S I M P L U S mask leaking at 14cm !

My simplus mask has started leaking badly as I upped pressure to 14 cm. I cannot get through a night with this mask at 14 cm. I have tried putting a cloth t-shirt material under the mask to see if I can minimize leaks - unsuccessfully. Anyone out there using a simplus mask that can give me some pointers ? Thanks !

Also, am experiencing some bad eye bag puffiness from the simplus - any looser fit will be even more leaky though.

I am waiting on a resmed airfit F30 mask - hoping that it wraps around my nose and therefore has a better seal. I tried the similar respironics amara mask, but I could not stop it leaking around my nose.

Thanks !

Sorry dmypub it's not a fun place to be.

Most masks seem to be a precarious balancing trick.

Too tight and they don't work, too loose and they don't work.

You just get them in the right spot then put your head on the pillow and it's back to leaking again.

How long before your new mask arrives?

It might be worth totally undoing the straps and turning it on and placing the mask in the perfect position on your face then resetting the straps to that angle and position.

Sometime all those incremental adjustments are actually moving it out of position.

If all else fails you could probably turn the pressure down a point or so for a few nights without major consequences.

When I get desperate and the mask persists in constantly shifting (even on the pink satin pillow) I get the shears out and give myself a crew cut (military style short haircut) It makes a big difference to how well the mask stays in place, although it's probably not the option of choice for ladies with pink CPAP machines. :O

As I indicated in my other post, I have no experience with this mask. It is one of the ones frequently recommended for higher pressures though. Have you considered that you might not have the correct size cushion? I believe the frame for the cushion is one standard size and the small, medium, and large cushions will fit the one standard frame. I did find a sizing guide at this link. I have a ResMed F20 which I could not get to seal either at pressures up to 15 cm. I suspected the large I have was too big and I really needed a medium. Did not try that option though and went back to the nasal pillow type and a chin strap, and now even tape on my mouth. I would rather do that then try to make the full face type seal.

The other Full Face mask I tried was the Mirage Quattro. I found this "Taming the Mirage Quattro" blog, but following it to the T didn't help either. Thought I would give it to you in case there is something that might help you with the Simplus. They seem to be similar looking masks.

Interestingly I see this blog also has the Swift FX nasal pillow mask on it, and that is my most recent mask. I'll have to read it to see if I can learn something...

Where exactly is the air leaking from?

Finally received a new mask - resmed airfit f30. I upped my auto cpap to 15 - 16 cm. However, really had to strap this mask on uncomfortably tight to minimize leaking at 15 cm. serious lines on my face this morning after being up for two hours. The great news: AHI dropped to 2.04 and no periodic breathing ! Here's the data:

Night #2 diary with new mask (Resmed AirFit F30) 16cm cpap

I still get too many small leaks that wake me up - doubt whether they are being registered in data as mask leaks. I still have to tighten straps to the point of being uncomfortable to control leakage. The largest size AirFit F30 is called a "medium"- the top headstrap just barely fits around my head (my headsize is pretty normal). I was hoping that this mask, since it fits under the nose, would resolve the problem I have with "puffy eye bags" - but no such luck. Eyes badly swollen after night 2. I wish I could find a mask that had "plugs" that you could insert into your nostrils slightly. Trying to get a non-leaking fit under the nose seems problematic to me - especially with the very lightweight rubber material that is used. I'm starting to think I should send this mask back - I bought it on the market because my DME is sooooo unresponsive. There's got to be a BETTER mask out there. Here's my data from last night for anyone interested (16cm):

Wondering if I should try a different mask, similar to the Simplus design. Is the Resmed F20 mask a better alternative than the Simplus ? The Simplus just can't hold pressure at 14cm + It appears that I need a mask that can handle 16 cm of pressure. Thanks !

Night #3 diary with new mask (Resmed AirFit F30) Apap 15cm-16 cm

Disappointed with new mask. I seemed to take a step back from previous night at fixed 16cm so I decided to go back to auto 15-16cm. At break three in the data, I think I got up and put on my old Simplus mask - which I did much better with, comfort wise. Strangely, PB shows up more after switching to the Simplus. Go figure. So, I'm returning the F30 and decided to give the ResMed Swift FX nasal pillow a try. I'm a mouth breather so I plan on taping my mouth shut and work harder at keeping my gammy sinuses clear. I previously tried taping for three nights and got used to it. So here's my data for night #3 - one half F30, one half Simplus. I did have a rough stomach indigestion night - accompanied by some A-Fib.

Close up of OA cluster starting around 6:40. Flow rate does some weird spiking. mouse-over indicates "Pressure Pulse 14" Flow rate does weird spiking/dipping for most of the OA events.

Left to right

• RERA a series of Inspiratory flow limited breaths followed by an OA then ending with a recovery Breath
• a series of irregular breaths like what happens during an arousal also common following a RERA
• Finally, some periodic breathing separated by Obstructive Apneas

The "Pressure Pulse 14" is Philips method of checking for obstructions, the machines way of checking for Centrals.

I went back to my Simplus mask, and set my pressure at fixed 16 cm. Thought I had the Simplus leakage problem under control at 16cm, but the data showed a couple large leaks. Woke up feeling pretty good so I was eager to see if my AHI had improved. However, it was disappointing to see that my AHI has regressed to 6.92 last night. Guess this is how it goes.. two steps forward, one back.. I do sense I spent some time sleeping on my back - maybe reason why AHI was not so good.

i don't know ?

• I have now been able to attach the Swift headgear to the P10 mask and it seems to be working really well for me, but I limit pressure to 11 cm. The one issue with a nasal mask is that if you open your mouth in the night air can leak out.