I'm a fairly new AutomaticPAP(not quite CPAP)user and have been having a lot of trouble with masks. My mouth opens during sleep even with a chin strap, and I get a lot of allergy days and colds so I need a full face mask. I'm on my third one. It doesn't seem that the DME has more ideas for me to try since my face is small and I am very susceptible to nose bridge sores. Apparently there aren't a ton that come in small enough sizes and don't press the bridge of the nose. I have an Amara View that seems perfect.... It doesn't touch the bridge of my nose. It feels pretty good. EXCEPT that it is easily shifted during sleep and will leak into my eyes or along my cheeks, which wakes me up and is really annoying because it requires attention.

When I tighten it enough to alleviate these leaks it causes soreness in several places, not superficially like my others did, but deep in bony places. It fits great with loose straps as long as I don't move, even when I put the mask on while in sleeping position. I'm an active sleeper, though.

I thought this looked interesting but haven't heard of it being used and it's a bit expensive to try. [cpapseal.com] Anyone have any idea what material that is and whether one could make their own? I made some cotton gaskets myself and they helped with a previous mask. I'm following another user's tip and have added a small strip of silicone earplug material to the leaky portions of the mask. That makes it adhere to my face and helps, but not enough. More tips would be very welcome. I've been doing fine with the machine and am not claustrophobic, but my sleep is fragmented due to leaks and I end up waking with soreness as well(I tighten straps to fix leaks during sleep... no other action helps, like reseating the mask, reinflating the cushion, etc.). I'm considering paper tape on the edges of the mask where it tends to leak. My respiratory therapist really didn't have more ideas other than the cotton gasket which didn't help with this mask.

Hmm.. seams like this might be a place for a memory foam gasket (no, they don't exist).

Just a couple ideas off the top of my head - no idea if they would work at all.

would vaseline work? I know divers who use it to seal small gaps in heir mask seals
Denturegrip? it is made to hold dentures to your gums without causing skin damage... maybe?

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late

Surgery?

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

I like the idea of memory foam. Maybe I'll try a fabric store. The Vaseline idea might be useful too. Hmmm. I love the look of this gel but it doesn't actually last 6 months from reports I read.

Surgery isn't an option. I have mostly central events, not obstructive.

I tried CPAP in 2004, just recently went back and started again. When they asked if I sleep with my mouth open i didn't know what to say. In the past I tried full coverage mask, and I got to the point of anxiety and took it off. Now I have stuff to smooth me out.

I dont sleep with mouth open.

So I use the nasal pillows. And I am able to tolerate the feel during the night. Helps to have a nightstand next to the bed, and a bed with a headboard and arm going up to swing the TUBE around.

I may wake up at 4 or 5 and remove, but Im an early riser anyway.

sound weird but use denture cream on your lips

I have seen that. I actually tape my lips with paper tape and that part works well. Probably not well enough to use a nasal mask.

I breathe mainly through my mouth, and on a side note a humidified CPAP really helps. And I tried several masks from different mail order vendors (expensive proposition, I did not really care, fortunately). But there is a vendor who sells several size seals with each mask.

But what really worked for me was just practice, it took several weeks, but now if a leak develops I automatically reposition the mask, sometimes in my sleep and it is a non-event. It sometimes just takes moving the head against the pillow in a certain way. But I do know people who couldn't get it right after a long time and have given up.

I know I need the machine and when I sleep I feel the difference. I do use a heated humidifier and even heated tubing.

I think on paper this mask fits me. If I don't move, it's great.

Thanks, hopefully I'll learn to reposition it without disturbing my sleep. I sleep very lightly, though.

I still use an Ultra Mirage mask. I turn over several times a night and never knock it loose. Only problem is my mustache.