New to Full Face Masks

[jrfoster]

I have slept with nasal masks for many years. (Preferred being the mirage activa with size standard cushions) But after a recent mandated sleep study by Medicare (It has been 10 plus years since my last study!) I have no idea what happened. For the titration part of the test using my good old activa mask, the technician said she could not get me to stop snoring or get my legs from moving even at a pressure of 16! I have been at 12.5 for years with AHI's from 0.7 to 3.8. Don't know why that night was so screwed up? Anyway she switched me over to bi-pap and my legs stopped moving and she said I was breathing better.
When she woke me I knew something had changed. When I took a breath in, before I was ready to exhale, the machine blew it out. Didn't like how fast it made me breathe.

Anyway she said to try a full face mask to see it that might help. So, I got a P-10 airfit mask. Tried it today and could not get a seal at any pressure. It fluttered on my face with air escaping all over no matter how much I tightened or loosed the straps. Is there a secret to get that thing sealed and comfortble?

Thanks for your replies!

Jeff Foster

[LSAT]

The Airfit P10 is a pillow mask....The F10 is the FF mask in the Airfit Series. Watch these videos and see if they help. You could also try a mask liner from padacheek,com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVRBTYVlrI0

[jrfoster]

I stand corrected it is a 10 F full face mask. Me bad!

[bonjour]

I have slept with nasal masks for many years. (Preferred being the mirage activa with size standard cushions) But after a recent mandated sleep study by Medicare (It has been 10 plus years since my last study!) I have no idea what happened. For the titration part of the test using my good old activa mask, the technician said she could not get me to stop snoring or get my legs from moving even at a pressure of 16! I have been at 12.5 for years with AHI's from 0.7 to 3.8. Don't know why that night was so screwed up? Anyway she switched me over to bi-pap and my legs stopped moving and she said I was breathing better.
When she woke me I knew something had changed. When I took a breath in, before I was ready to exhale, the machine blew it out. Didn't like how fast it made me breathe.

Anyway she said to try a full face mask to see it that might help. So, I got a P-10 airfit mask. Tried it today and could not get a seal at any pressure. It fluttered on my face with air escaping all over no matter how much I tightened or loosed the straps. Is there a secret to get that thing sealed and comfortble?

Thanks for your replies!

Jeff Foster

Jeff I recently did a sleep study for BIPap and had the same problem but worse. The impression I had was that the BiPAP INSTANTLY dropped the pressure (4 cmH2) and that action triggered an immediate inhalation, which was followed almost instantly with a new Inhalation, etc. and so-forth repeated. Basically I hyperventilated. I told my DR. that it was something that I could adapt to. Turns out that my ResMed AirCurve 10 VAuto (a good machine to get) has EPR which was set when I picked it up and that eliminated the issue. ALL good BiPAPs have something similar.


Expiratory Pressure Relief (EPR™)

When the AirCurve™ 10 VAuto is set in S Mode, the machine is designed to offer expiratory pressure relief to help therapy feel more natural. ResMed's EPR™ feature adjusts the amount of pressure delivered during exhalation and inhalation. EPR™ can be turned off, or set to 1, 2, or 3. Level 1 is the smallest change between inhalation and exhalation and level 3 is the largest change in pressures.

Nothing says any particular mask will work for you. I too was having a very large mouth breathing issue on top of getting a FFM to seal. Take your machine to your DME and have the tech work with you to get the mask to seal (Beards definitely do that) I tried a Simplex, F10, Quatro, ComfortGel Blue, and another, all top quality masks with many successful users and then tried the Amara View which worked for me. I'll add that I was trying them at my Rx which is 25/21 cmH2O, that's about as high a pressure as you can get.
You can try Pillows with a chinstrap, but I like the concept of a FFM as a backup.

You will have to be persistent at trying multiple masks until you find one that works. BTW the Aptiva was my goto mask until I discovered I was mouth-breathing.

[jrfoster]

Thanks, that was very helpful. I go back to the sleep doc on Jan 4th and then to the DME for some new equipment. Knowing about that machine gives me a starting place, What a way to start the new year!

Jeff

[OkyDoky]

Hi Jeff, Welcome to the forum. I think you will learn to like your bilevel machine. Do you know which machine you are getting? ResMed bilevel's have settings that can be adjusted to control the time spent in IPAP, the time it takes to rise from EPAP to IPAP, and the sensitivity trigger that initiates iPAP and changes to EPAP. So you see there are settings to make you breathing feel more natural. If you get your machine from a provider let them know how it felt and they might make changes to make it more comfortable. Once we know your machine, we can direct you to where you can get your clinical manual where you can learn about all the settings.

[OkyDoky]

Jeff I recently did a sleep study for BIPap and had the same problem but worse. The impression I had was that the BiPAP INSTANTLY dropped the pressure (4 cmH2) and that action triggered an immediate inhalation, which was followed almost instantly with a new Inhalation, etc. and so-forth repeated. Basically I hyperventilated. I told my DR. that it was something that I could adapt to. Turns out that my ResMed AirCurve 10 VAuto (a good machine to get) has EPR which was set when I picked it up and that eliminated the issue. ALL good BiPAPs have something similar.


Expiratory Pressure Relief (EPR™)

When the AirCurve™ 10 VAuto is set in S Mode, the machine is designed to offer expiratory pressure relief to help therapy feel more natural. ResMed's EPR™ feature adjusts the amount of pressure delivered during exhalation and inhalation. EPR™ can be turned off, or set to 1, 2, or 3. Level 1 is the smallest change between inhalation and exhalation and level 3 is the largest change in pressures.

Nothing says any particular mask will work for you. I too was having a very large mouth breathing issue on top of getting a FFM to seal. Take your machine to your DME and have the tech work with you to get the mask to seal (Beards definitely do that) I tried a Simplex, F10, Quatro, ComfortGel Blue, and another, all top quality masks with many successful users and then tried the Amara View which worked for me. I'll add that I was trying them at my Rx which is 25/21 cmH2O, that's about as high a pressure as you can get.
You can try Pillows with a chinstrap, but I like the concept of a FFM as a backup.

You will have to be persistent at trying multiple masks until you find one that works. BTW the Aptiva was my goto mask until I discovered I was mouth-breathing.

Bonjour, I'm curious where you got your information. EPR is used on Auto and Cpap machines as a little bilevel (1 to 3 cm) drop on exhale but on the ResMed Aircurve 10 VAUTO this is only available when used in the CPAP mode. Because in the auto or S mode you set 2 separate pressures for IPAP and EPAP the difference between these 2 pressure settings is called pressure support and may be 4cm or more.

[OkyDoky]

Here is a link to the videos that I think LSAT was referring above. https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... dgear.html Just scroll down to where it says videos and FAQ.

[LSAT]

Here is a link to the videos that I think LSAT was referring above. https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... dgear.html Just scroll down to where it says videos and FAQ.

These are the videos I neglected to post...sorry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVRBTYVlrI0