Newbie with questions

Hi everyone. I am so glad I found this forum. I have been using the fullface comfort gel mask for about 8 days now. i go to bed about 10 and lay awake till about midnight when I finally fall asleep. About 2 am I wake up with the mask leaking. I try to reset it by lifting it up off my face and than setting it back down. it never seems to seal again. After about an hour I give up and take it off. My face is cleaned before I go to bed and I don't use any night time moisturizers. I am so tired. My doctor tells me it takes about a month to get used to it but I don't know if I should try a new mask or not. This was the only FF mask my DME carried. I was looking into trying the Mirage Liberty FF mask with nasal pillows but don't know how to pick a size. I am a side and back sleeper. I also don't know if another FF mask would be better. I am sensitive to noise and thought the Liberty looked good because it didn't take up the whole face. I need a FF mask because I am a mouth breather. My setting is at 8. Any help or guidance would be very appreciated. Thank you.

I was looking into trying the Mirage Liberty FF mask with nasal pillows but don't know how to pick a size.

Hello and welcome to this greast place!

you can go to CPAP.COM and check out the mask-sizing thread;

https://www.cpap.com/cpap-mask-sizing.php

I did use the that mask sizing guide but it doesn't list the masks with the nasal pillows so it didn't help me with the Liberty unless I am missing something.

I tried many masks and settled on a very popular one, that at first I dismissed right away because it looked so weird! I use the ComfortLite 2.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/Comfor ... -Mask.html

I finally tried it because there were so many people here on the forum that liked it. I also tried the Headrest, but haven't found it to work as well for me. The Headrest is very popular, and many use it after a few fixes (lab rat) to make it work better.

Most people need to stabilize the nasal pillow part of the mask to keep the pillows in contact with the nose. Read through this thread and you will see the lab rat fixes used on the Headrest. I only need one strap to stabilize the nasal piece for the ComfortLite 2, and even then don't usually use one.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=35172&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... p&start=15

I used an unpopular nasal mask for a year and finally went to a nasal mask. I didn't like the first one I tried because it didn't seem as if I was getting enough air. I thought it was because of the nasal pillow's small holes. It turns out I had used too small a size and needed to increase the size of the nasal pillows so that the pillow part puffed up when filled with air around the outside of my nose, versus using the smaller size that went further into my nares.

Hope this helps : )

yellowrose wrote:Hi everyone. I am so glad I found this forum. I have been using the fullface comfort gel mask for about 8 days now. i go to bed about 10 and lay awake till about midnight when I finally fall asleep. About 2 am I wake up with the mask leaking. I try to reset it by lifting it up off my face and than setting it back down. it never seems to seal again. After about an hour I give up and take it off. My face is cleaned before I go to bed and I don't use any night time moisturizers. I am so tired. My doctor tells me it takes about a month to get used to it but I don't know if I should try a new mask or not. This was the only FF mask my DME carried. I was looking into trying the Mirage Liberty FF mask with nasal pillows but don't know how to pick a size. I am a side and back sleeper. I also don't know if another FF mask would be better. I am sensitive to noise and thought the Liberty looked good because it didn't take up the whole face. I need a FF mask because I am a mouth breather. My setting is at 8. Any help or guidance would be very appreciated. Thank you.

YellowRose,
If you want to go with a hybrid and don't know what size you are... go with a Hybrid (that's the name of the mask) instead of a Liberty. A Hybrid (especially when you get the full kit which you get when you order it online) comes with ALL sizes included.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage.php?PNum=2204&PAID=301

Gasp I won't be able to use the comfort lite II because I need a FF mask due to being a mouth breather. Thanks for the info though.

Hi, Yellowrose,

Welcome to the forum.

It takes most of us a while to get used to sleeping with a plastic thing which blows air at you all night long. For me, it was 6 weeks before I could do it all night, every night. But I increased my time steadily over that period. So hang in there and keep using it every night for as long as you can and you'll get there.

I tried the Liberty and found it to be very loud. I sleep on my side and my stomach have found the Fisher and Paykel Flexifit 432 to work best for me. (https://www.cpap.com/productpage/FlexiF ... aykel.html)

If you aren't sure what size seal insert you need, you might try a Flexifit 431 first (https://www.cpap.com/productpage/FlexiF ... aykel.html). It comes with all three seal sizes, but doesn't have the big gray inner cushion. Some people like not having the cushion, but I've found that I need it. I even put the cushion inside the seal when I used the 431.... But I think there are more people who like the 431 than the 432, so you might give it a try first.

I am confused on something with the Hybrid. It has a chin strap...is this to keep your mouth closed? I thought because it had a mouthpiece you could breathe through your mouth with this which is what I want.

Yellowrose,
It doesn't keep me from mouth breathing... it's more like a gentle reminder (or some kind of mask stablizer)... but my lips will still open.

The Hybrid is pretty much like the Liberty - so yes it does have a mouth piece and a separate nasal pillows interface. It also has a built-in chin flap, which the Liberty doesn't have.

If your DME doesn't carry the Liberty, you should ask them if they can order one anyway. Alternatively, me and fortommorow are running mask test drives on the liberty. Mine is the large, and fortomorrow's is the small. PM one or both of and we will put you on the list to try out the liberty. You can find more info here: mask test drives. There's also a Hybrid test drive from pjwalman.

There's a liberty sizing guide - download it from here. You have to print it out.

So my hybrid came tonight. It already seems much better than the FF Comfort gel. I got the hybrid set up and have been messing with it a bit. There seems to be some nose leaks with the small so maybe tonight when I wear it I will use the mediums with the lanolin cream. It is hard to even tell if there is a leak because it is not the same hurricane winds that you get with the Comfort gel leaks. The hybrid chin strap seems a little annoying but nothing compared to the forehead piece on the Comfort Gel. Is that chin guard there so you get a good seal? I don't even notice hardly any air going through my nose is that because I only have a pressure of 8 or because I am breathing through my mouth? It doesn't seem like many people like the comfort gel yet when you look at CPAP.com it is like the highest percent of masks sold. Anyway here is to hopefully a good night. Maybe i can get at least 3 hours sleep tonight. Forgot to add it is so nice not having leaks into my eyes.

yellowrose wrote:So my hybrid came tonight. It already seems much better than the FF Comfort gel. I got the hybrid set up and have been messing with it a bit. There seems to be some nose leaks with the small so maybe tonight when I wear it I will use the mediums with the lanolin cream. It is hard to even tell if there is a leak because it is not the same hurricane winds that you get with the Comfort gel leaks. The hybrid chin strap seems a little annoying but nothing compared to the forehead piece on the Comfort Gel. Is that chin guard there so you get a good seal? I don't even notice hardly any air going through my nose is that because I only have a pressure of 8 or because I am breathing through my mouth? It doesn't seem like many people like the comfort gel yet when you look at CPAP.com it is like the highest percent of masks sold. Anyway here is to hopefully a good night. Maybe i can get at least 3 hours sleep tonight. Forgot to add it is so nice not having leaks into my eyes.

Last night was terrible. The nose leaked and the where the straps attach to the mouth piece hurt my face. I don't know what to do anymore. It has been 11 days and I just want to sleep.

I tried to get the liberty to work because it did seem so nice when I first put it on and turned on my machine. After a few minutes when I rolled on to my side the nose pillows started to leak and I could not keep them from leaking. I gave up on that mask. Now I get to grow my mustache back . I am using the Mirage Quattro and it works pretty well. I am just trying to find the perfect mask, which I think will be an ongoing thing. I also have had pretty good luck with the Ultra Mirage Full Face. Right now the Quattro seems to be working better, but neither is perfect. If you can get your DME to let you try either of those masks they might do the trick. I had to mess around with strap tightness and mask position for a while to get either of them to work, but I can now get a good nights sleep with them. It seems to me that a few more people have had luck with the Quattro but almost as many prefer the UMFF. Since I started reading the forum it also seems to me that one of these masks works for someone and the other doesn't. The quest for the proper mask is the big thing in making this therapy work. Since you did say that yuor DME only has the Comfort Gel, you might need to bid on one at cpapauction.com in order to get one at a better price. I wish that the DME's and insurance realized that the key to successful therapy is the mask. I spent considerable money on masks before I found out that my sleep test center would let me try masks free for a week. They even know I won't be getting it from them since my insurance doesn't use them as a DME. I know I am fortunate to have this resource available.

Dale

yellowrose wrote:

yellowrose wrote:So my hybrid came tonight. It already seems much better than the FF Comfort gel. I got the hybrid set up and have been messing with it a bit. There seems to be some nose leaks with the small so maybe tonight when I wear it I will use the mediums with the lanolin cream. It is hard to even tell if there is a leak because it is not the same hurricane winds that you get with the Comfort gel leaks. The hybrid chin strap seems a little annoying but nothing compared to the forehead piece on the Comfort Gel. Is that chin guard there so you get a good seal? I don't even notice hardly any air going through my nose is that because I only have a pressure of 8 or because I am breathing through my mouth? It doesn't seem like many people like the comfort gel yet when you look at CPAP.com it is like the highest percent of masks sold. Anyway here is to hopefully a good night. Maybe i can get at least 3 hours sleep tonight. Forgot to add it is so nice not having leaks into my eyes.

Last night was terrible. The nose leaked and the where the straps attach to the mouth piece hurt my face. I don't know what to do anymore. It has been 11 days and I just want to sleep.

I hear you when you say "I just want to sleep". I hope you get some soon. Keep up the good work and you'll find a mask that works for you. I remember going through mask after mask - I like my current one but that's not to say that I'm not always on the lookout for the 'dream' mask : )

Hi Yellowrose,

I've been an APAP user for about 8 months now - and initially experienced a lot of what you're experiencing now.

I'm probably one of the lucky ones in that I've pretty much taken to it (psychologically) "like a duck to water", but having said that I've also come across quite a few obstacles (and found solutions) in the process. I'm hoping that some of my solutions might be helpful to you and others ...

First up, my therapist gave me a nasal mask, but as a mouth breather, I found the pressure difference very uncomfortable and remember thinking "why on earth would anyone want to use a nasal mask". So she switched me to a liberty mask (covers mouth and has two "over-sized straws" that stick up my nose - absolutely ridiculous device. At some point I tried an oral-only device, but that turned out to be the worst of all (unbelieveably dry mouth even with the humidifier on full). Next we tried the Mirage Quattro (size small) - major improvement - but I ended up with a sore on the bridge of my nose that needed about 2 to 3 days to heal, but never got the chance because I was wearing the mask every night. In the end I tried the Mirage Quattro size medium - and met with instant success in the mask department.

Reason I mention all of this is not to rubbish the other masks (I'm sure they all work well for a lot of people), but to emphasize the point that we're all different - getting the right mask is absolutely vital - and that it may take a bit of time to "get it right".

As a follow up to the mask, I've recently made another discovery - now that I've been on the machine for quite a few months, I've actually turned in to a nose breather - my jaw is "higher" at night - and now I'm thinking of giving the small size full face mask another go - reason I mention this is that I think it's important to keep re-evaluating what's best for you - don't give up.

With the mask sorted, I've gone on to develop a whole host of tips and techniques that work for me - some of them might work for you, so I'll mention them here ...

1. I get easily annoyed by unnecessary air sounds - and the pivoting elbow joint that connects the hose to the mask would leak a bit of high-pressure air (it really needs a seal) - I cured this problem by wrapping a couple of turns of wax dental floss around the insert (as a makeshift washer) - worked (and continues to work) PERFECTLY!

2. The machine itself was a little too noisy for my liking (when beside me on a bedside cabinet) - so I stuck it right underneath the bed - problem solved.

3. The hose running up the side of the bed was a major PITA (Pain In The A**) - so now I route it via the back of the bed, and simply pass the hose under one of the head straps - also means I can turn over without getting caught up in the hose - works like a charm for me.

4. I often get an itch somewhere on my face under the mask - taking the mask off to have a scratch is another PITA - solution? I keep an icecream stick near the bed (easy to slide under the mask and "hit the spot").

5. Even though I have the humidifier, I don't like hot air (especially in summer) - the solution - leave the humidifier switched off and fill the chamber with cold water - and even pop the removeable chamber in the fridge for an hour or two before I go to bed - the result? crisp/cool air

Reason I mention these is that I think it's important to not just give up on things that aren't right - think them through - work on them one at a time (or all at once) - and find solutions that work for you (no matter how "goofy" they might appear). If you try something new - and it doesn't work - then at least you've got an education and can move on to try something else.

I think the psychological side is equally important - personally, I've taken the attitude that although the thought of sleeping with a mask every night for the rest of my life doesn't overly excite me, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages many fold. Consider the following ...

a) Some people think that it must be uncomfortable sleeping with a mask on all night - but when you get it right, it's no problem at all - BECAUSE YOU'RE ASLEEP!

b) If it's a cold night you can TOTALLY disappear under the covers - and still have an endless supply of fresh air!

c) If you want to sleep in - but it's getting a bit bright in the room you can stick a pillow over your head (or duck under the covers) to keep things nice and dark.

d) If your partner has a bad case of "birdcage breath" in the morning, you can't even smell it!

Personally, I look forward to a good nights sleep - and surprisingly - I'm in no great hurry to take it off in the morning (I actually prefer the easier breathing when it's going).

I hope you find hope and encouragement in the above - on one hand I hope you don't give up, but on the other hand, I also hope that you don't just put up with aspects of your therapy that aren't right for you - work on them and find solutions that work for YOU! It may take some time - it may cost a bit of money - but it's worth it in the end!

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Colin