i cant take it anymore

I have tried every mask on the market and nothing is comfortable I want to scream I have no money for new masks I just can not take it anymore I know if I don't use the machine I will die I don't know what to do I want to cry

{{{{HUGS}}}}

Since you have been here a while I assume you have tried various kinds of liners.

Sometimes we have to learn to put our mind beyond our discomfort. Not easy but it can be learned especially if our focus is on winning through.

Hi Fordjx -- I'm sending a virtual hug to you too! Are you sure you've tried every mask out there or maybe it just seems like you have? What mask are you using now? What is the biggest problem you seem to be having with the masks you've tried? A little more info from you would help us help you.

Edit: I just read which mask you are using -- sorry.

I feel your pain and hope you move through it. There are new masks on the market all the time. Maybe you can sell the ones you are not using and scratch up enough to try and find the perfect one for you. Maybe talk with the group here to list the issues you are having and maybe they can recommend the best course of action.

Tough row to hoe, but you can do it and you will make it.

Rich

Chantilly, could you post a list of the masks you've already tried? There may be some people here with masks to donate or sell for very little (maybe just postage for shipping), and knowing what you have already tried would be helpful.

Those of us who have been here for a while know you've been here for a while too, and we know some of your backstory. I hope people will consider helping you if they have a mask to spare.

FJX, if possible consider trying to find the humor in all of this. So, when things get borderline bearable, look for a funny angle.

This has helped me many, many times in the past 10 years of xpappery.

Try it, it's worked for me so very often, and there is zero to lose.

(Oh, and please report back.)

Good on ya'

.

I have a mask or 2 that I would send you, if you would list the masks you have tried so I don't duplicate something you already tried.

fordjx4000 wrote:I have tried every mask on the market and nothing is comfortable I want to scream I have no money for new masks I just can not take it anymore I know if I don't use the machine I will die I don't know what to do I want to cry

"nothing is comfortable " you mean physically comfortable (pokes, prods, pinches?) or using the CPAP with any mask has never let you be comfortable?

masks I have tried
swift fx
amara full face mask
comfort gel nasal mask

fordjx4000 wrote:masks I have tried
swift fx
amara full face mask
comfort gel nasal mask

Obviously you have not tried every mask on the market...there are dozens of them. Can you describe the specific problems you had with each? comfort? leaks? fit? headgear?

the masks don't feel right a lot of the times

fordjx4000 wrote:the masks don't feel right a lot of the times

What system do you have, there should be a label on it (bottom or back)

This sounds like something that you just can't put your finger on is wrong, nothing specific, just wrong. I would guess that if the mask was bruising your face you would know that.

So we become Sherlock Holmes, no kidding. There are therapy settings and then there are comfort settings, if you are not comfortable using CPAP then you will not use CPAP. Breathing correctly tends to be a very important thing and we are quite sensitive to anything that interferes with our breathing.

Do you know how to get into the clinicians menu on your machine?
Are you using Ramp? Is it set to Auto?
Are you using EPR?
What is your humidity set to? Auto? manual? temperature?

Some of these setting can make you feel like you are not getting quite enough air to breathe. Some can make it difficult to exhale, which will keep you from taking a deep inhale. Some make you feel congested. We don't have a lot of experience talking about the effects of CPAP so our mind calls it the closest thing it does know. Pressure feels like I am congested, even though I am breathing fine. Pressure in the past has always meant congestion.

Once we know how your machine is set up, then we have to (you have to ) make small adjustments and try them to see if it was better or worse. Some you will know right away, some make take over night. Sometimes when you make one change it will shift another setting that you already thought was right.

I can suggest some settings to change, but without know how your machine is set, it is much more difficult.

By the way I started out ripping my mask off and throwing it on the floor and I have never changed my therapy settings. Currently sleeping 8+ hours a night with it

I just saw you have a PR1 system so you will have a flex setting and not an EPR setting.

fordjx has a very complicated health history including a serious respiratory condition (she has shared all of this publicly on the forum), and as recently as I can recall she's on an ASV machine. So we need to be very careful with comments about her machine settings.

Chantilly, can you give any more detail about how each of the three masks you tried felt uncomfortable? Of the three types you tried, nasal pillow, nasal, and full face -- which of the three was best and which was the worst? This information might help people decide what to send you if they have extra masks.

And are you getting good emotional support?

I am sorry you are going through this difficulty. May I suggest that you talk with your sleep doctor to determine if your situation needs to be re-evaluated and perhaps another machine and mask would be more effective for your success. I have used both FFM and pillows, but, dry mouth led me to go back to the FFM. I am a side sleeper and found that the my current mask works ok.

Since we don't know your sleep diagnosis I really think another discussion with your doctor may help.

Good luck.

kaiasgram wrote:fordjx has a very complicated health history including a serious respiratory condition (she has shared all of this publicly on the forum), and as recently as I can recall she's on an ASV machine. So we need to be very careful with comments about her machine settings.

Chantilly, can you give any more detail about how each of the three masks you tried felt uncomfortable? Of the three types you tried, nasal pillow, nasal, and full face -- which of the three was best and which was the worst? This information might help people decide what to send you if they have extra masks.

And are you getting good emotional support?

The only machine settings I would dare comment about are comfort settings, but perhaps that has already been covered.