My Struggles Finding A Mask That Works for Me

I continue to struggle to make CPAP a normal part of my daily sleep routine... I mean, I do use it every single night...so I am not struggling with making the daily attempts... But it's still a huge struggle for me...

The first issue I had was mask comfort and effectiveness... I tried the nasal pillows first, and they actually seemed to work for me well in terms of seal and physical comfort...but the two pillows sitting and sealing each of my nostrils gave me the feeling of suffocation, and the feeling of individual nostril blockages... Even though the two pillows weren't individually isolated, the fact that my nose felt like they were contributed to my feeling of suffocation and lack of free flowing air... If one of my nostrils felt 80% clear, and the other 100% clear, my brain felt like one nostril was being blocked...

I switched to a full mask... And wow... That really felt great... I hated that it covered my whole lower half of my face, and that I couldn't scratch my nose or the side of my mouth if I had an itch... But the pressure balance between my nose and mouth was fantastic... AND not having two individual pillows sitting on each nostril was also fantastic... The problem is that my full mask wouldn't hold a seal above the 10 pressure setting... It would naturally leak/hiss out of the side of my cheek, or near the corner of my mouth... I started to try and ignore it and just lived with the "hissing" noise, but if I ignored it, the rubber gasket started to reverberate and vibrate on my face, causing a bit of a flatulent farting noise from the mask... It woke me up (and my wife)... It was not pleasant... I really wanted this mask to work... All of the videos I watched said that you should not over tighten the straps on a full mask...that you should let it sit firmly, but not too tightly... And that is exactly what I did... And then the leaks and flatulent sounds start up in the middle of the night... And I try to lift and re-seat the gasket (as many have suggested, instead of tightening the straps)...and when that didn't work, I ended up gradually tightening my mask straps until my head was about to burst from the vice-like pressure... (yes, I am exaggerating...but you get the point)...

I complained to my sleep therapist, and he now has me at a maximum setting of 10, and has switched me to a nasal mask... This one has the benefit of the full mask, in that I don't have these individual pillows sitting on each nostril... But it doesn't have the pressure balance between my mouth and my nose... Which is actually fine 80% of the time, since I am not much of a mouth breather... So far, this style of mask is really working for me well... It seals nicely, even at pressures above 10 (and even above 12)... Because of the lack of pressure balance, I do have trouble swallowing my saliva build-up in my mouth without causing some "airline like" ear pressure blockages...

So I think I have found the mask style that works for me... That's the good news...

The bad news is that I am still having problems keeping it on all night long... I guess I am must not used to having stuff on my face at night, and the restrictions of movement due to the hose being where it's at... I still unconsciously remove my mask in the middle of the night and wake up without it on... I have had some mild success waking up with the discomfort and keeping it on for a bit before eventually taking it off... But it is still a struggle...

At least I have solved one factor in all of this, and that is the type of mask that works for me... Now I have to battle the other factors... Because of the nasal mask seal, I have been able to raise my max pressure from 10 to 13. Been sitting at a 13 max for the last 3 days so far...

You know it would be REALLY helpful when people talk about their masks or the issues with their masks if the actual brand and model mask was mentioned.

If you have trouble removing ANY mask during the night when you are asleep...that's a common complaint and we tell people to just tape the mask straps to the skin really well and hope that when you start to remove the mask in your sleep that the slight discomfort from the tape pulling on the skin will wake you up enough to stop the unwanted behavior.

The mask part of the cpap journey IMHO has always been the most difficult leg of the journey for just about everyone.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 05, 2022 9:47 am

You know it would be REALLY helpful when people talk about their masks or the issues with their masks if the actual brand and model mask was mentioned.

If you have trouble removing ANY mask during the night when you are asleep...that's a common complaint and we tell people to just tape the mask straps to the skin really well and hope that when you start to remove the mask in your sleep that the slight discomfort from the tape pulling on the skin will wake you up enough to stop the unwanted behavior.

The mask part of the cpap journey IMHO has always been the most difficult leg of the journey for just about everyone.

Good point... Here are the masks that I tried:

• Nasal Pillow Mask: ResMed AirFit P10
  Full Mask: ResMed AirFit F20
  Nasal Mask: F&P Eson 2

(I obviously don't know how to terminate each bullet item)...

Don't worry about the "bullets"...I gave up on getting them to work properly years ago.

I am sorry but I am zero help with any full face mask issues, other than tape them to your skin for premature removal issues, because I don't use them...don't like them...don't want to like them...don't even own one.

Your P10 issues...possibly related to too much tension or wrong size nasal pillow if one of the pillows got crimped slightly which I have had happen to me. But since you don't seem to be inclined to work with it further...I mention this only in case someone else reads this and has similar issue.

Pretty much every issue you described has been had by someone somewhere and actually dealt with in some fashion.
Haven't seen any actual "new" problems in years and years.

I started with a full face mask that went over the nose. I couldn't stand it. At the time I had a Phillips DreamStation 1. I switched to the Amara View that covers the mouth and goes under the nose. It was so much better. Now that I have a ResMed unit my new F30 mask is comparable but not quite the same. The Amara View must have had more venting and didn't seal quite as much, although I didn't have large leaks. The ResMed F30 also fits under the nose but has more of a seal, probably better for leak rate and my AHI is lower now usually 1 and below. But when I turn the unit off there is a suction over my face as I am taking the mask off. You might try using a CPAP pillow. The mask could be hitting the pillow and losing a good seal.

If you would edit your signature to include your CPAP and mask it would appear at the bottom of your posts.

mummmz wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 05, 2022 10:41 am

I started with a full face mask that went over the nose. I couldn't stand it. At the time I had a Phillips DreamStation 1. I switched to the Amara View that covers the mouth and goes under the nose. It was so much better. Now that I have a ResMed unit my new F20 mask is comparable but not quite the same. The Amara View must have had more venting and didn't seal quite as much, although I didn't have large leaks. The ResMed F20 also fits under the nose but has more of a seal, probably better for leak rate and my AHI is lower now usually 1 and below. But when I turn the unit off there is a suction over my face as I am taking the mask off. You might try using a CPAP pillow. The mask could be hitting the pillow and losing a good seal.

If you would edit your signature to include your CPAP and mask it would appear at the bottom of your posts.

I have the ResMed AirFit F20, and it is a full face mask that completely covers my nose... I believe it is the F30 and F30i that fits across the entire mouth and just underneath (but not above) the nose...

Regardless of whether I got the model details right or not, I was wondering if the "under the nose" design is much different than the feel of the nasal pillows (only with the addition of support for mouth breathing)? I am interested in the minimalist design of the mask, but with full coverage of nose and mouth... But my fear is that the problems I experienced with the nasal pillows will carry over to this style of mask...

Hi friend, I had the same issue as you. What resolved air leaks with my Airtouch F20 is Silent night mask liners. 0 leaks for months

Yes, sorry, I have the F30. (I edited my post to correct it.) It's sort of a cradle under the nose. Google it to see a picture. There's also the F30i which has the air tube attached to the top of the head.

MikeekiM wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 05, 2022 12:15 pm

I was wondering if the "under the nose" design is much different than the feel of the nasal pillows (only with the addition of support for mouth breathing)? I am interested in the minimalist design of the mask, but with full coverage of nose and mouth... But my fear is that the problems I experienced with the nasal pillows will carry over to this style of mask...

I have tried both the P10 and the F30.
They feel different. The F30 does not, in any way remind me of a pillows mask. I hope the same will be true for you.
I could never manage an over the nose mask and spent years with a hybrid, i.e. nasal pillows and mouth covering mask. The F30 feels much better.

MikeekiM wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 05, 2022 9:52 am

Whichever mask you are using, find that exact model on youtube. Carefully watch several videos on fitting and adjusting.