does pressure usually need to go up with a full face mask?

Guest wrote:is there any reason almost all machines cap out at 20 instead of a higher number?

I think that 4-20 is a range that covers the pressure needs of most people. I believe that for most people straight CPAP or APAP with pressures greater than 20 cm H20 would make exhalation difficult. Most people who consistently need pressures that high would, these days, probably be put on BiPAP.

Guest wrote:is there any reason almost all machines cap out at 20 instead of a higher number?

It mostly has to do with insurance, and diagnosis coding, not technical reasons. There are a large range of capabilities between various machine types. One of the artificial boundaries made to distinguish one from another is that CPAP machines go up to 20, and anything over 20 is called a bilevel.

Bilevel (or BiPAP or VPAP) machines make it more comfortable for people to breathe at higher pressures because they can reduce the pressure on exhale. For some people, especially new CPAPers, high pressures make it difficult to exhale.

From a technical standpoint, the distinction is much less complicated. For Philips Respironics, the same hardware is used for many of their machines from manual CPAP through some of the bilevel machines. Only the software is different. However, the naming and capabilities of the machines still sort of follows the "old" CPAP/bilevel levels and the CPAP/APAP only go to 20. Price also takes a big jump between CPAP and bilevel even if the hardware is the same. For instance, Medicare may pay twice as much if the machine is classified as a "bilevel" device.

archangle wrote:

Julie wrote:How can a FFM push your jaw back (unless it's really badly fitted and cranked way too tight)? Are you sure you're not thinking of something else? Mine certainly hasn't changed in 8 yrs and if it were to do so, I'd have changed my mask to one that fit better.

FFM's push on the front of your face below the mouth. Nasal masks don't. What's hard to comprehend about that?

Just because it doesn't happen to you doesn't mean it doesn't happen to others.

When I changed to the Quattro I DID notice a pressure on my lower jaw. It bothered me a bit at first but with a little adjustment on the straps. I resolved the problem. When I did switch to a FF mask, my pressure never changed. I run at 11/14