Thank you for that information. I will definately be asking for nasal pillows because I cannot stand a mask over my face. Good luck with your surgery.

I received my dx of sleep apnea early in 2009.  Started out with a mask which I fought every night because I'm a side sleeper.  The next mask failed miserably as well.

Then I tried nasal pillows and have stuck with that ever since, though it did take some adjustment.  I use the ResMed Swift FX for Her nasal pillow set.  It's very comfortable and stays in place pretty well, either sitting over my very long hair or with my hair pulled through it as one would pull her hair through the back of a baseball cap.  My best pillow size ended up being the medium, FWIW.

Another thing to play around with is the length of the air tubing.  Since my machine is very close to my head when I sleep I can get away with about 28" of tubing and not that six-foot monster trying to wrap around me all night. 

I'm told to bring the CPAP to the hospital when I have my surgery.  Looking forward to the night when I have lost enough weight that I can kiss that thing goodbye forever, but for now at least I've found a comfortable fit which lets me sleep fairly restfully.

Hope this helps!

Hello. Yes I also have the nasal mask with the pillow type material. I noticed that when I wake up my mouth is usually dry which indicates to me that I must sleep with my mouth open but I could not handle wearing a chin strap. Too constrictive for me and it is bas enough having to wear the mask part. Yes I think I will mention this problem to the health care staff. I have been sleeping with a c-pap machine for 15 years and I have always had this problem with the masks that I have had to wear in the past. My skin is very sensitive.

Hi. I am new here from south Ontario and this site was listed in my booklets from the hospital so I thought I would see what it is all about. This is my first post. One of my issues is about my sleep apnea mask. Is there a  way to make it stop hurting my face? When I tighten it so that the air doesn't come out it ends up feeling like there's too much pressure on my face like the mask is making an indent and it hurts. If I loosen it then the air leaks. I just can't win lol. Any suggestions on how to counteract this? The mask material causes an allergic reaction on my face. Anybody have this problem too?

http://www.sleepapnea.org/resources/cpap-assistance-program.html

They have an assistance program.