I have been using the CPAP for about 3 weeks. 12 lbs. pressure, full face mask, and humidifier. I feel like !@#! in the morning. Kinda like if you don't eat all day. I saw something on the forums about not breathing thru your mouth. I've always had a constant stuffy nose, so I'm sure that I'm breathing thru my mouth. I also read something about a chin strap. I guess that must keep your mouth shut. Can someone please elaborate on this or give me some info? Could that be the cause of my problem? Thanks.

You only need a chin strap if you are using a nasal mask and you are opening your mouth.  Like wise, breathing through your mouth is only a problem if you are using a nasal mask.  Since you are using a FF mask, neither chin straps or opening your mouth are issues for you.  You can breath through your mouth all you want and you don't need a chin strap.

Are you using your CPAP faithfully every night, thoroughout the whole night?  Is your mask leaking?  If the answer to these questions is that you indeed are being completely compliant, than you need to call your doctor and work with them continuously until you are feeling better.

Oh, and also, did you have an overnight sleep study that determined your OSA and that you needed a pressure of 12?

Post back and maybe we can help!

Vicki


_________________
That which does not kill you makes you stronger-Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich must of had apnea.

Thanks for your reply. Yes I did have a sleep study. As far as leakage, probably. My mask is very tight but I do notice if I move a certain way or even just move face muscles, it leaks. I can only imagine thats happening when I'm sleeping. So is leaking a really big issue?

What FF mask are you using?  If it is a ResMed or Respironics mask, they tend to leak at higher pressures.  Additionally, if you are really tighening it down a lot, it won't work.  The ResMed and to a lesser extent Respironics FF masks have inner "bellows" of silicone that fill with air to make a seal.  If they are too tight, then the inner bellows part can't fill with air and the mask will leak.

Vicki


_________________
That which does not kill you makes you stronger-Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich must of had apnea.

Vicki wrote:

What FF mask are you using?  If it is a ResMed or Respironics mask, they tend to leak at higher pressures.  Additionally, if you are really tighening it down a lot, it won't work.  The ResMed and to a lesser extent Respironics FF masks have inner "bellows" of silicone that fill with air to make a seal.  If they are too tight, then the inner bellows part can't fill with air and the mask will leak.

Vicki

Vicki,

I was just diagnosed and they have prescribed a Respironics Comfort Gel mask and CPAP  with heated humidification (with a reccomedation for a ramp adapter) an air pressure of 11. Would 11 be considered a "higher pressure?" I am thrilled that this forum exists to answer all the questions that come to mind once you leave your doctor's office.

Hi Cyn,

Some people do very well with ResMed and Respironics FF masks and maybe you will be one of those folks.  It is just my experience, and the experience of my provider, that because the ResMed and Respironics masks silicone doesn't contact the face as much as the Flexifit does, they tend to "honk" (ie leak and make a noise) at pressures over 9 cmH2O.  But it is also dependant on the shape of your face.  Go ahead and get your mask and if it leak incessantly, then try the Flexifit.

Vicki


_________________
That which does not kill you makes you stronger-Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich must of had apnea.

Ironically, I know about tightening masks too much from my experiences as a snorkler.  When I first started snorkeling (in the ocean, not at home with my cpap, LOL) I tightened the snorkel mask so tight that my head hurt as and after I was snorkeling.  I decided that a really tight mask would keep all the water out.  I finally learned (after choking on sea water a lot) that a too-tight mask actually allowed water in! It  scrunched my face up, causing slight wrinkles in my skin.  It seems to be the same with the full face mask....too tight not only hurts but causes that silicone thing to leak and make that awful sound.  So, try loosening your straps bit by bit. Eventually you'll find a happy solution that doesn't hurt but does keep the air pressure in.  I'm going to try some moleskin, though, to try to prevent having marks on my face when I wake up.  Before cpap I had those marks from lying on the pillowcase; now I have them from the straps and the pillowcase.   Feeling better during the day makes up for wierd face marks, however.  

Hi Tarkus,
Welcome.  

At 7 weeks, I think I'm finally starting to figure out a few things that may help you and me feel better.  
1) get a mask that doesn't leak too much.  
2) keep the mask on all night / put it back on if you take it off
3) go to bed earlier (to make up for the time spent with leaks & the longer time it now takes to fall asleep)
4) my pressure is set at 15 and I'm trying to just resign myself to some leakage, so that the battles become adjustments, rather than an act of war.

I think the reason I feel so bad in the morning is because I'm in such a deep sleep when the alarm sounds - something I didn't attain before.  Now I just have to figure out when the optimal time is to go to bed.  I managed to get 8 hours of sleep last night, for the first time since cpap came into my life.  The only times I feel okay when I wake up are weekend mornings, when I wake up naturally.  Need to figure this out for the other 5 nights of the week.

I'm so sick of feeling so tired.

I think the PAD A CHEEK might help your marks on your face from the straps

I think there are some pretty PAD-A-CHEAP ways to do that too!

Vicki


_________________
That which does not kill you makes you stronger-Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich must of had apnea.

so--- what do you do to pad the mask, not the straps?

Tarkus wrote:

I have been using the CPAP for about 3 weeks. 12 lbs. pressure, full face mask, and humidifier. I feel like !@#! in the morning. Kinda like if you don't eat all day. I saw something on the forums about not breathing thru your mouth. I've always had a constant stuffy nose, so I'm sure that I'm breathing thru my mouth. I also read something about a chin strap. I guess that must keep your mouth shut. Can someone please elaborate on this or give me some info? Could that be the cause of my problem? Thanks.

Go with the nose mask only. I had the same reaction with the full Mask.
I switched to the nose only and everything is OK.
Max


_________________
Max Ammons

Cyn,

I'm not sure if a pressure of 11 is considered very high for somebody that has exclusively obstructive apnea events.  I do know that higher pressures are prescribed for people with exclusively or a majority of central events (me at a bi-flex pressure of 20/17).  All I can say to this is thank God for the ramp feature.  If I'm wearing the mask while awake at full pressure, I can't breathe against it.  Somebody else, please chime in on whether 11 is considered high for obstructive apnea.

Please let me remind everybody here that choosing the right mask is not only critical to the question of compliance or non-compliance, it's also a very personal thing.  What works for me may not work for anybody else on the planet.  I think this is the case for me because I was successfully fitted with the ComfortFull FFM.  The respiratory therapist at my DME told me that I was the first case in her history (I don't know how long this history is) of her successfully fitting this mask to anybody.  I also see this mask being slammed on this forum because other people have problems with it.  The point I'm trying to make is if you're trying to find the right mask, take your pillows with you to the DME, try every mask they allow you to, and try them on in sleeping position.  *jumps down off my soapbox*

Just my $.02 worth... if it is really worth that much.

Sleepy Scott