Full face mask might be important for you too

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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Tassie Devil
Posts: 70
Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2014 10:23 pm
Location: Dilston, Tasmania, Australia

Full face mask might be important for you too

Post by Tassie Devil » Wed Mar 31, 2021 3:18 pm

I've been away from this forum for some time now, basically because I had abandoned use of ResMed CPAP gear. Why?
Two reasons 1. I did not feel it gave me better sleep as I was still feeling fatigued as if suffering chronic fatigue syndrome and 2. I was to go on an overseas 2 week holiday so did not want the bother of CPAP gear.
So I abandoned CPAP for 2 years.
But then an angina incident sent me back to the heart specialist who doubled my heart medications and instructed me to resume CPAP at night as he assured me it was significantly helpful.
So back to CPAP again with my old nasal mask. But this mask was showing its age so I purchased a Resmed Airfit F30i full face unit. Assuming I was big headed I ordered the large sized mask with medium nose fit.
2 days of frustration followed with air leaks keeping me awake until I finally woke up to the fact I should have ordered a medium size. But the solution was simple, putting a rolled up sock at the top of my head raised the F30 so it fitted properly without noisy leaks.
The result last night - an AHI reading of 0.6 with no air leaks registered.
And of course, I'm now FINALLY getting a good night of sleep.

So what was going on before with the nasal mask?

I suspect it was because during the night I started avoiding CPAP and breathing through my mouth meaning CPAP was NOT preventing sleep apnea. Previous attempts at devices to keep my mouth shut did not work for me and after abandoning CPAP I did attempt using a special mouth guard to stop snoring. But the fatigue persisted so that obviously did not work either.
So folks, I'm posting this to help any of you who, like me previously, have not found CPOP gear helpful. You might need a full face mask instead of a nasal unit.

It has been a long road for me, now 85. My first attempt at using CPAP left me frustrated as I just could not get used to having a contraption on my face so I gave up. A second visit to hospital for a sleep study convinced me I had to try again and did eventually get accustomed to CPAP, although, as noted above, no miraculous changes to my health occurred. So I used CPAP for several years before giving up.
And it surprised me that going back to using CPAP was a no brainer as far as tolerating it was concerned. I had no trouble using it again.

So there you go folks, light at the end of the tunnel :D

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MaskHumidifier
Additional Comments: I abandoned an ESCAPE S9 (on hire) for the much better used S9 AUTOSET - recommended
Do not deride the idiots of this world as they make the rest of us look so much better :-) BUT, avoid being an idiot yourself and PERSIST WITH CPAP.

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Miss Emerita
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Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2018 8:07 pm

Re: Full face mask might be important for you too

Post by Miss Emerita » Wed Mar 31, 2021 7:08 pm

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. People sometimes shy away from a FFM, and yet as your story shows, the FFM may be the key to PAP success. Congratulations on finding your way back to treatment!
Oscar software is available at https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/

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chunkyfrog
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Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2010 5:10 pm
Location: Nowhere special--this year in particular.

Re: Full face mask might be important for you too

Post by chunkyfrog » Wed Mar 31, 2021 7:13 pm

Congratulations, tassie, on your return to the fold.

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Mask: AirFit™ P10 For Her Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: Airsense 10 Autoset for Her