Nasal pillow vs nasal mask vs full mouth mask?

[JoeyWallaby]

Why? That seems like a blanket statement - needs some backup in my view.

Mostly because of the documented benefits of nasal breathing vs mouth breathing and because full face masks are significantly more prone to leaks (not as bad as they used to be but still worse than nasal masks or nasal pillows).

I mean, if you have to use a full face mask, go ahead but unless you need to... I don't know why anyone would want to?

[DeepBreathing]

It's a matter of choice and comfort. Just because you have an FFM doesn't mean you're mouth-breathing. I use one and still breathe through my nose quite comfortably. But with a nasal mask or pillows I had uncontrollable mouth leaks - as do many of the people on this forum. Some people go to extremes of chinstraps + collar + taping just so they can avoid using an FFM - utterly crazy in my view.

[JoeyWallaby]

That's a good point that I didn't consider  

[mper6794]

Well, MASKS AND LEAKS,  look very serious issues, indeed, I could say from my  2.0 year-experience; still trying some changes. I used to be a nose and mouth breather, initially. I started with nasal; lost almost 1 year with this, due to mouth breathing/extreme dry mouth.

I moved to two generations of FFM; first one leaked a lot. Second, the airfit f20, worked out preety much everything (including, kind of educated myself to almost no mouth breathing these days), while adjusting my EPAPmin and P.S.

However, unfortunately, maybe 1 month ago, I realized, coincidently with when I got my fine-tuned settings of EPAPmin 7.8, P.S: 5.2 (total 13.0), leaks, even minor ones, were jeopardizing a lot my therapy. I know that airfit f20 goes well up to some total of 12.4.

Then, I decided to go for a radical change a slow dow EPAPmin to 5.6, keeping P.S 5.2, and started out a new cycle of attempts,  including experience nasal pillows. I started with Nuance Pro Phillips; thus far a disaster!, concerning leaks, CA's, etc...

I started thinking I would better go back to my airfit f20 and tight up a lit more the straps !

good luck

[mper6794]

....forgot: have been taping mouth with micropores.

[harrywr2]

Having been a mouth breather for my entire adult life I was skeptical when my sleep doctor insisted I at least try to use nasal pillows rather than a FFM.
My dental hygienist was surprised at the improvement in my gums since my previous visits. All I changed was starting CPAP with nasal pillows.

[Osiris357]

I tried desperately to keep using my pillows because they treated my apnea so much better but the tape just will not stick all night long. There’s a 6 in 7 chance that the tape will come up in any spot it wants and out comes the air. My skin gets too oily within 2 hours and that’s the end of that mask for the night.

I just got done getting my ffm to fit much better and figuring out which position to fall asleep in because the tension of the lower straps have a tendency to pull my chin towards my chest resulting in flow limitations that shouldn’t be there. It’s not a lot of tension but it’s enough that when I’m sleeping it drags my chin to my chest. That said I just had my lowest AHI yet of .5 over 8 1/2 hours. And that’s with my F30 not the P30i. I did have some flow limitations that made me move but looking at my chart it looks like I turned on my side and was good for the remainder of the night. That’s how I woke up anyway. 

I’ve come to realize that if something won’t work and you need it to, you have to do a deep dive and consider any and all possibilities. Searching google and this forum high and low helps a lot to gain enough knowledge so you know what to look for or consider. It also helps to get your partner involved if you have one and ask them to watch for certain things or certain sounds. My girlfriend helped me a lot and she doesn’t have the first clue about sleep apnea or CPAP. Even the best doctor out there can only do so much by looking at statistics. The rest is up to you.

All the above is what I had to do to to figure out what mask is best for me. When you look for masks online they are usually listed in order of popularity. Don’t pay any attention to that. Just because others love it does not mean it will be right for your unique facial structure.

I didn’t intend to type all this but I hope it can help now and in the future.

[70sSanO]

I'm going to pick up my first CPAP tomorrow, assuming the DME supplier didn't screw up.

Hopefully you can test out enough masks when you see the DME.  Ideally you can lie down with them and test at higher pressures also.

Ask about a return/swap policy as you may not know until you are using a mask for a full night.

If you don’t mouth breathe, a nasal mask is a pretty middle of the road mask to start off with.  Once you get some time on CPAP you have a better idea.

Good luck!

John

[booksfan]

Hopefully you have a good DME. Mine allowed me to try about 8 to 10 masks that first month (some I knew immediately upon putting it on it would not work). At about the month mark, I felt kind of bad and "settled" for one mask. But I kept trying other masks out of pocket for the next year! Made my husband, a LONG time CPAP user crazy! He swears up one side and down the other that the P10 is the best mask ever made and made me try it 3 times that first year (twice out of pocket!!). I never could get used to it. Another mask I absolutely hated, could not last the night. I kept going back to either the Nuance Pro or the Pilairo Q.

And then the Bleep finally came out. Solved SO many of the problems I was having with all the other masks. I have been happily using it since March...no more trying new masks out of pocket, no head straps slipping and waking me up multiple times per night to readjust because the mask slipped off my nose, no air leaking or exhausting into my eyes, no strap marks/acne on my cheeks. Did I mention I am a restless side/stomach sleeper? The Bleep stays put!

It is a trial and error process. What works for one person won't necessarily work for you. Good luck, stick with it, and I am sure you will find a mask you can work with.

[JoeyWallaby]

Is the room you sleep in cool or air conditioned Osiris?