Take A Chance With Nasal Mask? Or Not?

KarD786 wrote:Hello all. I am heading in to the DME in a few days to get my CPAP and equipment. Before getting diagnosed, I always slept on my back and could only breathe in the supine position by mouth breathing.

For what its worth to you.......

I am smallish in my face. High cheekbones and a heart shaped face and I use the QUATTRO AIR FF Mask and without ANY leaks.
I too sleep on my back and am a mouth breather.
If I were to sleep on my side, there would likely be leakage as there is more to move with a FF mask than a nasal version.

I have been trying for 2 months to get this CPAP stuff right but i was using a nasal mask and my AHI was always very high between 36-48.
I went back to using the QUATTRO Air 4 nights ago and my AHI has plummeted each night to about 5 AHI

It appears that for one with a somewhat angular face, as opposed to a Moon face etc, the QUATTRO AIR fits beautiful well.

I too am due a new mask and although I have only used the Quattro Air now about 10x........and have a Nasal mask I used for 2 months and a new Whisp FX nasal mask still in its new package, I think I am going to take advantage and go to my DME as well and get another QUATTRO AIR.

If it works well, why screw with it?


Good Luck and hope you get the right mask for yourself!!

I too was a significant mouth breather before CPAP. However, I found that with the CPAP, I have absolutely no problems using just a nasal mask. I attribute this to two things. One, as has been mentioned before, I'm not gasping for air. And two, my nose doesn't get clogged due to allergies. With the well filters air, and a properly set humidifier, my noise is happier.

Another thing I want to point out that hasn't been mentioned when in the search for "your" mask. Your DME may not mention this, but almost every mask provider has an unconditional 30 day return policy. This means you can get what you think will work well, if after a couple weeks it's not working for you, take our back to the DME and get a different one.

Just remember masks are VERY much a personal preference. What works perfectly for some people, may drive you nuts. And what may fit you well in a chair at the DME, may not fit at all while lying down. The key is to not give up. I personally have a rather decent collection of silicon. I have found one mask that works very well for me, and for the last couple of years, I'll get a replacement cushion for what I know works, and I'll also buy a new mask that interests me. I would do this more frequently, but I never got my deductible, so I just buy these out of pocket from CPAP.com.

Good luck. Were all here if you need anything.
-Craig