ResMed AirFit F20 FF mask riding up my face

LSAT wrote:What I have noticed is the number of new people that are obvious mouth breathers and are told that FF masks are too difficult to deal with and are encouraged to use pillows and chinstraps. From personal experience, I was given a nasal mask to start, even though I told Apria that I was a mouth breather. After 6 months of struggle, I was switched to Quattro FF mask and I have been a happy camper for the past 9 years.

+1

So thankful for my FFM - last 6 months average leak 1.39 and average AHI 1.41, no facial irritation, no nasal irritation, no aggravation, little expense.

ChicagoGranny wrote:

LSAT wrote:What I have noticed is the number of new people that are obvious mouth breathers and are told that FF masks are too difficult to deal with and are encouraged to use pillows and chinstraps. From personal experience, I was given a nasal mask to start, even though I told Apria that I was a mouth breather. After 6 months of struggle, I was switched to Quattro FF mask and I have been a happy camper for the past 9 years.

+1

So thankful for my FFM - last 6 months average leak 1.39 and average AHI 1.41, no facial irritation, no nasal irritation, no aggravation, little expense.

I am pleased you have found your sweet spots - my statement had no universality intended or included. Your journey to this state of therapy, though, seems to have been in spite of help of a DME, but, rather, with the help of others here who led the way in creating a welcoming and sharing environment in which to deal with difficulties. I have never said FFMs were not valuable tools - what I have said is that they can be more difficult to deal with for many. But, then again, so is finding the balance between ease of use and effectiveness in all areas of PAP therapy. Without any statistical data I really don't know which is more difficult: a nasal interface alone with a constant search for the best way to eliminate mouth leaks or any other and the constant leak chasing one often must deal with. What I do feel confident with is that this forum is an invaluable support mechanism in the battle to maintain healthy and life-sustaining sleep in all of us. There is only one universal truth to be espoused here, I believe, and that is we all must find this elusive restful sleep in order to live.

JimW159 wrote:I have never said FFMs were not valuable tools - what I have said is that they can be more difficult to deal with for many.

More difficult than what?

More difficult than using a nasal interface and letting the therapeutic pressure blow out your mouth? More difficult than taping your lips shut? More difficult that adjusting a chin strip tighter than a vise on a hundred-pound metal part? More difficult than sealing your lips with denture adhesive?

ChicagoGranny wrote:

JimW159 wrote:I have never said FFMs were not valuable tools - what I have said is that they can be more difficult to deal with for many.

More difficult than what?

More difficult than using a nasal interface and letting the therapeutic pressure blow out your mouth? More difficult than taping your lips shut? More difficult that adjusting a chin strip tighter than a vise on a hundred-pound metal part? More difficult than sealing your lips with denture adhesive?

Again - no universality in the statement - more difficult for many than any of the above or ordering a pizza online or a bald man brushing his hair. All in all, does it really matter?