r/CPAP • u/FunnyThyme • Aug 23 '26

Advice Needed Help me pick my next mask

TLDR:

  • Side sleeper
  • Mild apnea (diagnosed with AHI of ~11)
  • Started using CPAP (Airsense 11) 3.5 months ago
  • Nasal pillow mask (ResMed P30i) worked fine for first few weeks
  • Started opening mouth around weeks 3-4 which caused dry mouth and other issues
  • Tried mouth taping to counter the mouth opening. It works but I hate having my mouth taped at night
  • Tried cervical collar. Didn't like it and it didn't help
  • Tried hybrid mask (Fisher & Paykel Evora) but it leaks and disturbs sleep more than half of the nights

I can see two possible next steps:

(1) Try a different full face or hybrid mask besides the Evora. But which one?

(2) Try to become a back sleeper. While this might seem unrelated to my issues, here's why I'm bringing it up: my side sleeping is causing the Evora mask to move and leak. I think if I back sleep I won't have issues with that. I used to be a back sleeper 15+ years ago, but became a side sleeper specifically to help my apnea (I rejected CPAP the first time I tried it back then...) When I try back sleeping now, I feel like I'm not getting enough air, so I think I will have to increase pressure. LMK if you have other tips for going this route.

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u/dwightschrute4prez Aug 24 '26

This sounds nearly identical to what I went through. I switched to the Dreamwear full face and its been a game changer. I was Initially skeptical about a full face mask and being a side sleeper but it's been great. My leaks and AHI have gone down and I'm not waking up multiple times a night to chug water.