CPAPtalk.com

To answer your question - if you mouth breathe when sleeping, you lose the high pressure air of the cpap that way and your throat will never be open enough to get the job done... and FF masks do it best if you find one that works for you in the right size. I can't use pillows or prongs or any of those either, and have used what I do now for years. May not be perfect, but it does do the work.

I have just been thinking about stopping in at my DME this afternoon to see if they have sleepweaver masks, if not I saw a place not too far away from me is supposed to carry them. The fabric sounds like a perfect idea to me. Would love to try one on and see. Even if I can't get one yet on my insurance, don't think I can get a new mask so soon, I would love to see if they would work.

But I don't think they have FF masks...

I "should" be wearing a full face mask, due to mouth leakage bad enough to wreck therapy. But mask makers refuse to build a full face mask
for my shapely, cute mug; and my lips manage to open even with a chinstrap tight enough to strangle my face.
As a result, I am left with wearing my Elan and taping my mouth shut.
Compromises, not always fun.

Re: Doc got things wrong! Now have to start again!!!

by Julie on Mon Feb 11, 2013 1:57 pm

But I don't think they have FF masks...

Julie - you are correct, no full face option at this point for Circadence, the manufacturer of the SleepWeaver and Elan cloth masks. I've talked to the rep and someone at the home office and they're "working on it". No clue as to how long they've been working on it or how close they are to having a marketable product.

In theory, even if your pressure is set too low, you'll still have more air at 7 than without CPAP. Without CPAP, it's like having a pressure of 0.

However, when you try it, your brain sure seems to think that you're getting less air with CPAP and low pressure than without CPAP and no pressure.

Quite a few people have this problem when someone gets an APAP machine and the starting pressure is too low, or they use the "ramp" feature.

simplyme wrote:I am now at a setting of, I think, 13 (OK I gotta work harder at the educating myself thing.) on a VPAP machine, since 20 on my old CPAP just about blew me away. So here we go again, new masks new machine new settings, oh boy so happy!?!?

Hi,

I had a similar experience when I was doing my sleep studies. On my CPAP titration study, the RT ran the pressure all the way up to 30, and I was still having events. They sent me back for another titration on BiPAP, and the RT came up with pressures of 13 exhale and 19 inhale. Once I started sleeping more deeply, the inhale had to be tweaked up just a little.

On CPAP, 30 was like breathing from the back end of a jet engine...I simply could not exhale into that pressure. In contrast, the BiPAP was pretty easy to get adjusted to. The only real trick is to breathe normal, and let the machine follow you. That is a lot easier to say than it is to do. At first, I tried to out-smart the machine, and it got be breathing too fast. Funny thing is that once you fall asleep, your body starts to breathe in a very regular pattern, so any pacing issues that you have when awake go away once you get to sleep.

I later upgraded to a ResMed VPAP, and that machine is smooth as silk to breathe from. I think you will be happy. CPAP on 7 is too low, CPAP on 20 is impossible, but VPAP will be just right.

Welcome to the forum, and please keep posting updates.

-john-

Hang in there Simplyme! It will get easier. If you are using a full-face mask, try the Pad-A-Cheek mask liners... they are great - really soft, help with leaks and are washable! Really nice for those of us who are tightwads

I stopped by my DME yesterday, and looked at the sleep weaver mask they had on display, looks promising, just have to get my Dr. to give me a scrip for any mask style not just FF mask, and wait for insurance to pay... I would love to just get one, but alas I must pay the gas bill this month

I was all set to try my FF mask again with the silicone strips on now that my nose healed, but that too was not to be... I got sick! Throwing up in a PAP mask did not seem like a good idea

I tried out the silicon scar strips by 'Scar Away' it worked great! => =>
I just cut it to the shape I wanted and stuck it to my nose, then i put the mask over it... with my blue gel FF mask. I tried it also with my quatro fx FF mask and found that worked too, and it was even better when I used a thin piece of cloth I had cut to fit under that mask to reduce irritation from the plastic rubbery feel of the mask. The scar strip padded and protected without falling off, and the cloth stopped leaks and made everything more comfy! Yeah! so happy! And no damp yucky skin from bandaids! Just got to keep on with it all, and I'm still thinking of trying the sleep weaver for my next mask replacement.