Sierra

I am not aware of any standard mask that comes with a machine, because the mask type is so individualistic. Just about any brand will connect to your hose as all the hoses except for the travel machines are standardized for size at the mask end. That said I believe the most popular full face mask is the ResMed AirFit F20 mask. If your original mask worked well for you, I would try to buy the same one. There are all kinds of full face masks that are "new and improved". However, until you try it for yourself you never know if they will work for you. Here is a link to the CPAP.com site full face mask section. They list the masks in order of sales popularity. What you might want to do first is look through the list and the close up pictures of them to find the brand and model you have. Most likely it is still made and you can get parts for it too. Once you open the specific mask there should be another tab to the Replacement Parts list. Also there should be some fitting instructions so you get the right size if you decide to change brand and model. As a general rule the lower your pressure the less critical the mask type becomes. With higher pressure getting a good fit can be difficult. Some masks include free return insurance from this site.

Hope that helps some,

Welcome to the forum,

Yes, for sure you can replace the whole mask with one from almost any manufacturer or type, and you can get parts for most masks too. My wife has a Resmed Mirage FX mask and one of the parts of the frame broke, and I managed to glue it together with Gorilla crazy glue. I recall it lasted for a while, but a new part is probably the real answer.

What specific mask do you have?

From time to time the issue is raised about the risks of using these devices, and if the user makes adjustments to them, what the consequences could be. My thoughts have been that I self medicate with two types of insulin several times a day, and that the risk of that is far higher. It turns out that my casual thinking may be more accurate than I thought. CBC our Canadian news outlet has been doing an expose on the risks of medical devices. Here is a link to today's article. When a database of medical device risks was checked the #1 risk was insulin pumps. Over the last 10 years 103 deaths have been linked to insulin pumps. CPAP devices did not even make the top 10 list. And when I did a search of the data base they have using Device Category "UNIT; CONTINUOUS POSITIVE AIRWAY PRESSURE" it came back with two deaths. Both were in the hospital. One was post surgery and apnea was not a factor in the death. The other was with a terminally ill patient. My conclusion is that CPAP devices are very safe, and not a death risk. There is no reason to fear them! There are other medical devices that one should be concerned about though...

The normal display is to have green signal strength bars. According to the technical manual grey bars means that wireless is not enabled. If you go to your user menu and scroll down to About, and then push the round button you should see a list of data. Near the bottom there should be a Provider, Type, Service, Signal Strength. In my case this is Telus, 3G, 10, -81 db. Keep in mind the AirSense uses the cell phone wireless network, not a local WiFi network. To my knowledge this is an area of the machine that is set up by the provider, and cannot be changed by the user, even in the clinical menu. So my guess is that your machine was not set up to a cell phone wireless provider in your area. Where do you live relative to where you bought the machine? Are you in North America? I recall that wireless may be only available in North America.

Last, consider that some people consider the ResMed wireless data transmission an invasion of their personal privacy, and it is very difficult to disable permanently. Airplane mode is kind of inconvenient to keep turning on, and if you turn it off for only a short time it will catch up and send all the data it has. Some use SleepyHead to monitor their machine and apnea treatment, as it gives you considerably more detail than MyAir. The software is free and to use it you just need a PC or Mac with a SD card reader.

The Phillips may be possible to set up in a similar way. You could ask them about it. If it can, then it may be possible for the base to be set lower and then have the machine increase it as necessary to address obstructive apnea, and also increase the IPAP pressure to address any central events.

What kind of machine is it? ResMed? If so you may want to have a read of the document at the link below, pages 27 to 31. The AirCurve ASV has two modes, ASV and ASV Auto. The ASV Auto mode may result in lower pressures.

ResMed Titration Guide

On the mask leakage issue, she has tried 3 of the better and more popular masks. There are a couple of newer ones of the minimal contact style. My thoughts are that the higher the pressure the more force the mask puts on the face and on the straps. If the mask size is minimized then the area this pressure acts on is reduced, and conceivably the force in the straps is reduced.

I believe the Phillips DreamWear mask was introduced early this year. This mask frame can use a minimal full face, a nasal, and a nasal pillow type insert. The full face version might work better than the three she has tried. Here is some more information on it.

DreamWear Minimal Contact Full Face Mask

More recently ResMed has come out with one they claim is better, and in a test was preferred two to one over the DreamWear mask.

ResMed AirFit F30 Minimal Contact Full Face Mask

But, really until she tries the mask, you don't know if it will work. Some people have had success with using a mask liner where the mask fits to the face.

Mask Liners

With respect to the high AHI about all you can do is work with the provider. You could ask whether it is central apnea that is driving it up or obstructive apnea. If it is obstructive then she probably needs more EPAP pressure and the machine may already be at the maximum. If it is central apnea then the pressure support may need to be adjusted. There is a free software program called SleepyHead which will download the data from the SD card in the machine so you can view it. If you want more info on it just ask.

Here is a link to a document from ResMed which includes some basic details on what the machine is supposed to do and the basic setup paramaters for ASV mode, and for ASV Auto. See pages 27 through 31. SleepyHead will allow you to see the same level of detail as is shown on page 31 for flow rate, pressure and minute ventilation. You should be able to see if the machine is working as it is designed.

Sleep Lab Titration Guide

The ResMed AirCurve ASV has two modes that can be used. One is the standard ASV mode which uses a fixed EPAP (exhale) pressure and a variable pressure support (so variable inhale or IPAP pressure). The other option is the ASVAuto mode. It uses a variable EPAP and variable pressure support. The purpose is to potentially allow for lower mask pressures. You could ask the sleep doctor about using the ASVAuto mode if it is not already being used. The higher the pressure the harder it is to get the mask to seal.

You have tried some good masks, and I can't really make any other suggestions. I could not get the F20 to work for me either. Perhaps others could suggest other masks.

Last, the AirCurve ASV is a very complex machine and typically only used for a complex apnea case. Is there any option to see a different sleep doctor or technician to see if the machine has been optimized for her?

I checked my wife's S9 machine which has the heated ClimateLine hose. The power supply is a non polarized two pin AC plug, so it is not grounded to the house electrical ground. Normally when an electrical appliance has a two pin non polarized plug (can be put in either way) a double insulation system is used to protect the user from any electrical fault. But I suppose that could fail. Using the plain non heated hose should rule out the electrical fault possibility.

My wife's machine has the humidity control set to Auto, and the temperature is set at 27 C. She uses it like that year around here in Canada without rainout issues.

If you don't have a card reader but do have a USB port, there are inexpensive portable card readers you can buy for about $10. But before you buy a reader, make sure your machine records detailed data. The very basic AirSense 10 CPAP does not. The Elite does, and so do the AutoSet models. It also needs the 4 GB SD card installed. Some vendors pull a bit of a dirty trick and pull the card out. It is behind the pull out cover on the left side of the machine.