CPAP Full masks and Facial Hair

I have been diagnosed with sleep apnea and was required to shave my facial hair (goatee) prior to the first sleep-over evaluation. I allowed it to grow back before I went in for my titration. The attendant at the study said that because I had facial hair, she had to tighten the mask down. It was so tight and uncomfortable that I literally didn't fall asleep at all until 4:30am. The bridge of my nose was bruised and tender for several days afterward. It was a miserable experience and the end result is I still have sleep apnea and I still don't have a CPAP machine.

The question I have is if there are any masks out there that would work with facial hair? Technically, I could shave my goatee. However, I wear one because if I shave in the goatee area, I regularly get ingrown hairs, cut myself, etc. It truly isn't pleasant.

All responses are welcome except for trite ones such as "Shave it or shut up" Work with me here folks.

The most important factor is to get a good night's sleep.

Some possibilities
1: are you ok with no 'stash? Wear a nasal mask
2: A higher pressure may be required for effective treatment.
3: Trim facial hair as close as you are comfortable with to lessen any leaks.

As you are aware, facial hair under any portion of the mask will increase leaks.

4: get some form of APAP which typicall has sw that will detect and log events, which you will want to minimize. This should allow you to tailor pressures to compensate for some leakage.

Many years ago when I was in the navy I was able to get full face masks to seal over a full beard with minimial problem so there is hope.

Fred

Fred,

Thanks so much for an honest and relevant reply to my post.

Right now, I plan to change doctors and use a different sleep study facility. The lady who did my first and second studies seemed to know enough to folow a checklist, but that's about all. I need someone who can talk me through this process.

Thanks again,
TXCajun

Actually ... maintaining a normal blood oxygen saturation is the most important factor for treating your OSA, restful sleeping is just a nice benefit.

I have a full beard and do just fine with my treatment.

A goatee may increase the chance for leaks (using a FF mask) -- it would seem to me but since I have never worn a goatee I cannot say from experience. Stash is no problem for any type of mask and I use a nasal pillow myself. Having said that, I think the longer your facial hair, the less likely leaks will be an issue (be aware that people without any facial hair can have leak issues too).

The most difficult part of this treatment is finding the right mask for YOU ... everyone is different so you will just have to experiment until you find the right mask.

Take a look at either the Liberty or Hybrid masks. I've used both with a full beard. I prefer the Liberty.

TXC, sounds to me from your experience that getting a different sleep clinic is a great idea; cranking a mask tight to the point of pain is not only ridiculous, its counterproductive.

If you don't need a full mask, I've got a full abeit short beard and mustache, and use a SwiftLT with no leakage problems.

I have a full beard and I am doing extremely well with a ResMed Activia. 0.0% leaks and nearly no redness. The nearly perfect mask for me.

I wear a full beard and moustache, and have used the UMFF since day one with no issues.

Yes, this is all way off the mark, I attended a sleep study and subsequent titration all with a full beard and absolutely no issue from the sleep facility. The titration was done with nasal pillows and even as a newbie am happily established on cpap with nasal pillows. Vote with your feet!!

I had a bad skin reaction to a prescription drug a few weeks ago and was unable to shave. I used a beard groomer to keep the beard at about 1/4 inch and was able to wear my full face zzz-mask without any problem. I think I could probably have worn the beard even longer because the leaks were minimal.

I have a question (No I don't have facial hair). About these sleep studies in uncomfortable labs with annoying techies.
Mine was done at home - I was given a belt and set of thingies to wear and told to bring it back the next day. In 2 weeks I get to do my titration test and the only difference is that I get to use my mask.
I have to admit that this seems so much more humane then trying to get a sleep test done in a wierd place. But is it as good? My lab is part of a hospital complex and they were very clear on how to put the equipment on with a check list, and making me demonstrate it to make sure I understood how to do it. There are private sleep labs but then I would have to pay for it.

I have a long full beard and have never had a problem with any nasal mask or nasal pillows.

[quote="BlackSpinner"] About these sleep studies in uncomfortable labs with annoying techies.
Mine was done at home - I was given a belt and set of thingies to wear and told to bring it back the next day. In 2 weeks I get to do my titration test and the only difference is that I get to use my mask.
I have to admit that this seems so much more humane then trying to get a sleep test done in a wierd place. But is it as good?

I just completed my in hospital titration sleep study last night (which I will comment on later) but both the initial diagnostic study and the titration were done at the same locality and in fact, in the same bed. Both nights I had major problems just falling asleep even taking Ambien CR on the first study. Much, much worse quality sleep than I normally have at home. Back hurt something awful and mind wanted to go into overdrive despite meditation. I would have preferred at least the opportunity to try it at home. While you may not get the added benefit of having someone there to tweak things, you have your own comfort zone to sleep in at home.

The tech and I were talking about the different machines and even he admitted that a good autopap study at home could diagnosis and set starting parameters. The goal is to get enough sleep to enable the physician to prescribe optimum levels for treatment. If a person can't sleep long enough in a sleep lab it wastes everyone's time and money.

Pros and cons to everything I suppose. At home we might miss something or have one of the leads come off and no way to know till the next day. Also unless you have a variety of masks at home or know absolutely for sure which one suits you, if you have a problem with the mask you are up the creek without the paddle. This happened to me last night which I will go into detail about in my own thread. If the basic things are monitored at home (ie O2 levels) and good substantiated results are obtained, I would have been very happy to accept a home study report.

I think I am familiar with the equipment BlackSpinner is describing. The better DMEs are using the device for those on medicare or those with limited funds. It consists of a recording device that fits in a shirt or gown pocket; the clear plastic tubing and nose prongs (the proper name for it escapes me right now but they use it to deliver oxygen to patients in the hospital);a belt that measures your respiration; and a finger attachment to monitor your heart rate and oxygen levels.

It is not designed to be a titration device because it does not deliver any air, it simply records your sleep while you are at home in a "free" (non-billing) and comfortable environment. You take the device back to the DME the next day and they download the recorded data and forward it to a sleep lab or physician for analysis. Based on the results, the physician prescribes XPAP and either a titration setting or a range for an auto and regular monitoring takes place over a period of time after that to assist the patient in obtaining the best therapy.

I did not use such a device but when I was in speaking with my DME about my wife's probable OSA situation and her refusal to go in for a sleep study, he showed me the equipment and even offered to let me take it home free and have her wear it for a night. He was willing to look at her data the next morning when I returned the device and render his certified respiratory therapist opinion. The one I saw was manufactured by ResMed. I can't recall the name of the model itself.

I surrendered my goatee to win a good night's sleep. I tried many of the FFMs - Ultra Mirage, ComfortFull, Hybrid, FF431 & 432, etc. The FF431 was the best for working with my facial hair, but it was far from optimal. I fought leaks most nights. I finally decided I loved the Hybrid and sleeping well enough that it was worth it to give up the goatee. I can say that when the goatee was very short and well trimmed it was somewhat better than when I grew it out a little, but still very leaky.