Headgear straps hurting my neck...padacheek?

[Turntex]

I have been on my BiPAP for 2 weeks now and it is really making a difference. However, the straps for the headgear REALLY hurt the back of my neck/head. Unfortunatley, due to chronic nasal congestion, I have to use a full face mask and my pressures are usually pretty high, sometimes hitting 23 or 24 in auto mode. I use a AirFit F20 mask and have to really crank down the straps to prevent major leaks. I also have an Amara View and a AirTouch F20 mask. The Amara View hurts the bottom side of my nose and the AirTouch leaks worse than then AirFit. So far I have just been suffering through the pain in my neck but it is getting bad enough that it hurts for hours after I get up. Not sure what to do. It leaks around the bottom of my mouth. I have tried different size masks as well, to no avail. I had a short goatee so I decided to shave it off last night to see if that helps. Actually made it worse since now, instead of just a hissing sound when it leak, it now sounds like passing gas!

So, I come to you guys to see if you like Padacheek products and think it might help with the neck and cheek pain? Also, do you think a mask liner might help any? Lastly, do you have any recommendations on other masks to try? So far I have $300 tied up in masks in 2 weeks (my DME gave me one of them!) and don't mind trying another but there is a limit on what I will spend!

Thanks in advance for any thoughts you might have!

[Pugsy]

Get a liner and yes, I think the strap pad would be a good investment also.

What size Amara View did you get? Did they actually measure you?
If not you might want to print off the fitting guide and see if the sizes match up or not.
https://5faacd0c97cf0d23c6dc-064f3cd61b ... -guide.pdf

Full face masks present extra challenges for leak control due to the amount of real estate touching the skin needing to seal...and then your challenges are compounded with the higher pressures you need. All masks will have some sort of challenge at your pressure needs.

I have a bad cervical spine. So bad I have a metal plate in it after surgery to remove 2 vertebrae and replace with dead person's bone.
For this reason I really avoided full face masks for years because of the pain I would get from that back strap near my spine.
It wasn't until I got interested in the Amara View that I actually found a mask that didn't cause that cervical spine pain.
IMHO it offers the best chance for success without killing the neck...or at least that was my situation.
I kept it just in case I ever couldn't use my nasal pillow mask...but so far in 8 plus years I have never really needed a FFM but the Amara View is doable should it ever happen.

They all have some sort of lower back strap and the potential for causing neck pain if the strap is very tight. Heck I had the neck pain and the mask wasn't even tight.

Do try the mask liner. It helps diffuse minor leaks so they are at least less annoying and less chance of causing wake ups.
Many people swear by them...but as with anything cpap related they all come with a big YMMV sticker.
You can make your own mask liner out of an old T shirt to give you an idea if it might help or not before spending the money on one of Padacheek's liners.

The strap pads will help diffuse the pressure so maybe it won't cause so much pain. They do help.

[Turntex]

Thank you Pugsy!

Yes, they did measure me for the Amara View. I just felt pain with it touching the bottom of my nose for extended period. I will admit that I did not try it very long though, maybe 30 minutes. May have to break it out and try it again! I really liked how it sit on the face.

[Pugsy]

That area of your nose is pretty much virgin territory and never had much of anything touch it.
So some tenderness in that area can happen. I had it happen with the nasal pillows. Minor tenderness though...not real pain.
Properly fitted and sized the Amara View shouldn't cause real pain and if it does then it is too tight. It doesn't have to cranked down like a vise grip tight for it to seal even at your higher pressures. Actually too tight is often counter productive because being too tight doesn't allow the cushion to inflate and it needs to inflate to seal. Review the mask fitting videos for it..there's a bunch out there and cpap.com has some at their product page for the mask.

I think that it offers the best chance of not putting extra pressure on the cervical spine...based on my past experience trying a gazillion full face masks at the DME office and the ones people have sent to me as donations to be passed on to someone else. If I see something I haven't tried on in the past I will slip it on just to check it out.

Don't buy a store bought mask liner until your zero in on which mask you want to try to use because not all liners will fit all FFM.

For the minor tenderness at the nostril area...go to WalMart and over in the baby aisle is a product called Lansinoh lanolin ointment/cream.
Use it liberally during the day and sparingly at night on the tender area. It's used by nursing moms to help with the issues they get when breastfeeding and sore nipples. It will help. It is safe for you and your mask.

[Okie bipap]

When I was using the Amara View, I would occasionally get a little tenderness on the bottom of my nose, but It usually went away shortly after taking the mask off. At that time, my prssure was running 20 - 25. I still use the Amara View on occasions when the other mask is bothering me for some reason.

[RokMartian]

I have a full face Amara view mask. I ended up buying some new headgear, because the straps that came with the mask were small and cut into the back of my neck.
I am currently using this with mine: https://www.cpap.com/productpage/respir ... -Tabs.html. They made a huge difference.

Hope this helps.

[chunkyfrog]

I had to CUT a headgear apart and shorten the vertical dimension to lift the bottom strap off my NECK, where it did not belong.
Too many headgear assume a certain size/shape of skull; and so few of us have the proportions of the MODELS used to design this stuff. It takes courage to alter something so spendy, but better than filling the dumpster.

[Goofproof]

I had to CUT a headgear apart and shorten the vertical dimension to lift the bottom strap off my NECK, where it did not belong.
Too many headgear assume a certain size/shape of skull; and so few of us have the proportions of the MODELS used to design this stuff. It takes courage to alter something so spendy, but better than filling the dumpster.

Same here, but since I have no sew genes, I roll up the bottom of the webbing, and sleeo on the rope it creates on the back of my head. I'd like to see the head they use for a pattern, I'd take it to target practice.


Jim