Ultra Mirage FFM seal

Is it reasonable to expect an Ultra Mirage FFM to maintain it's seal with a constant CPAP pressure of 18cm? The machine is a Respironics Autopap with C-flex set to CPAP C-flex.

I'm having problems with mine at an APAP of 9-12. That and sometimes it digs into the bridge of my nose. I'd be interested in any responses as well. I almost thought to ask if there was some sort of cushion I could use on my nose!

Linda

I have always had problems with my Mirage Ultra Full Face Mask. It does not matter how much I tighten the head gear, or which position I am sleeping in, I can still hear it leaking. Not sure if it leaks enough to affect my apneas but it is terribly annoying.

I have done a little research into the new Mirage Quattro that is coming out at the end of the month and I think it is going to be a solution to all of my problems.

BTW, when I was having trouble with it cutting into the bridge of my nose, I went up a size and now it just causes a crease in the bridge of my nose. No more sores though.

Ranman,

Do you have software to monitor your therapy?
I started out at 18 (for about 45 min.) and then decided to try something lower to atart out with.....so I tried a setting of 10 and found out that I could do just fine with that. I just looked back at my first few charts from 2 yrs. ago and for the 45 minutes or so at 18, I had 17 minutes of large leaks.....but then I was new at this and was messing around with the mask and adjustments while my card was still in the machine.....so, that's not a fair assessment of that brief session.

Den

I am running at 13-17 and have run at 14-18 along with doing some test runs at 18. IT's the only mask I can get to seal at higher pressures. Originally I had a medium and I couldn't get it to seal at higher pressures but when I switched to a large it seals great.

I am in the process of trying to get and use The Encore Pro Software. Upon diagnosis of my sleep Apnea in April 2006 my sleep doc set me up for a 7 day home titration study. Upon completing this he wrote me a scrip for a APAP machine with a pressure setting of 11cm. During my study this was the mean average with 90% of time covered with a pressure of 15cm. I got my machine set to APAP with pressures of 6-15. I continued to use it this way and in Dec of 2006 was called in to the sleep lab for a split night study. I was ok and slept through the night for both segments.

In the morning I discovered that the sleep doc in the center (not my sleep doc) changed the settings on my smart card. He did not give me a copy of the sleep study but stated that my settings were not covering all the events and that he therefore changed the top end to 18cm. What he failed to tell me is that he changed the setting on my machine from APAP to CPAP at 18cm. He scrolled back and forth through my study but did not really explain much about it to me.

When I got back home and had my first night was I in for a surprise. Upon waking up after less then 1 hour my mask was making a terrible racket and the machine was really wound up. It was not apparent to me what was happening but I knew that things were a lot different then what I was used to.

To make a long story short I could not cope with this setup. I had just one steady leak. I tried to use a chinstrap along with my FFM. I also tried to use a nasal mask with a chinstrap. Neither one of these solutions worked. The nasal mask was a total disaster. There's a reason why I need a full face mask. I CAN'T BREATHE WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO OPEN MY MOUTH! I was like a guppy out of the tank laying on a table. I was able to determine this for sure so everything was not a total waste I no longer had to listen to various people telling me to try a nasal mask.

I ended up going back to my supplier and got the settings changed back to APAP with settings of 6-18. I wanted to do everything I could to get my mask to seal with this new higher pressure. After trying this for 4 months I could see that my leaks were still a problem. I started to read a lot more on this and other boards and was able to learn quite a bit about all the variables involved in treatment.

I now have my machine set to 7-16cm pressure and have an appointment to see my regular sleep doc later this week. I plan on asking him a series of questions regarding my experience so far with my therapy. What I want to discuss with him is how the sleep study doc found it necessary to change the settings so much from what was deemed to be adequate during my home titration study. I understand that a lot more is being monitored at the hospital study but this was vastly different.

I should add that through all of this I have remained compliant and I never miss a complete night of treatment. I just want to make sure that I am getting the best bang for my buck if I am resolved to make this work. I have a very positive attitude about my situation and the treatment required.

Therefore my first question that I would like feedback on from this board is at what pressures could one expect the Ultra Mirage FFM to perform at without leaking. This is important to me as I want to know what to expect from this product. A better understanding of the capabilities of this mask will help me to resolve my leak problem and move on to the other issues I have mentioned.

As a side note I wash the mask throughly everyday with pure soap. I wash my face every night before bed as well.

I want to take an active roll in my treatments and in learning all that I can regarding the same. Could any knowledgable forum members offer any insight into my situation?

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): mirage, Titration, Encore Pro, CPAP, seal, APAP, Smart Card

I recently tried a ResMed Full Face Quattro, OH MY GOD, that mask is sick! The seal is very good with minimal pressure on the face, still the double wall technology used in the UMFFM, but the cushion where you rest your face is much softer and forgiving than the UMFFM. And all the little annoying "things" (rubber vent horseshoe, the O2 knobs the impossible to put back clip) All gone! this is a great mask, and extremely quite, I turned my machine on while I was adjusting the mask and my wife asked me "shouldntyou turn the cpap on?" It was that quite!

NIKO

Niko,
I am confused.. So do you like the new Quattro or not <g>

niko wrote:I recently tried a ResMed Full Face Quattro, OH MY GOD, that mask is sick! The seal is very good with minimal pressure on the face, still the double wall technology used in the UMFFM, but the cushion where you rest your face is much softer and forgiving than the UMFFM. And all the little annoying "things" (rubber vent horseshoe, the O2 knobs the impossible to put back clip) All gone! this is a great mask, and extremely quite, I turned my machine on while I was adjusting the mask and my wife asked me "shouldntyou turn the cpap on?" It was that quite!

NIKO

I think NIKO liked it......but the "....that mask is sick!" kinda threw me, too.

Den

Wulfman

Exactly.. Glad it was not just me <g> I first read started reading it and thought man first review where someone did not likeit .. then kept reading and thought.. well.. ??

Anyway, Niko I hope you did like it as I plan to buy one after next doctor appt .. I have heard good things on improvements over the UMFF which I now use 100%
thanks

Could any forum members offer any insight to my situation that I posted on Monday evening May 14th 2007?

ranman

From what little I know, a range of over 10 cm (six to eighteen) seems really wide. You may want to narrow the range down some. If you were titrated at 11, try setting the rang from 9-13 and see how that goes. Download Jim Skinner's Encore Pro Analyzer to use with Encore Pro and see what the graph of AHI vs Pressure says - this'll help figure out your "sweet spot" then set your machine at that pressure or with a tight range around it.

If you get Central Apneas (see your sleep study), having too high a pressure setting can trigger them, which causes the machine to boost the pressure, causing more centrals.

re the mask fit - I have problems occasionally with my UMFF leaking just below my eyes.

Good luck,

Andy

Disclaimer - I ain't no doc, just trying to make it through the night (asleep)...

I am going to see my sleep doc this week. I hope to get the details from my sleep study from last Dec from him. It was a different doc that I saw at the sleep study at the hospital. Hopefully this will help to determine where my machine should be set to. Being that the Dec sleep study apparently showed vastly different results then my home full week home titration study from last May did.

I have read several posts here regarding adjusting the Ultra Mirage FFM. I understand about the forehead adjustments and not pulling the straps so tight as to collapse the silicone cushion. The problem for me is that this adjustment is done at the beginning of the night with starting pressure of 7cm. The mask can be performing at this pressure but later in the night when the pressure is jacked up to 15-17cm it leaks like crazy and no amount of adjusting seems to fix it.

Although I wash my face before bed and the mask everyday as well, the oils from my face cause the silicone to become slippery. This along with the higher pressures through the night probably make attaining a good seal even more difficult. I may have to wash the mask and my face again at some point during the night in order to make this work. Another possibility is to have another mask to switch to after washing my face.

For Linda who asked what to do about the bridge of her nose

I use "Pink Tape" - which is latex free tape. Ask your Sleep Lab tech,
they will often give it to you. If not search on this forum I have posted the 800 number for the company in the past.

I cut a short piece off every night and tape it on the bridge of my nose.

You do not want that part of your nose to get raw and break the skin,
several Sleep MD's tell me that is not a good thing in any case.



(2) Can anyone tell me if the Mirage Quattro has a removable 90 degree elbow? Does it look like it is the same mounting and size as the elbow on the normal Mirage FFM?

I may want to substitute a different ResMed part on this mask and wonder if they look compatible.

Lubman

SICK=REALLy REALLy GOOD

sorry bout that, it wasnt good it was SICK good! thats what i meant, other slang terms "crazy good", etc...

Ok so apparently all those years of having untreated Apnea has caused intellectual deterioration.