then I'm just up.

I do actually feel pretty refreshed but that all the sleep i'm getting a night.
My Dr says i just need to get used to it, when i asked about a Bi-Pap. and I only heard about that from reading as much as I could.
I brought it up when he ResMed rep/respiratory person did their check in. They agreed as they said it most likely not Mask related.

Any suggestions or thoughts ??

What pressure settings are you using? Do you use exhale relief?

Thanks for that!

Yes I am and its set at 3

When are you experiencing the exhale difficulty?

Middle of the night upon awakening?

Beginning of the night?...are you using the ramp function or going straight to 12 cm?

Typically later in the night... Ramp is on and starts at 4

Normal setting is 12-20 and the report is saying typical pressure is 15

i was always getting chipmunk cheeks but not so much the past 2 weeks
But man i'd really like to get more hours a night

report is saying 4.5 hrs is my average

If the pressure is up around 15 when you are having difficulties then you might be a good candidate for a bilevel machine because it offers more than the 3 cm PS difference that you get with using EPR at the max of 3. Some people just do better with the PS (difference between inhale and exhale) being 4 or 5 and even though numerically there's not a lot of difference between 3 and 4...how it feels differently is huge.

Do you restart the machine in the middle of the night so that the pressure drops back down and starts the ramp again at the lower starting pressure?
Which report is saying the typical pressure is 15? Where are you seeing this number?

Are you using the software to see exactly where the pressure is when you wake up? If not, get it. Don't know about it?
https://sleep.tnet.com/equipment

Why only 4 to 5 hours of sleep? Wake up when the pressure is high and can't go back to sleep? Wake up and take the mask off and go back to sleep?

Do you have any known lung issues that might make it harder to exhale....COPD, Asthma, etc?