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I would have always said that I was a mouth breather, but I have now been on nasal CPAP for 8 months without an AHI above 1.0. First it was a nasal mask, but the past 6 months I have been using nasal pilllows, most recently the P10. No chin straps ever. Initially, I did the "puffer fish" thing, but not recently.

I've only had my CPAP for a few days so this is all very new to me. I did not use a CPAP during my sleep study, but was advised it might be an option depending on what happened during the study. My experience with the DME was very positive. The tech I met with didn't go get a mask for me until he had asked questions about my sleep habits. He fitted me with a Respironics Nuance Pro gel nasal pillow mask. He spent over an hour explaining how to use and maintain the machine and proper use and maintenance of the mask. He was very patient with my many questions. The mask was fitted and tested in the office and he sat with me while I got a feel for how it all worked. If the nasal pillows did not work for me, he said I had about a week to come back in and get a different style of mask. So far, the NP mask is working fine. It's such a relief so get a full night's sleep for a change and not wake up tired with a headache.

englandsf wrote:Browsing this board it seems to me that many people are starting their CPAP life with full face masks - but I can't tell if that's the "standard operating procedure" for DME's nowadays.

There are seem to also be lots of comments by users that they were mouth breathers. Is that driving the FFM prevalence?

I wonder if we could ever hope that DMEs would just ask a couple of simple questions to try and do a better job - almost to start with pillows, then nasal masks then FFMs as that seems to promise a better and more comfortable experience. And perhaps t look at their sleeping positions too.

There has to be a better way to help folks with job 1 - the right mask and fit...

During my titration study, I was shown a nasal pillows mask, a nasal mask, and a FFM, and asked which I wanted to try to sleep with. I found the nasal pillows mask the least alarming and the most comfortable. I did feel like I could hardly breathe against the pressure. After a short while, the tech woke me up and said, "you're not even trying to breathe." I was confused, but she was referring to central apneas, and she explained it to me briefly at that point. And then she switched me to bilevel pressure and it was much more comfortable. I did, however, have mouth leaks. At one point, the tech woke me up to try a nasal mask. I ended up starting out my cpap (actually bilevel) "career" with a Swift FX nasal pillows mask. It was more comfortable than whatever I was expecting. My pressures were fairly high and after awhile, it was irritating having the air blown directly into my nostrils. I experimented with a nasal mask and that is what I have used. I also have since lowered my pressures, thanks to the guidance of the good folks on this group. I have never been able to use a FFM, although I have tried several. I have to use a chinstrap to keep my jaw from dropping. I do like that I was shown the three types and given the opportunity to try them all on and try breathing with them on.

During my very 1st appointment with my sleep doctor, she looked at my face and nose and declared "you have a deviated septum".

I've been a mouth breather for most of my life and never gave any thought to having a deviated septum.

After doing a brief research on the pro's and cons of having surgery to alleviate the deviated septum, I chose to not have the surgery.

Full Face Mask is my mask of choice.

Here are a few more....

https://www.google.com/search?q=cpap+ma ... =0CIkBELAE

I never thought of decorating mine!