Mask Junkie

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 1:13 am

Hi, my user name is Cyrano and I am a maskaholic!

First off, I would like to thank the many helpful members of this forum that have made it possible for me to continue cpap therapy for the past 10 months; without your assistance I surely would have quit after a rocky start. Rested Gal, you are my oracle!

I now own 5 masks and it will soon be 6 since my DME agreed to let me return the most recent failure-so I would like some advice. My difficulties seem to be with having a large, narrow nose with a deep bridge. Here are the masks I now own:

1) Comfortlite (original): Terrible, direct seal always getting knocked loose, simple cushion hurt bridge.

2) Ultra Mirage FF: attempt to control mouth leaking, close to giving up cpap. Well built mask but severe pain and sores on nose bridge.

3) Swift: learned about mouth taping, read good reviews on Swift, got DME to switch me to one. Really love this mask, but did recently develop some nare issues and wanted a second option nasal mask to rotate with. Also, was curious if too much air might be exhausted versus going into the airway?

4) Dreamfit: high hopes, it fit so nice when DME brought it over! Severe nose bridge pain and later break out of skin at bridge. Tyco even sent me a shallow dreamseal to try; better, but still same issues even with straps so loose the mask leaked around my eyes.

5) Breeze: Just had to try it since it seemed so popular. Once adjusted to not leak it feels like the nose pulling routine the Three Stooges used to do; gets knocked loose too much when shift around. Just too much fiddling around required compared to the Swift, which is so "plug and play".

I am going to try three masks at the DME Friday. None will be nasal masks since everyone of those I have tried is a big bust. They are:

1) Comforlite 2: Seems like a good one, I almost got the simple cushion to work on the original and hope the new headgear might allow this option when the nares get sore from pillows.

2) Aura Headrest: Very popular on the Forum, a little concerned about too much tweaking being required compared to the Swift (since I thought the Breeze required too much). But many of you rave about the comfort.

3) Comfort Curve: I was not even going to consider this with the relatively poor reviews and now knowing how difficult maintaining a good seal really is. But since we are all different, maybe I am one of those it will work on (but I really doubt it!).

So, any other larger nose hoseheads have some thoughts? I would really appreciate any help, thanks!

cyrano · Post by **cyrano** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 1:25 am

I hope this will add my user information since my post was labeled guest. If not, I need to learn a little more-Cyrano.

Darth Vader Look · Post by **Darth Vader Look** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 1:47 am

You should try the activa. It is a very popular mask.

reval · Post by **reval** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 3:40 am

I agree with Darth Vader Look.

I think that each CPAP user owes it to him/herself to at least have tried the Activa.

mikemoran · Post by **mikemoran** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 4:07 am

Ran through the same problems as you regarding the birdge of my nose. Activa is what I primarily use now. It rides higher than the dreamseal and comfortlite, seals well with less pressure on the bridge too. If you are having problems with your nares the Aura will give you the same problem.

good luck

dsm · Post by **dsm** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 5:00 am

Cyrano,

I have a couple of unusual masks that I stumbled upon.

One had no markings & appeared to be a prototype. It was a nasal pillows mask with all soft headgear and a swivel fitting right at the nasal pillows pod. This mask rapidly became my fav but it does have a single 6ft tube as the airhose & that seemed a bit of a problem (to take a walk, I have to disconnect at the humidifier).

Then I saw a photo of a mask just like the one above, it turned out it was called the Adams Circuit mask by Malinckrodt. But, it seems that when this company got absorbed into Puritan Bennet, this mask was dropped in favour of the Breeze. The breeze had a hard fitting that annoys me in use. Breeze mask is nowhere near as flexible as the Adams Circuit is.

Then I was in the position of being able to buy a batch of 3 of these obsolete Adams Circuits, when I got them they differed from my 'original' one and these differences led me to believe I had really obtained an early prototype (I got it with a barely used Tranquility BiLevel from New York).

The new version used a short tube & coupling (still large dia), it also no longer had the pillows pod on a swivel (IMHO it was a big mistake removing that swivel as the newer mask lacked the ability to flex the way the apparent 'prototype' does.). The other mod was to add an angle piece which changed the way the nasal pillows pod sat under my nose - again a step backward based on my use of the older model. This may have helped some users but ruined the mask for me.

Anyway, I reengineered one of the new ones by removing the angle piece & adding a swivel coupling in its place & seem to have got this mask back to being very good but with the added benefit of not having a 1 piece 6ft hose but a 18in hose with coupler which then connects to a 6ft hose.

Anyway, for my facial config this modified Adams Circuit is my fav mask of all. But I still use a resmed ultra mirage f/f mask most of the rime as when I do go back to the Adams Circuit (either the new modified or the old 'prototype') after a few days I start getting throat/mouth air escapes & have to go back to the f/f, even with a tight chinstrap.

Cheers

DSM

Brent Hutto · Post by **Brent Hutto** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 5:38 am

dsm wrote:Anyway, for my facial config this modified Adams Circuit is my fav mask of all. But I still use a resmed ultra mirage f/f mask most of the rime as when I do go back to the Adams Circuit (either the new modified or the old 'prototype') after a few days I start getting throat/mouth air escapes & have to go back to the f/f, even with a tight chinstrap.

I have a similar dilemma. For comfort the Swift is the real deal, hard to imagine anything could be much easier than that to put up with. But I suffer from mouth leaks and a good portion (but not all) of my apneas and hypopneas (per the APAP) are during or subsequent to those leaks. So I have an Ultra Mirage Full-Face mask that by definition eliminates the mouth leaks but it has leak problems of its own.

First off, if it isn't positioned perfectly on my face it will leak into my eyes so at least once or twice a night I have to adjust it to fix that. Even when it seals around my nose there is a slow leak through/around my beard on either side of my chin at the bottom of the mask. So according to my Resmed APAP I get anywhere from 0.4-0.7L/sec of constant leakage and then when the nose unseals it jumps up to 0.9-1.0L/sec until I wake up and adjust it. Plus if I use it all night it leaves a sore mark on the bridge of my nose.

Either way, the leaks have to be affecting my treatment. Mouth leaks with the Swift seem to occur during REM sleep although only once or twice a night. However, when I have nasal congestion my mouth opens constantly to try and get enough air to breathe. So I've adopted a strategy of using the Full-Face mask when I'm stopped up (figuring its slow leakage is better than having several hours a night of mouth leaks with the nasal pillow interface) and the Swift when the congestion isn't too bad (figuring a couple of 5-30 minute mouth leaks per night is better than a constant leak with the Full-Face). I still don't seem to be getting a whole lot of benefit from my treatment.

neverbetter · Post by **neverbetter** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 12:51 pm

I won't recommend my favorite mask to you because I was told today that I wear the ladies mask.
so, since my nasal mask is a favorite for the ladies, and your a man, I'll recommend something very manly like the Aptiva, my second favorite. It's a very manly, heavy , muscle mask unlike my slim lightweight dainty ladylike nasalaire II

Larry · Post by **Larry** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 6:03 pm

If the Activa won't seal for you, you are going to have a problem finding a mask that does. But, the Activa is far from perfect and doesn't seal on everyone. The Respironics Comfort Classic is available in MANY sizes. One may work for you. You can try 3 Comfort Classics for the price of one Activa.

cyrano · Post by **cyrano** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 12:40 am

I have seen that the Activa is very popular with the forum and did look at it when I changed to the Swift. At the time, it just seemed like so much more weight even though the design seemed well built. I do like my Swift, but want a second option. I was worried the Activa would be similar in fit to my Ultra Mirage FF that severely cut into my nose.

What are the issues that make the Activa not seal on everyone? A large nose with a deep bridge like me? Are there fit advantages with the Comfort Classic that may help or is it just a better price? I seem to recall alot of forum members saying stay clear of the "Comfort" line of masks since they tend to not perform well.

I may add the Activa to the list, but trying it at the DME versus sleeping through the night are totally different!

Thanks-Cyrano

chdurie2 · Post by **chdurie2** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 1:15 am

hey cyrano--

did you try all the different nose-piece settings on UMFF? that 4-setting thingee inbetween forehead and mouth/nose piece? don't know about your anatomy, but it does some interesting things to help mouth leaks when you push it pretty forward so that the top and bottom parts are bent. don't remember the logistics right off, but the more foreward the forehead piece is the more it pushes on the mouth to seal.

activa is a ladies mask, too. just like UMFF in shape only but less oppressive. tricky part of activa is getting fit. you will want to make bottom part too tight but that defeats purpose. it's a weird thing. it kind of floats on you when machine is on and you don't think it will stay, but it will. tighter than that and it leaks.

caroline

cyrano · Post by **cyrano** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 10:03 am

activa is a ladies mask, too. just like UMFF in shape only but less oppressive

Hi Caroline,

Yes, I tried many variations on the UMFF forehead adjustment. When I first set it I used more of an "average" angle which hurt my bridge very much. So, I tried an extreme angle to reduce pressure on the bridge of the nose which still hurt when it did not leak. At the most extreme setting the air shot directly into my eyes around the bridge of my nose!

I just realized from my profile one could not tell if I am male or female, so I added an avatar to the profile. I am very curious about your comment that the Activa is "ladies" mask, I had not really heard that before. Since I am a man with a "pronounced" nose, would this be a problem with the Activa and explain the difficulties with the UMFF? I may just not be one that can do nasal masks, I noticed this morning that I still have a scar on my nose from trying the Dreamfit over three weeks ago! This choice may be another roll of the dice-Lee.

neverbetter1 · Post by **neverbetter1** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 1:54 pm

The Nasalaire II was called the ladies favorite mask, not the Activa. The Activa is a burly mans mask.

cyrano · Post by **cyrano** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 3:28 pm

O.K., that's good to know. I may not be that burly, but the nose is. I did not try it on before so I will do that this time. I need the top of the mask to hit right between the eyebrows where I have a minor dip, otherwise the nasal masks all seem to hit me right on the "bump" of my nose and cut into my skin. Thanks-Lee.

NeurosurgeryNP · Post by **NeurosurgeryNP** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 4:41 pm

I too, was a maskaholic - I was initially given the Activa and then thought there was a better mask out there for me. I spent a couple of hundred dollars, and went through at least 4 masks, and went right back to the Activa! Still use it every night (except when congested - then the UM FF), and love it. Jen

Mask

Additional Comments: Large mask collection