Trying to find the right mask sucks.

[1sleepyhubby]

Hi Everyone. This group has been so helpful as I've helped my husband through his journey with his cpap. If he wouldn't have gotten his Cpap, I doubt we'd be married as I couldn't handle how he slept and sounded like he was dying throughout the night before he got a machine. So, needless to say, I'm invested in his success with the thing! He has been a loyal user since day 1 and never had the issues like a lot of people do with pulling it off during the night or feeling trapped which is a blessing. However, in 4 years, we still haven't found his holy grail mask. We've tried a lot of things, but we will keep trying more. So far he has tried: Mirage FX, AmaraView (he did this the longest), Dreamwear, AirFit F20 (with and without the foam), and the F30i. Oh and some nasal pillows that didn't last 15 minutes. He's also tried the chin strap and lately the sominex mouth strips. Do you have any suggestions of what we should try yet? His AHI per Oscar isn't awful but he's not waking up feeling rested at all and is uncomfortable with dry eyes and a sore throat most mornings. I've tinkered with settings (thanks to help from here) a few times but that didn't help much either. I feel like there's some mask we are overlooking that's probably just the thing he needs. Stats about him that are important to know: he has a full beard, mouth breather, and a side sleeper. His apnea is more moderate severe to severe. He's recently lost a good bit of weight too.
Also, if there's somewhere in the US that allows a trial period that would be great. We've been going through our insurance and I don't think they will allow returns.
Thank you again for all your help and kindness over the years.

[Julie]

Hi - you haven't really explained what symptoms or problems he does have, though it sounds like you think leaks are high and knowing what machine he uses, at which settings is important too - fill in the Profile info so we can all see that. And post a couple of Oscar results here using instructions from the program re what to post and what not, that way people can see for themselves what's what and advise you better - the mask may only be part of the problem.

[DreamDiver]

Hi Everyone. This group has been so helpful as I've helped my husband through his journey with his cpap. If he wouldn't have gotten his Cpap, I doubt we'd be married as I couldn't handle how he slept and sounded like he was dying throughout the night before he got a machine. So, needless to say, I'm invested in his success with the thing! He has been a loyal user since day 1 and never had the issues like a lot of people do with pulling it off during the night or feeling trapped which is a blessing. However, in 4 years, we still haven't found his holy grail mask. We've tried a lot of things, but we will keep trying more. So far he has tried: Mirage FX, AmaraView (he did this the longest), Dreamwear, AirFit F20 (with and without the foam), and the F30i. Oh and some nasal pillows that didn't last 15 minutes. He's also tried the chin strap and lately the sominex mouth strips. Do you have any suggestions of what we should try yet? His AHI per Oscar isn't awful but he's not waking up feeling rested at all and is uncomfortable with dry eyes and a sore throat most mornings. I've tinkered with settings (thanks to help from here) a few times but that didn't help much either. I feel like there's some mask we are overlooking that's probably just the thing he needs. Stats about him that are important to know: he has a full beard, mouth breather, and a side sleeper. His apnea is more moderate severe to severe. He's recently lost a good bit of weight too.
Also, if there's somewhere in the US that allows a trial period that would be great. We've been going through our insurance and I don't think they will allow returns.
Thank you again for all your help and kindness over the years.

Hi 1sleepyhubby,

It's awesome that you're helping your husband! He's very fortunate! And you're right... finding the golden mask is like searching for the holy grail. Sometimes it's never-ending. Your husband has tried a lot of masks. These also seem popular and are well rated:

• Simplus <- I have this one. It's my backup mask. It's pretty great!
• Vitera <- I don't have this one, but it's supposed to be the next generation, similar to Simplus but better.

Both of the masks linked come with three different sizes, so you would have lots of options to choose from.

It looks like you've been a member for while. We're glad of your company! Why not fill out the machine and mask in your husband's profile? It will help forum members help you.

Also, just for background... do you regularly fit your husband's mask for him, or is this something he does himself? Have you viewed some mask-fitting videos? Has he watched any videos on mask fitting?

Meanwhile, I hope your Quest for the Golden Mask is successful sooner than later.

Chris

[1sleepyhubby]

I'm attempting to share last night's data here.

[1sleepyhubby]

Also, just for background... do you regularly fit your husband's mask for him, or is this something he does himself? Have you viewed some mask-fitting videos? Has he watched any videos on mask fitting?

Just wanted to make sure I answered this one...we both do it. He's done it on his own, and then I've tried to help him. We've watched the videos for all the masks we bought while he's getting ready for bed to make sure he's putting it on the right way for a few nights. The only thing that gets a little tricky is knowing how much to tighten them down. It seems like he has to snug them up a good bit and when you read descriptions it sounds like people have them barely fastened just resting on the face. If he does that, it won't stay put!

I forgot to mention earlier, he also used padacheeks to get a better fit. That helped until it just didn't anymore. I can't tell you why. He's since stopped using any liners.

[chunkyfrog]

The ultimate mask for some of us may not exist.
For over a year, I alternated between two masks that BOTH hurt, but in different areas.
This allowed my skin to recover before getting injured.

[DreamDiver]

Just wanted to make sure I answered this one...we both do it. He's done it on his own, and then I've tried to help him. We've watched the videos for all the masks we bought while he's getting ready for bed to make sure he's putting it on the right way for a few nights. The only thing that gets a little tricky is knowing how much to tighten them down. It seems like he has to snug them up a good bit and when you read descriptions it sounds like people have them barely fastened just resting on the face. If he does that, it won't stay put!

I forgot to mention earlier, he also used padacheeks to get a better fit. That helped until it just didn't anymore. I can't tell you why. He's since stopped using any liners.

You're doing everything right, it sounds like. That's so encouraging!
Part of the problem could be that for many of us, when we're awake, our muscles don't necessarily arrange themselves the same way as when we're asleep. When we're asleep, our cheeks, chin, nose, etc., go flaccid. Suddenly it's as if the mask intentionally finds all flaccid spots and starts mask farting or just plain large leaking. It could be by the chin or the bridge of the nose... It really is just frustrating. Large leaks are like water seeking the lowest level in a crazy science fair project. It always will, if it can.

My current mask is the F20. I understand your husband has already tried that with less success than you would like. Weirdly, it just fits perfectly for me. Even when my face goes flaccid, the mask seems to find and fit all the gaps. For me so far, it's been the Golden Mask. The current generation of construction on masks and headgear is far superior to anything we've seen in the past. I felt the same way about the Simplus, especially when it first came out. Along the way the mask began to degrade - no longer fitting properly. Similarly with the Simplus headgear. That's somewhat to be expected. But the recent generation of head gear for some masks seems less likely to wear out in just a few days.

Padacheek is really great. I used mine all the time with my Simplus, especially as the Simplus got older. You could also try the papcap. I basically use one of these every night to reduce mask torque (basically when you move your head, but your mask "decides" not to move with your head). With the Simplus, I had to use both the papcap and the padacheek mask strap. It's pretty key for me. If you decide to go with a papcap, you might even consider re-evaluating some of your husband's existing masks with that.

Hopefully the right mask will show up soon.

Chris

[Julie]

Two things - you said he's lost weight lately and that can make a big difference to fitting so maybe at least a size change in whichever masks otherwise seem possible... plus people with beards always have a harder time with them and it's important to think about keeping one.

[Lifeisabeach]

Hi Everyone. This group has been so helpful as I've helped my husband through his journey with his cpap. If he wouldn't have gotten his Cpap, I doubt we'd be married as I couldn't handle how he slept and sounded like he was dying throughout the night before he got a machine. So, needless to say, I'm invested in his success with the thing! He has been a loyal user since day 1 and never had the issues like a lot of people do with pulling it off during the night or feeling trapped which is a blessing. However, in 4 years, we still haven't found his holy grail mask. We've tried a lot of things, but we will keep trying more. So far he has tried: Mirage FX, AmaraView (he did this the longest), Dreamwear, AirFit F20 (with and without the foam), and the F30i. Oh and some nasal pillows that didn't last 15 minutes. He's also tried the chin strap and lately the sominex mouth strips. Do you have any suggestions of what we should try yet? His AHI per Oscar isn't awful but he's not waking up feeling rested at all and is uncomfortable with dry eyes and a sore throat most mornings. I've tinkered with settings (thanks to help from here) a few times but that didn't help much either. I feel like there's some mask we are overlooking that's probably just the thing he needs. Stats about him that are important to know: he has a full beard, mouth breather, and a side sleeper. His apnea is more moderate severe to severe. He's recently lost a good bit of weight too.
Also, if there's somewhere in the US that allows a trial period that would be great. We've been going through our insurance and I don't think they will allow returns.
Thank you again for all your help and kindness over the years.

It took me 3 months and 7 masks before I was able to make something work. I started off with nasal pillows and like your husband those didn't last me long the first time around, but in the end they proved to be the only thing that worked for me. I'm a big, full-bearded, mouth breathing side-sleeper with severe sleep apnea also, so here are just some of my observations that hopefully will be helpful. His mileage, like everyone else's, may vary:

Full face and nasal masks are going to leak. Having facial hair compromises the seal, and if he's on a high pressure, that makes it even harder to get a good seal. What I found was that in using those masks, I had to tighten the straps so much to get a seal that I'd get pain across my TMJs due to how the straps come around the head in that style. I even tried shaving, but it had minimal impact because I had so much going against me here. Nasal pillows, in contrast, mostly don't have straps that come across the TMJs; are not affected by facial hair; and have less surface area to make contact with, so tightening them down to maintain a seal isn't as uncomfortable.

In regards to mouth breathing, ironically in my case, my pressure is so high that the base of my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth and seals me up. At least that's how it feels. If I'm too relaxed, I sometimes leak by mouth, but it's rarely a problem. There are ways to mitigate mouth leaks though. Chin straps are one. Some folks use a soft collar around the neck to keep the chin tucked up a little. The settings on the machine can even have an impact. A few months ago, I was having mouth leaks and eventually discovered that a setting on my AirCurve VAuto called "EasyBreathe" was disabled (it had been enabled on my older S9) and enabling it stopped the leaks. Basically, what this feature does on a bilevel machine is gradually increases/decreases the pressure differential on inhalation/exhalation to make it more gradual/natural, rather than a quicker jump from the low to high value and vice versa. So it's something to look into, depending on what he's using.

Hose management is something else to consider that may be helpful, especially if it's just hanging down and may be dragging or pulling on the mask. There are devices like the Hose Buddy and similar items that hold the hose up and relieve tension. I didn't find this particularly necessary when I was using the ResMed Swift LT because the hose could attach to the top of the frame. Now that I'm using a ResMed Swift FX, that's not an option so a hose lift is super helpful.

[1sleepyhubby]

Thanks everyone for giving me some insight into this. His big issue is that he's not feeling rested, ever. He also doesn't like how most of the masks dry out his eyes. Some of the masks also give him a dry mouth. I've tried tinkering with the humidity settings, but it always seems to get full of water and make that awful noise that wakes us both up.

He's having me pull out the nasal pillows tonight, and he also had me order the Vitera mask. It says we can return it if he doesn't like it so its a risk we're willing to take.

[booksfan]

Finding a good mask really can be difficult! It took me 15 months and well over a dozen masks. Finally I found the Bleep and have been using it for well over a year. I, too, had a terrible time with other masks leaking/exhausting air into my eyes, drying them out something awful. The dryness got so bad I had to see a specialist and start sleeping with a silicone eye mask to protect my eyes. The Bleep exhausts DOWNward and is virtually leak-free as it sticks onto your nose with adhesive. I know that several men with mustaches are able to use it just by trimming a tiny bit of the mustache under their nose. It is imperceptible. He may want to take a look. There are several vendors who offer either a trial or mask insurance.

Good luck with the search!

[1sleepyhubby]

Hi again all-

We are still experimenting over here in SleepyHubbyLand. We seem to be making some very small progress with the nose pillows. He used them almost all night but woke up about 5am and switched to a FFM because he said it made his nose hurt. Is that normal? I have tried to read up to make sure we're fitting them right on his face. Part of my problem is that I don't know what setup we have. All I can tell is that its Phillips Resptronics and there's gel on the part that goes into the nostril. We've had then a while but he just never used them. Any tips or advice with nose pillows would be appreciated. Never thought this was was were we'd go!

ps: He says the Vitera is "okay" but not too terribly different to him than the ResMed F20, if that helps anybody else looking for data on the 2 masks.

[Pugsy]

Does the nasal pillow mask look like this?
There are 2 headgear versions...cloth and silicone but both have gel in the pillow portion.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/nuance ... espironics

[1sleepyhubby]

Thanks Pugsy! That does indeed look like it, just without the gel face straps. Is it supposed to go up the nose? The pictures I see vary. He didn't have it so tight to look like a pig nose or anything, but it wasn't loose. We tried the medium during a nap, but the large at bedtime because he said it felt "more right" and that's what he made it with until 5am. He said it hurt mostly at the base of the nose- where the septum meets the face. From some preliminary reading, this looks like a common complaint until people get used to them?

[Pugsy]

They don't really go up in the nose like some people think. The tiny tip of that open inner cone does go slightly up inside the nostril but it never ever should be touching the inside of the nostril. The only thing touching anything is the outer pillow rim that is supposed to rest GENTLY against the outer portion of the nostril. The area he is complaining of being sore is a fairly common complaint from nasal pillow users. That area is pretty much virgin territory and never really has ever had much contact with anything beyond maybe a tissue when we have a drippy nose. It's easy irritated.

Go to WalMart (or similar store) and in the baby aisle where the pacifiers are there is an ointment/cream called Lansinoh that nursing mom's use on their nipples to help with chafing and soreness. Apply liberally during the day and sparingly at night and it will help reduce the discomfort and promote healing.
Minor tenderness is expected....if it goes beyond minor tenderness and causes skin abrasions or blisters or sore or extreme pain..the fitting is incorrect. Either wrong size nasal pillow or the head gear is too tight.

When fitted and sized properly there doesn't have to be much tension on those pillows to get them to stay in place and not cause discomfort.