Newbie, picking out a mask with severe allergies

[morgandonor]

Hello all! I have no idea how to post and where but I'm giving it a shot. My doc called last night and said that the home medical equipment company should call me any time now to get info on what mask I want to start with and such. And I basically have 30 days to figure out what mask I want or I'm stuck with what I have.

A bit about me. I'm female. Overweight. Belly and side sleeper. I have INSANE allergies. All year. Mainly nasal. I have a good handle on them, I take two allergy medicines a day. When it's bad, I find myself breathing out of my mouth, but I wouldn't say I'm a "mouth breather" full time.

The night of my second test, they tried a few different masks on me to see how they felt. I thought going into it that I would prefer the nasal pillows. My brother also has CPAP and said the nasal pillows were a game changer and how much he loved them. This was my first time trying a CPAP at all. I was shocked by how hard it seemed to breathe in and out through my nose. It was very labored. Is that normal? Anyways, I tried just a normal nose mask first, it eventually got semi comfortable to breathe, then we tried the nasal pillows. It felt funny in my nose and it felt harder to breathe in and out with them. It also felt really cold and harsh. So, I guess if I had to pick right this second I'd say no to the nasal pillows.

My doctor seemed shocked by that. Saying most people prefer them (nasal pillows). And he thinks I will love them if I give it another shot. I don't think the ones I tested out at my test were hooked with a humidifier or anything. I think it was bare bones air. Does that matter?

I just want to get this right as fast as possible so I can start to feel better. But, I also know I have a hell of a time falling asleep on my back and when I'm not comfortable. Does anyone have any recommendations based on my allergies and how I sleep? No one has even mentioned full face to me. And that's okay since I know how much bigger and uncomfortable it can be. But it also intrigues me.

Help!

[Nyre]

I would consider looking into a full face mask(FFM) in case you can't breathe out of your nose due to your Allergies. Some have a FFM as a backup for reasons like this. I personally use a FFM full time because at high pressures my mouth opens. The search for the right mask can be difficult and long. I wish you luck.

[Julie]

Back sleeping can cause more events, so don't bother trying to do that. And pillows don't work for everyone (no mask or equipment does, by a long shot). And if you have allergies (rhinitis etc), a full face mask would be much more sensible in any case - you obviously can't know if you mouth breathe when asleep unless you have a dry mouth in the a.m. And there are 'liners' which you can wear under your mask to help with small leaks and to buffer any allergic skin reactions - you can get them from Padacheek.com (the designer, Karen is a member here). You need to try on various masks while lying down as your face changes a lot then as well. I would be very careful about which antiallergy meds you take - for one thing, Cpap may well help a lot with nasal allergies (it did for me and others), and various meds can interfere with your sleep and Cpap therapy.

[Pugsy]

Having humidified air being delivered could possibly reduce the nasal congestion. No guarantee but it might.
Some people find that they do well with lots of humidity and some people do better with less but most people need at least a little added moisture.
Google "cpap rhinitis" and you will see what I mean.

Also...that cold air feeling...having a humidifier will help that and having a heated hose will improve things greatly (with or without much added moisture)...so be sure to get a heated hose that is integrated into the cpap machine.
You will have better control over the humidity that is delivered along with the air temperature going to your nose or mouth (whichever mask you use).

Start with the mask that interests you the most...make use of that 30 day mask swapping time frame to find a mask that will work for you. Don't spend 24 days on one mask and end up with only 6 days to try another mask.

Be sure to read these
https://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/what- ... me-part-i/
https://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/
It's not quite up to date in terms of ResMed machines but both ResMed and Phillips Respironics offer optional heated hoses...make sure you get one. You won't regret it. They are useful for more than just preventing condensation (rain out) in the hose or mask.

Make sure you know your models...which ones offer full efficacy data and which ones offer only hours of use on those SD cards.

Oh...you aren't limited to back sleeping at all no matter which mask you end up wanting to use..
I sleep on my side and stomach all the time (in fact sleeping on my back causes pain)...and even with a full face mask there are ways to sleep on your side or stomach..just maybe need a little help with the right bed pillow.

[chunkyfrog]

There are many makes and models of each kind of mask.
My best fit is the P10, but several other brands were not nearly as agreeable.
Some masks fit some faces. No one mask fits everyone.
If your DME is only showing you one nasal pillow mask, you may be missing the one that works for YOUR face.

[Janknitz]

I prefer a nasal mask these days (Wisp) but I've had some allergies lately and some nights only a FF mask will do. IN your case I'd suggest starting with a FF mask and then you can try a nasal or nasal pillow mask next time you're eligible for a replacement mask. Ff masks are harder to adjust and get used to, but if you feel like you can't breathe you'll have an even harder time adjusting to CPAP.

[morgandonor]

Wow, you guys are awesome. Thanks for the quick and thorough replies!

I forgot to mention, which may be useless info, but I also have freakishly large tonsils. Like, every doctor in the history of doctor's say "whoa" or "wow" when they see them. Getting them removed really isn't an option for me at the time. So, with nasal allergies and tonsils, I feel like this should be fun figuring it all out.

I'm thinking I'll try the full face first. Just to see. I know it's not going to be cake and pie getting on cpap right away, I just thought it was odd how hard it felt to breathe with the nose masks. And then, of course if my mouth cracked open I felt like I was drowning. ICK.

I know with insurance (assuming) they are starting me on a ResMed auto cpap machine. And I believe all of their equipment is ResMed. I'm just excited for the changes. Hopefully. Right now, I feel like a zombie every day of my life.

[OkyDoky]

If you think you are getting a Resmed machine here is a link so you will know which are data capable. https://sleep.tnet.com/equipment/cpapmachines/resmed Also check out the other areas of the site. It is made by a member of our forum Krevlin and has lots of useful information.

[Luke49783]

As others have said, definitely go with a full face for your first mask. When I started on PAP therapy, I was in the same position as you, often suffered from allergies, could rarely breath through my nose. On a good day one nostril would be clear. I tried on a nasal mask at one of my sleep studies, but went straight to full face.

A little over a year ago I had finally had enough of not being able to breathe through my nose normally, so I had my doctor refer me to an ENT. Turns out I had a deviated septum and enlarged turbinates. I ended up having septoplasty and turbinate reduction surgery. Now, I can breathe through my nose most of the time. I still use a full face mask because it's what I'm used to, but I'm thinking about trying a nasal mask at some point since it's feasible now.

If you think nasal surgery might help you, it's definitely worth looking into. In no way has it fixed my sleep apnea, but it's definitely made breathing easier all around.

Good luck with the CPAP!