Complete Mask Failure!
2 nights ago my mask for the first time started to leak which I found quite strange as I hadnt had leaks before. Last night my mask completely failed and could not get a seal at all. It is quite amazing just how quick the mask can die, lucky for me I phoned the clinic and my new mask will be here tomorrow. I had to argue with them and tell them NO just send the cushion as I already have about 6 masks, think tonight will be fun as Im nipping back onto my FX for the night. Would be nice is some kind of wear warning could be added so you can pre-order the cushion before it fails completely.
RE: Complete Mask Failure!
Gaz, what kind of mask was this again? How long did it last? Are you using any facial ointments or moisturizers that might have caused the rubber to wear down quicker?
SuperSleeper
Apnea Board Administrator
www.ApneaBoard.com
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
RE: Complete Mask Failure!
It was my Quattro full face and to be honest Im not sure how old it was will have to think of that, I know most cushons only last around 6 months but on my last visit which was an emergency appointment as I thought my machine had packed up. I told them I needed a new mask and they ask me if I wanted to try a different one so I asked for the FX. I worn this for about a week before I gave up on it but tonight I will be using it untill my Quattro comes.
Ok I think my Cushon was around 8 months old 
I guess I should have engaged my brain before posting as I have just answered my own question. Wouldnt it be nice if there was a shop and you could walk in and try every mask out today by sitting in a booth and hooking up to a machine in there, oh well maybe in the future lol
RE: Complete Mask Failure!
Yep, a shop to try masks would be a good thing, but it's probably way too expensive to operate successfully. 
At 8 months, you probably ran up against the "useful life" wall of most masks. 
For those who use moisturizers or those who have mustaches or rough skin... those types of things will quickly wear down mask cushions. But Gaz, judging from some of your pictures, you're clean-shaven (all the way around your head), right? 
SuperSleeper
Apnea Board Administrator
www.ApneaBoard.com
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
RE: Complete Mask Failure!
Gazby, my insurance will replace a cushion every 3 months. Perhaps it would be possible to keep an extra cushion on hand. The Quattro used to be my favorite mask, but after awhile the bridge of my nose broke down and I can't use it anymore. I am thinking of getting one to use a couple of times a week. I think it's a great mask, and I too am surprised that it failed so totally one night.
RE: Complete Mask Failure!
(03-20-2012, 07:44 AM)Gazby Wrote: Ok I think my Cushon was around 8 months old
i may go straight to the record books. i have a respironics ultra mirage ff (4 yrs old), and a fisher pykel 432 ff (2 yrs old), that i have been rotating back and forth. never replaced anything on them. tried washing, tried boiling cushions. no help. i recently bought a cushion out of pocket from supplier 6 for the mirage. in january i decided to try a nose mask one more time. it didn't work again and i was too lazy to go trade it in, so i'm waiting my time to get a quattro fx. sure wish i would have brought that back.
First Diagnosed July 1990
MSgt (E-7) USAF (Medic)
Retired 1968-1990
RE: Complete Mask Failure!
(03-20-2012, 09:24 AM)zimlich Wrote: Gazby, my insurance will replace a cushion every 3 months. Perhaps it would be possible to keep an extra cushion on hand. The Quattro used to be my favorite mask, but after awhile the bridge of my nose broke down and I can't use it anymore. I am thinking of getting one to use a couple of times a week. I think it's a great mask, and I too am surprised that it failed so totally one night.
I get a new mask every 3 months but the cushion is replaced monthly. 8 months is definitely too long.... It held up well for you!
RE: Complete Mask Failure!
If I'm reading correctly, you and I use the same mask.
My DME sent me 3 mask cushions a while back. Says, I can have a new one every 3 months.
My beard stubble shreds the cushion in 3 months.
RE: Complete Mask Failure!
(09-16-2013, 03:52 PM)justMongo Wrote: If I'm reading correctly, you and I use the same mask.
My DME sent me 3 mask cushions a while back. Says, I can have a new one every 3 months.
My beard stubble shreds the cushion in 3 months.
yea, my DME has the schedule all wrong too. I can get a new cushion every month and I have done so for almost 3 years now. I don't know why DME's all have a different schedule as it all hinges on what medicare pays for and when. 
RE: Complete Mask Failure!
(03-20-2012, 07:44 AM)Dreamcatcher Wrote: It was my Quattro full face and to be honest Im not sure how old it was will have to think of that, I know most cushons only last around 6 months but on my last visit which was an emergency appointment as I thought my machine had packed up. I told them I needed a new mask and they ask me if I wanted to try a different one so I asked for the FX. I worn this for about a week before I gave up on it but tonight I will be using it untill my Quattro comes.
My quattro full face mask started leaking at the connector between the hose and the mask within a week of wearing it. When I called to ask for help, the supplier told me that the mask was designed not to leak there, so unless I could come into the store and show them how it is leaking (I am homebound) they could do nothing to help.
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