Permanent Mask Marks

[charlestek]

Plr,

Thanks for the suggestions. Seriously, a 40 % increase in pressure over what you have, does not permit the luxury of what you describe as far as sealing the mask. The pressure is so high that allowing the mask to inflate with light to mid strap tension has it literally blowing away from the face and leaking badly. I've experimented and had the respiratory care technicians try fitting 6 masks. Only around 3 will sort of work and the mask has to be strapped down with the plastic collapsed hard against the face to not have leaks.

I'm sitting here now at 11pm and have marks in my forehead that are still there and are permanently in my forehead as well as creases in my face. I'm in my 50's so my skin does not bounce back what it might do when I was younger.

I just bought a cpapseal (http://www.cpapseal.com) cushion to see if it would help with a quattro fx, and it doesn't work properly. I might possibly buy a quattro fx large online and try it because my insurance will allow a new mask only every 3 months.

I am looking into apnea surgery, but my appointments with the surgeons are a few months away and previous consultation with two ear nose and throat doctors had them telling me surgery has less than a 50% success rate, but in my case I might need to take the risk, as far as maybe having the surgery allow some decrease in pressure.

[plr66]

Plr,

Thanks for the suggestions. Seriously, a 40 % increase in pressure over what you have, does not permit the luxury of what you describe as far as sealing the mask.

In that case, why not try these aids? Some people here swear by them.

http://www.padacheek.com/PAC_Maskliners.html

http://www.remzzzs.com

BTW--I'm older than you are, and the hot water thing works for me. In the winter, I do use facial moisture cream during the day to apologize for the hot water I applied....

[charlestek]

I've been trying the pad-a-cheek products since 2 months ago. The mask cover fabric seems to cause more leaks than the bare plastic. I'm not sure that the padding for the forehead block helps at the extreme tightened down position. With that much pressure some felt padding is still not going to protect from the forehead plastic pushing into the skin.

I have the auxiliary strap, but it seems to have stretched out and is no longer effective.

I tried the remzzz's two months ago too. The don't stay in place and are pretty much useless.

I just tried the cpapseal, can't get it to work yet.

[Demeter_Soul]

Charlestek, I can well relate to your problem. I tried just about every FF mask around and finally settled on The Hybrid, as it offered the best fit and the most comfort. I immediately bought the little pads for the straps...but I still get marks on my face. I also wear the goggles to help protect dry eyes and they do a real number on my eyes. I have to wake up HOURS before any appointment, drink a couple of big glasses of water, use plumping cream around my eyes...and you can still see the lines...although much less.
Oh, and I suffer from rosacea and only had it on my cheeks before. Now I have it on the bottom of my face and chin (mostly the broken capillaries) where the mask sort of 'sucks' onto my face and chin.

First thing in the morning...I splash my face with cool water. Then I apply ***Eucerin - Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Sensitive Skin Creme***. This creme REALLY helps to plump the skin and it helps with redness.
Drinking a couple of extra glasses of water helps to knock out the dents, too.

I wish you luck with this...and with finding a job!

[Perrybucsdad]

Does a nice hot shower not help? I know when I get out of the shower, all the marks are gone. If I decide to not take a shower first thing in the morning the marks last much longer.

[RomeinDNVR]

I have used a FFM for the last two nights, my pressure is 14 right now. I have noticed that if you make the top strap tighter you can loosen the bottom straps a bit. Now I do have slight leakage on the bottom of my cheeks but I don't think it is more than the allowable leakage, thus not affecting my therapy. However I currently don't have a machine that records data besides compliance. I should have one coming this week, it will be interesting to see if my thoughts on "acceptable leakage" are correct.

GL to you!

Rome

[charlestek]

Perrybucsdad,

It is now 8:15 pm and I still have dents as it were in my forehead from where the quattro mask silicone pad was sitting.

I took a shower at about 8 am this morning.

I think I said this before, that the facial marks in my cheeks cumulatively are staying there. I talked to my dermatologist and he is certain the mask is causing the issue.

I hate to harp on this, but I would not be complaining in this forum if things weren't significant. I don't know how I can go on job interviews unless they are late in the afternoon.

[RandyJ]

Charlestek,

It sounds like nothing will work for you with that mask. I do not get any marks on my face with padacheek liner and anti-leak strap, and believe me I wear it snug! And I did get marks without the liner, though they would go away within an hour of removing the mask.

I think you've done everything right to try to make this mask work, but if you still have an issue that for you is a dealbreaker, you probably need to go through the process of looking for another mask. Nasal masks will have a much smaller footprint on your face, and nasal pillows hardly at all.

You can look into trying masks for free at cpaplibrary.com --> mask trials. You can try a mask of your choice for a week for only $14 (to pay for shipping both ways). Trial and error; you'll find a mask that is acceptable eventually.

Although it hasn't happened to me, I have read posts here about masks that, for some reason or another, were just impossible to make work for the user. It happens.

Good luck!

[charlestek]

Randy,

Thanks,

I will give it a go.

Personally I don't think a nasal mask is good for a high pressure. I had a few when my pressure was lower and had trouble with the accordion seals.

[TommyGatz]

Just a quick overview of my situation...

I'm 26, and was just diagnosed with sleep apnea back at the beginning of June. I have had my machine for about a month now, and I have two different masks. I started with the Quattro FX (XL size) and I now use the Air Fit F10, because I liked that it was lighter and easier to use/create a seal. I have a pressure of 18 cm so It is pretty tough to keep the mask sealed once it gets that high.

I have noticed recently that the mask is leaving red lines around my mouth and nose, but I don't have dents in my skin. The skin looks irritated, but doesn't feel that way, just red. It's really obnoxious, and it's starting to stand out more and more every day. I'm wondering if I have my mask too tight, but I can't seem to keep a good seal with it any looser than I have it now. I am going to try the Quattro FX mask again, probably tonight, and see if the different cushion material might make a difference. I really don't like knowing that everyone I look at can see these huge red lines around my face...

I know how you feel charlestek, if anyone has any good solutions without having to buy all these extra accessories...that would be great. It's bad enough I have to start paying for this machine never mind buy all different add ons for it because it makes me look like a Marvel villain.

[Julie]

Hi - you've gone to a 3 yr old thread here, but seeing as you're new - you may have the mask too tight which can actually even create new leaks, so I suggest a) loosen it a bit, and b) look up Pad-a-Cheek liners - no I'm not selling them, a member of the forum makes them and they are great at keeping marks away, but more important they help seal masks well. Were you fitted by a tech, lying down? If not, it would be a good idea to have that done if the above don't help.