Sensation of air starvation with Activa, after using FF?

cwsanfor · Post by **cwsanfor** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 6:12 am

I tried the Activa with BiPAP for the first time last night, and apparently took it off after less than two hours. It seems that the problem may be that I'm still not really down with taping (I can visualize the mask as my friend, but somehow not tape), and it seemed like I was "not getting enough air" even at pretty high pressure settings.

I found myself wanting to inhale through my mouth, just to get a good breath. I don't do this with any of my FF masks.

Now, despite daily saline nasal lavage, Benadryl at night, and Claritin in the day, my sinuses were not <perfectly> clear: they about never are.

Anyone else have this issue? Maybe I'm just a FF kind o' guy.

SelfSeeker · Post by **SelfSeeker** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 7:25 am

Hi cwsanfor,

Sorry to hear about your problem.

I may be way off the mark here, especially since I do not have my xPAP yet. I have been trying on masks at the DME, and will most likely be getting one from there, just because I am having a difficult time with the mask fittings. They will exchange them.

I tried the Activa, the major thing I felt was close to a panic attack and removed the mask. The mask is huge and I am not sure if it was the size that brought it on.

I did notice that I could not breath in with the Activa. The bottom part of the mask seemed to be touching my nose, and felt like air could not get in, even though the seal part was on my lip. Maybe there is not enough space between my nose and upper lip. This was with the standard size. The large size the seal part was way down on my lip. I tried the standard size again, as long as I took shallow breaths air could get in through my nose, if I took a normal or deep breath I felt I could not breath because the mask would block off the air.

I have put off deciding on a mask because of this feeling of not being able to breath properly.

snoregirl · Post by **snoregirl** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 11:15 am

I have both a full face and a swift and after using the swift I have a little trouble feeling like I can breath with the full face mask. I am sure that when I get a cold, the ff and I will become better friends.

I think the nasal pillows with the air shooting directly up your nose are the most comfortable for me. I was a mouth breather pre-CPAP but with this air going up my nose I am quite comfortable.

You might want to try one of the versions with nasal pillows instead of a "mask"

Vader · Post by **Vader** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 1:14 pm

cwsanfor wrote:
Anyone else have this issue? Maybe I'm just a FF kind o' guy.

I'm guessing that your problem is much more due to your sinus/breathing problems than with the Activa™, specifically.

I have had similar problems regardless of what type of non-full face mask I would use. When my nose gets stuffy, usually due to a very sudden drop in temps here in the mountains, It gets me miserable.
Any type of nasal pillow interfaces was definitely the absolute WORST for me.That air rushing up my nose didn't do a thing for me.
This is another reason why I am so PLEASED with the Ultra Mirage™ Full Face Mask.

wabmorgan · Post by **wabmorgan** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 9:40 pm

If you have nasal issues..... Full Face is the way to go.

It is best to breathe through your nose but.... we can't always do that.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:56 pm

snork1 (a regular poster on this board) wrote about problems he had getting masks and cpap (autopap) treatment to work well for him. He had a lot of difficulty getting effective cpap treatment through any masks including FF masks until he finally found a really good ENT doctor who did a very thorough scope exam and found he had not just "sinus problems" but very impacted, infected sinuses. After extensive "roto-rootering" sinus surgery, as well as work on the nasal turbinates, he was able to get real benefits from using his autopap with any mask he wanted to use -- Activa became his favorite, if I remember correctly.

You might want to check out the discussions about sinus and turbinate surgery, half way down the list of topics at this link:

Clickable LINKS to surgery, turbinates, Pillar, TAP experiences

cwsanfor · Post by **cwsanfor** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 3:45 pm

Thanks again, RG. I'm going to read those links tonight and try to work an ENT visit in between all my other medical appointments (the only thing worse than this getting older is the alternative).

However, from what I can tell, I don't even have so much as a deviated septum, just hay fever or whatnot. An intermittently sn**ty nose. I've used the Breeze, CL2, and Hybrid without too much trouble. But I'll look into it.

cchase · Post by **cchase** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 8:14 am

H cwsanfor - I'm glad you started this thread. Just this week I went back to trying the Activa mask. The first night was fine, but I gave up after a few hours on the second night with the same symptoms you described. I just couldn't get enough air. I have tried the Activa on two different occasions with the same problem both times.

I suspect that there are certain sleep positions for me where the mask does a poor job venting the CO2, and the build up is what wakes me up gasping for air. No way to really test this idea without the right equipment, but I can't come up with an alternative. I don't have sinus problems since I've been on CPAP, haven't got a cold, and don't have this problem with the CL2 mask.

Best - Chris

Mask

Sensation of air starvation with Activa, after using FF?

Sensation of air starvation with Activa, after using FF?

Re: Sensation of air starvation with Activa, after using FF?