mask issues

[bp4Christ]

hey guys, sorry its been awhile. i am having some mask issues, basically air coming out of the bottom of the mask. i have a goatee, and the reason is becuase is i shave that area of my face, it makes my face break out real bad. the other problem is that i am a mouth breather, and have to wear a full face mask. went to my dme, and we tried some different masks, but they all really didn't fix anything, they either still leaked, or were uncomfortable, actually tried that mirage one i have read about on this board, but i didn't find it comfortable. so, basically, to stop the leaks, i have to tighten my mask really tight, so much so that my dme wasn't comfortable with how tight it was. oh, also, i was having trouble getting ahold of the office, and i ended up calling my sleep study office to let them know what was going on, and they called the dme office, and had them call me, and it turns out that my orgininal dme therapist quit, and nobody bothered to call me and tell me or anything. thanks for all your advice.

[alpha1340]

Sorry for your difficulties, my thought on the issue is maybe trying a pillow interface and maybe using one or more tactics to keep your mouthed closed. People have taped their mouths with waterproof tape, used polident strips, pantyhose(never tried that one), and then also a chin strap to help keep the mouth closed.

People have I guess trained themselves to not mouth breath and have been successfull, and maybe after a little while you wouldn't need the extra support.

I am a mouth breather as well and currently use the Flexfit 431 and sometimes alternate with the Swift. Amazingly enough I didn't do much mouth breathing with using the swift. I wore it during the day with my mouth closed to get used to using a nasal interface.

Good Luck finding the Perfect mask!

[bp4Christ]

cool, thanks alot for the advice. i appreciate it!