Already at a Breaking Point with Leaky Masks...haven't slept in 2.5 weeks

Hello,

Well, I am so glad to have found this forum. AHI is 49. My prescription is 9-17, but CPAP Specialist said my average has been 16 since I started treatment.

Been on the CPAP for about 2.5 weeks and I've already cycled through 3 masks and I am miserable!! I'm going on vacation next week, and I really really need to find a mask before I go away for a week. I don't want to ruin my husband's sleep.

I first got fitted for the Resmed AirFit F40 mask.I go to bed with a great seal, however I am waking up with air constantly blowing around my mouth. It's not a huge leak, but the cool air is enough to wake me up. I can tell the pressure is much higher, cause of the amount of air coming in my mask, as well as how much more it inflates the silicone mask.

I then moved to Nasal Pillows cause I thought the smaller the surface area of the mask, the less likely to leak....well nasal pillows gave me an anxiety attack. I'm a mouth breather, so I taped my mouth hoping with the nasal pillows and really really did not enjoy that.

Now on to the 3rd mask - My husband has sleep apnea so I borrowed his Resmed F10 - beast of a mask. At low pressures, this thing was great. However, waking up to the mask blowing into my eyes, even with tightening the straps.

The same thing keeps happening with all 3 masks - as soon as the pressure gets high, the leaks start. And I wake up. I really need help! I would appreciate any insight.

Look for Resmed's mask fitting videos.
Run the "mask fit" option, it lets you fit the mask at the highest pressure
Make sure you do the fitting when you're lying down.
Be patient, some of us went through many before they found the right. And yet, its tough, and ever thougher then your maximum pressure is 17
Some people find mask liners helpful in controlling leaks.

Running the Mask Fit test and getting the headgear and straps is essential to start a low leak sleep session but leaks can occur at any time due to movement.

Leak Rate, and Large Leaks are a fact of my therapy due to moving during sleep. After my F40 moves just a bit during sleep it no longer would pass the Mask Fit test, and it leaks but that's okay for my PAP therapy but not okay if the air blows to my face/eyes and wakes me.

The first couple of weeks using a new F40 cushion go well with few leaks, but in the second half of the month it begins to leak more. I have to tighten straps more and more as the cushion degrades. Once a new cushion is installed on the 1st of the month I can loosen straps and again have near zero leaks.

Something I use to prevent leaks from blowing air to my face is a liner. The liner I use is difficult to install and will not stay attached at the top but still works. Even though it is loose (glue tabs will not stick to silicone) the strap pressure of the headgear keeps the liner in place. I use Snugz so far but will be seeking out better ones that are hopefully made for the F40 if they become available. Snugz is a one-fits-all mask liner for hybrids which equals one-size-fits-none. It is nice to have something besides silicone to the face for change.

ejbpesca wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 23, 2025 1:17 pm

Something I use to prevent leaks from blowing air to my face is a liner. The liner I use is difficult to install and will not stay attached at the top but still works. Even though it is loose (glue tabs will not stick to silicone) the strap pressure of the headgear keeps the liner in place. I use Snugz so far but will be seeking out better ones that are hopefully made for the F40 if they become available. Snugz is a one-fits-all mask liner for hybrids which equals one-size-fits-none. It is nice to have something besides silicone to the face for change.

https://www.padacheek.com/airfit-f40

Have you seen the Padacheek liner? It is made especially for the F40 and isn't trying to be a one size fits all like the SnugZ.

I'm just gonna throw this out there because I gave up the leak battle with full face masks, I did not find one that would not leak around bridge of my nose causing dry eye all the time. Nasal mask, hybrid masks and pillows - with even minor congestion I don't seem to have large enough sinuses to handle the air volume hence they did not work great either.

I even tried a total face mask. It worked OK but not immune to leaks either (I kept it in case of major dental work or something )

My solution was the F&P Oracle 452. I do gently tape my nostrils shut to use it. They tell you you can kind of train yourself to not nose breathe, like when you use a neti pot and close off your sinuses, but I never got the hang of it hence the taping. 3M Micropore Brown for the tape. My average leak rate last 30 days is 2.30. For the last year it's 4.86. Last night it was 0.00.

https://www.cpap.com/search?q=oracle&op ... pe=product