My Experiences with Different Masks After 1 Year

Hi Everyone,

I've been on my Resmed AirSense 11 for almost exactly one year and thought I would share my experience so far (mostly as it relates to the various masks I have worn).

First, let me say that even after one year, my body has not fully accepted sleeping with my CPAP. I still average around 3-4 hours before I subconsciously pull my mask off in the middle of the night. That said, I have tried "almost" every mask style out there in my pursuit of a consistent full night's sleep.

Here are the ones I have tried:

Resmed Airfit P10 - This pillow mask is comfy because of its minimal design. The straps are very comfortable strapped around my head. The problem I had with the P10 cushion has got to be "in my head", but nevertheless "real" to me. I feel uncomfortable when one nostril is not as "free flowing" as the other. The imbalance of air flow is enhanced/accentuated by the two separate nostril pillows that gives me a slight suffocating feeling. I know this must be in my mind and not a real problem because the two pillows join together and are not separate passages to the CPAP machine. But it still impacts my comfort nevertheless.

F&P Eson2 Nasal Mask - Loved this mask. Because I did not have two separate pillows in each nostril, the overall comfort was an upgrade. Nothing touching my nose at all (except the bridge of my nose from the top of the mask). I had leakage problems that increased over time, so I decided to try something else.

Resmed Airfit F30 - This full face mask was physically uncomfortable, but I have to admit that I kind of liked it. Because the mask covers your mouth and nostrils, I felt more freedom in opening my mouth even for brief moments. Hard to scratch you nose or your mouth though. In the end, I ditched this mask because the rubber gasket around my face kept "farting". I tried various tensions on my mask straps, but nothing seemed to fix this situation, so I moved on.

Resmed Airfit N30i - So far, this has been my favorite mask. I like the hose connection at the top of my head, as it seems to give me more free range of motion. And even though the nasal "cradle" seems to be almost identical to the P10 pillows, somehow I don't have the suffocating feeling that I had with the P10. I wore this mask for the longest time. I've been able to keep this mask on all night on many occasions, but I still can't consistently keep it on night-after-night.

Resmed Airfit N20 - I was up for my 6 month replacement cycle and decided to give the N20 a try. I liked the Eson2 above a lot when I first tried it and decided that maybe the strapping system of the N20 would hold the rubber gasket against my face more securely than the Eson straps. So far, I have worn it for a few nights, and it's been pretty good. This one might be a keeper. Three days is not enough for me to make a final call though, and I still love the N30i.

My journey continues. I hope that I will eventually get to the point of being able to wear my CPAP mask consistently all night long.

MikeekiM wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 25, 2023 11:12 am

First, let me say that even after one year, my body has not fully accepted sleeping with my CPAP. I still average around 3-4 hours before I subconsciously pull my mask off in the middle of the night.

My journey continues. I hope that I will eventually get to the point of being able to wear my CPAP mask consistently all night long.

Step no. 1: Before you go to bed tell make a firm decision: I will be conscious of when I take off my mask.
Step no. 2: Decide that whenever you take off you mask - you will get up and go out of the bedroom and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy
Step no. 3: Go to bed and put your mask back on. And promise yourself that if you start taking it off, that will be done consciously.

Repeat that behavioral cycle as many times as necessary.
It's your brain that hasn't fully accepted sleeping with a mask on. You've basically trained it that if it makes you remove the mask, sleep can continue without it. And that training has to be changed. Your brain has to fully accept that "There is no sleeping without the mask. You want the mask off? We're getting out of bed. You want sleep? The mask goes back on."