After night with Cpap. Finding breathing is different in am

freepostg wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Your doctor is an idiot. Presuming you have your mask selection set correctly in you machine and you have a machine that has leak compensation (and you do), your machine will deliver the required air pressure.


Den

I wouldn't call him an idiot Den. I think reading between the lines, he was getting to the fact that he feels that the tendency for leaks with the ff masks are somewhat greater than nasal masks and thusly, when one who doesn't check their efficacy numbers...(as most of those on cpap still do not), a higher pressure tends to be required if one is consistently leaking. Given this...from what I've been reading...people have tended to struggle a little more with ff masks than nasals..re. the leak factor.

WARNING! Rant coming.......

From my 3 years of reading these forums, by far the biggest "leak problems" occur with people who wear nasal masks.......the air goes out their mouths......they don't know it and then wonder why their therapy has all of a sudden quit working (if it ever did). The usual excuse for wearing a nasal mask is "claustrophobia"......however, IMO, by the time the users get themselves all taped/strapped/sealed up, they might as well be wearing full face masks.

How many users do you think give up therapy because they're mouth-leaking and don't know it? They can't feel any improvement from their therapy, so why the Hell continue with this stupid nightly ritual?
Usually (because they were given the cheapest, non-data-capable machine and cheapest nasal mask) if or when they go back to their doctor and complain that their therapy isn't working, the doctor usually just bumps up their pressure.......and the problem continues at a higher pressure.......

Heck, I've even seen numerous forum members come back and wonder what's wrong with their therapy. You'd think that if a person has been reading the forums for any length of time that they'd have read threads about mouth-leaking and mouth-breathing......apparently not.

So, my feelings about some of these things have been jaded by my exposure to them on the forums. And, when I see one of these threads on a forum (any forum) and everybody starts telling the person to "go back and see their doctor".......I come "unglued" (especially when it's so obvious).

Sorry, but this is a sore subject with me......I've seen too much of it.

Den

sorry..I should have been more specific...I was referring to "mask leaks"...not the prevalence of mouth leaks...
I think my doc was also referring to same...I agree with the frequency of leaks being the greatest through the mouth...but when comparing nasal and ff...don't you think people tend to have more trouble keeping the ff from leaking compared to keeping a nasal from leaking?
If this is the case, then I would rather struggle with a nasal via chin straps and tape as opposed to struggling with a ff that's more prone to leak..

freepostg wrote:sorry..I should have been more specific...I was referring to "mask leaks"...not the prevalence of mouth leaks...
I think my doc was also referring to same...I agree with the frequency of leaks being the greatest through the mouth...but when comparing nasal and ff...don't you think people tend to have more trouble keeping the ff from leaking compared to keeping a nasal from leaking?
If this is the case, then I would rather struggle with a nasal via chin straps and tape as opposed to struggling with a ff that's more prone to leak..

I think it's probably an even split. This whole topic is subjective. I was lucky enough to have excellent success with the very first full face mask I selected (UMFF)......and haven't needed to look further......although I eventually got curious and acquired a couple of others. Some people can wear them and some can't (seem to).
Same thing with every other type of mask.....full face or nasal. Also, to use the term "nasal" is kind of a misnomer, too.....as there are different types of nasal masks......prongs, pillows, masks, etc.

Face shape (and adjustment) has a lot to do with full face mask success. I think the shape of a person's nares has a lot to do with which types of nasal masks they can use, too.

In the end......"leaking" is "leaking"......regardless of where it occurs and can be detrimental to one's therapy.


Den