Newbie and nervous

[Mikki]

Hi, I am going for my titration study Wednesday. I've wondered about the full face mask versus the nasal thingy. I'm sure I sleep with my big mouth gaped open and am really scared to try and use the other. But have heard they arent as comfy. I dont trust myself to keep my mouth shut all night. But I often have sinus infections and bronchitis and my nose stops up so I have to keep my mouth open. Also, is the humidifier something I can buy and keep in my room with cpap or do I have to have something else? We don't have insurance and I'm trying to get a cheaper machine if possible. Thanks for your help! ~~Mikki

[Julie]

For what it's worth, I started out with a nasal mask and switched to a FF one within the year (could have been sooner, but it's been a while). While the FF one is obviously a little larger, I don't remember ever thinking it was less comfortable as such. Both take getting used to, but I'm so used to my UM FF now I feel naked when I use the other one on occasion for whatever reason. It's important to get the fit as right as possible for any mask, but the difference between nasals and FF's is not a big deal otherwise.

[OutaSync]

Mikki,
THey will probably let you try on several different masks when you go in for your titration. Pick out the one that fels most comfortable to you. You can always chang it later and try something else. You may need to wear a chinstrap to keep your jaw closed while sleeping.
Humidifiers usually come with the cpap machines and should be on your prescription. The settings on it will be available for you to change according to your individual comfort level.

Good luck and enjoy your titration. It may be the best sleep you have ever had!

Bev

[Ganesha]

Hi Mikki,

I found my experience with the titration study to be different than real life.
The nasal pillow mask and a chin strap is what I use at home.
During the titration they gave me a nasal mask which was horribly uncomfortable.
I think the tech over tightened the straps. It hurt.

Best of luck. Experimentation is will get you the right combination.

Mark

[ricochetv1]

I have the same problems. I'm mostly a mouth breather, have frequent allergy problems, etc...
I knew this going into my titration study, so I had them start me on a full face mask from the beginning. Used a Resmed Quattro mask.
The mask was mostly comfortable, but I didn't like the fact that it leaked a lot when I turned on my side, and I had to keep adjusting the nose bridge pressure every time I moved.
I made sure the doc wrote "patient preference" for mask type, and had the DME bring a Liberty Mirage, which is a hybrid mask (having a mouth section and nose pillows that come off of that). It provides a very secure fit since the nose pillows move independently of each other and the mouth mask. It doesn't have to be held on very tight to make a good seal. In fact, my machine showed a leak rating of 0.1 L/s the 1st night, and .2 L/s last night. I had loosened it up a bit because my lip was hurting...
Tonight will be my 3rd night with the equipment.

[suznjean]

I am also new, being on my CPAP only a week. However, do be sure that you ask for what you need during your test, don't be shy! My tech first put a nasal pillow mask on and before we even started I said "NO WAY". So he put on a nasal mask and that lasted 15 minutes. I went back to the nasal pillow and do quite will comfort-wise but now I suspect I need something over my mouth too. I wish I had asked to try that during the study. So I have a call in to my DME to see if we can try again. I found during this, my first week that I was over-tightening my nasal mask and that caused nose squishing, pain and leakage. It doesn't seem intuitive to me that looser would mean less leakage, but in my case it did. Obviously for many of us it is trial and error and things change for all sorts of reasons. Good luck!