I've had enough of the Quattro, there I've said it!

[PJ the DJ]

I am as certain as I can be without scientific evidence, that I am breathing in CO2 from my Quattro mask. And it's killing me.

My unscientific proof:

I am a side sleeper...the CO2 from my nose goes downward when I exhale. To get to the air vent at the top of the mask the exhale needs to go up and past my nose. What are the odds I'm not breathing some of that air back in?

If I breathe through my mouth, the exhaled CO2 is still right at my moth level and then needs to travel up past my nose to the airholes to vent out. What are the odds I'm not breathing any of that CO2 through my mouth or my nose?

I think the odds are that I am.

I am being so compliant with the Quattro. I no longer get leaks in the mask. I am averaging 7 hours of sleep per night (compared to 5 pre CPAP), yet when I awake I am tired, groggy, and am feeling no benefit.

Now when I use the Liberty mask, I feel much more refreshed. The air pressure feels stronger and it's easier to breathe. Perhaps that's just a perception, but that is how it feels. Also I don't think I am breathing in CO2.

The problem is I can not stop the Liberty from leaking. I have tried suggestions from this board, which only worked for short periods of time. I spoke to the hospital sleep specialist who recommended I change to larger sized nasal pillows. That worked for one night before the mask started leaking like a sieve.

I'm not a bouncy person when I sleep. I lay down, settle in, and if I get up I may switch sides then. I don't roll back and forth.

I think tomorrow I am going to call the sleep specialist again and relay my concerns. It's about time for me to get a new mask from my insurance company, and for the life of me I don't know what to ask for. And tonight, as usual, I will be using the Quattro. Ugh.

[DoriC]

PJ, I don't think you're imagining it in your case. I can't give you as detailed a description of our experience as you have given since I'm not a cpap user but I am the caregiver for my husband's therapy. His first mask was the Ultra Mirage FF so that's the only one we could compare to when we tried the Quattro. My husband could not give much input due to some disability so I had to guess at what he was describing but one thing he was definitely certain of was that he couldn't feel as much air flow circulating in the mask as he did with the UM and felt a little suffocated. He also felt slightly lightheaded. He immediately felt better when I switched back to the UM and we've been using that one ever since with success. I know Den (wulfman) describes a similar experience, I'm not sure if SWS did too?

[LoQ]

I am as certain as I can be without scientific evidence, that I am breathing in CO2 from my Quattro mask.

You may be, but not for the reasons you state. The air inside the mask is far too turbulent for your theories to have any validity.

If you were just sleeping without any mask at all, the odds are pretty good that when you inhale, you are going to breathe in some of the CO2 you just exhaled. And the air being piped into the machine and fed to your mask has CO2 in it, as well.

All of the air you breathe every day has CO2 in it. The issue is not CO2, it is the concentration of O2. If the concentration of CO2 goes up in general, then the concentration of O2 might go down, though not necessarily. If the concentration of CO2 goes up inside of your mask, then the concentration of O2 is almost surely going down.

[rubymom]

What specifically have you tried with your Liberty?

[LoQ]

Funny. I recently switched to using a medium-sized Quattro because my large-size was giving me some leak hassles... the medium was easier to keep a seal. And lately I've been feeling a bit light headed the next day also. At first I thought the oxygen infusions at night were messing with me, but I stopped that and still am feeling a bit light headed the next day. Today in particular. Maybe it is a higher concentration of CO2 in the smaller sized mask. I think I will go back to the large-size Q and see if it goes away. Barring that, I'll revert back to my original Ultra-Mirage in Large size. The UM is nice also, but slightly less comfy (for me) than the Q, which is why I put the UM in the CPAP closet.

There does seem to be something with the Q according to the antecdotes we read here. I used the Ultra Mirage for a long time. Recently I got a Q. It is more comfortable, but I feel more sluggish, and my AHI is now around 8, whereas it was generally around 5 on the UM.

I may have to go back to the UM, as well.

[Jason S.]

I went from the Quattro to the Ultra Mirage which resulted in more comfort and lower AHI. However, my first UM broke and the second one, which I only had for 2 months, began leaking (unnoticeable). I've gone the last month generally feeling poorly and getting frequent headaches. Checked data to find massive leaking, up to 50% of the night. I've ordered a new UM but must use my old Quattro until the UM arrives. The last two nights, no leaking, low AHI, no headaches but my nose bridge is getting an ulcer. I'll have to try a band-aid and loosen tonight or else I won't be able to wear anything until it heals and that would be bad.

BTW, I have a brand new UM (large size). Ordered wrong size. Never used in plastic. Make me an offer.

[SleepyT]

PJ,
I'm with you! I had a thread going about this very thing (see attached). It has been suggested that people with a low pressure setting don't clear as much CO2 as people with higher pressures. My pressure is set at 8. The Quattro makes me dizzy and nauseous. I'm either going to have to drill more vent holes in it....or clean it up and give it away to someone with higher pressures.

T.

Oops! Forgot the attachment...here goes...

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=55794&p=522429#p522429

[Muse-Inc]

RespCare Hybrid might be a better match for the shape of your face, ie, not leak. I have both it and the Liberty and can't make the Liberty not leak.