Wrinkles not indentations or redness

[Susandia]

I’m new to the forum and just a few months new to wearing a CPAP mask. I’ve tried nose pillows, nasal insert nose mask and now I’m using the face mask with the foam liner. My question has nothing to do with the red marks that appear in the morning, or the indentation left by the mask. What’s happening to my 75-year-old skin is that I wake up with really deep creases that I called marionette lines! There on both sides of my mouth going down to my chin and they are also on both sides of my nose, where my smile line might be . Getting older and dealing with wrinkles is one thing but to have it magnified by this mask is incredibly depressing. I need to know if there’s any advice out there. The only thing I can find are people talking about the red lines. That isn’t bothering me as much as now I look like a puppet. I do sleep on my sides. I’ve always had difficulty falling asleep, so changing the position is probably an option unless it creates more of a gasping, which I don’t know. I actually never knew I had apnea until I went to the ER in an ambulance, and found out that I had atrial fibrillation which can cause a-fib. I’m curious about creams? Or perhaps something to put on my skin that flattens my cheeks before putting on the mask. Flattens instead of squishing which enhances wrinkles?

[Resigned]

One other reason for those wrinkles could be that tend to appear around the mid 75's, may not be the mask.

[dataq1]

I actually never knew I had apnea until I went to the ER in an ambulance, and found out that I had atrial fibrillation which can cause a-fib.

Feel sure that you mean that your ER trip was for a-fib, and you were subsequently told that sleep apnea can exacerbate arrhythmias like AFIB.
Also expect that you had a sleep study, and hopefully a study that actually measured your breath airflows. What kind of sleep study did you have and (if you are comfortable) what was your study AHI?
Now, about the wrinkles…. Others have described “Charlie Maccarthy” ( lines from the corner of the mouth and extend vertically to the chin). However, the common complaint is that the “wrinkle or gap” causes much mask leakage. Do you have mask leakage, especially above 24 liters per minute?

[ChicagoGranny]

really deep creases

Which mask do you use? Find your model on youtube and watch some videos about fitting and adjusting. A typical mistake is overtightening the mask.

Now, if the wrinkles are caused by side-sleeping pressing the mask into your cheeks, that's a more difficult problem.

I do sleep on my sides. I’ve always had difficulty falling asleep, so changing the position is probably an option unless it creates more of a gasping, which I don’t know.

In a typical case, more CPAP pressure is needed while sleeping on the back as compared to side-sleeping. This is because gravity is pulling the tongue and soft palate more directly into the airway. During side-sleeping, the effect of gravity is somewhat moderated. Do you have an auto machine? You can put this information in your equipment profile - ucp.php?i=ucp_profile&mode=equipment_info .

Please update this thread as you try different things.

[chunkyfrog]

I see so many ads for Botox, but am reluctant to trade flexibility for fake face.
(Is this an ad too?)
Surprisingly, I now appear to have dimples of a sort, where there were none before.
I cling to the illusion that I somehow look cute, while looking my age.