Love my AMARA FF mask

Okay, three nights with the AMARA. I love this mask. It fits. It does't leak. Very easy to clean. No ring or disassembly. Just pop out the cushion. Wash and dry. Pop back in. Works with my Pad-A-Cheek liner I had for Quattro. Last night I tried with just Aloe Vera Gel. No leaks. Finally, a FF mask that fits me.

It does have a strange air circulation inside mask you have to get used to. The intake vent is directly over nose and lips and I definitely feel it blowing at pressure of 16. It seems a bit noisy as I can hear the air blowing inside the mask. The exhaust vent is on the swivel at intake vent. So much better than the Quattro with the vent on the mask just above the nose. So irritating. You can't position the exhaust anywhere because it's in a fixed place on the mask.

I know a lot of people were disappointed with the AMARA but everybody's face is different. This one works for me. If you need something smaller than the Quattro Extra small, try the Amara Petite.

Any other opinions on this one?

How does it stack up against the Quattro FX & Mirage Quattro?

lazer wrote:Any other opinions on this one?

How does it stack up against the Quattro FX & Mirage Quattro?

Lazer
My son has tried the amara and hated it, has a quattro , which he doesn't hate but will tolerate. He has asked his dme for the quattro fx, which he gets this week, so has to trial that one next. His problem with the quattro is that the sizing says he is on the line between the medium and the large...the medium being a tad tight and the large a bit too big
He has been at this for about 3 weeks..so still in the trial stage to find what works best.
Cheers
Nan

nanwilson wrote:

lazer wrote:Any other opinions on this one?

How does it stack up against the Quattro FX & Mirage Quattro?

Lazer
My son has tried the amara and hated it, has a quattro , which he doesn't hate but will tolerate. He has asked his dme for the quattro fx, which he gets this week, so has to trial that one next. His problem with the quattro is that the sizing says he is on the line between the medium and the large...the medium being a tad tight and the large a bit too big
He has been at this for about 3 weeks..so still in the trial stage to find what works best.
Cheers
Nan

Thanks Nan for the response. Funny thing is, the DME first had the sizer set on "medium" for me but felt the "large" was more fitting for the lack of a more proper word, hehe

And with all my battles with this damn thing (Quattro FX) leakage as the pressures rise, I'm not too certain I was either sized correctly OR it's just not the mask for me.

Frustrating as I seemed to have far less events and didn't wake up so often with leaks when using nasal pillows, however, I'm a pronounced "mouth breather" and so the nasal pillows present their own challenge for me it seems.

lazer wrote:

nanwilson wrote:

lazer wrote:Any other opinions on this one?

How does it stack up against the Quattro FX & Mirage Quattro?

Lazer
My son has tried the amara and hated it, has a quattro , which he doesn't hate but will tolerate. He has asked his dme for the quattro fx, which he gets this week, so has to trial that one next. His problem with the quattro is that the sizing says he is on the line between the medium and the large...the medium being a tad tight and the large a bit too big
He has been at this for about 3 weeks..so still in the trial stage to find what works best.
Cheers
Nan

Thanks Nan for the response. Funny thing is, the DME first had the sizer set on "medium" for me but felt the "large" was more fitting for the lack of a more proper word, hehe

And with all my battles with this damn thing (Quattro FX) leakage as the pressures rise, I'm not too certain I was either sized correctly OR it's just not the mask for me.

Frustrating as I seemed to have far less events and didn't wake up so often with leaks when using nasal pillows, however, I'm a pronounced "mouth breather" and so the nasal pillows present their own challenge for me it seems.

Have you considered one of the hybrid masks? They have nasal pillows AND you can breathe through the mouth. If I can't make my Quattro FX work, I'm thinking of trying one of these next. Don't know which one is best, though.

Bon Bon wrote:Have you considered one of the hybrid masks? They have nasal pillows AND you can breathe through the mouth. If I can't make my Quattro FX work, I'm thinking of trying one of these next. Don't know which one is best, though.

I've thought a little about them but they all look kinda scary to me. Don't ask me why... It's just something about having those pillows with that mouth enclosure.

lazer wrote:I've thought a little about them but they all look kinda scary to me. Don't ask me why... It's just something about having those pillows with that mouth enclosure.

This is coming from someone who embraces pink?
Give the Innomed/Respcare Hybrid a try. It comes with 3 sizes of cushions.
I have tried it...it isn't bad at all. If (that's a real big if) I ever absolutely just had to use a FFM that would be the one I would use. It's a bitch to get together and fitted just right but once you do there is minimal adjustment with removing or putting on.

I thought you had already tried it or I would have suggested it a while back.

Pugsy wrote:

lazer wrote:I've thought a little about them but they all look kinda scary to me. Don't ask me why... It's just something about having those pillows with that mouth enclosure.

This is coming from someone who embraces pink?
Give the Innomed/Respcare Hybrid a try. It comes with 3 sizes of cushions.
I have tried it...it isn't bad at all. If (that's a real big if) I ever absolutely just had to use a FFM that would be the one I would use. It's a bitch to get together and fitted just right but once you do there is minimal adjustment with removing or putting on.

I thought you had already tried it or I would have suggested it a while back.

You like this one better than the Liberty?

It will be a couple of months before I can order a new mask, but I'd really like to have a full face mask that doesn't wake me up with leaks for when I have a cold, etc.

Laser, I think you need to at least try one on at your DME. Just think how comfortable it might be - you'd have no chin strap and you wouldn't have to worry about your 'stache and taping. If you want, we could make you some PINK strap covers for it.

Oh my.. But I'm telling you, those hybrid masks look scary. Pink or not.



Just gives me the creeps!

I went in for a FFM recently. I usually use the Swift FX, but I had bad nasal congestion and couldn't breathe at night. I tried on 5 different FFM, including the AMARA but had a lot of leaks. Maybe I have a small nose bridge, because a lot of them went into my eyes. I asked about hybrids since the nasal pillows work so well for me and ended up with the Liberty (they didn't carry the other). It was so much better for me than the others. And it feels less confining, too. The first night was a little frustrating with the adjustments and I had to use lanolin on the nasal pillows (a first for me) but once I got it dialed in it was great. I liked not having something on the bridge of my nose. I don't want to wear it every night, but it worked for that week and if I had to wear it more, it wouldn't be an issue. But it's not like the Swift FX where I can forget I'm wearing it. Replacement parts, though, are a little expensive. You are buying both nasal pillows and the mouth cushion.

Bon Bon wrote: You like this one better than the Liberty?

Never tried the Liberty but the Innomed Hybrid comes with 3 sizes of cushions and the Liberty you have to figure out which cushion size to order. Since Lazer is having sizing difficulties (maybe) I think getting all 3 sizes at once is a better option when sizing is in question. Plus the Innomed isn't quite so pricey if someone is buying out of pocket.

The Innomed Hybrid has been the only FFM I have ever worn for any length of time. I have a bad neck and the lower straps with the FFM (or even the over the nose masks) just kill my neck. It was quickly apparent at the DME office when I first was looking at masks....those lower straps are a deal breaker for me. The Innomed allows the straps to come up a little higher off my neck...so not as painful. I don't do lower straps at all. That's why I use nasal pillows.
I won't even go into the over the nose bridge stuff where I can't breath at all. That's why I decided early on that I would make the nasal pillow masks work by any means necessary. The couple of colds that I have had in the 3 years I have been on cpap therapy...I have used my nasal pillow mask and made it work.

lazer wrote:Oh my.. But I'm telling you, those hybrid masks look scary. Pink or not.



Just gives me the creeps!

That doesn't bother me nearly as much as the thought of having to wear another chinstrap!! Those things are torture devices imo.

Pugsy wrote:

Bon Bon wrote: You like this one better than the Liberty?

Never tried the Liberty but the Innomed Hybrid comes with 3 sizes of cushions and the Liberty you have to figure out which cushion size to order. Since Lazer is having sizing difficulties (maybe) I think getting all 3 sizes at once is a better option when sizing is in question. Plus the Innomed isn't quite so pricey if someone is buying out of pocket.

The Innomed Hybrid has been the only FFM I have ever worn for any length of time. I have a bad neck and the lower straps with the FFM (or even the over the nose masks) just kill my neck. It was quickly apparent at the DME office when I first was looking at masks....those lower straps are a deal breaker for me. The Innomed allows the straps to come up a little higher off my neck...so not as painful. I don't do lower straps at all. That's why I use nasal pillows.
I won't even go into the over the nose bridge stuff where I can't breath at all. That's why I decided early on that I would make the nasal pillow masks work by any means necessary. The couple of colds that I have had in the 3 years I have been on cpap therapy...I have used my nasal pillow mask and made it work.

I'm so glad you mentioned the lower straps - I just looked at the two masks online and I don't think I could stand how low the ones on the Liberty are. The lower straps like that make me feel like something's trying to come around my neck and choke me, I just can't stand them. And I prefer not to have anything too close to my eyes. So I might just like this mask, and I kind of like the chinrest on it, too.

I am new to cpap and the Amara is my first mask. Like it except it is KILLING the bridge of my nose no matter what I do.

Get some mole skin from the drug store in the foot dept. and cut a piece and put it across the bridge of your nose where the mask hits.