What is over-tightening?

Dear NeedZZZ:

As I've said before, you may be a solid candidate for a Quattro FX. I find it far less constrictive and easier to adjust while it's still on my cranium. What really threw me with the QM was that forehead knob; I fidgeted with it constantly. All that's on the FX are two pairs of easy-to-adjust straps. You can be in pitch-black conditions in the middle of the night and all you have to do is find the end of a strap and just 'break' the light velcro adhesion and move it a fraction of an inch or so.

As one of the other folks on here said, I'd go for a bumpersticker that says "I Love FX!"

NeedZZZ wrote:My particular model mask, when tightened loosely, gives loud musical leaks whenever I move, preventing sleep. So I understand the "looser is better" criterion but it won't work in my case. As posted elsewhere, I now believe I have the wrong size mask.

What size mask are you using? I'm using the small size. I sometimes think I might need a medium. Last night I was up 4 times to adjust the straps. Each night seems like a crap shoot with a FF mask. It's never the same two nights in a row. Two nights ago, only got up 2 times to adjust the mask.

I met with Capria today. As I suspected, they're apparently not monitoring my CPAP even though the gave me a ResMed S9 equipped with a cellular modem.

I have a size medium Quattro Mirage mask and suspect I need a size small. The clinician claimed I need a size large. I can't imagine that he's right. There's no room for a larger mask. He claimed I need a size medium Quattro FX. He was about to give me one when I told him I just received one. So, instead, he gave me a size medium Swift FX nasal mask. I tried it this afternoon and, even at a pressure of 17, it seemed to me to work fine. I got about 90 minutes of sleep, perhaps more than I've gotten most nights recently, and had no trouble with mask leaks. I'll try the Quattro FX later this week. It looks as though my problems are solved!

I certainly hope the Quattro FX works for you....

my sleep habit of moving alot caused my Quattro FX to shift and leak like crazy. it felt like I was waking up every 2 hours to reseat it.

The forehead bar on the Quattro solved my issues!

FWIW--- I wear a medium in both the Quattro and the Quattro FX.... so I believe that the sizing requirements for these 2 masks are very similar.

good luck !!

NeedZZZ wrote:

Sheriff Buford wrote:I think you are on the path of discovering that the mask you are using doesn't work for you. I don't like to tell folks that, and I prefer to hear it from them. You'll know the mask is not for you when you actually go outside and drop-kick the mask toward the garbage can. A full face mask should be loose enough to seal, and "lift off" the face when you first turn on the machine. If you have to keep cranking down on the mask to stop leaks and your neck or head hurts from the straps, then the mask is not for you. I you like the full face fit, there are many on the market, and I'm sure you can find one that will fit the contours of your face.

Yes, my conclusion is that the mask is too large. I'm told that almost no one has a face so small as to require a size small Quattro Mirage. So maybe I'm wrong. But I've spent a month working on the problem and I'm generally pretty handy at making things work.

I don't know whether I like a full-face mask. I learned this morning that my prescription from the sleep center specified a full-face mask even though the preliminary report suggested a nasal mask. It seems to me that the medical advice is inconsistent and therefore not reliable as to mask type, mask size, and pressure (another whole discussion that I don't propose to initiate at this time, since my indicated AHI is okay).

I'm using the size small Mirage Quattro. It came with medium size head-gear. The DME said that ResMed doesn't make a size small head-gear. I'm not a small person by any means. 5'8" and about 180 lbs but I wear the small size.

MagsterMile wrote:What size mask are you using? I'm using the small size. I sometimes think I might need a medium. Last night I was up 4 times to adjust the straps. Each night seems like a crap shoot with a FF mask. It's never the same two nights in a row. Two nights ago, only got up 2 times to adjust the mask.

I think I have the opposite problem..

I have the medium and think I need a small! LOL

I have the Quattro™ FX Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear in a medium. Ihave to keep the straps pretty tight to keep it from leaking. When they delivered my machine, the girl only had one mask with her and it was the FX in a small mask with a medium strap. I tried it for a couple of months and did not like it at all. When I went by threir office to try a different mask, the same girl insisted that she had let me try several masks and that is the type and size that I chose. I did not argue with the idiot, but told her I wanted to try a medium FX and a nasal type. I did not like the nasl type fit at all so I switched to a FX medium. It fits much better, but I still have to keep the mask tight to keep it from leaking. Tonight, I will loosen it and see if it inflates like you claim.