every single mask leaks

[deerock]

my latest mask is a mirage quattro. when i was fitted for it, even when i laid down, no leaks.
every single full face, nasal and any other mask i have tried always leaks. no matter what i do, no matter how tight i make it.
im not sure what to do at this point. any suggestions?

one thing im wondering about - if you eat before bed and go to bed feeling full, does that make it so the air pressure will not open your airway? last night i ate a bunch of watermelon before bed. i found that no matter the pressure it would not open my airway and maybe contributing to leaks. but even without eating before bed i couldnt keep the mask on without major leaks.

[Julie]

Overtightening can create leaks where they never were to begin with by distorting the cushion which needs to inflate properly to work well. Very small leaks may not be a problem - something you can check with Sleepyhead which will give you a concrete idea of how well (or not) you're doing and how serious (or not) leaks are.

Stuffing yourself with anything just prior to bed is not smart, so why do it? When you say 'no matter the pressure it would not open my airway' I presume you're going by 'feel' when awake vs e.g. Sleepyhead when asleep, again not something you should try to gauge consciously, but let the machine and software decide on. Eating is not a cure for leak prevention!

Do the software, download to Imgur.com and leave a link to the graphs in this thread.

[Pugsy]

Your stomach being full should have nothing to do with air pressure. The air is supposed to be going to your lungs and not your stomach.
But maybe with a full stomach you didn't move around as much...so less chance of mask movement with tossing and turning...it's a stretch and not a good one. Most of the time a full belly makes things worse.

Can you post a recent daily report showing leaks? The last one shown in a previous thread was over 2 months ago.

How many times a night do you wake up fiddling with the mask because of leaks?

Which mask is maybe the best of the masks you have tried in terms of comfort and ability to sleep?

[deerock]

the best mask is amara view, so far.

overtightening the mask isnt what causes the leaks. it leaks at any level of tightness.

the leaks are not small leaks. they start small and if i can fall asleep with them they end up being big leaks, the machine usually has a red sad face on it (resmed S9).

on auto mode the pressure is 6 on low end and 12 on high end.

i wake up at least 4 times per night and try to readjust and almost always wake up with it off entirely, sometimes not remembering when i take it off.

not sure if this is important - before i fall asleep, i have apneas. i notice when i relax, my airway closes. is that common? not sure i ever noticed that before.

[Pugsy]

Have you tried setting the machine to your maximum pressure and fitting it at the beginning of the night to that pressure? What works for a seal at 6 isn't going to work at 12 cm.
I wonder if using a much smaller range would work better or even using a fixed pressure so that pressure changes are out of the equation for causing leaks.

Have you used the sizing templates available to make sure that you are using the correct size?

before i fall asleep, i have apneas. i notice when i relax, my airway closes. is that common?

You can't have obstructive apneas while awake. Your airway tissues won't collapse while awake.
For it to be sleep apnea you must be asleep. Now sometimes when just falling asleep we hold our breath but that is an open airway cessation of breathing and not caused by the airway tissues collapsing and blocking the airway.

[Julie]

What you are feeling when awake is not the problem. Apneas are what happens when asleep and are measured differently. You may in fact be influencing your breathing prior to sleep by consciously 'checking' it, waiting for trouble, unconsciously tightening or relaxing muscles, etc. etc. Stop doing that or at least only report on what happens when you're asleep - do it with software, not your conscious perceptions.

[deerock]

i have used the sizing templates and they seem to line up OK.
i will post data tomorrow after tonight's sleep adventures

[LSAT]

Amara View Fitting Video.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_efYQtsIojA