Just Got a Liberty Mask

I just slept with it for the first night last night. I had a Mirage Quatro and switched b/c I would talk it off in the middle of the night. So after the 3 months my insurance requires me to get a new mask, I thought I would try the Liberty.

At first I thought it was going to be great. Now I'm not so sure. I know, I know...I need to give it more time. Really I just have a quick question. The only problem I had was the the upper rim of the mouth part (the part that seals b/t your nose and upper lip) seemed like it was too large. The bottom the seal rested on my upper lip. They gave me a large mask and I am wondering if going back and getting a smaller size would fix this. Or if I just don't have enough space there for this mask to work for me.

Thanks.

The seal is supposed to surround your lips not touch them.

Well last night was my second night. Started off well. Got to sleep quicker but rolled over to my back at about 3 am and got hit with a gush of water! I had the hose up over the head board(about 3 feet) to try and prevent rainout. I guess I will have to turn down my humidity. Needless to say I was pretty pissed off and tried to fall back asleep with the Liberty but the seals were all wet and the upper seal was irritating my skin b/t my nose and lips. ( I have a goatee and a healing zit at the moment). So I put on my Quattro and slept the rest of the night without waking up (very rare for me...In 3 months I have only had a few nights where I didn't wake up). Im starting to think the liberty is not for me but will give it more time. My mail discomfort is it feels like a lot of pressure on the upper seal even if it is not that tight.

I feel your pain and frustration. I am a CPAP newbie, going on 1 1/2 weeks, and still trying to get used to CPAP. My first mask was a Quattro which kept on leaking and caused me forehead marks and red nose bridge. Decided to try the Liberty which I am liking but still trying to get adjusted to it's quirks. Last night, I got a leak from one of the nostrils which was easily fixed by turned off the CPAP and re-adjusting. The first night, I did have the humidifier set to 3 which caused me to feel some nose drips. Over the next few nights, I have set the humidifier to 1 1/2 which is much better. They initial gave me a mask with medium sized nose plugs. These leaked a lot and caused a lot of wind noise. Luckily, I found in the bag a larger pair which fit my big nose just perfectly.

Some people have recommended applying some breast cream to ones nose to help prevent irritation and to provide a better seal. I am determined to make the Liberty work as it feels better on my face and does not leak when on my side.

Just hang in there as we are all going through a lot of frustration and adjustments. To help me sleep, I have also been taking Tylenol PM which is helping me get used to CPAP.

If it's any consolation, many of us have half-a-dozen or so masks gathering dustbunnies in our closets. Rejects from the initial mask-roulette game.

You can often buy a "nearly-new tried and didn't work" mask on cpapauction.com for about the same as your co-pay. That's how I got several of mine. (Actually, I SHOULD put some of them back up for auction, I guess.) I know the thought of "used" makes many people shudder, but you can--and should--thoroughly wash every part of a mask, new or used, before using it. If you are still squeamish, consider what some sage on here wisely said: "When you go to a restaurant, do you ever use their forks?"

You never know when you'll pull out one of those dustbunnies though. I had to use one when I was getting irritation from my latest mask candidate.

Right you are! I have an Optilife and a roll of "mouth-tape" in my bedside drawer...just in case. I would never get rid of that.

LinkC wrote:You can often buy a "nearly-new tried and didn't work" mask on cpapauction.com for about the same as your co-pay. That's how I got several of mine. (Actually, I SHOULD put some of them back up for auction, I guess.) I know the thought of "used" makes many people shudder, but you can--and should--thoroughly wash every part of a mask, new or used, before using it. If you are still squeamish, consider what some sage on here wisely said: "When you go to a restaurant, do you ever use their forks?"

I hadn't thought of it quite that way before, Link. Some nights on nasal pillows can seem a lot like sleeping with a fork up one's nose!

There are also times when you just have to send those forks back to the kitchen and get a different one!