what 2 or 3 ffm's to try next...

[worn_out_in_lebanon]

The past couple of weeks have not been so good. I keep waking up during the night with air escaping. This is using a P10 pillow. It gets past the tongue lock. I wake up and seal it back up, doze back off and lose the seal. Repeat a bunch of times until the alarm clock goes off.

Bags under my eyes in the morning, exhausted by the end of the work day. This morning I woke up around 2:30, 3:30, 4:30, 5:30. Those are the main ones I remember anyway, although there were several that I didn't bother to look at the clock. Leak graph shows leaks pretty continuously. SleepyHead keeps nagging me: "Your mask is leaking way too much. Talk to your CPAP advisor."

I started out the first week with a Quattro Air. Hurt the top of my nose, and regularly leaked at the low spot between my nose and cheek. Thought the switch to a nasal pillow was going to work, had high hopes, but my leaks are getting worse instead of better.


What are the top two or three "most tolerated" full face masks, if I was going to buy a couple or three to test next? (tall build, narrow face, oily skin)

I have a running list on a yellow sticky note on my desk - F10, Mirage, Simplus. Not sure what else is out there, or what got my attention to write these down.

[SleepingInRlyeh]

New to the forum and new CPAP user (1 week), but I have the AirFit F10. After the first day of adjusting it, I didn't have any major leaks reported.

I get small leaks around the eyes and my cheek once in a while because the mask bumps into the pillow (side-sleeper here) and nudges it. I switched pillows and adjusted how I position myself, and it seems to have reduced that. I also woke up with a sore neck from sleeping to accommodate the mask until I hit the "sweet spot"

The things I like about the mask:

1) It's actually fairly comfortable to me. The silicone seal around the edges has an extra flap that inflates with the CPAP pressure and provides some cushioning.
2) It was easy to adjust with the velcro straps.
3) When you take the headgear off to wash it, it just unhooks, so you don't have to readjust the straps when you put it back together - just hook them on.
4) The "pillow" part of the mask separates from the frame, so I just wash the pillow part daily and the frame 2x weekly with the headgear.
5) I also have oily skin. I make sure to wash my face right before I put it on. So far, no skin irritation or breakouts and my skin oil hasn't caused the mask to slide around. Even with a day or two of stubble from not shaving, it didn't irritate.

What I don't like:

1) While it doesn't block your straight-line vision, it does block some of your vision, so if you're reading or watching TV before falling asleep, you may have to adjust your angle a bit.

2) I do wake up with some pressure marks on my face, but they tend to go away after my morning shower. It could also be that since I'm new to this I have them a bit tighter than I need to.

I guess I got lucky on my first attempt with a mask. Since it seems to be working well for me and the inconveniences are minor, I'm probably not going to have to try a different mask. I'm a known mouth-breather with allergies, so I didn't even attempt anything except a FFM.

Hope that helps!

[PaulaO2]

I've heard that if the Air hurts you, then the F10 probably will, too. I couldn't tolerate the Air due to the pain on my cheeks.

I tried the Air, then the Quattro Mirage, then the Simplus. Next up would have been the FlexiFit but I liked the Simplus.

My problem with nasal masks and FFMs is they all leak at the top near my eyes. The Simplus leaked there the least and doesn't press against any one spot of my face too much.

[PaulaO2]

Ah, crap. I moved it vs copy it. Let me see if I can get it back. Arrgh.

Yes! I did it. Gah, what a mess.

ANYWAY, SleepingInRlyeh, I copied your review of the mask in the Review Forum:
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...#pid110289

And now I am going to go have some chocolate.

[AshSF]

I've heard that if the Air hurts you, then the F10 probably will, too.

That depends on your facial topography and how much or less you need to tighten these 2 masks. For me, I wore the f10 real loose and it was very comfortable and didn't have any large leaks.

On the Quattro air, I had to wear it real tight to avoid large leaks and my forehead hurt and showed deep marks in the morning.

Some people have the opposite experience between these two masks. Depends on your face and bone structure.

[SleepingInRlyeh]

ANYWAY, SleepingInRlyeh, I copied your review of the mask in the Review Forum:

And now I am going to go have some chocolate.

OK - thanks! Enjoy your chocolate!

[worn_out_in_lebanon]

Thanks for the info SleepingIn.


After doing some prowling around, I'm leaning towards these for my short list:

• ComfortGel Blue (Respironics) ------ feature: gel
  
• Hybrid (Respcare) -------------------- feature: nasal pillow plus mouth cover
  
• Sleepweaver Anew (Circadiance) --- feature: cloth vs. plastic
  
• Simplus (F&P) ----------------------- feature: roll fit seal
  
• FlexiFit Forma (F&P) ----------------- feature: foam
  

[truetopath]

Silly question but have you tried a chin strap? I use the ruby one and it works very well with the p10. I can go without for maybe a night or two, but more than that I have nights just like you described. Hope it works out for you.

[worn_out_in_lebanon]

Silly question but have you tried a chin strap? I use the ruby one and it works very well with the p10. I can go without for maybe a night or two, but more than that I have nights just like you described. Hope it works out for you.

I have. First an ace bandage, and a ruby.

I keep my mouth closed, but air will still flow through if I "don't hold my tongue just right".

[PaulaO2]

There's a guy on YouTube called the TheLankyLefty27 who reviews a lot of masks. When I was trying to decide, that's who I found and referred to quite often.