Finding the right CPAP face mask
Finding the right CPAP face mask was very hard for me. I got my machine from the VA and they provided a set of nose pillows. But early on I found that while they are very comfortable there are problems that I noticed.
CPAP Problems
I had the nose pillows which would provide the pressurized air to my nose, but my mouth would open sometime during the night. I would wake with a severely dry mouth. The VA provided a headgear type chin strap that would work at keeping my mouth closed most of the time. So I’m wearing my chin strap then the nose pillows on top of that. And still, my mouth would open from time to time.
The other problem was the ramp up time. My machine would have a ramp up speed setting. This allowed the machine to start out slow(really low air pressure) and ramp up to the final(high air pressure) pressure. I found that I did not care for a ramp up speed. I would feel like I was fighting for a breath until it finally got to full air pressure. The VA technician quickly changed this setting to eliminate the ramp feature. My machine now starts up at full pressure, no ramp-up time.
Humidity
There is a humidity level that you can set. The higher you set it the warmer the air gets. It’s not too comfortable breathing in the warm humid air. No, there is no cooling mode. So this was my next step in the learning curve. Don’t set the humidity level to high(trying to offset the dry mouth) the air will only get warmer.
Nose Pillows
My next step was to try a different set of nose pillows. The nose pillows come in different sizes. None of which worked for me. Something was missing. So it was on to masks. Several full masks and I was always looking for something that would make me want to wear it, not have to wear it. I found that I didn’t like wearing the chin strap. A full face mask would cover my nose and mouth so logic being what it is, it felt the right time for removing the chin strap.
Face Masks
So, on to full face masks and another problem reared up. I didn’t like the lack of air movement on my face. I started wearing the masks with the minimum elastic pressure to hold it to my head. This would allow the mask to “leak” which would create the air movement I was looking for. Something was still missing. I tried several masks that fully covered the nose and mouth. None fit the bill. I was still in the mode 0f “had to wear them” not wanting to wear them.
Finally, I found what I was looking for. I found a “mask” that didn’t cover my nose. It was a combination of modified nose pillows and mouth cover. Here was a “face mask” that I wanted to wear not have to wear. What I like about this setup is that the air coming into the face mask moves across the part that covers my face. This gives me the sense of air movement. I can go to sleep very easily with this mask.
There is only one problem left. One that I have given up on. My cheeks inflate like a balloon sometime during my sleep. This results in my waking with paper dry cheeks and gums. I would need to have a mask that would keep my cheeks from inflating to eliminate the problem. Maybe they make a chin strap that will keep my cheeks from inflating. But for now, finding a CPAP face mask I want to wear has been checked off my list.
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