British Snoring & Sleep Apnoea Association

Hi folks hoping you can help. I have just received from NHS a Resmed S8 Autoset Spirit II with Resmed Full Face Quatro mask. Machine is set with Settling off and Pressure Min 4 Max 20 (what ever that means).

All was going well then whilst asleep I was woken with force 10 gale in my face and the mask blowing raspberries and trying to get off my face. I tried tightening mask , but would have had to tighten to a point that my eyes would pop out so looked at machine it was blowing at 19. So powered off and started again. This happened twice more.

Any ideas what is going on ? For a machine that's supposed to help my sleep waking me up is a conundrum.

Thanks for any help.

Thanks for support, nice to know I wasn't alone. I spoke with respiratory folks and they suggested the mask wasn't fitting properly as well. So I tested their theory and yep, they were right. I also used the mask template and this showed I was was on the border of Medium/Small. So bottom line was I could never adjust my medium mask so it would seal, and as I grind my teeth, and any movements caused a leak, I was on to a loser. Then the fab folks at the hospital (who didnt have a small mask) suggested I try a nasal pillow. As a mouth breather I thought no chance , but what had I got to loose. Surprise surprise it works fantastically. The positive pressure makes it feel weird to breath through your mouth at the same time as the nose so my brain shuts off mouth breathing. Its a million times less invasive. Thank god for the ill fitting mask is all I can say.

After 4 nights of torture , just woken up to what must be my first nights real sleep in my life. Wow.
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I am a new user. I have found after a week of using the mask (Resmed S8) I get sores on the bridge of my nose. I loosened the mask off but then after its ramped up it leaks unless I lie on my back which is not a natural position for me.
Tightening the mask to stop the leaks only makes my nose worse and if I don't I end up with a gale force wind in my face later in the night !

I didn't use it for a few days to let my nose recover but it got worse again after a few days of use.

I have only noticed a slight difference overall but maybe its because I haven't managed to get into a good routing with the CPAP.

I have an appointment with the consulatant next week so I'm hoping he can sort it out, I would be interested to know how easy it was to get used to the Nasal Pillows though because they may be a way around wearing a mask.

I would go for nasal pillow and not mask , as it looks like the nasal mask is just a smaller FF mask. It doesn't take a lot of getting used to and I have even in this short time jumped and purchased the Resmed Swift LT nasal pillow and its so much better than the Swift II (I got from the hospital) as it allows very comfortable side and front lying positions. Got it direct from Resmed UK (http://www.resmed.co.uk). Join their sleepVantage and you get a discount (down from I think 105 to 79 pounds). I also brought humidifier H4i as I could see I was in for a dry nose.

So everything now comfortable. But my early experience of keeping my mouth closed hasn't actually panned out. I think because my brain is nuts and wants to learn what its doesn't feel natural to do, also leaks do the same in that the pressure ramps up. Seems for me the effect of this is I swallow air and get bloated (called aerophagia). So plan of attack is , I have ordered a chin strap to keep my lips closed so I don't have to worry and I may drop the max pressure as stats say I have only bee to max about 12.5. So leaks blowing to 19 is pointless. The other thing is nasal pillows come with 3 nostril size fittings which is good. I am trying medium that's leaking occasionally. Tried the small which seals brilliantly but seems less air gets through. So going to go to small and up the min start pressure from 4 to about 6. I will only bring max pressure down if small fails.

Seems there is a lot of trial and error.

Oh thoughts, your mask problem. One thing I did is follow the Resmed guide (not the quick start) to the letter and this produced a better fit than at the hospital. Especially understanding that you first set top dial to furthest out from forehead. Then put top strap on and tighten. Then put mask over nose and mouth. Should seal even here enough for low pressure. So fit all clips. Then run test fit pressure and bring dial in until it doesn't leak around nose. This dial is key to stopping leaks around the chin and getting the mask to be parallel with you face so the air cushion blows out properly. You should definitley not have anything touching the bridge of your nose. Also whilst on Resmed site get their fitting templates. Make sure you print at the correct size (I didn't at first) and actually check you have the right size mask as I think NHS have lots of medium. I know I really should have had small.

Hope these ramblings help.

Thanks for the tips.

I don't have adjustments on the mask other than the straps so can't adjust the pressure on the nose.

If I don't get either an adjustable mask or nasal pillows from the consulatan I may well just buy them myself becuse I didn't have to pay for the machine, will be worth it is it works !

thanks

There are lots of masks and nasal pillows out there, even ones that combine mouth breathing mask and nasal pillows.
There is a mask out there that nearly everyone can use, so don't give up and keep asking to try another, even if the nurse is looking fed up.
Once you find what you are looking for, if they won't/can't supply one it is well worth buying one yourself.
What you have to take into account is that if you buy one yourself the hospital will not usually maintain it.

To prevent sores on the bridge of your nose use some micropore.This will prevent it blistering your skin whilst you get used to using cpap.

Hi I too have had exactly the same problems as the previous posters with the same kit! Thanks for the explicit fitting instructions, I actually went to sleep last night and hardly noticed mask!! BUT I could not have done it quite right as my personal jet engine kicked in at around 3am doing 19 again am waiting for a call from sleep clinic as I speak. This place is really good so helpful and supportive! I have learned so much they dont tell you at the clinic Thanks.

I have always had problems with masks causing sores on the bridge of my nose and at two points either side of my nose where there are slight depressions in my face.
I get around this by painting these 3 areas with Germolene New Skin each night to protect the skin.

I even used a 'corn patch' to take the pressure off the bridge of my nose when I first started using a CPAP.

I am a newbie as well but had similar problems with the 2 masks I got from the Hospital so went and bought my own Swift LT Nasal Pillows. What a difference, no leaks and just about a full nights sleep without waking with a gale taking my eyebrows off !
Had to just buy a chin strap because now the Pillows are working for me, I'm finding my mouth opening more often so the chin strap now seems to be working okay as well.