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Hello everyone. I am a new user of the cpap device, lowenstein prisma smart, and I have problems during the night a few hours after I fall asleep. Namely, the mask starts to leak and that air completely overwhelms me and I completely remove the mask after that and continue to sleep without it. For this night where I posted the pictures I woke up after 2-3 hours the air was leaking and I tightened the mask and in the morning I woke up with a swollen nose. the cpap device is set to a minimum pressure of 4 and a maximum pressure of 16. when I do a leak test, the mask starts leaking at 8 regardless of how it is set. please help me because my doctor is not helpful. the only thing he did was to give me sleeping pills and despite that, I woke up after a couple of hours due to leakage. I use a full face mask because I have a deviated nose. Thanks in advance for the answers
Hello, welcome. I'm sorry to hear you're struggling with CPAP, and that your doctor isn't being helpful. Prescribing sleeping pills for an issue like this shows an unfortunate lack of care. I hope the people here can be of more help.
Leak can be a tricky thing to solve, but it is solvable. You mentioned that your mask starts leaking at 8 during the leak test. This should not be happening, and it is most likely due to an improperly sized mask. That, or you may need a new mask altogether. Some masks just don't work for some people, and unfortunately it can become a process of trial and error until you find the right one, at the right size.
What mask are you currently using? Most masks have a sizing guide online that you can print out. It may be a simple issue of checking to see if you're the right size, and if not asking your doctor to provide you with the correct cushion size.
If you're already correctly sized, and you're able to obtain a new mask, I would highly recommend doing so. The people of this forum have plenty of recommendations. If you have any other questions let me know.
Many thanks for the quick reply. I finally feel that someone understands me. I use Lowenstein's Joyce ease full face mask number S. When I bought the device (in my country we have to buy the device ourselves), the seller offered me only two masks that I tried, but without the device turned on. When I bought the device, I had confidence in the seller because he was recommended by my doctor. Honestly, I didn't know at all how the mask should fit and how it all works. I subsequently found this forum and got informed. I contacted the seller after these problems, but they refuse to offer me another mask, so I have to buy it. Unfortunately, in my country there is no choice of masks at all through any channels other than through the aforementioned representative, so I can only order a new one online and choose it that way. There is also a problem that my jaw is a little more indented, so now I don't know if that could be a problem as well. I will definitely try to find the measurements of some other manufacturers and try to order. Can you recommend a manufacturer with the largest selection of masks?
Ah, I see. You're likely on the wrong size then. It's usually more complicated than just holding the mask up to your face without the machine on. I'm sorry the seller didn't try to help you find the right fit beforehand. I looked on Lowenstein's site for the mask. I don't think there's a size guide available for download, but there is a video on the page showing how they size the mask. Perhaps you can compare it to how the mask fits on your face currently, and decided which size to change to from there. That way you could just buy another cushion instead of an entirely new mask, and see if that works first.
Like the other reply said, I'd recommend looking through some of the sites in the supplier list at the top of the forum. CPAP.com is a good start, they have pretty much everything. I'm not sure how many of them will ship to your country. Ordering CPAP supplies through Amazon is a bit tricky I think, as they don't typically sell entire masks and you have to buy the parts and assemble it yourself. I don't have any experience with that though.
As for mask brands... Resmed, Fisher & Paykel, Phillips Respironics. All these companies have at least a few good masks you could try, but it honestly just depends on what you're looking for. I'm not that familiar with Lowenstein, as I'm in the U.S. and they aren't very popular here, but I know they make good stuff too. If you want some specific recommendations try looking at these three. All of them have size guides available for download online.
