How many masks have you tried before you found the one?

[chirurgeon]

I have tried a full face mask and now 2 different nasal pillows. I'm trying to decide what is annoying beyond tolerance or just needs to be gotten used to. One night the current nasal pillow was ok and last night it was really annoying.

And when I wake up my chest has a kind of tight feeling, like when my asthma is kicking in. After I'm off the CPAP for a few minutes the feeling goes away. Except when my asthma is really kicking in.

I am not a patient person. I know this is an extended process, but I want to be on the other side and be getting a good night's sleep and not have my nose ache from the nasal pillow in the morning.

[ubnoxus]

I was one of the lucky ones, the first mask I took home was great. Made me wonder if it was just luck or I was settling, so I tried a couple others and they were ok but nothing like the first mask I took home. I went from a FFM to a nasal pillow and liked both nasal pillows I picked. So I think I'm just easy to please. Over the years I've tried many and only found a couple I hated, few that were so so, and most I could use without much trouble. But it seems my first picks tend to be what I like.

[newpapper]

I'm on my fifth mask.

[sleeplessinaz]

It is a long tedious process. I am on my 7th or 8th mask right now. Three of them in the last 60 days.

[Sclark08]

I have had about 80 or so. I am a mouth breather so I have never found a nasal mask I could use wish I could. Right now I am using mirage quatro I use bipap rather than cpap due to copd. Just keep trying and try to be patient. I have been 1 1/2 yrs and not quite there but feeling better. Good luck!

[knothead]

Four years on the air and tried 4 diff masks. Think I will try one more before long, if I don't like it then I will settle on the RM mirage Quattro FF. It seems to be the best for me so far.

[Stormynights]

For me it would be easier to count the ones I haven't tried. That number would be in the single digits. I think I have finally found the one.

[Pugsy]

I started with the Swift LT nasal mask May 2009...worked quite well until I switched to the Swift FX which came out about a year later. But in between that time I tried the Opus 360, the Nasal Aire II prong and I think one other that I can't remember..none beat the LT at that time.

So the the Swift FX was my primary mask until March of last year when the Tap Pap came out...but in the meantime I have tried almost every other nasal pillow mask out there except the Breeze and the GoLife. Just never got around to those 2.
The Aloha, the Pilairo, the Nuance and the recent AirFit 10 have been tried.
In the meantime I tried a couple of nasal cushion masks (Wisp and Nano).

I liked to try new things..not that I was particularly unhappy with what was my primary mask...so when a new mask was released I tried it if it looked interesting to me. Not all masks look interesting to me so I don't bother with those.
I have found that I could successfully use any number of masks but some trip my preference triggers more than others.
The only experiment that was an absolute failure was the Wisp cushion which is odd because the Nano cushion works well and they are very similar. Those listed are the masks I have actually tried to sleep with...there have been many others that I put on briefly and said "no way in hell" and I didn't go further.

There's always going to be pros and cons with any mask out there and my preferences that are deal breakers for me might not be a deal breaker for someone else...so just because I might do well with a certain mask that certainly doesn't mean that the rest of the world will do as well. Likewise there are people successfully using masks that I would rather have my fingernails torn out one by one before I would want to use it.

Sore nose with nasal pillows...the nostrils are pretty much virgin territory and never had anything worn up against them..so a LITTLE tenderness can be expected but I stress little. Anything more than minor tenderness means either the wrong size nasal pillow or the straps are too tight...most often it is the straps that are too tight. The is probably the main reason for poor fit...people simply have the straps way too tight...and often it's the top strap..if you look in the mirror when wearing the mask and the first thought in your head is "pig nose"...that top strap is too tight and it will cause nostril pain.
If we get blisters or painful abrasions or raw skin....then something is terribly wrong somewhere because no mask (of any kind) should ever cause open wounds.

Lansinoh lanolin ointment is good to help with minor tenderness in the nostril area while the nostrils get used to having something touch them all night. Totally safe to use with the silicone and won't hurt you either. It's what nursing moms use for nipples while nursing to help heal and protect the nipples. It helps a lot. Found in the baby aisle at walmart and other stores..usually where bottles, nipples and such are located.

When fitting the headgear for a nasal pillow mask...a tiny adjustment can mean a lot. Like maybe one notch either way on the top strap of the Swift FX or a 1 cm adjustment on the back strap.

There are videos available for help in fitting for pretty much all the masks out there...I suggest to newbies that they watch them and see if something looks interesting to them...and not just watch the video for the mask that they have in their possession right now.

There was a nasal pillow mask that I didn't try when I was a newbie because I thought it looked horrible..it is no longer in production now..the Aeomed Headrest. I happened to have one sent to me so that it could be donated to someone in need and I decided to try it. I totally see how it was so popular with so many people. Amazingly comfortable considering what the headgear looked like I used it for a week successfully and liked it.
Because of my own personal preference to have the least amount of "stuff" on my face and head it couldn't beat the Swift FX which was my primary mask at the time but I did learn that sometimes looks are deceiving.

[Pugsy]

You know the Swift FX Nano cushion will fit on your Swift FX nasal pillow headgear. If your nostrils are too tender and you want to give them a break you might consider the Nano cushion. It's a pretty sweet little over the nose mask. The only one I can tolerate. My nose is real picky about what is placed on top of it..and not real picky about what is place in it.

ResMed says the headgear isn't interchangeable...but it will work...though IMHO the Nano short hose is an improvement over the Swift FX hose. I bought just the new hose and cushion to save money but tried the Nano cushion with the older hose and it works just fine.

[SabrinaFaire]

I've tried 4, though 2 of those were the same mask, two different sizes. Nothing has worked great. Honestly, I've even stopped using it because I can't deal with the problems I'm having with masks and my DME has apparently decided I'm too much trouble. *sigh*

[jencat824]

I don't think I could count at this point. Some that are real popular among other users don't work for me & some do. The Swift FX just won't seal, but I love the Swift LT. I am currently giving the AirFit P10 another try & I think it may work. If I get a mask that just doesn't work, I usually keep & give it a second, sometimes third try later on. Sometimes it just won't work. The Nuance is one of these I've tried more than once & it just won't work. The Wisp works but leaves marks on my nose so bad I use it only when I've got a bad cold. Great mask for back up when I just can't use nasal pillows. I love the SleepWeaver Elan, but it hates my hair (or my hair hates it) either way, a mask has to agree with long hair, one of my major criteria.

I think with the newer masks, they have so many new features its hard not to try them, never know when you will find something better than what you are using now.

Jen

[kona0197]

I have tried 10 or so masks. Still haven't found "The One" yet. Sucks.

[Wulfman...]

ONE!

The first one. ResMed Ultra Mirage Full Face. Approximately nine years, now.
I tried a few others in subsequent years, but none worked as well as "Numero Uno".


Den

.

[dinycat]

I have tried only two masks so far. Nobody told me that I might just be at the beginning of a long journey. Although there aren't that many FF masks, are there?

Since I'm a mouth breather, I won't have nearly as many to try, I guess.

So far, the Mirage Quattro was just too much for my face. I'm using the Quattro Air for Her right now, in the medium size. But the DME is sending me the small because we think the medium is too big. I'm fighting all night to stop the leaks, therefore not getting rest.

The RemZZZ's seemed to help at first, but they're too big for my masks, and they're hot. (My face is starting to break out and I'm 64 years old!) Even the Lansinoh-- which I thought was the answer--seems to bother my skin.

Though I'm absolutely sold on the whole CPAP idea, I sure hope I find my right mask, too.

dinycat

[DEXSUZ]

In the past 13 months I've tried seven. Twice I gave up on my QFX but returned to it because nothing else could match it.

The entire process must be graced by patience and the ability to adapt.