mask troubles

Hey all, I'm back. My treatment is going ok. I did have to get a chin strap to hold my mouth shut. I can't do tape. I tried. My skin is sensitive to adhesives, and it tends to come off with the bandage if the adhesive is strong enough to hold the bandage on. Wouldn't want to loose my lips! I'm waking up rested, sort of. I still need more rest, but it's BETTER.

I have a problem with my comfort gel mask. It is soft enough, but I can't get it adjusted right. I have the small size. My nose is narrow and my eyes close set. The mask tends to get into the corner of my eyes. I hate that. It hurts. If I move it down to get it off my eyes the bottom of the mask is virtually sitting on my top lip (or in my mouth.) Heck, I could almost use this thing as a full face, but it's a little bit of a squeeze. What to do? I think I'd like to try nasal pillows. Do I have to get a prescription for that? Will it change the pressure setting of the cpap? My DME wondered if I needed a prescription for the chin strap. Well, they are billing my insurance. My insurance is renting the machine to buy. They are paying for it in full. WOW

I'm still waiting for the back surgery I was waitin for earlier (since mid May.) The doc says it's an outpatient thing and I won't need my cpap. hmmmm. I'm taking it. I have had to put back this surgery for a couple of other medical emergencies. I have been sedated twice this week already for diagnostic procedures. I was ok these times. I told the guys I use cpap and they gave me extra O2. I may snooze a little longer when they are actually cutting onto my body for the laminectomy. I have got to get medical clearance now. More waiting. All my biopsies haven't come back yet.

What to do about the mask? Is there a smaller one?

Oh, and my DME got me a "cool mist" humidifier. They are right. I wouldn't want to breathe hot air when I'm hot. I still wake up with the Sahara in my mouth if I open my mouth when I'm asleep. Does the cpap still keep the airway open if your mouth is open? Is the dryness the only problem with opening your mouth.

Hey, I have been having the awfullest taste in my mouth when I wake up too. It might be a medicine I'm taking. But yuck. What if it's the water in the humidifier or something. I clean it every day.

1. You don't need a prescription to get a new mask
2. No, you do not have to reset the pressure to use nasal pillows. Same pressure. Many folks think that nasal pillows work better than masks for high pressures, since with higher pressures the masks leak more. With more pressure, the nasal pillows just inflate/dilate more.
3. Take your CPAP and mask for ANY outpatient procedure, as well. My Spine Dr. always has me bring mine, and so does my ortho.

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): Nasal Pillows, Prescription

I think my pressure is fairly low. They set a 20 minute ramp for me, but I sometimes don't use the ramp because I feel like I'm suffocating. I like the c-flex feature. It's like the machine gauges how forcefully I exhale after a couple of breaths and I really get relief with the lowered pressure for exhaling. It's great.

I think my pressure is fairly low. They set a 20 minute ramp for me, but I sometimes don't use the ramp because I feel like I'm suffocating. I like the c-flex feature. It's like the machine gauges how forcefully I exhale after a couple of breaths and I really get relief with the lowered pressure for exhaling. It's great.

Is there a smaller mask for persons like me. My whole face is not that small, but my nose, mouth and eyes are clost together. (I always hated that feature, but oh well.)

I think my pressure is fairly low. They set a 20 minute ramp for me, but I sometimes don't use the ramp because I feel like I'm suffocating. I like the c-flex feature. It's like the machine gauges how forcefully I exhale after a couple of breaths and I really get relief with the lowered pressure for exhaling. It's great.

Is there a smaller mask for persons like me. My whole face is not that small, but my nose, mouth and eyes are close together. (I always hated that feature, but oh well.)

Are there like, child's sized masks?

I had to swap in the small comfort gel mask the DME gave me when they first set me up, for a petite.
I joked with DME that it was the FIRST petite ANYTHING I've ever had in my life!
I measured for a small - but had the same problem you are having - it was up in my eyes, or covering my whole upper lip and some lower too!
The petite works well.
Now I'm finding the same thing going on with my new Activa. I used the templates on a website and cut them out and looked in the mirror to be sure I was choosing the right size - and the standard size seemed perfect.
But alas, it is somehow bunching up at night and covering my nose and I wake up not getting air!
Sigh.
I bought a Breeze OOP and love it. My nose gets a bit sore, but other than that, its very nice.

well, I'm going to call them on Monday to check it out.

I had to do quite a bit of research to find a mask small enough for me and I did find the Profile Lite first in a petite size. Then as soon as the Comfort Gel was introduced my DME brought it out for me to try. They make a petite in that, too.

I would love to try an Activa, but their templates don't match up to a good fit for me. The shallow is the shortest, but it is much too wide near the eyes and then you have the leaks into the eyes. I have called customer service about their lack of appropriate sizing for women. Their response was that they didn't hear that complaint very often.

The Petite Comfort Gel should work fine for you. That's my mask, too.

sleeplesssue wrote:I still wake up with the Sahara in my mouth if I open my mouth when I'm asleep. Does the cpap still keep the airway open if your mouth is open? Is the dryness the only problem with opening your mouth.

Hey, I have been having the awfullest taste in my mouth when I wake up too. It might be a medicine I'm taking. But yuck. What if it's the water in the humidifier or something. I clean it every day.

Amazing what a diverse group we are, but still suffer many of the same problems.

I'm like sleeplesssue, who's apparently a mouth breather. My solution was to go with a FF mask a few weeks ago & I'm happier with it than the nasal mask I was using before, but obviously open my mouth during sleep, so still wake up with a mouthful of Sahara. My question is almost the same as Sue's: Does the CPAP still keep the airway open if air is being forced into your mouth as well as your nose? In her case, like mine with a nasal mask, it would seem she's probably exhaling only through her mouth, so the air is coming in her nose and right back out her mouth, where with the FF mask I'm both inhaling & exhaling through both my mouth & nose.

Also, I feed O2 into the CPAP hose before the humidifier. Do I need to be concerned with changing the CPAP pressure? Also, I currently have whatever is the standard hose (6' I think) coming out of the humidifier to the mask. I've been going to see if a longer hose is available - seems like I've seen them advertised somewhere. If I'm successful, should the CPAP pressure be increased to compensate for a longer hose?

Thanks. As always, any help is greatly appreciated.

Rol

P.S. Oh. The avatar is what I imagine I look like with my mask on. Just like Tom Cruise or Val Kilmer in Top Gun getting ready to do battle in their F-14s. In the interest of full disclosure, though, I should disclose that my wife doesn't agree!

Does the CPAP still keep the airway open if air is being forced into your mouth as well as your nose?

Yes, if you use a full face mask - covers nose and mouth, so that either route gets the treatment air in where it's supposed to go.
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In her case, like mine with a nasal mask, it would seem she's probably exhaling only through her mouth, so the air is coming in her nose and right back out her mouth, where with the FF mask I'm both inhaling & exhaling through both my mouth & nose.

Correct, rpalmer. The treatment air is detouring out of her mouth into the bedroom - not going where it's supposed to go (straight down to hold the thoat open.)

Oh, and my DME got me a "cool mist" humidifier. They are right. I wouldn't want to breathe hot air when I'm hot. I still wake up with the Sahara in my mouth if I open my mouth when I'm asleep.

Some people do fine with no humidifier or just a cold passover type like you have. However, a heated humidifier doesn't have to blow "hot" air at you. Warming the water just a leeeeetle bit (heat setting on low) does wonders to allow the air to pick up more moisture than it can passing over cold water.

Breathing humidified air is a lot easier on the nasal passages and the throat, and would almost surely help relieve mouth dryness if you end up using a Full Face mask. Mouths tend to get dry inside a FF mask, even with heated humidification, so don't rule "heated" out in the future thinking that it will be hot air.

The heat setting can be turned down very low. Can be turned off so it will work like your cool passive humidifier. Can even be disconnected from the machine altogether for no humidification. A heated humidifier gives one lots of options.

sleeplesssue...Hi...I also have to get a small mask and that has been a lot of my problems. I also find the headgear is made too big and have trouble with that too. The company I went to looked around until they found the smallest they could find and it has helped but still not quite right. I might have to sew it in the back to make it smaller. I also put pen marks where I tighten it so when I take it apart to clean it I will know exactly where it was comfortable for me.

As far as the lenght of the hose, cpap.com offers a 10' hose. I kept my 6' for now, and got a snuggle hose to cover it (I can't afford the Aussie cover). But the cpap.com description says, "The modest additional length does not cause a significant decrease in patient airway pressure."

The URL is: https://www.cpap.com/productpage/10-foo ... -ends.html

Interesting - I'm another one who had to trade in the small Comfort Gel (which my DME "fitted" me with) for a petite.

Last night I only got a good seal after I entirely loosened the head straps - if I were going to stay in one position, on my back, not turning to my side etc, it seems the mask would just stay put with maybe a teeny bit of weight. I think the head straps seem to be, really, only to keep the mask in place - to stop it from rolling off my face, rather than to press it against my face. This was with a newly-washed mask.

I'm going out - I should remember to get that Neutrogenia wash.

qrlylox, thanks for the observation about the Activa being wide at the eyes - do you think it'd have been better with a smaller activa?

I'm tempted to try the Breeze pillow thingies.

RPalmer, ha ha, you're Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer? lolol... My 3yo, with no prompting, calls the mask my Darth Vader ("Vader" for short).

qrlylox, thanks for the observation about the Activa being wide at the eyes - do you think it'd have been better with a smaller activa?

Unfortunately there is no "small" Activa. The closest to "small" that the Activa comes in...at least when thinking of "small" as being the vertical fit from bridge of nose down to under the nostrils... is the "shallow". The shallow is a bit wider than the standard from side to side, but shorter than the standard from top to bottom.

When I say "wider and shorter", it's just a small bit of difference in the shape of the cushion itself - how it's cut out inside. There's not a huge difference in the inside dimensions of the "shallow" compared to the "standard". But sometimes just a tiny difference in shape or cut of the cushion at the top can make all the difference in the world to stopping leaks up toward the eyes, or being comfortable on the bridge of the nose.

The outer plastic frame of the Activa is just one size...you can put any of the three cushion sizes (shallow, standard, large) into the plastic shell of the Activa.

I can use either the shallow or standard Activa cushion. I prefer the shallow even though I have a small nose - not wide at all, nor flat. Wider, flatter noses are what the "shallow" was designed for, but hey, it works well on me. I like the shallow cushion's slightly shorter up/down dimension. "Shallow" is roomier feeling along the sides of the nostrils. I like that about it, too.

If a person has a rather prominent bridge to the nose, "shallow" wouldn't work very well. Otherwise, I think the "shallow" Activa would suit better than the "standard" for most women with an "average size, average features woman's face".

The other two sizes the Activa comes in are "standard" and "large". Similar shape to each other, just the large is...well, larger.

Unfortunately, the mask designers seem to have only their biggest market in mind - men. It can be difficult for women with smaller faces to find a nasal mask (covers the nose.) Nasal pillows masks usually work ok for men or women, although women still sometimes have to make modifications to the man-size headgear!