Female newbie needs recommendations for mask

[Jeffj318]

My wife does not like to go online asking questions so I am seeking answers for her.

We have not purchased an auto CPAP machine yet, however, will probably go with the ResMed AirSense 10 For Her.
My wife would like a mask that is minimal, however, she has a deviated septum, allergies and I think she breathes through her mouth at times.
Could she use the AirFit™ P10 For Her Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear or would you recommend a full face mask and if so which one?

I see on CPAP.com they have a good page on reviews so maybe she can get used to the full face mask if needed.
Thanking you in advance for your responses. Hopefully, some of the women on the site can chime in with what has worked for you.

[Miss Emerita]

That's a terrific machine you have in mind there -- definitely get it! About the mask: honestly, I think she won't know until she tries, because everyone is so different in how masks interact with their faces and airways.

For what it's worth, I'm female, have a slightly deviated septum, and am being treated for a dust-mite allergy. I have successfully used the P10 and the Aloha pillow mask, and I'm now very happy with the Bleep/Dreamport pillow-type mask. I do need help keeping my mouth closed, and I use Somnifix tape for that.

Some people who use pillow masks report that they feel their nasal passages clear shortly after they start their machines up. And some people feel they benefit a lot from using Flonase when bedtime gets close.

If you'd like to come back with questions after she gets started with treatment, you might want to stay in this thread so people can see the background you've provided.

[Jeffj318]

Thanks so much for the first response. I will keep this thread so I can get back to it once my wonderful wife starts CPAP therapy.

[babydinosnoreless]

A mask is a very individual choice. My nose is irritated by the pillow masks. I like the nasal mask. The n-20 "for her" fits well for me. Check out the "for her line I believe they also have full face masks.

[Pugsy]

Can your wife breathe through her nose without having to resort to mouth breathing to move enough air to be comfortable?
If she can...try the P10 nasal pillow mask.

A lot depends on how bad the deviation is and how much it actually restricts breathing.

Read what Perrybucsdad said here.
viewtopic/p663440/Mouth-Breathers.html#p663440
He had a deviated septum and thought for sure he just HAD to use a full face mask and I about had to twist his thumbs off to get him to try a nasal pillow mask...you can read what happened.

[Jeffj318]

Hello all,

My wife tried her Airsense 10 and the P10 mask for two nights. The first night was for 6 hours and all worked very well.
Her AHI on the app showed 0.1 which is a far cry from her in-home sleep study which registered 24.
The second night she went 4 hours and did not sleep much. The app again showed 0.1.

Please keep in mind, my wife has Stage 4 colon cancer and is being treated with maintenance chemo.
So, aside from working on the sleep apnea, she has to deal with everything cancer as she and I have been for almost three years.

She will be connecting tonight for the third night. We changed out the small nasal cushions for X-small as she said they felt better.
She definitely wants to be a trooper and move on with her sleep apnea treatment.

How often should we be changing out the pillow part of the mask? Headgear? Tubing?
I have read lots of great information about cleaning, etc. which truly helps me not to become obsessed with cleaning.

She might want to try the Resmed N30i pillow or nasal mask. What do you think of that vs. the P10?

Thanks as always for the kindness and support we are receiving.

[Pugsy]

She might want to try the Resmed N30i pillow or nasal mask. What do you think of that vs. the P10?

Too noisy to suit me and too much stuff on my face but others seem to like it just fine.
Mask preference are highly individualized. What one person might just love the next person will hate with a passion.

How often should we be changing out the pillow part of the mask? Headgear? Tubing?

When it's no longer usable for whatever reason.
Headgear when it stretches out so much it is too loose and washing in hot water doesn't shrink it enough.
Hose/tube...when it no longer works well because of maybe a hole somewhere. I retired one heated hose that had gone through 3 machines and had over 20K hours of use...and it was still working but I changed to a new model machine and that hose no longer worked with the new/different model.
Mask cushion or pillows..when they no longer would maintain a seal. I routinely can get 6 to 12 months out of 1 nasal pillow/cushion.

[Tinben]

Hello all,

My wife tried her Airsense 10 and the P10 mask for two nights. The first night was for 6 hours and all worked very well.
Her AHI on the app showed 0.1 which is a far cry from her in-home sleep study which registered 24.
The second night she went 4 hours and did not sleep much. The app again showed 0.1.

Please keep in mind, my wife has Stage 4 colon cancer and is being treated with maintenance chemo.
So, aside from working on the sleep apnea, she has to deal with everything cancer as she and I have been for almost three years.

She will be connecting tonight for the third night. We changed out the small nasal cushions for X-small as she said they felt better.
She definitely wants to be a trooper and move on with her sleep apnea treatment.

How often should we be changing out the pillow part of the mask? Headgear? Tubing?
I have read lots of great information about cleaning, etc. which truly helps me not to become obsessed with cleaning.

She might want to try the Resmed N30i pillow or nasal mask. What do you think of that vs. the P10?

Thanks as always for the kindness and support we are receiving.

Sorry to her about your wife’s struggles. My wife was just diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. It has been a struggle so far. She might get her port next week.
I am planning on ordering the Resmed F30i mask because of a deviated septum. It drives me nuts feeling like I can’t breathe through one side of my nose. This is a good place to get great advice. I am learning everything I can before I start my apnea treatment.

[Jeffj318]

Hello all,

My wife tried her Airsense 10 and the P10 mask for two nights. The first night was for 6 hours and all worked very well.
Her AHI on the app showed 0.1 which is a far cry from her in-home sleep study which registered 24.
The second night she went 4 hours and did not sleep much. The app again showed 0.1.

Please keep in mind, my wife has Stage 4 colon cancer and is being treated with maintenance chemo.
So, aside from working on the sleep apnea, she has to deal with everything cancer as she and I have been for almost three years.

She will be connecting tonight for the third night. We changed out the small nasal cushions for X-small as she said they felt better.
She definitely wants to be a trooper and move on with her sleep apnea treatment.

How often should we be changing out the pillow part of the mask? Headgear? Tubing?
I have read lots of great information about cleaning, etc. which truly helps me not to become obsessed with cleaning.

She might want to try the Resmed N30i pillow or nasal mask. What do you think of that vs. the P10?

Thanks as always for the kindness and support we are receiving.

Sorry to her about your wife’s struggles. My wife was just diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. It has been a struggle so far. She might get her port next week.
I am planning on ordering the Resmed F30i mask because of a deviated septum. It drives me nuts feeling like I can’t breathe through one side of my nose. This is a good place to get great advice. I am learning everything I can before I start my apnea treatment.

I am sorry to hear about your wife and her diagnosis. My wife has a port and it is a Godsend. Thanks for the tips.

[Jeffj318]

Thank you, Pugsy, for the great information. I guess the companies want to make money so they have their schedules for replacements.
I am so glad I found this site and you for all the answers to my questions on behalf of my wife.
Michele completed her third night. I had changed out the size of the pillows to extra small, however, they did not work and she returned to the small.
She got through the night although she said she was asleep, awake, asleep, etc.
The ResMed MyAir app showed a score of 98! AHI remained at 0.1. No leaks. She took the mask off originally and was going to forgo CPAP last night, however, preserved and did quite well.
I think she will continue with the P10 or perhaps look into the Evora nasal cradle so nothing going into the nostrils.

[Deborah K.]

Maybe she would like the Bleep system. Nothing goes into the nose and there are no straps on the head or face, so it is quite comfortable. It's a little fiddly to learn to use, but well worth the effort.

p.s. I'm praying for Michele. I am fighting cancer myself, and know that it is not an easy path to have to walk.

[Jeffj318]

Maybe she would like the Bleep system. Nothing goes into the nose and there are no straps on the head or face, so it is quite comfortable. It's a little fiddly to learn to use, but well worth the effort.

p.s. I'm praying for Michele. I am fighting cancer myself, and know that it is not an easy path to have to walk.

Thank you so much for the prayers, Deborah and prayers back to you as well.

Michele said the medium nose cushion felt better.
I have shown her the Bleep mask. I think for now she will go with the P10 or maybe the N30i cradle mask.

I will have to post later about her settings as they are probably a generic setting of 5-20 with ramp starting at 4 which seems low.
All this CPAP stuff is actually too much for her (and me as I am the caretaker doing all the research, etc.) along with the cancer diagnosis from just about three years ago.
Michele has no interest in anything CPAP, however, is willing to use the machine and mask, however, finds it difficult to give information about pressure and how anything feels as she uses the machine.

We are blessed that she has gone this amount of time and continues with maintenance chemo. I was the one some time back who brought up to her oncologist that she was stopping breathing as she slept and had a tremendous amount of snoring, too. Michele did not like that I told the doctor that information. She told the doctor "He snores, too!"
The oncologist said, "It's not about him, it's about you." That led to the in-home sleep study showing an average of 24 AHI per hour and here we are.t

I want to check her machine later which I believe is showing an average pressure of 11.

[Pugsy]

I want to check her machine later which I believe is showing an average pressure of 11.

Just a quick note to explain the numbers you see for pressure on the AirSense 10 machine...it's not an overall average that you will see.
It's what we call a 95% number and has nothing to do with averages like a lot of people might think.
The official definition of a 95% number is where a person was at OR BELOW for 95% of the night. People often don't realize the "or below" part of the definition.

Leak numbers and pressure numbers shown on the LCD screen of the machine are 95% numbers....not averages.
Now if you use OSCAR software you can see a median average or a regular average if you change the reporting parameters if you wish.

So if you see 11 cm on the LCD screen it means at or below 11 for 95% of the time...probably most of the time it will be well below 11...and 5 % of the time above 11 but it doesn't tell us how high it might have gone.

I don't have a good example of a 95% pressure to show you that is remarkable but I do have a good example for leak numbers.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=108724&p=1036669&hi ... t#p1036669
See the above thread....the 95% leak number was 48 L/min which on the face of it sounds like a horrible leak number but if you look I really didn't have all that much time at that high of a leak.
95% numbers are easily skewed to the high side by a relatively small amount of time at a higher number.

I will poke around to see if I can find a good example of 95% pressure numbers to show you why they aren't always going to mean much of anything.

[Jeffj318]

How do I know if I am in the "for her" mode on the AS10 For Her model?
Again, I am writing on behalf of my wife who has serious health issues. I am the caretaker and new to all of CPAP and assisting her.
Yes, I checked the book that came with the machine, however, did not see anything that spoke of the setting.
Thanking you in advance.

[chunkyfrog]

How do I know if I am in the "for her" mode on the AS10 For Her model?
Again, I am writing on behalf of my wife who has serious health issues. I am the caretaker and new to all of CPAP and assisting her.
Yes, I checked the book that came with the machine, however, did not see anything that spoke of the setting.
Thanking you in advance.

The "real" manual is not shipped with the machine.
You can get it FREE from apneaboard.com.