Ready to quit after 21 days!! Please help!!

[Peacenana]

I have been using either the nasal pillow (Philips Dreamwear under the nose, med frame) or the full face mask (AirFit F20 small) for the past 21 days. In the beginning with the nasal pillow, I was able to sleep for about five hours undisturbed. After that I think I was trying to breathe with my mouth and that was impossible. I would take the mask off at that point after several awakenings and a feeling of too much air coming into the mask. By the way, I used a chin strap but it didn't stop my mouth from opening. I had a very very dry mouth and throat.
I developed a sore at the bottom of my nose between the nostrils and was advised to take a break from the pillow and use the full face. With that I slept much worse, often feeling like the air was filling my cheeks. Whatever it was, it kept waking me up. So I went back to the pillow once the sore healed. But since then (about four nights ago) I can't make it past two or three hours without the sensation that I am "puffing" air through my mouth or hearing a "whistling" sound. The data on my machine says that the mask fit is 100% so I don't think there are leaks. Last night was the worst. I had to remove the mask after a couple of hours because I kept waking up.
From the little taste I had of this therapy I do think it helps as I felt more "with it" even after 5-6 hours use. But I am beginning to think I can't tolerate this. My doc is going to decrease the pressure from 4-15 to 4-6 today to see if that will help. My humidity is at 5. It is working because AHI has been at 5 or under, except with the full face mask, when it goes up to 9.
I am beside myself and desperate to talk to other users as I feel very alone with this. Thank you.

[babydinosnoreless]

Hi! Welcome. Finding the right mask is critical to success. Many people prefer the nasal mask or pillows to a full face mask. Others prefer the full face mask. You need to experiment and find what works for you. There are things you can try to keep your mouth closed so that air doesn't leak out. Some people tape, others use scrunchies. Foam cervical collars are also popular. Sometimes even the pillow you sleep on can make a difference in how a mask works for you. I am claustrophobic and a full face mask was pure torture. Nasal pillows irritated my nose. For me the N20 nasal mask was the ticket bit it was leaking a lot. The "for her" smaller size fixed that problem for me. There is even a mask that tapes on to your nose, the bleep dreamport that has no headgear.

The most important thing is to stick with it. I started in October of last year. I tried the N20 in December and it took till January to figure out that the smaller size was what was needed. Since then I've gotten to the point where I frequently have an AHI of under 1. I feel better have lost more than 40 lbs and have more energy. Its a frustrating process but the results are worth it if you can stick it out.

Hang in there! It gets better.

[ragtopcircus]

I’m guessing you are using a Dreamstation. I’ve never seen those report anything but 100% for the mask fit for me no matter how bad the leaks are. It’s a useless number.

Changing the pressure range from 4-15 down to 4-6 is a pretty big change, and 4-6 is very low. At 4, a lot of people feel air-starved (which will make you open your mouth to breathe).

I’d suggest downloading Oscar ASAP to see what’s really going on.

I’d also suggest getting a soft cervical collar or a “Dr Dakota” or “The Eliminator” travel pillow / anti-snoring collar. One of those may help you keep your mouth closed.

[ragtopcircus]

Also, I suggest putting your tongue against the roof of your mouth to seal off the air, forcing you to breathe through your nose only. Try this during the day with the machine on. You should be able to open your mouth without air escaping, and continue breathing through your nose. Once you get the hang of it, you can practice this all day without the machine (and without looking weird - nobody will know). It will take time, but the idea is to train and tone the muscles so you can do it in your sleep too.

With practice, you can even control the air enough with your tongue to speak. With the P30i nasal pillows, and pressure at 15, I can now open my mouth and sing “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. Badly of course, but that’s not the point.

[chunkyfrog]

" . . . My doc is going to . . . "
Please download the manual so you can do these things YOURSELF.
Many of us have discovered that too little pressure is as bad or worse than too much,
and those who have never worn the mask have no idea what works.
First, adjusting the mask is essential--too tight causes leaks as easily as too loose,
(---because silicone can wrinkle--and leak.)
A mask liner (Pad a Cheek) can muffle the sound of airflow,
and soften the touch of cold or moist silicone.
Getting used to the mask and airflow happens with practice.
Sometimes, I think it is OFF, and have to lift a corner to check.

[zonker]

I am beside myself and desperate to talk to other users as I feel very alone with this. Thank you.

welcome to the zoo! you are not alone. we are with you because we've all been there. there is much to discuss, but i don't want to load your head with it all right now.

a couple of small suggestions-

see my sig to find the free oscar software to start tracking your own therapy. this isn't something you want to do right away, but it WILL help in the very near future.

also see my link to the newbie thread. this will help you fairly quickly. mostly, we need to you to please fill out your equipment profile. that way, what you are using will show up at the bottom of each of your posts. this is important because different machine/mask combination will need tweaks of their own.

lastly, may i suggest a firm foam cervical collar? this can be found at your drugstore in the aisle that contains all that stuff us old folks use like canes and bedpans and such. the collar will help keep you jaw from dropping.

meanwhile, stick with it. you've got this. you'll see the benefits over time, once we get your therapy optimized.

good luck!

[BottleHead]

As another newbie trying to work out the kinks, hang in there and keep trying. I found both the nasal masks and the full face masks to be intolerable. One of the problems is that when they leaked, which was often, they would leak straight into my eyeballs which made even small leaks impossible to ignore. After reading some suggestions from the many helpful users on this forum I switched to the Resmed AirFitN30i nasal cushions and things have improved greatly. At least for me the cushion conforms snugly against the bottom of my nose with a minimum of fussing with straps and without having to overtighten the straps. Leaks have been minimal when operating in the pressure range of 8-12 and I don't notice the leaks because they are farther from my eyes. I haven't used the nasal pillows but they seem like they might be a little more "invasive" than the cushion for some people.

I am a mouth breather and use a light chin strap. I second the suggestion for planting your tongue against the roof of your mouth to help keep your mouth closed. It took some practice but now its automatic. I also find it easier to keep my mouth closed if I'm sleeping on my side with my head tilted at a slight downward angle against the pillow. I'm hoping one day to be able to ditch the chin strap altogether.

Good luck!

[ChicagoGranny]

"Better is the enemy of Good" - Voltaire (paraphrased)
This is true for many things, but not CPAP Therapy

Work saves us from three great evils: events, leaks and excess awakenings. - Voltaire (paraphrased)

[Dog Slobber]

"Better is the enemy of Good" - Voltaire (paraphrased)
This is true for many things, but not CPAP Therapy

Work saves us from three great evils: events, leaks and excess awakenings. - Voltaire (paraphrased)

Chicks dig guys who aren't afraid to use a ResMed AutoSet for Her. - Voltaire (paraphrased)

[gv280z]

Hello! I'm sorry to hear you're having a bad introduction to cpap. I cannot comment on any of the nasal pillow side of things as I was a full face user from day one. I also started out with the F20 mask, and used it for about 7 months before changing to the Amara View which I loved, and have since moved on to the Resmed F30 exclusively. I gave away my other two masks (Dreamwear ffm and View).

So..while using the full face mask, your cheeks fill with air; Yes that happens, I get it too. It doesn't really bother me, I just feel it's an inherent characteristic of using full face mask. However, you do learn to keep your cheeks from filling, while you're still awake anyways. You just sorta force your cheeks back in, and don't let them relax I guess..not sure.

But air puffing out your cheeks will become a minor issue compared to solving leaks and getting your mask adjusted right. I'm sorry, you're already beyond the length of time of when I was experiencing my own initial small amount of adversity when I began. For the first week or maybe two I'd wake up and find I'd ripped the mask off my head and face and fell asleep with it in pieces in my hands. But I kept at it and as time passed I adjusted and got better at it. For me that was over 2 years ago and I'm so thankful for my machine and my medical provider for getting me setup properly. Cpap has changed my life in hugely positive ways and I'm happy to tell anyone about it that cares to listen.

When you're feeling down, like now...just try to think of the reasons for why you need to make this work, and have faith that it will return positive results for you. We Human Beings can adapt to an unbelievable amount of uncomfortable-ness over time. I know you will get on top of this if you just don't give up.

[Aggiehorntwins]

Hi Peaceanna! I am a fairly new to all this myself-5 months in, nearly. It takes awhile to get used to having a machine blow air up your nose all night. I have been 100% compliant out of fear because of drastic symptoms despite being diagnosed with mild sleep apnea. You will learn a lot from experienced cpappers on this forum and pretty soon you will be one too. Don’t give up, you are doing positive things for your health and preventing problems down the line.

[Skete211]

I am still a newbie myself, only using my machine since Sept 6th of this year. Having said that, I also agree with those saying to keep trying different masks and adjustments until you get something that works. In my experience, I started with the nasal pillow. I thought it would be best because it was the least intrusive in my mind. I quickly found this wasn't gonna work as I learned I was a mouth breather. Every time I opened my mouth in sleep, air would rush out of the mouth and wake me up. Not good, so I got a chin strap. This worked for the mouth breathing, but I developed the nasal sores you spoke of after a few days of use, By morning, my nostrils were painfully raw. "This is not gonna work!", I thought.

I called the supplier and told them it wasn't working for me and went in to get fitted for a full face mask. I chose the AirFit F10 and off I went. After using it at home (because it always works fine in the clinician's office, I found this mask leaked a bit and that was bothersome. (By the way, my machine was not registering any leaks, but I was feeling them.) I then tried some liners called RemZzzs (from Amazon) and that seemed to help with keeping the air leaks down, but it still didn't feel like a marriage made in heaven. I was still getting some positional leaking on the bridge of my nose.

I began looking on Amazon (because I love to shop there) at other full face masks and saw the Airtouch F10. I noticed it was basically the same mask I had and would fit my existing headgear, but it had a memory foam edge instead of a silicone one like the Airfit F10. I read the reviews and saw one guy posted how this mask sealed great and stopped his leaking. It wasn't too expensive so I ordered it to try out. Wow, what a game changer! The leaks are pretty much non-existent now. I change positions and I can sleep all night without interruption if I don't need to get up to pee. I'm starting to notice the benefits of CPAP now too in being less tired during the day. I'm hopeful that in a few months I will really see even more of an energy increase.

My point in saying all this is to say to keep trying. Talk with your doctor, read these forums, look at mask reviews on Amazon and experiment until you find what works. There is not a one size fits all I have found so you gotta keep trying different things to find what works for you. If you are a mouth breather and the chin strap didn't help, maybe a different type of full-face will do it. Try a different (stronger/tighter) chin strap. There's tons of help here so don't give up.

[katebrownell86]

I have also faced an issue with the full face mask. Now I use CPAP masks for side sleepers.

[ChicagoGranny]

Chicks dig guys who aren't afraid to use a ResMed AutoSet for Her. - Voltaire (paraphrased)

Smart chicks avoid guys who use EPR. - Voltaire (paraphrased)

[palerider]

Chicks dig guys who aren't afraid to use a ResMed AutoSet for Her. - Voltaire (paraphrased)

Smart chicks avoid guys who use EPR. - Voltaire (paraphrased)

Pretty sure that one got mangled.