Struggling with Seal

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 20, 2020 12:55 pm

Is that you in your avatar?

If it is....you might want to rethink nasal pillow mask of some sort. If you can move enough air to be comfortable through one nostril...they still will work. You are going to have major issues with any mask that has to come in contact with that much facial hair.
Now it can be done but it's going to require a lot of work.

It is I. My leak problems are mostly around my nose/eyes, or from the mask being pushed around. The beard crushed down well and doesn't feel like the problem.

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 20, 2020 1:15 pm

Back on topic: the Respironics FitLife Total Face mask would fit a whole lot better
with an inflatable cushion or even a memory foam gasket.

Yes - I'm quite happy with it if it would not get knocked loose when side sleeping.

Miss Emerita wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 20, 2020 11:25 am

You may already know this, but it's healthier to breathe through the nose, because the nose filters out lots of stuff before it delivers the air to your lungs.
So these would all be additional reasons to see whether an ENT could correct your deviated septum and make it possible for you to breathe through your nose.

I have thought about septum (and additional snoring) surgeries but they seem somewhat less than sure-fire.

Wondering in the soft, inflatable nature of the SleepWeaver might seal well for me.
Does insurance cover going through multiple masks, or are we on our own for that?

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/sleepw ... qCEALw_wcB

None of the dozen masks I demoed were under-the-chin style - that might be another avenue.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/FlexiF ... her-Paykel

IRSIV wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 21, 2020 7:26 pm

Wondering in the soft, inflatable nature of the SleepWeaver might seal well for me.
Does insurance cover going through multiple masks, or are we on our own for that?

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/sleepw ... qCEALw_wcB

Insurance pays for masks per their replacement schedule. They don't pay for trial and error at all.
Now sometimes the DME has a liberal mask swapping policy because the mask manufacturers offer 30 day trials with their masks but most DMEs won't want to do the extra paperwork involved and they will tell you that your insurance only paid for one swap or something like that. They get to make their own in house rules.

As far as the cloth masks sealing with a lot of facial hair...good luck with that. It's hard to get a good seal with no facial hair being involved.

So you are probably on your own pretty much when it comes to a lot of mask experiments unless your equipment supplier is like mine and offers 60 days mask swapping and I can try each and every mask they have in stock in that 60 day period if I want to.
It's a local supplier so unless you live near me....no help to you.

The usual routine is the DME says you have 30 days and one swap allowed and after that you are on your own. They could do more if they just would but they won't.

Now you can order masks online and make use of free return insurance.
Cpap.com has free return insurance on all masks. So if you buy one and it doesn't work out you can return it and get a refund or buy something else (if you use them be sure to read up on the 30 day return policy restrictions).

Part of Sleepweaver's in-house narrative stated the
Advance was designed for a guy with a beard--one of the owners.

IRSIV wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 21, 2020 7:26 pm

Wondering in the soft, inflatable nature of the SleepWeaver might seal well for me.
Does insurance cover going through multiple masks, or are we on our own for that?

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/sleepw ... qCEALw_wcB

I use the Sleepweaver Elan (Nasal) and it seals as well as any other with a 'stache & beard, though the beard really doesn't come into play. Someone in another thread mentinoed the full-face Sleepweaver did not work as well.

Despite their popularity, the nasal cushion masks that I tried hurt no matter how loose the straps. If it was snug enough to seal, then I would wake up feeling like I got punched in the nose.

Here's the thing -- you can try the exact same mask as any one of us and it might be the bee's knees, or it might be a miserable failure or something in between. The only way you are going to find the mask for you is to try them. I went through 6 or so the first year I was on PAP. Find a vendor like CPAP.COM who will let you purchase a mask, let you try it for a period of time and if it doesn't work, you can send it back for credit or refund. When you get a mask, give it some time (at least 5 nights?) before you give up on it.

There's really no sure-fire answer. It's as bad as buying shoes/clothes -- you are just going to have to try on a few different styles and makers until you find the fit that works for you, or that you can at least tolerate.

And do not underestimate the combined wisdom of the good folks here. Once you find a mask, they can get your settings tweaked and dialed-in -- I would argue, *MUCH* better than your sleep doc and the sleep techs at your local clinic

Good luck!
-JD