Mirage Liberty

[Richard Walker]

I am using the Mirage Liberty mask with the mouth mask combined with a version of a nasal pillow. I'm having problems with the nasal part leaking. sometimes I can start the night out pretty good without much leakage, but around 4:00 am it starts to leak, and I switch to a full face mask, the mirage quatro. this mask doesn't leak but gives me big bags under my eyes & nose bridge sores. Does anyone have a recommendation on how to keep the nose pillows from leaking?
Thanks, Richard

[hummer3d]

Well i too have the liberty and have experienced air leaks. You can adjust the pillows by turning then slightly in the mask so the alignment tab is slightly not centered in the notches. when looking down at the pillows from the top turn the right one clockwise and the left counterclockwise. Mine are lined up with the bottom tab of the two tabs on the mask part if this makes sense. This makes the ovalness of the pillows match the ovalness of my nostrils. Also try one six larger pillow if you aren't already using the large ones. Also if your humidifier is up to high the moister in the pillows can make it come unsealed. My nasal pillow leaked so bad two nites ago the leak alarm sounded waking me up.I woke but took mask off for rest of nite. That was a big mistake That next day reminded me of my life before cpap. Very tired with no energy . Good luck

[AuntieNae]

I have the same problem .. just replaced the nasal pillows and it really helped.

[SleepyDragon]

Hummer3d is right about the size of the pillows. I found I have the least leaking if I use the largest pillows that will fit in my nares. For me that's the med size, but I still have them pop out from time to time. I fixed that by putting a strip of Johnson & Jonson first aid tape across my nose and the tops of the pillows. This holds the pillows in place as they get slippery from moisture from my humidifier and snot when my nose gets runny.

Let us know if this helps.

[Guest]

I used to use tape to help stabilize the nasal pillows but I found that it often failed about midwway through the night. Switched to using a loop of an Ace bandange (cut in half widthwise, too wide otherwise) and I pin the bandage to the back of the headgear. Works very well for me.

[Driver59]

I have been using the Liberty for a couple of months now. The best way I have found to keep the pillows from leaking is to put a cotton ball between them ( about one and a half cotton balls rolled together for the large pillows ) this will keep them from collapsing inward. Second tie a ladies knee high across the pillows and around your head, this will keep them popping out the sides or front. If you want apply a little Lansinoh to the upper lip and bottom of the nares. Just don't use too much.
I usually apply the Lansinoh about an hour before bedtime. If there seems to be excess, just take a kleenex and wipe it off.
The Lansinoh will also keep your nose and upper lip from becoming raw during the night. Learned these tricks from the folks here on this forum, has helped me alot. It may sound a little funny, and look even funnier but the lights are going to be out anyway. If something works, I'll use it. Hope this helps.
Don

[birdshell]

... Second tie a ladies knee high across the pillows and around your head, this will keep them popping out the sides or front....
Don

Don, great ideas and I just want to add a little bit. It doesn't have to be a knee-high nylon/hose; I used a pantyhose leg (NOT a too-thick-tights leg) for this. I did tie it right UNDER the Liberty's nasal pillows shelf, and then behind my head with a flat knot (as recommended by Rested Gal in her posts). It seemed to seal the pillows to the tip of my nares, which are slotted.

Except for using the largest nasal pillows set that I could, this was the only thing I had to do to the Liberty. I found it to be a great mask for me, and I wish I could still use it without putting too much pressure on my gum tissue.

Karen,
Who misses trying to turn those clips and repair the elbow...

--well, OK, maybe not so much...

[Snorebert]

I had a very difficult PSG. I didn't sleep long enough in three sessions to be titrated. Many different FF masks were tried. It was the Mirage Liberty that finally allowed sufficient sleep time to establish the proper pressure. So that was the mask that was specified in my prescription.

I work with it for close to four months - fighting leaks all of the time. When I finally bought myself a data capable APAP, it showed me that my leaks were all over the map and my AHI was usually in the 20s - occasionally getting down to 12.
I did try lanolin - it made leaks worse but I may have used too much and I did not allow it to dry before putting on the mask. I finally switched to the Swift LT Nasal pillow mask and have done significantly better with that. I was afraid that I was a mouth-breather and would have to tape but it turned out that somehow my mouth got programmed to stay shut.

I am now getting AHI numbers in the 3 to 6 range. Liberty was OK but Swift LT was way better for me. All I can do is suggest that you keep trying with some of these great lab-rat ideas but if it ain't working, move on to try yet another mask.

If one mask were perfect for everyone then there would only be one mask on the market.