Mask for mouth-breathing, side-sleeping, guy with goatee.

If this has been discussed at length in the past, I apologize for my lacking search skills. I found many posts regarding mouth breathing and many regarding facial hair, but none covering both. If I've missed a thread on the topic, please direct me there.

Last Thursday, after putting it off for about a year, I finally asked my doctor to refer me to a sleep center to get the official diagnosis. The following Monday, I saw the sleep doctor who agreed I was a prime candidate for OSA and he scheduled a sleep study for this past Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning. I must have done quite well as I was in a mask and going through the titration part shortly after midnight. Being a mouth breather, I was given a full face mask. I'm not sure which flavor it was, but it was not entirely unlike the Mirage Quattro or Ultra Mirage. I do know it was a medium as I fell between medium and small on the size chart and the technician suggested a medium. Not having any particular experience, it seemed acceptable, although I did experience a bit of dry eye which perhaps could have been avoided by going to the small. (Being 6'4" and of the typical girth of many OSA sufferers, I can't recall the last time a size medium was on the table, let alone something described as "small" even being a consideration.)

I've already made a short story long, so to cut to the chase. I have my follow-up appointment with the sleep doctor this coming Monday. I have little doubt I will receive a prescription for the usual contraption and promptly be thrust into the thrilling ride of finding that certain mask that provides the glorious repose for which one so desperately longs. As the mouth-breathing (due to chronic allergies and most likely just habit), goatee-adorned (I suppose technically it is a Van Dyke, as it has both the mustache and the beard, connected in the common fashion), side-sleeping sort of fellow I am, would anyone be so kind as to recommend a mask or two with which to start in hopes of finding a satisfactory model sooner rather than later?

I look forward to your responses and any insight provided as I start down this path.

i was a mouth breather before cpap but not since i started treatment. i think i only had my mouth open to snore. it would be worth trying nasal pillows to see if they work before you go to a ffm. that way it wouldnt interfere with the beard, and i sleep on my side with a swift fx all the time. i have never tried a ffm, just something i thing would be worth a try before you buy your equipment. if you still breath trough your mouth while on cpap i dont have any mask suggestions for you, having never used a ffm i have no idea what works.

I wear a full beard and moustache, although through my time on CPAP I have at times only had a Van Dke, and I do quite well with the Ultra Mirage FF. It took some time to get used to sleeping on my side with the mask, but with a little adjustment on my pillow I have make it work quite well.

I sport a goatee and use a nasal mask, I was not a mouth breather but started after about a week and a half after starting. Last night before going to bed I made my self a home made chin strap and it seemed to take care of the breathing through the mouth.

Thanks for the responses. I'll have to see what happens with a nasal mask only. Handgunner45, I'll keep the Ultra MIrage in mind as well.

I sleep on my side and sometimes my stomach & have a goatee, and the most comfortable masks I've tried so far are the Fisher & Paykel HC407, and its successor called the 'Zest'. I like that it has the 'Glider Strap' so the mask stays in place while I move around in bed. Also, something about the 'Frosted Silicon Seal' feels MUCH better against my goatee hair than the clear silicon seals on the ResMed Ultra Mirage II and ResMed Mirage Micro masks that I tried. The ResMed non-frosted ones didn't make as good a seal against my goatee, which isn turn tickled me. I use this in conjunction with a chin strap to control a problem with mouth breathing.

Check out the pics of the 'Glider Strap' and 'Frosted Silicon Seal' on the HC407 - legit features that work for me:

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/fisher ... -mask.html

Haven't decided if I like the HC407 or Zest better - they're very similar. Zest is a little easier to take apart to clean.

The Mirage Quattro is worth trying. I only have a mustache these days, so I don't fit all your criteria, but I get along fine sleeping on my side with that. The right pillow can be an issue, and there are lots of opinions on that.

I'm adding my two cents mostly to comment on how many of us are surprised by the size Quattro that fits us best. I'm a big guy too, used to XLs and XXLs, but medium fits fine in a Quattro mask. The size is based on the distance from the bridge of your nose to the recessed area between your lower lip and chin, which doesn't seem to correlate very strongly with inseam or hat size. Many people end up using a smaller mask size than they would have guessed.