Move alot and getting mask leaks HELP

[christinaleigh]

I'm new to Apnea and CPap treatement. I've had my machine for 4 days. I am currently using the Phillips dreamwear nasal mask. Problem is that I toss and turn all night. I'm getting lots of mask leaking when I lay on my side. It's waking me up and I try to get it all back in the right places, but it's definitely impacting my restfulness. Looking at sleepyhead and my data, my AHI is below 1 (again, I'm new to some of the stats).

Any suggestions for someone who moves/rolls/turns/changes position all night long?

I tried an Amara hybrid mask last night (my mom had one she didn't like) and I got even worse leaking than with the nasal mask.

My sleep specialist noted my movements in my study, but said she wanted to see how I do treating just the apnea before medically treating me for limb movements too.

[trish6hundred]

Hi christinaleigh,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
CPAP can take a bit of getting used to.
Hang in there for answers to your questions and good luck to you with your CPAP therapy.

[OpalRose]

Welcome to the forum christinaleigh,
Did you always toss and turn, even before using cpap or is this just happening due to this being new?

As trish says, it does take some time to get used to.

I tried to use the Dreamware Mask, but I am a side sleeper, and just couldn't get it to stay on. It caused me to wake up frequently and have to adjust it. There are a lot of folk here that really like that mask, so maybe they can advise.

Finding the right mask is the most challenging of therapy. Check with your sleep doc, and see if you can try something else.

I use the P10 nasal pillow mask, and don't think I would be happy with anything else. I also have a Pilaro Q mask I use on occasion.

[bill-e]

I move a lot as well and use an F&P Eson nasal mask. What I have to do every night is take a scent free Walmart baby wipe and wipe my mask and my face. That seems to remove the oils which make mask sealing difficult. When I go through this routine I have minimal leaks at night.

[Jimsp1]

I'm a side sleeper and was successfully using the Dreamwear mask with the medium size frame that came with the mask. I thought I'd try the large size frame to see if it would work better. Although it was only a little larger I had I had a terrible time with leaks and went back to the medium frame. If you're using the medium frame that comes with the mask perhaps the smaller frame might work better. I bought mine online for $16.

[FrankNichols]

I find that sleeping with my pillow lodged around my ear or a little behind it helps prevent it from pushing my mask around so much. If I am being woken by the leaks, I first push the edge of the pillow back, so my face hangs out past the edge. I do use feather pillows, so scrunching is easier. Also, many use CPAP pillows that are contoured to accomplish the same.

Also, I found the P10 to not be as sensitive to that as my current mask. I do not use your mask, so my advice may or may not work for you.

[christinaleigh]

Thank you. Yes, I've always tossed and turned. In my sleep study, I had a lot of leg movements too. The doc wanted to treat the apnea first and see how I felt. Since I've always tossed and turned, she thought the movements weren't responsible for waking me up.

I called the DME for a mask refit. I used a chin strap last night which helped keep my mouth closed. To keep the Dreamwear mask from leaking, I have to have the straps super tight. And it still moved when I rolled side to side. I had some air leak and my eyes are super puffy.

I'm thinking a nose pillow may be a better option for me if I can handle the thing in my nose.

My pressure is pretty low looking at my sleepyhead data. I wasn't able to be titrated in my sleep study, so they gave me an APAP. My average pressure is a little over 7 and 95% of the time a little over 7. It ranges from 4-10 when I sleep.

[FrankNichols]

At 4-10 you definitely should not have to have the straps super tight. I use the P10 Nasal Pillows and so am not familiar with your Nasal Mask, but most of the masks I have seen today all use an inflatable silicone membrane thats works by being loose and inflating when the machine turns on. This allows the mask to seal to the contour of each face/nose which is a little different from everyone else. If you are tightening the straps too tight, it defeats that sealing mechanism and will result in more leaks and not less. I strongly suggest you try adjusting the straps as loosely as you can and still get a seal when laying on your back. And try that for a couple nights. Then slowly, very slowly adjust the straps tighter if necessary. Most new users adjust the straps too tight and have problems with leaks.

[christinaleigh]

Thank you Frank. I had them lose the first few nights and had major air leaks when I rolled side to side. So much that they woke me up! The headgear with the Dreamwear is different than most. The hose is at the top. The next night I tightened and had less air leaks, but it's not comfortable. I read that other side sleepers had the same issue...the soft silicone moves easily when you lay on the side.

Hoping I can use the pillows!

[sleepytimegal]

Hi and welcome, I am rather new to this too (3 months), but early on I purchased an apnea pillow that I just happened to see in the local hospital shop. It cost $60, but works perfectly for side sleeping. It has an area cut out where your nose and mask would rest. So with my nasal pillows mask nothing is pushing against it. I had tried adjusting other beady type pillows before with some success, but this is better because it starts out just right and stays that way throughout the night. I didn't check Online, but I'm sure you can find some apnea pillows with a section cut out for your nose. I was later thinking, since it is a foam rubber pillow, it wouldn't be that difficult to cut one out yourself. You might want to use a store one for a template (and then return it).
Sleepytimegal