I've gotten addicted to having the air! Don't even mind some of the rude ways it escapes sometimes (although that part of it has gotten a little ridiculous and comical at our house). But why in the heck does the mask part have to be such a challenge? Couldn't someone come up with something better so we didn't have to fight so hard to get the lovely air????
I have been through a few masks now, and I have done the tender nose, the red face, the strap marks, woken up to tooting sounds from them all, fought them all. I frankly love my ZZZ for comfort, and it coincidentally has the lowest leakage rate of any I've tried, but last night I woke up hearing my "dream mask" making a little louder whoosh than usual, and then I was awake, trying to fight it but unable to ignore it. This morning, I gave up and slept for about an hour without a mask, 'cause I didn't want to dink with it anymore, couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I say "sleep", but it wasn't really sleep 'cause I kept partially waking up snorking and snorting, and I thought, how in the world did I ever sleep before CPAP? It was miserable!!! So I can see why I was walking through my life like a zombie, but the thing is that I could be even less of a zombie if I could just get a mask to cooperate with me a little here!!!!! Do people that use just the nasal masks have the same battles or is it just us lucky full face mask people?
So I just wanted to let off a little steam. I want the air, am in fact addicted to the air and being able to breathe at night, but the ding-danged masks sure don't make it easy! Someday I hope one of you wonderful, amazing, clever people out there will use your knowledge of mask tribulations to come up with something brilliant, and I will be first in line to try it!!!
Thank you for letting me rant!
(Now deflated of some steam and heading back to bed for a nap) Peggy
I'd love this CPAP stuff...if not for the mask part
The FF masks seem to cause me more leak problems - probably because my jaw drops and pulls the mask down. Also get a real sore nose from them. The Activa doesn't seem to do this, and it has always sealed quite well.
I also use the Optilife (primarily), and it is not prone to making all the hoots whistles and snorks. It is my main mask, but occasionally I get a sore nostril and need to go back to the Activa.
What, you expected this to be easy??
I also use the Optilife (primarily), and it is not prone to making all the hoots whistles and snorks. It is my main mask, but occasionally I get a sore nostril and need to go back to the Activa.
What, you expected this to be easy??
Whaaaaattt? It's not supposed to be easy??????
Okay. So not just a rant this morning but a question.
Why, after hours of going along just fine, do the masks start farting and whooshing all of a sudden when you're just laying there minding your own business, not thrashing around or doing anything to disrupt their placement? Is it that your face oils start messing with the seal? Or does your body heat eventually heat up the silicone so it starts losing shape? Or is it that the divets in your face finally end up so deep that the mask can't sit solidly anymore?
Every morning around 3:00, I find myself futzing around with the mask and getting too alert to easily go back to sleep for a couple hours before it's time to work. My husband is not real thrilled with this, either, although I've always been such a PITA with RLS or waking up gasping or snorting that he's somewhat used to being disrupted during the night.
If there is something quick I could do to get the mask settled again, I'd appreciate knowing it. Thank you!!
Peggy
Okay. So not just a rant this morning but a question.
Why, after hours of going along just fine, do the masks start farting and whooshing all of a sudden when you're just laying there minding your own business, not thrashing around or doing anything to disrupt their placement? Is it that your face oils start messing with the seal? Or does your body heat eventually heat up the silicone so it starts losing shape? Or is it that the divets in your face finally end up so deep that the mask can't sit solidly anymore?
Every morning around 3:00, I find myself futzing around with the mask and getting too alert to easily go back to sleep for a couple hours before it's time to work. My husband is not real thrilled with this, either, although I've always been such a PITA with RLS or waking up gasping or snorting that he's somewhat used to being disrupted during the night.
If there is something quick I could do to get the mask settled again, I'd appreciate knowing it. Thank you!!
Peggy
I'm with you on this Peggy! I've not had more than 4 hours sleep a night for the past 4 weeks. Suffered exactly the same problems with masks. I think you're right about face oils. My mask starts out sealing very well but after 3 hours I often wake with it leaking and spend another hour fiddling with the mask or trying a different one. By which time I'm too stressed to get any more sleep anyway, and when I do fall asleep I wake again and again.
I've only been on cpap for 6 weeks but my nights have got steadily worse as time has gone on. Quite often I'll wake and the mask isn't leaking and I'm laying there thinking why have I woken up? I don't feel particularly uncomfortable or anything.
In my first week of treatment I had two nights where I slept well and I felt so fresh the next day, a feeling I'd not felt for a couple of years. I was very positive at the beginning but now I find myself clinging to the memory of how I felt on those days and it's that feeling which keeps me going.
A few days ago I got so frustrated with the constant leaks, restrictiveness and air in my stomach that I committed the cardinal sin and slept without it one night. I felt better after that sleep, better than I had done during the previous 4 weeks. Mind you, I was so sleep deprived that even after a night without cpap (and no doubt full of apneas) I felt fresher.
It's taking all of my willpower to persist with cpap each night. I feel just as shattered now as I did before I started treatment. I suppose I'm in it for the long haul and I keep trying to look at the bigger picture
I've only been on cpap for 6 weeks but my nights have got steadily worse as time has gone on. Quite often I'll wake and the mask isn't leaking and I'm laying there thinking why have I woken up? I don't feel particularly uncomfortable or anything.
In my first week of treatment I had two nights where I slept well and I felt so fresh the next day, a feeling I'd not felt for a couple of years. I was very positive at the beginning but now I find myself clinging to the memory of how I felt on those days and it's that feeling which keeps me going.
A few days ago I got so frustrated with the constant leaks, restrictiveness and air in my stomach that I committed the cardinal sin and slept without it one night. I felt better after that sleep, better than I had done during the previous 4 weeks. Mind you, I was so sleep deprived that even after a night without cpap (and no doubt full of apneas) I felt fresher.
It's taking all of my willpower to persist with cpap each night. I feel just as shattered now as I did before I started treatment. I suppose I'm in it for the long haul and I keep trying to look at the bigger picture
Mask is brand new, so no need for a new cushion. I don't think it's leaking around the elbow, because I have had that phenomenon where I bopped it against the mattress and got it all caddiwampus, and that was a whole different sound. Thank goodness it was easy to get back in place. And it is the same phenomenon I've experienced with all the masks I've tried, where the cushion kind of pulls away from the face and starts honking, farting, whatever you want to call it. So I'm thinking it does have something to do with my face in some way changing either in oiliness, divet depth or the mask cushion maybe heating and losing its shape. Danged if I know. I guess a person could just have a second mask lined up ready to pop on every night.
I will take any suggestions.
And, ChipButty, you are ahead of me if you had two nights of feeling better! I have actually felt more tired. But I'm not giving up either -- good to be a stubborn cuss sometimes -- 'cause the one time I slept without the mask because I was so frustrated, it was absolutely miserable for me. I kept semi-waking up snorfling and was not in the least rested without the mask either. I am a weirdo in that I truly do like the whoosh of the air , and I'm going to figure this out, by golly, if it kills me (although I hope not literally, of course). There's got to be some answer to the mask issue, whether it's continuing in the search for a dream mask or figuring out an early morning face spritz or whatever. Hang in there, my friend! We're both at about the same place in our new routine, and I know we can do it!
Peggy
I will take any suggestions.
And, ChipButty, you are ahead of me if you had two nights of feeling better! I have actually felt more tired. But I'm not giving up either -- good to be a stubborn cuss sometimes -- 'cause the one time I slept without the mask because I was so frustrated, it was absolutely miserable for me. I kept semi-waking up snorfling and was not in the least rested without the mask either. I am a weirdo in that I truly do like the whoosh of the air , and I'm going to figure this out, by golly, if it kills me (although I hope not literally, of course). There's got to be some answer to the mask issue, whether it's continuing in the search for a dream mask or figuring out an early morning face spritz or whatever. Hang in there, my friend! We're both at about the same place in our new routine, and I know we can do it!
Peggy
If its oiliness - keep some kind of astringent wipes and then regular tissues to wipe your face, and the tissues only for the mask cushion.
Could it be rainout - humidity on your skin cause by the water vapor from the humidifier condensing because the air temprature is too cold? The solution to that is lowering the humidifier temp, wrapping the hose or even a heated hose.
O.
Could it be rainout - humidity on your skin cause by the water vapor from the humidifier condensing because the air temprature is too cold? The solution to that is lowering the humidifier temp, wrapping the hose or even a heated hose.
O.
_________________
| Mask: AirFit™ P10 Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear |
| Additional Comments: Machine: Resmed AirSense10 for Her with Climateline heated hose ; alternating masks. |
And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Good advice is compromised by missing data
Forum member Dog Slobber Nov. 2023
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Good advice is compromised by missing data
Forum member Dog Slobber Nov. 2023
Thanks, O.! Astringent wipes, would that be something like Stridex or something? Is there something for more "mature" skin, like mine, that you know of?
When you say tissues only for the cushion, that makes me wonder if I'm screwing things up by using the citrusy CPAP mask wipes on the cushion. Are those only supposed to be for the plastic part and not the cushion? Maybe I misunderstood their use.
You know, I don't think it's rainout. I've only experienced that once that I know of, when we were at the coast in a very cold bedroom. I have a homemade hose cover, and my setting is about 3. (My forehead gets cold even at that, from the vent air, but I don't like to breathe really warm air. Can't stand it when my husband breathes on me at night, don't like my own warm breath coming back at me in the mask, either, but whatcha gonna do?)
But it could be my face sweating or my drooling, I suppose, a very real possibility. I don't know what makes people drool, so I don't know how to fix that, but that wipes idea might help with sweating in additional to oil. If you could be more specific with a brand, I'd appreciate it...but, if not, I'll go on the hunt.
Thanks, as always, for all your help!
Peggy
When you say tissues only for the cushion, that makes me wonder if I'm screwing things up by using the citrusy CPAP mask wipes on the cushion. Are those only supposed to be for the plastic part and not the cushion? Maybe I misunderstood their use.
You know, I don't think it's rainout. I've only experienced that once that I know of, when we were at the coast in a very cold bedroom. I have a homemade hose cover, and my setting is about 3. (My forehead gets cold even at that, from the vent air, but I don't like to breathe really warm air. Can't stand it when my husband breathes on me at night, don't like my own warm breath coming back at me in the mask, either, but whatcha gonna do?)
But it could be my face sweating or my drooling, I suppose, a very real possibility. I don't know what makes people drool, so I don't know how to fix that, but that wipes idea might help with sweating in additional to oil. If you could be more specific with a brand, I'd appreciate it...but, if not, I'll go on the hunt.
Thanks, as always, for all your help!
Peggy
Sorry I can't help you with the brand, Peggy, I live almost half the way across the world from you...
Now Dreamstalker, a male with a beard, mind you, he might know because he uses them....
I assume the Citrus wipes for the cushion are OK. Mine was a general kind of warning since many things should not be used on the cushions.
Try dropping you humidifier temp, just to check it out.
O.
Now Dreamstalker, a male with a beard, mind you, he might know because he uses them....
I assume the Citrus wipes for the cushion are OK. Mine was a general kind of warning since many things should not be used on the cushions.
Try dropping you humidifier temp, just to check it out.
O.
_________________
| Mask: AirFit™ P10 Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear |
| Additional Comments: Machine: Resmed AirSense10 for Her with Climateline heated hose ; alternating masks. |
And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Good advice is compromised by missing data
Forum member Dog Slobber Nov. 2023
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Good advice is compromised by missing data
Forum member Dog Slobber Nov. 2023
been at this 8 years now, finding a mask is the hardest part about therapy.
if you are not careful in your mask selection you can waste a lot of money trying the gimmics. I have drawers full of them and they don't sell well at garage sales,
I also have a ZZZ full face mask, a unique design for sure, like one big cushion, but I mainly didn't like the headgear, high quality but didn't care for how it cupped the back of the head, sorta pronounced my Dennis the menace colic, that was uncomfortable as heck for me. I even tried a old UMFF headgear on it, then it developed a leak that I couldn't stop, because I was participating in a product challenge, I went back to the Comfort2 and it felt a lot better of the two and was quieter.
But I couldn't wait until that was over so I could get back to my Soyala nasal mask which was better than both of those combined where headgear is way more comfortable, less strap pressure needed, fewer leaks and 10 times more quiet, but I can control mouth leaks pretty well so that is no longer a problem.
At least today there is a lot more to choose from, but a lot of those are just junk, I never could stand anything pushing on the end of my nose, probably why I could never use the nasalaire, swift, hybrid and others.
if you are not careful in your mask selection you can waste a lot of money trying the gimmics. I have drawers full of them and they don't sell well at garage sales,
I also have a ZZZ full face mask, a unique design for sure, like one big cushion, but I mainly didn't like the headgear, high quality but didn't care for how it cupped the back of the head, sorta pronounced my Dennis the menace colic, that was uncomfortable as heck for me. I even tried a old UMFF headgear on it, then it developed a leak that I couldn't stop, because I was participating in a product challenge, I went back to the Comfort2 and it felt a lot better of the two and was quieter.
But I couldn't wait until that was over so I could get back to my Soyala nasal mask which was better than both of those combined where headgear is way more comfortable, less strap pressure needed, fewer leaks and 10 times more quiet, but I can control mouth leaks pretty well so that is no longer a problem.
At least today there is a lot more to choose from, but a lot of those are just junk, I never could stand anything pushing on the end of my nose, probably why I could never use the nasalaire, swift, hybrid and others.
someday science will catch up to what I'm saying...
Peggy I know just what you mean about those little 'farts' and 'ppfffttts' that start happening towards the end of the nite. I don;t know what is causing them either. Often once they start, I can;t seem to get them to stop even after readjusting the mask, the humidifier level, etc. I have been using the Resmed Quattro FFM for about a month now, and that was happening alot even at the start of the nights. I have finally gotten that under control, and then sometimes the late nite leaklets happen.. always something! Trice
_________________
| Mask: FlexiFit HC431 Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear |
| Additional Comments: Pressure - 11 |
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OldLincoln
- Posts: 779
- Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2008 7:01 pm
- Location: West Coast
I've had the cushion leaks because of my very oily skin. I've figured out a routine that helps a lot. I got one of those foamy soap dispensers and figured out they dilute the soap way down and with the foam you use even less.
Once empty, I put about 2" of shampoo and filled with water. Now I get a dilute shampoo mix which is enough to wipe the grease off without the messy washing the shampoo itself off. I use a damp washrag, put a smidge of the foam and wipe the cushion, then turn the cloth over and wipe it off with the damp but no shampoo side.
I wash my face where the cushion fits with the same and my leaks dropped to a comfortable level. They don't even wake me most nights. Give something like this a try and I hope it works for you.
Once empty, I put about 2" of shampoo and filled with water. Now I get a dilute shampoo mix which is enough to wipe the grease off without the messy washing the shampoo itself off. I use a damp washrag, put a smidge of the foam and wipe the cushion, then turn the cloth over and wipe it off with the damp but no shampoo side.
I wash my face where the cushion fits with the same and my leaks dropped to a comfortable level. They don't even wake me most nights. Give something like this a try and I hope it works for you.