question about full face masks

[SleepyStarfish]

I am two weeks into my cpap use and am feeling so much better. However, I am having a hard time with my face mask not leaking. I am using a Quattro full face mask but my pressures are a variation of 19 to 22 so the mask is blowing off my face! I do okay but just get frustrated being awakend by burps and leaks. The RT that is working with me says that I have small facial features and used a mask measuring cup device thingy that showed me "way in the shallow range" for size. Knowing that everyone's face size and measurements are different and mask fit varies on each person, does anyone have any knowledge or opinion on full face masks or shallow full face masks being used with such a high pressure??

Thanks!

[Julie]

Hi, I just wrote someone else about a similar problem, and mentioned to them that my Ultra Mirage FFM comes in an unusual size (as does a similar version of the Comfort Select nasal mask), and that is a small shallow - it's really just a slight variation on the small size, but it may help you (or not, of course). But really what I wanted to ask is whether you ended up with such a high setting right out of the PSG testing, or over time, possibly because you kept raising your pressure to compensate for mouth breathing? If so, is it possible, now that you have a FFM, that you no longer need such high pressure and could possibly consider lowering it, or what would your MD say? And how much time, etc. were you given to try the mask re size, and/or have you tried other sizes?

[SleepyStarfish]

I only had my second sleep study three weeks ago and have only had eleven nights on my machine. This is the only mask I have ever slept in and the same pressures that were set after that second sleep study. The RT that is working with me from the DME place tried three other masks on me a couple of days ago (but I did not actually sleep in them) and they did not work as well as the one I have (Quattro)

After just reading a thread about back sleeping vs side sleeping, I am wondering if that is a factor. I have always started on my side and ended up on my stomach. After the first study, the sleep tech told me I moved all night and WAS on my back a lot (altho, I have NEVER awoken that way at home) and slept on my back a lot. I think it is because I was so afraid to move because of all the wires and cords, etc. She actually told me she WANTED me to sleep on my back, probably because that WOULD give her worst case scenario. Since getting my machine, I have only slept on my back or slightly on one side, not wanting to disrupt the mask. I think I need to go buy a memory foam pillow and go back to full side sleeping and see what happens.

[JimIllinois]

That brings up an interesting point. I almost never sleep on my back - I think I trained myself not to because of my breathing problems pre-CPAP.

But the tech really pushed me to try sleeping on my back during my tests, and my settings are the result of the 15 minutes or so of back sleep. The titrated number was high - 17 - and the software shows I've never come close to 17 since my test.

I guess the point is that if you usually don't sleep on your back, your real life numbers may be quite a bit lower than your test suggests.

[Wulfman]

Bed pillows can make a HUGE difference in making this therapy work. Many of the "normal" pillows can push a mask out of alignment during sleep.


Den

[allymcshop1]

I have been using a quattro and some nights I can get through the night and some I cant with leaks and spurts and all. I think it has a lot to do with the fit of the mask and the straps that keep it fit around your face. Exactly where those straps are and if they are tight enough and that little knob on the nose being adjusted right. It has to be a combination of those things because otherwise why the difference?