How many masks did it take to find the one?

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 07, 2019 9:39 pm

At least twenty.
Apparently, my face is unusual . . .

"unique", dear, "unique".

Wasn't so much how many I tried but how long it took before I was even able to try the mask that has ended up being "the one".
10 plus years and I have lost count of the number of masks I have tried because I was curious.

Been a nasal pillow mask user since day one 10 years ago....as new nasal pillow masks were released and improved...I made the switch to new and improved if it met my needs.
All along I kept telling my husband "if only I could tape or glue the pillows to my nose and ditch the headgear"....and finally someone did it for me. I knew the Bleep was what I wanted long before it was ever available...when it was in the planning stages I saw it and said to myself if that one gets off the ground...I will own one.

If any mask interest you....try it. You will always learn something about masks and/or your own needs.....even if all you learn is what a bad idea the latest experiment was. I had a number of those along the way myself.

Are you all buying these masks out of pocket or do you wait the 6 months until you're eligible for a new one? (Not that everyone does the same thing ) Are the newer masks generally available at DMEs or do you buy them online? I really want to try the Bleep.

I started with the DreamWear with pillows. After watching a video from LeftyLanky at Free CPAP Advice I decided that just a straight nasal pillow would be better (still DreamWear--just switch out the nose piece). It wasn't, so I went back to the pillows.

1. full face, because the sleep Dr. insisted I was a mouth breather.
2. nasal mask, because it turned out the mouth breathing was not a problem at all.
3. nasal pillows, work fine and allow me to read in bed but the straps are an expensive consumable.

The nasal mask is my go to.

Smargie wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 08, 2019 8:36 am

Are you all buying these masks out of pocket or do you wait the 6 months until you're eligible for a new one? (Not that everyone does the same thing ) Are the newer masks generally available at DMEs or do you buy them online? I really want to try the Bleep.

i'm in a good position and can (and do) pay out of pocket.

and, just to keep the bots busy, i always buy at-

https://www.cpap.com/

30 day return policy and all that.

4th mask perfection with F30, just turned 3 years old, View, Dreamwear Full, and F30 were all out of pocket, 1st being F20. Again, it's all totally subjective, but man, great mask *once you get dialed in*.

Honest to God, i put my mask on and it disappears, i sleep through the night. That's it.

I bought most of my masks out of pocket. If I only used it a few nights before deciding I didn't like it, I would return it if possible. Others, I tried and ended up giving away to people that wanted to try them, but couldn't afford to buy them. I also purchased several on eBay. I usually had to purchase parts and put them together, but could some times find complete masks. There have been a couple of times when I was able to give away more than one of the same model mask. If I found a mask I liked, I would often purchase one or two spares on eBay so I would have them handy. When I changed to a different mask, I would give all of my old masks away once I was sure I wasn't going back to them.

Is there such a thing? Some I can tolerate and others not at all; I've tried quite a few. Even after 6 years the masks and machine are pretty annoying. I'd likely be dead without it so I can't complain to much. I'm so jealous of the people that can get decent sleep with cpap equipment. Hopefully it doesn't take you to long to find a good one.

I started in October with Resmed F10, moved to F30, then Dreamwear FFM then Dreamwear gel pillows. I am currently using P30i and have had the best luck so I am sticking with it for now. So 5 in total. I have a wide, flattish nose so the full face masks were really not going to work. I do have a nasal mask for Resmed in small wide, but never tried it because they gave me a sample P30i at the same time and I haven't looked back.

I find the Resmed masks to be the quietest. The Dreamwear gel pillows saved me over the winter, though, when I couldn't sleep more than 2-3 hours a night without waking up with massive leaks. The gel is interesting -- I guess they serve as a block to keep the pillow from pushing into the nostril??? Made it a little on the heavy side but I guess it worked. The only issue I had with the Dreamwear was that I had to tape the headgear to my cheeks to prevent it from slipping while I slept. I don't seem to have that problem with the Resmed headgear. I'm thinking it's because there is a cloth covering on the Resmed on the cheeks, which is enough friction. Or maybe it was just going to fit my head better... either way, have stuck with this since April and AHI down to 2 or less almost every night (even below 1) since then.

2. They used the Repironics OptiLife in my sleep study, it seemed okay so I got it. After becoming a mouth breather with claustrophobia and a fear of suffocating, suggestions from members here were the Innomed/RespCare Hybrid Universal. I count myself lucky in finding masks.

I started cpap sometime in the mid 90's, so somewhere around 25 yrs. Used a lot of different masks over that time. I'am with Pugsy on the Bleep Dreamport. I have been using it for about six weeks now and can't see any reason to ever change. They might make a couple small improvements on it, but it works great the way it is.

I went through six masks within about the first 9 months or so. Wasn't really tracking it. ResMed F30 is the one I ended up with. Seriously doubt it will be my last model. I try to keep an eye on other masks and anything new -- I'm willing to try something that looks promising or appeals to me.

-JD

Six so far. Three of them more or less worked but two of those had issues. Of the other three, one just didn’t fit my nose, one made my event rate go from under 1 to over 10, and one was a full face mask that’s incompatible with my beard. I’m still not sure why they gave me that one, but next time I have a terrible cold I may end up using it.

Still haven't found "the" mask, no Mr./Ms. Goodbar of masks yet. Keep coming back to my default mask, the Swift FX, but I try all the new nasal cushion and nasal pillow masks as they come out in hopes of finding that one. The Swift FX would be closer if they'd put out a Swift FX Mark II with a P10-style diffuser on it, but ResMed doesn't see the market there. Usually they put out a mask where they change too much at one time, like the P10, where they changed both the headgear and the nasal pillow part. The P10 headgear is just too unstable for me, too bad.

The Sleepweaver Elan is another one that's so close, but having to re-do the adjustment every night is a killer for me...they need clips or snaps or magnets on that one so that you can leave it adjusted and just take it off.

Some day my princess will come *smile*. How's that for a straight line?

Swift FX for a couple of years. P10 for 4 years. Used an N30i for several months. Have switched to P30 i but occassionally still use the P10