First try with full face mask
My sleep apnea is not continuous - it comes and goes. But when I need the machine, I really need it.
I have been using nasal pillow masks on my ResMed APAP machine for two years. My problem is that sometimes I have congestion that makes it hard to breathe through my nose. I find myself gasping for air and have to breathe through my mouth to get enough. Of course the machine perceives this as an apnea event. It eventually take so much attention that I take the mask off to get some sleep.
Often hours go by and I am sleeping without the mask on. Sometimes I wake up gasping for air because a real apena event happened and the machine was not connected. My stats have been averaging just under 4 hours of use per night - just under the supposed minimum for compliance.
I discussed this with the doctor. He suggested things like nasal surgery, which I don't want. Also suggested a BPAP machine. (After I just spent $600 a year ago on this APAP, after the first one failed and the DME wanted an exorbitant price for a new one.) But we also talked about trying a full face mask and decided to try that for 3 months.
I "fired" my DME supplier so I am getting all this stuff on Amazon. There seem to be a lot of pieces and I am not sure which ones I need. There is a headpiece that goes around the back of my head. There is a "frame" that attaches to that and goes in front. There is a soft insert cushion that goes inside the frame (ResMed AirFit or AirTouch). But in the pictures it is not clear how the hose connects to all this. Is there an additional piece I need?
WIth the nasal masks, there is a soft flexible tiube about a foot long that connects the mask the the rather stiff heated tube that goes back to the machine. Do full face masks not have this?
The other issue that, according ot the doctor, the insurance companies have stopped paying doctor offices for "mask fitting" and his office has eliminated the clinic they used to have for that. The only way to do it now is through the DME. I would rather not talk to those incompetent b**** again, so I plan to just start with "medium" and see how that goes. I see that the soft mask insert comes in 3 sizes. But I can't tell if the "frame" and the "headgear" also come in three sizes and have to match the cushion.
If I measure the circumference of my head, is there a handy chart that will indicate which size I need? My face is not fat - I doubt I need the "large". I currently use a "medium" nasal pillow.
I have been using nasal pillow masks on my ResMed APAP machine for two years. My problem is that sometimes I have congestion that makes it hard to breathe through my nose. I find myself gasping for air and have to breathe through my mouth to get enough. Of course the machine perceives this as an apnea event. It eventually take so much attention that I take the mask off to get some sleep.
Often hours go by and I am sleeping without the mask on. Sometimes I wake up gasping for air because a real apena event happened and the machine was not connected. My stats have been averaging just under 4 hours of use per night - just under the supposed minimum for compliance.
I discussed this with the doctor. He suggested things like nasal surgery, which I don't want. Also suggested a BPAP machine. (After I just spent $600 a year ago on this APAP, after the first one failed and the DME wanted an exorbitant price for a new one.) But we also talked about trying a full face mask and decided to try that for 3 months.
I "fired" my DME supplier so I am getting all this stuff on Amazon. There seem to be a lot of pieces and I am not sure which ones I need. There is a headpiece that goes around the back of my head. There is a "frame" that attaches to that and goes in front. There is a soft insert cushion that goes inside the frame (ResMed AirFit or AirTouch). But in the pictures it is not clear how the hose connects to all this. Is there an additional piece I need?
WIth the nasal masks, there is a soft flexible tiube about a foot long that connects the mask the the rather stiff heated tube that goes back to the machine. Do full face masks not have this?
The other issue that, according ot the doctor, the insurance companies have stopped paying doctor offices for "mask fitting" and his office has eliminated the clinic they used to have for that. The only way to do it now is through the DME. I would rather not talk to those incompetent b**** again, so I plan to just start with "medium" and see how that goes. I see that the soft mask insert comes in 3 sizes. But I can't tell if the "frame" and the "headgear" also come in three sizes and have to match the cushion.
If I measure the circumference of my head, is there a handy chart that will indicate which size I need? My face is not fat - I doubt I need the "large". I currently use a "medium" nasal pillow.
