Which mask for which machine?

Hi, just looking at another post and I find someone saying that the Resmed Autopap gives 4 options for the mask. From that am I to understand that you can get a different result by wearing a different mask? I always thought that once a pressure was set during a sleep study then providing you have this pressure on your machine it didn't matter which mask you used. I'm in the process of buying a different FF mask from the one I'm using now, is it possible that I might not get the correct therapy from the machine by getting the other mask? I presently use an Ultra Mirage FF and I'm buying the F&P Flexifit 431 FF mask. I hope I'm not making a mistake.
Kenv

With the APAP, you can use any mask.

You have to look at the pictures in your manual and the mask you have and pick that mask that best fits the mask you have. Then go to the mask setting on the APAP, pick that mask and push the OK button.

Anything is better than the Ultra Mirage Full FAce Mask

Sorry if I gave the impression that it was me who had the Resmed Auto - not so - I have just a straight CPAP.
Kenv

Even with a CPAP you can use any mask.

Kenv,
I've been using the Ultra Mirage FFM for a week now and find it ten times better than the FlexiFit 431 I had before. Unfortunately, everyone experiences each mask in different ways, so it's impossible to tell which mask will work for you. You'll find here on the boards people who couldn't live without there UMFFM, and people who couldn't stand it (like Severeena ).

But to answer your question, each type of mask has a different Vent Flow Rate, that is to say, a different amount of air that is expelled through the vents when you breathe out. Because of this, some machines adjust slightly with different mask types, but, from what I've gathered from these boards, the tiny change in vent flow rate is rarely enough to make a difference in how you're feeling.

This post has taken me aback. I thought the mask just had to fit and work for the user. I havnt seen anything on my REMstar Pro 2 about matching the mask to the machine.

In the software it shows the leak rate. I can see where the natural leak rate of the mask would figure into the total leak rate shown, but the machine should be able to make up for the leak rate when if sets the pressure. that's why we don't just hook up to a simple fan at night.

Of the setting in the Encore Pro software I thought the leak rate was the most unimportant, so I havn't been worrying about it, I also don't worry much about snoring rates as long as my AHI is low.

Goofproof,

I seem to have given you the wrong impression. Almost everybody (users and so-called "experts" alike) will tell you that in general, there is not enough difference in vent flow rates to significantly affect the treatment you are receiving between one mask and another. There's a difference, but it's miniscule. So tiny as to be imperceptible for the majority of folks out there. If you have an auto, it *does* automatically make up for this difference. But even if you don't, it's not enough to worry about.

I'm not sure why some CPAP manufacturers take it into account via mask settings, and some don't - perhaps it has, at one time, affected someone in some way, or perhaps they just want to be more exact in the treatment you're receiving. I'm sure restedgal or Lori will be along soon to comment on this.

My turn to be guested.

I'm not sure why some CPAP manufacturers take it into account via mask settings, and some don't - perhaps it has, at one time, affected someone in some way, or perhaps they just want to be more exact in the treatment you're receiving.

You'll find the most (all?) manufacturers will check their own masks with their automatic machine, and not the competition's. My guess is that they're being very careful beause the auto machines were touted as auto titrating machines. A persone is presumably titrated on an auto, and then prescribed a straight pressure for another machine. Under those conditions, the software's report has to be very reliable, and valid as well - a 10 on an autotitrating machine has to be the same pressure called 10 on another company's straight PAP.

I think that for a person using only the auto, the specific mask might be less important. I'm stressing "might" because autos react to flow variation, and different mask might effect the flow differently, and thus the auto's function.

That said, most people on this forum try their masks for comfort, and discover that a maks works, or doesn't, regardless of the mask/machine fit. A number of classiecexamples are the Aeiomed's erstwhile Aura, now "Nasal seal with headrest" which many auto users (Wader, RG, Lori) found to work great with autos - despite the fact the the manual says it wasn't approved for auto use. The "Swift" made by Resmed, that many have uses happily with non-Resmed machines (ProfessorSleep and Snork1 come mind, and I believe neversleeps as well) and ditto for the "Breeze", a Puritan Bennet mask beloved by other companies machines users.

First fit the mask to your face, and then, if you have to fiddle a bit with the pressure, or pressure range so be it.

The main thing is how you feel when you get up in the morning.

O.

Absolutely agree that the mask is the key piece of this therapy. My CPAP machine sat in a closet for almost 3 years because the mask I was given was like strapping an alien torture device on my face and there was so much headgear I simply could not tolerate it in the heat of summer.

And I didn't know about this message board. I was ignorant about what was available and I accepted my sleep doc's and the DME's decision about what I needed. Because I didn't KNOW what I needed.

Then I found the cpap-pro device and used it for over a year. Yeah, I know people generally don't like them but it got me back on the therapy I needed and it worked for me. THEN I found this message board and was like... WOW! There's LOT's of people on CPAP! ... and I learned. What I LEARNED was that I liked the nasal pillow type masks. And I liked minimal headgear. And I did NOT like anything running up between my eyes. The Swift was a logical choice. My old SoloLX was starting to exhibit problems at startup and needed replacing. I paid for a new REMstar auto with c-flex because my insurance company sucks (hear that Community Blue?) and wouldn't pay for a new one.

End result... MOSTLY due to having the correct mask (I love the Swift) is that since getting my new equipment, I am 100% compliant. I haven't been 100% compliant in any given week since I was diagnosed. But now I am.

And I firmly believe that the mask is the key and that this is the HARDEST part of the puzzle to get right. My experience with the cpap-pro device as opposed to just about everyone else's opinion of it is proof that getting a proper mask that works for YOU is a very individual endeavor.

Get as much information as you can. Definitely ask questions and listen to opinions. But, ultimately, you're going to take your chances when it comes to the mask. And that's where you have to be the most persistant until you get one that works well for you.

yardbird wrote:I firmly believe that the mask is the key and that this is the HARDEST part of the puzzle to get right.

Absolutely!

ozij wrote:You'll find the most (all?) manufacturers will check their own masks with their automatic machine, and not the competition's.

Yep. It would cost the manufacturer more money to run additional tests with others' masks, plus they'd have no control of any future changes another manufacturer might make to a mask or a machine. They'd rather keep people sticking with only their own products, anyway.

ozij wrote:despite the fact the the manual says it wasn't approved for auto use.

There probably are a few individuals whose breathing can't be sensed accurately by some autopaps with some masks. For the vast majority of autopap users mix and match seems to work fine as ozij pointed out. "Not being approved" doesn't mean "won't work right."

Thanks for everyone's input on the subject of masks - I have learned a lot.
I've taken on-board that the Flexifit 431 doesn't suit everyone but I did get on well with the F&P Aclaim nasal mask so I decided to give this one a go.
Kenv