Hubby's pressure to 12, he says blowing his mask off

[Debjax]

Hubby's pressure went to 12. He wants me to reduce it because he says it is blowing the mask off his face. I know he had a lot of trouble with it last night, and was very frustrated, but the dear wouldn't SAY it, I could just tell by his deep sighs and body language when he had the machine off for a few minutes staring at it. he has shaved his beard, he is using the Quattro FFM...any ideas I can give the poor lad?

[Protobear]

I would try the Breeze nasal pillow system manufactured by Puritan Bennett. The system is called an ADAM Circuit and works very well at higher pressures.

[spitintheocean]

I've only been on the Autostart II for a week but my morning pressure reading has been consistently around 16.2 and 18. Last night was the first night on the Quattro FFM and my pressure was 18 with a .22 leak rate. I felt as though the mask was quite secure all night but I do have it cinched pretty tight. My point is that your hubby's pressure shouldn't be an issue.

I found that it was very important to follow the correct sequence when putting this mask on or there would be leaks; the knob should be set wide open until the straps have been completely tightened ...... then spun to tighten as needed (I tightened it to its maximum). There were no problems with a tender nose, etc.

I should comment that I started with a Respironics Comfort Gel FFM (size medium) that I managed to get down to a .20 leak rate. Yesterday at the DME the technician couldn't get the similar sized (medium) to fit properly until we changed it for a size small so it may be possible the the failure to control mask leaks is a sizing issue.

Just my two cents FWIW.

[LinkC]

My Comfort Gel FF does fine at 16. My UltraMirage (backup) does OK at 16 but isn't comfortable. My ComfortFull (backup backup) is still usable at 16.

Maybe he needs a different face?

[luke]

This is why I'm kinda determined to find the lowest possible pressure for my therapy because maybe the pressure itself is
waking me up. I figure some therapy is better than none at all. I have been accepting AHI's of 3 or less.



Bill

[Quinda]

Hubby's pressure went to 12. He wants me to reduce it because he says it is blowing the mask off his face. I know he had a lot of trouble with it last night, and was very frustrated, but the dear wouldn't SAY it, I could just tell by his deep sighs and body language when he had the machine off for a few minutes staring at it. he has shaved his beard, he is using the Quattro FFM...any ideas I can give the poor lad?

I use the Mirage Quattro at 20 cm H20 and do fine with it ... I do have one trick though, if you place your finger in the center of the mask and gently apply a constant pressure you will discover that you will not have it blow off your face ... of course that position would be impossible to keep up during your sleep therapy ... I went to the local hardware store and found a 3/4 inch wide elastic velcro strap that is made for wrapping around small luggage, it's about 27 inches long and very durable ... using it as a fifth point of contact crossing over the center of the Mirage Quattro just above the swivel elbow solves the "blowing off the face" dilema and reduces leaks to 0 ...

One more trick if you choose to try this out ... when I use it, the elastic velcro crosses directly over my ears which isn't too comfortable, but I use the "Pad A Cheek" pads on the velcro strap to cushion it where it crosses my ears ... it really works great ...

--Quinda