I give up on my Respironics mask

[unclematt]

It was pretty comfortable the first few nights. I liked the gel around the nose. Unfortunately it was the irritation of the bridge of my nose that is intolerable. I examined myself with the mask on and looking at my face through a make up mirror to see the problem. There is a plastic piece that snaps together attaching the nose piece to the rest of the mask. The piece that snaps together sticks out and digs into my nose. I woke up this morning with blood and puss in the sore area. I'm going back to my ResMed mask. In a couple of months when money will be less of an issue, I'm going to try that Sleep Weaver cloth mask. If they are willing to honor their 30 day satisfaction guarantee then I think it's worth a shot. The comfort would have to be unrivaled but it's the leaks that concern me.

[ozij]

I was going to ask which model, but a search of previous messages revealed you don't know which it is...

How stupid can these mask designers get?

O.

[drubin007]

have you tried or thought about nasal pillows?

I too started with the nose mask and found myself with blood dripping between my eyes and not wanting to go to sleep. I would lay there in pain for 4 hours (to meet the insurance requirements) at which time I would tear it off and go to sleep.
after about a week the dme called and said hows things? So I told em. I then got the optilife nasal pillows and life was good. I have since tried the Opus and the other one whose name escapes me now, but hands down, the opus seems the best so far. In all seriousness though, the nasal pillows blow the nose mask away. Oh yea, and the opus works well with chin straps I also wear every night.

[Bearded_One]

There are several mask manufacturers and most of them make a variety of masks. Some people swear by a particular mask while others swear at the same mask -- it all depends upon the individual. I have been using CPAP for about 14 years and have used many different masks in that time. I have been using Respironics ComfortGel masks for the past couple of years, which I find comfortable and it fits me very well (I keep at least five new ones in the closet). Even though I really like the ComfortGel, there are also many people who totally hate the ComfortGel.

There are design problems with all masks, including the ComfortGel (the strap attachments break off of the mask -- this is why I keep spares), but none of the big manufacturers seem to be any better or any worse than the others.

[WindFlyer]

There are several mask manufacturers and most of them make a variety of masks. Some people swear by a particular mask while others swear at the same mask -- it all depends upon the individual. ...none of the big manufacturers seem to be any better or any worse than the others.

How true, Bearded_One!

I will say that the big manufacturers have come up with designs that are a heck of a lot better than hospital masks (those are designed for short-term wearing, anyhow, whereas CPAP masks are designed for long periods of being worn). But they're still not perfect nor can they ever be, probably, since they have to be designed and built to fit such a wide variety of faces. But yes- try as many as you can and when you find the one that works the best (not perfect- but better than the rest) stick with that one. For me personally, it's the ResMed UMFF mask. I went into the DME and tried on the Quattro (with my own machine) but I could not get it to stop leaking at the top of my nose. So I stick with the older model.