FullLife Review/Nose bridge Update WAS:FullLife experience

Since I did not make the product challenge, but managed to get a FullLife mask through my DME, thought I would share my experiences so far with the FullLife mask. I am on my third night, replacing a Liberty mask that constantly leaked from the right nostril.

I went to my (small) DME provider and they had a sample from the sales rep. I managed to snag all three cushions, although i did not get a sizing guide.

After trial, I have found that the medium cushion is the correct size. I have had minimal problems with leakage, although it is helpful to watch the videos on the FullLife website.

The first night my leak rate plummeted (I have just gotten the ResScan software and will be asking questions about my numbers soon enough). I had minimal leakage the second night, but apparently more than the first night. However, my partner reports that she no longer has to wake me up to ask me to roll over because the leaking was bothering her. I rarely woke up when she asked me to roll over, but i have come to find out that it was a fairly regular occurrence!

The mask itself is easy to clean because it does not have two layers of silicone like the resmed masks, which I find harder to clean. the mask itself slips out of the frame easily (but not too easily) and goes back together with minimal effort, and with positive feedback that the mask is back together properly. (what I mean by this is that if you follow the re-assembly instructions it is easy to put the mask back together AND tell that it is assembled correctly).

So far my only trouble is pressure on the bridge of my nose. I have tried adjusting the chin strap and allowing the mask to ride up higher on my face, but I did not adjust all of the straps last night (i.e., re-fit the mask) so I woke up with a near blister and three blood-red dots on the bridge of my nose this morning.

I don't feel pressure with the mask on in that area, but since it's happened two nights in a row, I think I may have to try moleskin on the mask to prevent breakdown on my nose. Hopefully that will not affect the seal of the mask.

I did order some clips from cpap.com to make the mask easier to remove, but they were bigger than I anticipated and they made the neckstrap way too long for me. Plus, the clips themselves weren't that easy to manipulate, so I am going to skip them altogether. The mask is easy enough to remove by loosening one or both ends of the neckstrap, pulling the back and top of the headgear over your head, and then removing the neckstrap over your head (again, as recommended on the FullLife site).

Pros:
Headgear that fits my head like a glove - I have a large head and headgear without a top strap tends to slide down the back of my head, and the Liberty headgear tended not to lay flat on my head... no problem here!

One piece silicone mask that is easy to remove for cleaning and re-assembly. the mask frame is made of a semi-rigid plastic that should be flexible enough not to break with wear and tear (as the liberty clip sites tended to do, in my experience)

Good seal with minimal to no leakage when following the instructions from the FullLife website.

Cons:
top of the nose area of the mask apparently puts pressure on the bridge of my nose... It really is hard to understand this as 1) I did not feel pressure there at all until today, and that is only because my nose is so sore and tender from last night; and 2) the pressure is from an area of the mask that is simply silicone... the sides of the nose on the mask are braced with silicone "bars" for some rigidity there, but the pressure I experience is right at the bridge of the nose.

Overall, I would give this mask a 7 out of ten, only to be improved by a clip in the headgear and not putting pressure on my nose.

I believe I have slept better with the mask both nights and have awakened more refreshed than I have in a LOOOONG time.

If anyone has any other questions about the mask or my experience with it (or suggestions for my nose) please advise and I will do my best to answer them.

UPDATE: Last night, I loosened the chin strap and made sure the mask was resting just below my lower lip, in the area between the lip and chin, not on the chin itself. It seems like that MAY have helped with the bridge of nose friction/pressure issue. However, since I am currently band-aiding a nasty open sore there, there's no way to tell for sure. It just seems that in this new position, the "fold" of the silicone on the nose bridge occurs right between the eyebrows. I still used flannel and a band-aid last night, so we shall see how this works out.

I am really hoping that the sore on my nose heals by the 19th for my 20th HS reunion... just imagine the questions if it doesn't!

Good luck and sweet dreams!

Nice review. I'm currently using that mask as well and I know others are to and have had the same nose problem.(myself included) I don't quite understand it either. I am using moleskin and that seems to help but even after 1 whole week i've still got a sore spot albeit not as sore as before. I'm wondering if your nose just has to toughen up since it's not used to a mask?? --Just an FYI the sizing guide for the mask cushions was on the package itself very top part of the packaging--it had 3 cutouts.

I don't think I wound up with the entire package since I got the DME's package.

Great review ,I just ordered my Full life this week and won't be getting it till the end of the month (insurance) . I'm getting it mainly because it has the same head gear as my Optilife and allergy season is here ,which means major congestion. thanks for the great review!

RE: Bridge of nose problem - I used a couple of small squares of flannel fabric from my scrap bin last night and woke up this morning with less redness in the nose area (I think) than I went to bed with. I am going to try using this system (thanks to the pad-a-cheek site, I realized this might not cause leaking) instead of putting moleskin on the mask for the time being.