how long to try a mask before switching

[Hea83ther]

I have tried the full face mask two nights with little success. The bridge of my nose hurts and the leaks are horrible. I think I could figure out how to keep the bridge of my nose from hurting so bad, but I have no idea how to fix the leaks, and they are major leaks, not just a little bit of air. I've adjusted it every way I can think of, and it's not helping. Once I finally figure it out, I lay totally still in the same position, and within five minutes, it will randomly start leaking again. How many nights would you keep trying to control the leaks before you requested a different mask to try? Obviously I can't fall asleep with it like that, so it's not doing any good anyways.

It's tricky though, because it is the third or fourth mask they tried the night of the titration, so I'm afraid I will have even worse problems with the nasal pillows and nasal mask, like I did the night of the study (issues with air pressure in my nose/the mask completely falling off with the nasal pillows and even worse nose pain and some leaks with the nasal mask).

I hate to purchase a leak guard, etc., when I might be giving it back in the next week.

[Pugsy]

I have no patience for pain. Minor leaks or whatever...I might fiddle with. Wouldn't take me but a couple of nights to decide if the pain is so bad the mask would be rendered useless. Other people struggle on for days and weeks. I wouldn't....but that is just me. Too many other options out there.

If homemade T shirt liner doesn't help and if you think you simply will not or cannot like the nasal pillow mask or over the nose mask...you might consider the FitLife mask because it doesn't touch the nose at all.
https://www.cpap.com/cpap-machine/fishe ... amber.html Several forum members here use it and just love it.

[Hea83ther]

Thanks. I'm not against trying a nasal mask if I can find one that doesn't press on the bridge of my nose. I'll look into the fit life.

[Hea83ther]

My doctor was very specific in his script for CPAP (he has a list with all of the masks available from all of the different brands, and then checks off the ones he wants the patients to try). The FitLife wasn't one of the ones he checked. Will the DME care about that, or will he have to write a new script?

[Pugsy]

Will the DME care about that, or will he have to write a new script?

Probably since the doc was specific...wonder why he did that?

If you are willing to try an over the nose only mask...they will all have to touch your nose...no way around that unless you use a hybrid mask but they have the nasal pillows you don't like.... BUT..the SleepWeaver might be more comfortable. It can be a finicky leaky mask but lots of members use it and like it.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/circad ... dgear.html It is a fabric mask and no hard plastic edges to dig into your skin.

[Kairosgrammy]

Don't be like me. I struggled for 3 weeks and at the end of those 3 weeks, I was more tired than before I started cpap. Way more tired. I wasn't involved with a forum, people that did my sleep study was 60 miles away and no one had thought to tell me, if this mask doesn't work, there are other options. Finally, I went back to my dme and the RT says, oh I can fix that. I'm like now you tell me. Had I done something way earlier, I'd have had a lot more good sleep.

quote="Hea83ther"]I have tried the full face mask two nights with little success. The bridge of my nose hurts and the leaks are horrible. I think I could figure out how to keep the bridge of my nose from hurting so bad, but I have no idea how to fix the leaks, and they are major leaks, not just a little bit of air. I've adjusted it every way I can think of, and it's not helping. Once I finally figure it out, I lay totally still in the same position, and within five minutes, it will randomly start leaking again. How many nights would you keep trying to control the leaks before you requested a different mask to try? Obviously I can't fall asleep with it like that, so it's not doing any good

It's tricky though, because it is the third or fourth mask they tried the night of the titration, so I'm afraid I will have even worse problems with the nasal pillows and nasal mask, like I did the night of the study (issues with air pressure in my nose/the mask completely falling off with the nasal pillows and even worse nose pain and some leaks with the nasal mask).

I hate to purchase a leak guard, etc., when I might be giving it back in the next week.[/quote]

[retrodave15]

Did your doctor specify any of the resmed masks? I tried several of the Philips Respironics masks and I thought the felt "hard" on my face and I had to really tighten them down to stop the nose bridge leaks.

I like the Mirage Quattro https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... ml?src=atg
Once adjusted properly it "floats on your face" plus it has the dial adjustment so you get just the right amount of pressure on the nose to seal the mask.
I understand that this mask is not without it's issues but i might be worth a try.

Remember if your mask does not fit, it's probably not going to fit in a week. Don't worry about irritating a DME, it is there job to ensure your comfort and compliance. I went through 5 different masks before I settled on the Mirage Quattro.

[Hea83ther]

His second and third choices were Resmed Swift FX and Resmed Mirage Soft Gel. I think he wrote down the ones I tried at the sleep study. I'm assuming Resmed Swift FX and Resmed Mirage are both nasal? I did eventually fall asleep with the nasal pillows. It took a few hours, though, and then I only slept for an hour before waking up again. Maybe the pain from the pressure going up my nose would be something I get used to? My pressure is only set at 7, so I must just be really sensitive. I probably also need to try and get my sinus issues under control, as I've read on this board that others needed to do that. I really want to make this work, because when I did fall asleep with both the nasal pillows and the full face mask, the apnea was easily controlled.

[Paul56]

Back in 2008 I experimented with my Quattro FFM for over a month before
settling in with it. Even then there was fiddling afterwards with mainly getting
the leaks controlled and keeping the fit comfortable.

I used that mask until December 2011 when the switch to the Swift FX was made.
I love the Swift FX and have very successful treatment with it as per my charts on
ResScan and morning readings on the machine.

Each of us has a different tolerance level for mask issues; however, having said
that I think we should experiment to see what works the best. I wish I had done
more experimentation with different masks and sizes earlier.

Be careful with those sore spots as you don't want them developing into open
sores which will exasperate the issue.

BTW, I'm using the Swift FX (nasal pillows) at pressure 12... feels comfortable
to me but I've been on this a while.

[chunkyfrog]

Respironics Fitlife nasal mask is one of the masks available in the cpap library.
If you find it works, you can have your doctor write a new RX for that mask--specifying medical necessity.
My insurance made an exception to the waiting period once for that condition--stuff changes, but it's worth a shot.
I have found this mask a very gentle fit, that self-adjusts. The most pressure I feel is on my cheeks, where the outer shell rests.
Remember, if insurance won't cover a new mask at this time, our hosts, CPAP.com, sell it very reasonably.

[Pugsy]

FWIW I used the Optilife in my titration study.. nasal pillow mask. I don't understand your pain using the nasal pillows but I am not discounting what you say. I wonder if the sleep tech had the nasal pillow mask adjusted poorly or used a wrong size nasal pillow. It really does not normally cause pain when the pressure goes up the nose. Or at least it doesn't for most people but everyone is different with how they feel things.

The added moisture from the humidifier actually helps clear up any minimal nasal congestion issues I might have. Sometimes I go to bed with a bit of congestion and within just a few minutes with the humidified air the nasal passages are completely open and comfortable. Again...everyone is different.

Finding the right mask is the most difficult part of cpap therapy. Some people get lucky and find the right one initially but I think most people have to sort through some issues. My preference from day one was a nasal pillow mask. I initially was given an over the nose mask at the titration study and the pressure immediately caused total congestion in my nasal passages and I was suffocating with it. I made the tech change to the nasal pillow mask and I did beautifully with it even though it was a bit large for me because he used a Medium sized pillow.

So I am not discounting your experience with the Swift FX and I was trying to come up with an alternative that wouldn't hurt your nose. Hate to tell you to try the Swift FX again if it really is a problem for you with the air going up the nose so directly....but any mask that has contact with any part of the nose has the potential to cause pain if not fitted properly and any mask that has more surface area to seal is going to have more leak issues simply because of the surface area. So you have to pick your poison.
If I absolutely couldn't use the nasal pillow mask...given my issues with anything touching my nose...I would opt for the SleepWeaver.

[Hea83ther]

Pugsy, the doctors suspect fibromyalgia, so that may explain some of my unusual issues with pressure. I've mentioned in other posts that I even have difficulty wearing ipod ear buds, and ear plugs are completely out of the question. They were struggling the night of the titration to get the nasal pillows to stay on my face; I wonder if they were using the wrong size. It was several weeks ago when I had the titration done, and I have lost around five pounds since then (I've been losing weight for the past year for health reasons, and then I was taken off two meds that cause weight gain). The respiratory therapist seemed surprised that they put me in a medium. I wonder if I was right on the line between a medium and a small, if that is making the fit incorrect. The nasal pillows would probably be easier to fit as I lose weight, too, so I may consider trying that.

[xyz]

h83:
> The bridge of my nose hurts

Cut a small rectangular piece of moleskin and put it across the bridge of your nose. This protects your skin from the mask.

Because the moleskin can be very sticky (pulls your skin when you take it off), before you put it on the bridge of your nose you can stick it on your pajamas a few times (put on, pull off) so that the fuzzy part of the fabric reduces the stickiness of the moleskin.

> and the leaks are horrible ...
> I have no idea how to fix the leaks, and they are major leaks

Settings are everything.

I am not familiar with your machine. If it's an auto, just when you start to sleep really good (for me at least), the pressure increases. If the _max_ setting is too high, the pressure climbs, leaks result, and it wakes me up. The fix for that is to lower the max setting.

I look at my data all the time. I can see when the pressure hits the max level (which is infrequent). And I rarely if ever see an AI or HI at that point in time. Maybe start with a max of 3 above your prescription. Look at your data often. If no AIs or HIs when the pressure is at max, set max to 2 above your prescription.

If it's a cpap, perhaps the setting is too high.

There are lots of different reasons for leaks. It's one of the hardest things we deal with. (Other than DMEs, lol.) But you may want to keep adjusting the straps for a while before you swear off ff masks.

And if you are using a ff mask because you _need_ to (e.g., you have difficulty breathing through your nose), then not using one would have a negative effect.

[Hea83ther]

My pressure is only set at 7 by my doctor, so I don't think that's the issue. I could work around the nose issue, I think, but the leaks are the major issue. I don't have a data capable machine (well, it is as far as leaks go, but you have to have special software to read it, and I don't think it gives much info.) That doesn't really matter at this point, because I know it's leaking anyway I got the machine for free from a friend who had to switch to bipap, so I'm going to stick with it for now. It has ramp, and I tried using and leaving it off-it didn't seem to matter.

I didn't breathe through my mouth the night of the study, but I anticipate I would during allergy season (although I suppose there's not way to know for sure at this point).

[chunkyfrog]

Sleep study fitting is for their benefit--not yours.
They put an original quattro on me; and it hurt from the get-go.
They tightened it down way too tight--I didn't know it didn't fit--and they didn't care.
Pain is not a part of therapy!