From Quattro to ???

defrankc · Post by **defrankc** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:04 am

I have been using a Mirage Quattro full-face mask for the past three months, and while I have slept better than ever I have had severe problems with my nose bridge. I have tried every type of padding for this area from silicone ear plugs, moleskin, cotton, spongy tape, callous covers, and the PadACheek (which I have had the best results with), but still I wake up every morning with new swellings on different parts of my nose bridge that turn into open sores after a few days of use. No matter how much padding I use or how loose I have the mask, I still get pressure swelling and sores daily.

From postings here and elsewhere, it seems a lot of people are having this problem due to how deep the silicone membrane is on the Quattro. I think the Quattro is just a badly designed mask that has the promise of a good mask, but still needs a little tweaking.

As such, I am considering switching to a nasal mask, which leads to my questions: has anyone switched from a FF mask such as the Quattro to a nasal-only mask and gotten good results? And what recommendations can you make for a mask that don't affect your nose as much? I looked at the nasal pillows, but I don't think I could wear them and wonder if that would just cause inner-nose problems.

Additionally, if you're a mouth-breather is there anyway to train yourself to keep your mouth closed? I borrowed a nasal mask from my father-in-law and tried it but was afraid I'd asphyxiate if I tried breathing thru my mouth.

dutchbrown · Post by **dutchbrown** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:12 am

I use both the Quattro and the Comfort Gel. The Quattro is definitely "harder" on my nose, although I don't have nearly the problems as others. The comfortGel works fine as far as sealing and just overall comfort.

My problem with that (and any nasal mask) is mouth leaking/breathing, which when you do it you negate any therapy... and makes you sleep worse. I use a chin strap to help this.. seems to work ok, although I don't have a lot of run time on it. There are plenty of "fixes" to this, such as mouth taping (which I refuse to do... at least for the moment)... but a thin "wipe" of polydent on my lips with the chin strap seems to work just fine for any time that I'm not congested, which is why I have the Quattro as well.

defrankc · Post by **defrankc** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:36 am

dutchbrown wrote:I use both the Quattro and the Comfort Gel. The Quattro is definitely "harder" on my nose, although I don't have nearly the problems as others. The comfortGel works fine as far as sealing and just overall comfort.

My problem with that (and any nasal mask) is mouth leaking/breathing, which when you do it you negate any therapy... and makes you sleep worse. I use a chin strap to help this.. seems to work ok, although I don't have a lot of run time on it. There are plenty of "fixes" to this, such as mouth taping (which I refuse to do... at least for the moment)... but a thin "wipe" of polydent on my lips with the chin strap seems to work just fine for any time that I'm not congested, which is why I have the Quattro as well.

I'm actually leaning towards the ComfortGel as a possible alternative. Does it affect the nose bridge as much as the FF Quattro? The older nasal mask I used from my father-in-law did not seem to bother my nose as much. I only had it on for a few minutes, but even a few minutes with the Quattro leaves my nose red and starting to swell.

mindy · Post by **mindy** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:37 am

I switch between the Quattro, Swift II, Comfortlite II and sometimes Bravo. The last 3 are nasal pillow masks. I can't seem to stand one mask all of the time and have been known to switch in the middle of the night! I keep them all "ready-to-go". Part of it is that I don't have the patience to tweak a mask very much if it leaks when I put it on or if I wake up with it leaking.

I am a mouth breather. When I use a nasal mask, I use the Tiara Topaz adjustable chinstrap. It helps but isn't enough. So I top that off with Rose's suggestion - a length of 2" wide J&J "hurt-free" tape. It only has a very light bit of stickiness so no problem getting it off. I cut it long enough so I can single-tie it in back of my head. Works for me but no way of knowing if it will work for you!

Mindy

jasper · Post by **jasper** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:59 am

Sounds like exactly the problem I have with the F&P 432. I got it for times when I was congested, and also because I tend to mouth breathe. Same open sores on the nose bridge, and I also tried all the pads and tricks available. Doesn't matter whether the mask is loose or tight or whatever.

I started with the Activa, and still like that as my favorite backup. It can truly be worn loose enough that it doesn't cause any pressure sores.

Meantime, just to try a pillows mask, I got an Optilife. Like you, I wasn't sure I could tolerate the pillows. Additionally, I wanted to see if I could get this far, and then maybe go to a Hybrid or Liberty to cover the mouth breathing.

After about 8 months with the Optilife, I still love it. It's light, seals well and doesn't cause any sore spots. I will probably end up getting one of those other masks eventually.

I was still having a problem with mouth breathing, but with a combination of taping and trying to concentrate on parking my tongue against my palate, I'm almost to the point where I nose breathe with no taping.

So, I hope you now have a couple of other directions to look. Like we are famous for repeating on the forum, your mileage may vary, but at least you can evaluate what has worked for others.

Good luck,
George

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dutchbrown · Post by **dutchbrown** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 11:22 am

defrankc wrote: I'm actually leaning towards the ComfortGel as a possible alternative. Does it affect the nose bridge as much as the FF Quattro? The older nasal mask I used from my father-in-law did not seem to bother my nose as much. I only had it on for a few minutes, but even a few minutes with the Quattro leaves my nose red and starting to swell.

Not for me, it is quite comfortable for me. The Quattro leaves much more of an impression on my nose, although it's still fairly comfortable... it's just a fine line between too much pressure and not enough (leaking). That said, I'd wear the comfort gel every night if I could.

dutchbrown · Post by **dutchbrown** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 11:29 am

jasper wrote:After about 8 months with the Optilife, I still love it. It's light, seals well and doesn't cause any sore spots. I will probably end up getting one of those other masks eventually.

Ironically, I tried the Optilife first, could not tolerate the nasal pillows at all. I may try it once I'm fully acclimated to CPAP and different masks to see what happens, but when I used it last it rubbed and chafed and made it even more difficult to exhale even when not congested.

deglorious · Post by **deglorious** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 4:33 pm

It sounds as if your quattro was fit incorrectly. They do have xs, s, m, l in shallow and standard depths. You may want to check out if you have the correct fit.

Deglorious

mindy · Post by **mindy** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:05 pm

deglorious wrote:It sounds as if your quattro was fit incorrectly. They do have xs, s, m, l in shallow and standard depths. You may want to check out if you have the correct fit.

Deglorious

As far as I am aware (check cpap.com as I did), the quattro does *not* have shallow depths; that's the UMFF that has that.

Mindy