Years of issues with mask fit / leaks

Glad to find this resource. I've been off and on CPAP for years, with some long stretches of compliance and then stretches of non-compliance. Mask fit and leaks has been the largest issue for me. I did great with my Philips wisp on-the-nose nasal mask and a chin strap for the first few years, and then I started parting my lips in my sleep and mouth breathing even with the chin strap. They moved me to an older version of the full face Philips dream wear full face mask (no longer made) that I thought would solve the problems, but it wound up blowing so much air into my eyes I had to sleep with a silicone eye mask on and it aggravated my dry eye condition so badly I went non-compliant with CPAP. I moved to the newest Philips dream wear full face mask and thought that would be the ticket, but I've found the fit very poor -- no matter how I adjust it, I wind up with leaks along the bottom of the mask and/or with the nasal "openings" moving off my nostrils and feeling like I can't breathe. I also wake up with labored breathing sometimes because of pinching in the air delivery tubes if I roll onto my slide. I have never made it through a full night's sleep (in probably a year of trying off and on) with that mask setup -- at some point during the night I take the mask off in my sleep. And I mentioned it to my husband last night and he (not a good sleeper himself, so he knows better what's going on at night than I do) said that I mess with the mask all night in my sleep.

I'm back to the drawing board. I'm trying to find a setup that works for a back and side sleeper, that doesn't blow air into the eyes, and that can cope with stubborn mouth breathing. I wish I could go back to a nasal mask and chin strap -- has anyone found a chin strap that works for stubborn mouth breathers / lip parters? And/or are there full face masks that people find to be low-leak and not blow air into the eyes? I don't get great service at my local medical supply place -- they've had very few options to try and I've been going back and forth with them for literally years without finding a solution.

Help?

I have an old (7+ years old) philips respironics machine, and all of the masks they've had me try have been phillips. Is it possible to use other brand of masks with a phillips machine? Or am I stuck with Philips masks?

Thank you in advance for advice and/or suggestions.

Sara

first of all, I would get a new machine. Most insurance, including Medicare, pays 80% you pay 20%. If you can't afford the 20% in cost, you can apply for a hardship waiver to release you of that requirement. Most insurance pays for a new machine every 5 years. Secondly, I am in the same boat you are in, & I have tried at least 6 different mask combinations until I found my comfortable mask. I too tried the Phillips Dreamwear FF mask & in order for it to work, I needed liners. I recommend Pad a cheek liners, but insurance doesn't pay for them. My next recommendation is Remzzz liners which insurance does pay for. This is assuming you want to stick with dreamwear FF or any other FF mask. I had good results with the Resmed F30. This mask was perfect, did not need liners, never leaked. I recommend you try the F30 if you want to continue with FF so that you don't have to wear a chin strap. The only reason I switched back to dreamwear nasal is because I prefer the hose on top of my head. Could not stand having a hose nose. Kept getting tangled in the hose & ripping my mask off. The liners I needed for the dreamwear FF mask made me itch and discovered some people have that reaction to liners. You may find them to be perfect. If your preference is to go back to nasal, which I have done, even though I am a mouth breather, I suggest the Ruby adjustable chin strap or the halo style chin strap. I am currently very successful with the dreamwear nasal mask with the ruby adjustable chin strap. I wear the chin strap first, then the mask over it. I have also tried it with the chin strap OVER the mask, but found putting the chin strap on first worked better because of the design of the mask (hose on top of head). The ruby adjustable chin strap is the only chin strap that I have found that works to hold the mask in place without shifting. I am about to try the new Resmed N30i when I get new supplies from my DME in October. I have found Resmed masks fit me better than Phillips masks. Maybe you can try the N30i with chin strap. Good luck!

Welcome to the forum.

You can use any brand mask that you want to use with your Respironics equipment. You aren't limited to just Respironics brand masks.

Thanks both. I asked my doctor about an updated machine (partly to have something more quiet / less likely to disturb my spouse since my self-consciousness about the machine and its noise is part of my compliance issue; and also, so that I can get better data on usage since what I get from mine is very limited) and he denied my request and gave me a mask desensitization "homework assignment" to try to build my comfort with my existing mask because his belief is that I have a psychological block against compliance and didn't / wouldn't / wasn't interested in actually listening to my physical mask fit history and issues (the whole exchange was extremely patronizing and unhelpful). I'm resuming care with a new sleep doctor next month, so will revisit those requests at that time. I've also got a call scheduled with a clinician to discuss the non-Philips mask options and the pros and cons of a full face vs nasal + chin strap for me. I hadn't heard about liners - I'll look into that as well in the meantime while I wait for supplies.

Thanks so much - very much appreciated!

you have the right to try any mask you want. Glad you have changed doctors. And if a mask is not working for you, feel free to change your mask as often as you want based on what you can afford. I always tried something "new" every 3 months when insurance would pay again. My DME is web based, not brick & mortar. I just have to tell my DME in advance via email or phone call if I want to change my mask. The same would be true for brick & mortar DME's. Just let them know you want to try something new for your next order. Keep trying & experimenting until you find your favorite mask combination. If your current DME proves difficult with your request to change masks, change to a new DME. They have no valid reason to refuse your request to change masks. I am on my second DME for this reason. Definitely try a Resmed product. they are excellent masks and proved to be a better choice for me. Try other Phillips models. I don't have experience with Fisher & Paykel, but that is another brand you can try. Before you try a new mask, determine what you think is most comfortable for you. I found that less mask is better for me. I didn't care for the full face masks that covered my nose, but the Resmed F20 was a good mask, but I needed liners for it as well & didn't like my nose covered. You may find it perfect for you. Since you currently have Dreamwear full face, you could consider Phillips Amaraview or Resmed F30 for your next mask since they are both models that cover only your mouth & sit under your nose like Dreamwear. If your preference is to continue to have the hose on the head, then try the Dreamwear nasal mask or Resmed N30i. or P30i. Go online to CPAP.com and you can see what is offered & read reviews to help you with your next mask selection.