Size Matters - Part 2

Although I am embarrassed to confess this,I will if it helps someone who is struggling with mask fit. We've been at this for over a year and I feel Mike has been successful in his therapy with low AHIs and feeling much better except that we've never been able to adequately address the mask leaks although we knew the UMFF was the best fit for Mike after trying many others. So we've been resigned to leak rates of 49-55 with lots of fiddling and very snug straps(manual says 40-42) and lots of reassurance here. I happened to reread Carbonman's Odyssey of the Mask the other day where he stated that he decided to try a small size UM mask after using a medium for a long while and that made all the difference for him. It was then that I realized with regret that in all the early turmoil and confusion Mike was never really measured properly by the DME, she just eyeballed him and said, he's a Medium. All the other masks we tried and failed with were also a Medium. So using Den's suggestions regarding mask measurements and cpap.com's sizing guide, I really measured Mike's face carefully several times and lo and behold he falls within the small parameters. We were able to purchase an unused small UM and he has slept the last 4 nights comfortably with no fiddling,no tight straps,no face marks and low leak rate. I thought I was finally graduated from "newbie school" but not so, I still have much to learn. I hope this helps someone else. Make sure your measurements are correct. Dori

Mike is sooo lucky to have you! I've been here a bit longer than you have and I am still learning!

Brenda

That's wonderful Dori! I admire your ability to keep questioning and learning, and then sharing with us. You are one of my heroes at this forum.

KatieW wrote

That's wonderful Dori! I admire your ability to keep questioning and learning, and then sharing with us. You are one of my heroes at this forum.

Dori is also one of my heroes. Her husband Mike has to be one of the luckiest men on this planet.

Dori, this is a wonderful testimonial to staying and reading the threads here! I learn so much here and it makes my life as a hosehead easier in many ways. Plus, I need the inspiration of my forum family.

I'm glad Mike's mask issues have been reduced, should make life a bit more pleasant!

DoriC wrote: I thought I was finally graduated from "newbie school" but not so, I still have much to learn. I hope this helps someone else. ... Dori

Dori, my dear, you have definitely graduated from newbie status. You are one of the learned ones here. Your knowledge/experience as helped me a great deal. You've just demonstrated the need for all of us to keep learning and growing. That's an important lesson, too.

Here's wishing you and Mike many peaceful nights.

I went from large to medium after a proper measurement. Solved my leakage problems and now I can set my pressure up to what the sleep study recomended.
Cpap sells the Templates in their Comfort Accessories section and they are inexpensive.

cinco777 wrote:

Her husband Mike has to be one of the luckiest men on this planet.

I guess this should tell you something about the guy I married and who the lucky one is. It's surely not that he's rich because believe me, I wouldn't be doing this even if he were The Donald. Well, maybe? Thanks for the kind words, keeps me strong. Dori

Dori, great to hear you're able to cut down on the leakage with the smaller mask. But just curious, what are the leakage rates now?

That's wonderful Dori--I too was fitted at my DME for a medium for the hybrid mask i'm using, when I got home --I remeasured because i couldn't get the darned thing to stop leaking and low and behold I was actually a small. It pays sometimes to be 1 up on your DME.
and Dori--you are an inspiration for me too. Good luck with you hubby--Thanks to you he's doing so much better-- I'm also an advocate for my hubby as well--infact that's why I first came to the forum--of course we know now that I have SA too.

Gary,It's now around 45 lpm with a nice even zipper pattern which is very good for him as he moves around quite a bit when his hip gives him trouble. He also seems to be more comfortable with a little more air flow than the recommended leak rate of about 40 lpm. I think because the medium was too big it shifted when he turned and recorded those up/down spikes. We'll take what we can get. Looking forward to your report on the sleep study. It should be interesting.

Hi Karessa, I hope things are working out for both of you. I can't even imagine it. And isn't it great to get that "ah hah" moment when you know you've figured out a problem like the wrong mask or size? I think you mentioned it before but what happened with the UMFF?

DoriC wrote:Hi Karessa, I hope things are working out for both of you. I can't even imagine it. And isn't it great to get that "ah hah" moment when you know you've figured out a problem like the wrong mask or size? I think you mentioned it before but what happened with the UMFF?

Dori I'm still using it, however I'm sleeping better with the hybrid so i'm not knocking it. I do have fewer leaks i think with the UMFF but if I can sleep better with the other mask i think it's worth it. What's interesting is at first I was dead set against using any kind of nasal pillows or hybrid thinking it would be hard on my nose and my nosebleed issues etc. I was so wrong! I'm really liking it and again i'm sleeping much better. My numbers seem to remain good. By the way--the pressure sores on nose and forehead have all healed. and I did have to switch the other night to the UMFF because the other mask for some reason was leaking--to make a long story short--it didn't bother me in the slightest--I think the problem was the other mask was making the sore and when I switched to the UMFF it was aggrivating an existing problem.

Dori, you just saved us a ton of grief. My husband has worn the same size mask for 9 years, and he leaks constantly. Now that we are starting from scratch to manage his therapy with the help of this forum, your telling us your experience spares us yet another pothole. You are my hero too. Your encouragement and tips keep us going. Mike is a most fortunate man, indeed.

You know, I think I'm going to revisit my FullLife Small this weekend!

DORI ROCKS!