Experiences with CPAP masks

I’ve been diagnosed with mild sleep apnea, and am currently in the first week of a CPAP trial to see if it helps. I’m having problems with the mask, though. My mask covers my nose only, and is irritating my upper lip (it looks like this style http://www.cpap.com/productpage.php?PNum=753). Will the irritation go away?

I’m actually getting accustomed to sleeping with something on my face faster than I thought I would. I’m just wondering if the mask that fits up the nostrils would be better for me. Mind you, I haven’t given this one much of a chance yet. So tell me about your experiences with different CPAP masks.

A five-year veteran of CPAP, here. My experience is primarily with the nasal pillow variety with an Adams Circuitas seen here . When I was first diagnosed, the tech fitting me suggested the nasal pillow route because I have always worn a mustache, and he was concerned that a mask would leak around the 'stache.
Others have since told me they have had no problems between their mustache and a good seal with their mask, but now I’m used to the nasal pillows, which work fine for me. I do have to readjust the velcro straps on the headgear every so often to keep the pillows in place without pushing too hard on my nose so that I wake up with a sore honker.

If you’re sore, try loosening the straps slightly. Too much, though, and the fit will be so loose that the air will feel as if it’s blowing across your nasal passages rather than inflating them. When that’s happened to me, I wake up in the middle of the night with heavy mucus formation, as the body tries to prevent the nasal passages from drying out in the “wind.”

A few months ago, my brother-in-law, who works as a technician at our local sleep lab, suggested I try a new design, the NasalAire. The design meant no headgear (except for a chin strap) and allowed me to wear my glasses and read with them on (I like to read before going to sleep, and my thought was that this would let me get setup, start the CPAP, read for a bit and then just turn out the light). All of which worked fine, except I could never get a good seal, even using the largest sized nasal cannula. After a month or so, I donated it to the sleep lab where they could sterilize it safely and give it to help out a low-income patient.

Hope that helps. Don’t give up on CPAP. It can be a lifesaver. One tip - know your pressure setting (mine is 11 pounds) and have your machine checked regularly to make sure it’s putting out the proper pressure. Should you ever be hospitalized and your own machine for some reason not available, the staff will need to know the pressure to adjust the machine they will provide you. Again, if you’re having general anesthesia for anthing, the anesthatist needs to know you are a CPAP patient.

Other CPAP users on the board are sure to chime in, but I’ve got to go put my rig on and crash.

Happy (safe, non-snoring) dreams,

Hometownboy

That’s the kind of mask I have. Been using ones like it for about 5 years. I wouldn’t say that irritation completely goes away, but you will become less and less mindful of it. In a short time, I saw it as a small price to pay for such improved sleep.

My mask looks similar to yours, but I’ve never had any irritation except an occasional pimple. Is that what you’re getting, or is it more of a rash?

Hang in there with the CPAP…it’s really worth it, but it doeas take some getting used to. I was highly motivated and still had some adjustment problems. Once you get through the first month, you won’t want to be without it.

No, it’s not a rash, more of a tenderness, like the mask is pressing too hard under my nose. I tried tightening the top strap of the headgear last night to take the pressure off the bottom of the mask, but soon the bottom was leaking. I’m finding it frustrating. I don’t mind sleeping with something on my face, but I don’t like having a sore lip all day.

You’re wearing the wrong size mask. Go back and get resized. Also, the pillows work good, but are more expensive.

I think E72521 is probably right. My dad uses that type(at least it looks a lot like the picture in the OP), and doesn’t have the irritation you describe. If the company you get yours through is like the one he uses, they should promptly assist you in getting a better fitting mask - they even do home delievery instead of making you pick it up at the doctor’s office.

I agree that you’re probably using the wrong size mask. If the mask is the right size and you’ve got the headgear adjusted properly, you shouldn’t have any discomfort after you get accustomed to sleeping with the mask.

I had two problems when I started using a CPAP machine: Nose and sinuses so dry I was getting nosebleeds during the day, and a big red rectangle on my forehead from the forehead rest on the mask! The red rectangle was the easiest to fix - I had the top strap of the headgear too tight. The nasal dryness was a little dicier; I ended up using a saline nasal spray for almost a month until the front of my skull got used to being a wind tunnel.

My room gets cold in the winter, too, so sometimes in the winter I have to run the hose under the covers to my face so the air has a chance to warm up before I breathe it. Otherwise my nose feels like an icicle in the morning.

Does your machine have the humidifier? Not the heated one, just the passive one? Mine keeps my nasal passages very comfortable. In fact, I haven’t had a bad cold since I started using the CPAP. Even with a slight stuffy nose I have no problem…the air pressure seems to shove all the stuffiness aside, and the humidifier helps with that, too.

Well, I went today and exchanged my mask for a style with the nasal pillows that fit up the nostril. I hope I’ll do better with this type. It was no problem at all for me to try out a different mask - they were very obliging!

I will second the point about the humidifier. It really helps. And for once, something cheap to refill. A gallon of distilled water is about 89 cents at the various local supermarket and last a month or so. I only need to add more water about every third day, and not much, at that.

I’ve been using the nasal pillow styl for a little over a year. It works fine. My only problem is that my cat sometimes gets interested in the little stream of air that comes out of the front. Having a cat swat at your mask while you’re asleep is not very fun.

My experience is that it was completely useless. I did not sleep better, and now I’m having to pay through the nose (ha ha!) for the experience.

The masks are adjustable, but if it’s not fitting properly you should just get another mask (as others have said).

You’re on a trial program? So they let you test it out for a week? Interesting. Wish they had let me do that.

Yes, it’s a 4-6 week trial. I paid $120 (Canadian) for the trial, which will be deducted from the cost of purchasing the machine if I decide I want it at the end of the trial. I think it’s great, since I only have mild apnea, and I’m not certain yet if the treatment will make a big enough difference to be worth me purchasing the equipment.

I tried the new mask last night, and it seems much more comfortable.

UV, you’re comparing apples and oranges.

Having your CPAP level titrated to the optimal pressure for you physiologically and getting the right size mask are two different things.

You need a sleep study to determine you correct CPAP setting. Taking a machine home to see how you like it is IMO a half-assed approach. There is only your subjective response to go by. Not good.

There are templates that your dealer can use to fit the proper mask or pillow. Eyeballing it is again, half-assed.

You deserve better.

I think you misunderstand. I am dealing with an agency that has done and will continue to do monitoring of my blood oxygen level and has properly fitted me for both of my masks with templates. I could not wear the first style comfortably, so I went back and was refitted for a different style. Also, I have had an initial sleep study with a monitor, and will do another as soon as I am used to the mask so that I am getting at least four hours of continuous sleep with it. The feeling at the agency that I deal with is that doing another monitoring before you are used to sleeping with the mask does not give an accurate picture of your sleep.

The agency that I am dealing with does a trial with the equipment, since many people simply cannot or will not tolerate sleeping with the CPAP. There is no sense buying the equipment and then later finding that one cannot use it, or it is not helpful. I’m not just taking it home and seeing how I feel to calibrate the setting. I am currently on the minimum setting (8), and as soon as I am sleeping well with the mask, I use the monitor and take it in for analysis to see if that setting is adequate. If the setting is too low, they up the pressure and retest the blood oxygen levels overnight until the optimum setting is found. So, no worries, I’m not just experimenting on my own or anything.

Bit of a highjack, here; I’ve got a CPAP with a heated humidifier and a nose mask, and I find that I occassionally have problems with condensation in the mask, leading to abrupt awakenings with water dripping into my nostrils. The CPAP providers said that I need to adjust the temperature settings on the humidifier, but none of them seemed to know if I needed to set it higher or lower or anything like that. Am I supposed to set it higher in summer to match the heat and humidity, or do I set it lower? I’ve tried both and it doesn’t seem to have any consistent improvement either way.

I considered asking for a humidifier, but I found that once I got used to the airflow, I no longer had problems with sneezing and dryness. For that month or so when I was adapting, though, the saline nasal spray was a godsend.

I’ve also noticed the same thing you have about getting colds: I don’t seem to get them as often. Dunno why - maybe because I’m breathing filtered air all night?