ALWAYS KEEP TRYING, NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!!

I have been trying so hard in the last 6 months to find a mask that would work for me,I have tried every mask and pillow on the market with no luck.I simply could not get mt AHI down any lower than 16-22!!!! finally last night i decided to raise my pressure from 9 to 10 and see if that helped. Well, it most certainly did!!!!
I had an AHI this morning of 0.2 !!!!!!! I have never changed my machine before but I have tried so hard and seemed to be getting no answers.I am so happy this morning that I have reached my goal of an AHI of less than 5.
Now if i can get the leaks out of my fitlife mask I will be very happy. It seems to curve at the forehead and my forehead does not. i have tried all other masks and pillows but they don't work for me because of my allergies. and suggestions on how to stop the fit life from leaking?
By the way, again I am so happy!!!! baby steps along the way! I feel great this morning!!!!!

Hi Sister,

I've read your saga on the other forum and I'm glad to hear things are finally going in a positive direction for you! As I recall you've been on CPAP with a data capable machine for 4 years but you never knew you had data, and when you asked your DME provider they lied and told you there was no access data. When you finally found the data yourself, your AHI was 17 and who knows how long it had been that high?

You have a data capable machine and that's exactly what the data is for--so you can see what works and what doesn't. Poo on the professionals working with you that never checked the data to make sure it was working for you. I'm glad that you've taken charge of your care and are finally having some succes.

I hope you get your mask issues worked out and can have good nights like last night every night now.

sister, I have made a few adjustments to my FitLife which work well for me. You know the very top strap that goes over the top of your head? I tie that with a piece of a shoe string to the place where the two back straps come together in sort of an X. This keeps the top strap on top of my head, and the top back strap from fiding down on my neck. Then if necessary I take a stretchy headband and run it under my chin from plastic connector to plastic connector, on the front. This keeps the mask from riding up into my mouth. This second part may not be necessary, but the shoe string helps keep that back strap from riding down where it does no good at keeping the mask across the forehead. I wish they made a medium in this mask as a small is too small, but that is what I make do with as the large is definately too big.

Hi Janknitz, Thank you so much for all your support through this trial. I know I still have a long road ahead but I also know that with the help of people like you and Mary Z I WILL MAKE IT! I am amazed at the support on the threads I have read. MAY GOD BLESS YOU!
Mary, I actually have the bad leak problem on the large fitlife,. I can get the small to fit well most of the time but it feels too small. i barely comes to my eyebrows[ or just below] so it does'nt cover my whole face as i see in the pictures.
it leaves marks around my cheekbones. Thank u so much for being there for me!

sister wrote:I have been trying so hard in the last 6 months to find a mask that would work for me,I have tried every mask and pillow on the market with no luck.I simply could not get mt AHI down any lower than 16-22!!!! finally last night i decided to raise my pressure from 9 to 10 and see if that helped. Well, it most certainly did!!!!
I had an AHI this morning of 0.2 !!!!!!! I have never changed my machine before but I have tried so hard and seemed to be getting no answers.I am so happy this morning that I have reached my goal of an AHI of less than 5.
Now if i can get the leaks out of my fitlife mask I will be very happy. It seems to curve at the forehead and my forehead does not. i have tried all other masks and pillows but they don't work for me because of my allergies. and suggestions on how to stop the fit life from leaking?
By the way, again I am so happy!!!! baby steps along the way! I feel great this morning!!!!!

Hi, sister, and congrats on your improving therapy!

Many people use Mack's silicone earplugs (available at most pharmacies) to help with trouble spots on mask seals. Roll an earplug between your fingers so it becomes a "rope," and then attach it to the mask's seal where it leaks (in your case, the forehead portion where the seal curves). This will fill the gap between the mask's seal and your skin.

Hope that helps, and best of luck!

BleepingBeauty wrote:

sister wrote: Many people use Mack's silicone earplugs (available at most pharmacies) to help with trouble spots on mask seals. Roll an earplug between your fingers so it becomes a "rope," and then attach it to the mask's seal where it leaks (in your case, the forehead portion where the seal curves). This will fill the gap between the mask's seal and your skin.

If somebody has figured out how to get the silicone earplugs to help with the FitLife, please let me know. The problem is the mask is curved in a place (forehead) that isn't curved for a lot of us, and you'd have to put a silicone brick up there - it's a really BIG leak! I would really like to be able to use mine, but I've gone to a Hybrid because of the problem with the FitLife leaking. I can sometimes get it to stop by tightening the top 2 straps very, very tight but sometimes not.

Mack's earplugs can be found in almost any drugstore or WalMart. They are in the area where the eye/ear health items are located. They are in navy blue box...it has a plastic case in which the plugs (white little globs of silicone) are kept for storage. I smiled when I first came across their use for leaky masks on the forum. I've been using them for several months now as they were intended...to keep water out of my ears. When I read this creative use for them, I thought....what a great idea!!

The problem is the mask is curved in a place (forehead) that isn't curved for a lot of us, and you'd have to put a silicone brick up there - it's a really BIG leak!

Have you checked out what padacheek has to offer (http://www.padacheek.com)? I'm not sure if she's making anything specific for the FitLife or not, but you might pm her on this forum and ask because she will do custom things if they are marketable to others eventually. Seems to me like a good fabric covered pad there might help.

Sister has very sensitive skin, and I don't know if she would tolerate the Mack's stuff anyway.

Another tip that can help keep mask straps in place: Attach a strip (2" or so) of Velcro (the hook side) to the inside of the strap. The hooks stop the strap from sliding on the hair.

Thanks everyone, let me report another fabulous night on c-pap! I slept all night long [until 5 a.m.] and I feel great! The new problem today is sneezing and blowing my nose constantly, but I don't know that I can blame that on c-pap since I have such severe allergies,i have that a lot of days anyway. When I think how many years I suffered and now i finally have found help, I can't believe it. I was getting nowhere depending on my doctor for help. I have a sore spot on my face from the fitlife mask last night but that's a small problem, I have put some neosporin on it and it will be fine.
thanks to all you wonderful people out there who listen and help.

Sister, I'm not sure what equipment you have, but does your machine have a fine filter in addition to the sponge one? I can't believe how much dirt my fine filter catches.

does the reshaped Mack's earplug attach to the outside of the cushion and stick to your face?
Oh, BTW, Wal mart sells them for half the price of Walgreed's--same item.

1 more great night on c-pap,slept 6 hours! life is good!!!

Mary, I am so excited, I had a really good night last night, I feel like I made some really big progress! I soaked my large fitlife mask in warm soapy for about 30 minutes yesterday and let it air dry, then tried it again last night, i thought the soaking might help with the seal and it did. I still had a forehead leak though,
but it wasn't as bad. I then tried the shoestring thing you told me about and it worked! i had been using the shoestring on the small fitlife which worked too but the mask was just too small. I kept reading on the internet that the fitlife was supposed to come to the outer edge of the face and my small fitlife didn't do that.
So, i had success with the large fitlife last night and an AHI this morning of 2.6.I am really pleased at these numbers and i have no mask marks on my face this morning.I think if a mask fits properly. you don't have many mask marks, so good by to the small fitlife!!!!
By the way, I also slept very good last night, knew nothing for 7 hours!

I still have a horrible problem with my nose running all the time though,sneezing,and now my right eye is running.I have been adjusting the humidity. one number at a time this week, hasn't helped though. I am down to 1 now, started out at 5 and been coming down.I just sit and cry all the time, it seems like.My eye is really giving me a fit!

Thanks so very much for all you have done for me,and all the other members out there.This group of people are such a blessing.Have a great day!

Janknitz wrote:

The problem is the mask is curved in a place (forehead) that isn't curved for a lot of us, and you'd have to put a silicone brick up there - it's a really BIG leak!

Have you checked out what padacheek has to offer (http://www.padacheek.com)? I'm not sure if she's making anything specific for the FitLife or not, but you might pm her on this forum and ask because she will do custom things if they are marketable to others eventually. Seems to me like a good fabric covered pad there might help.

Sister has very sensitive skin, and I don't know if she would tolerate the Mack's stuff anyway.

Hi Janknitz, Thanks so much for caring. you were right, the Masks stuff didn't work with my allergies but Mary mentioned using a shoestring in an earlier post and it works! I can't believe you remember all about me! {Sleep apnea has not affected your memory!] I wish i could say that for myself,but i'm afraid it has affected mine. I did check with padacheek ,as far as i could see they don't make anything for the fitlife. I had wonderful results last night, thanks so much for all your help but most of all, thanks for caring!! I will be reading this forum for a long time, probrably the rest of my life.