Mask #4

[ChelseaChestnut]

I am trying out mask #4 tonight. I started out with the Mirage Liberty. Although I did manage 2 nights with 5 hours on it, it pushed my mouth closed which caused me to stop breathing. Next was the Swift Fx. Couldn't get any breath out of those little holes, it whistled when I breathed and it didn't even last an hour on my head. Third was the Mirage Activa Lt. Although I was able to breath just fine through my nose with this one, I hated not being able to breath through my mouth. Off to my DME I went to trade out my mask once again. Judy at my DME has been helping me this whole time and I really owe her some chocolate or something for being so patient with me. She and I decided that a full face mask was the way to go. We settled on the Zzz-Mask. I liked that since it is mostly 100% silicone, it has some flexibility in it and it also does not have a forehead piece. The head gear is a little tricky as many have posted here, but I think I can work with that. I am ordering a regenesis pillow on Friday and am very much looking forward to trying that out.

[debbie28]

My father has had some of the same struggles.... He was told by his DME about a new Full Face Mask coming out called the quattrofx.
It is not out yet i guess but it may be worth checking out.. Apparently they spent years developing this mask to answer alot of questions. This whole mask thing is very tricky for some.... I found that quattrofx mask if you want to check it out.. http://1800cpap.com/resmed-quattro-fx-f ... -mask.aspx

I personally use the swift fx and i have a swift 2.... I know what you mean about the swift fx ... If you don't fit it perfectly in your nose it can cause problems because of the 2 layers in the cushion. The swift 2 is something you may want to try, i just bought one and have had better longer use with it and it is an older mask. I buy mine here because they have just treated me so good. http://resmedswiftfx.com/ResMed-Swift-I ... -60512.htm
This site looks good as well and i think is sponsored by this talk forum. https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... dgear.html

Anyway good luck to you.....Information and education are key...

[trike-mike]

Good luck with the Zzz-Mask. I rather like mine. One thing that may help you get comfortable with it is that it at least (seems) to breathe the same as the Quattro.

It does take a bit of time to get used to the headgear, especially how to get into it in the first place but I found practice helped that. I did find that the little "nubs" that the bottom straps hook too, once used to them, were more consistently easily connected than my Quattro. When adjusting the straps, while even pressure is typically good, I found that perhaps a little tighter on the bottom than the top kept it from sliding up given that it doesn't have the forehead piece.

Debbie, thanks for the pointer to the Quattro FX. Looks like could be good and almost seems to have taken a lot from the Zzz-Mask but perhaps fixed some of the foibles it has....

BTW, with your Swift FX, I found the same as you did initially with seemingly too little air using the cushion size ostensibly right for my nose. I went up a size and, while sometimes a bit fussy to get originally settled leak free, utterly solved that problem and, once on with no leaks tends to stay that way for me. I did also find that, while nice and soft, the cheek pads let the mask move around too much and induce leaks. The bare silicone straps clearly (for me) provide more grip to help hold the mask in place. I used it at first with the larger pillows and really liked it. I put on the soft cheek pads... and started to hate it. Took them back off again and YAY, it works again!