hi russ welcome to the forum i live in PONTYPRIDD just up the road from PORT TALBOT

I would go with TushyGalore's self-defined simplistic solution. Simulate your jaw-drop position and adjust (tighten the mask). If it seems too tight, I would say, accept it as a compromise. I only know one other person personally that I have discussed the following side affect of the full face mask: when we wake up, we have lines on our faces where the mask was. These lines go away after a while. I just took off the mask about 25 minutes ago. I just looked in the mirror and I still have two long faint curved lines on either side of my mouth and nose. If you don't experience this then I would guess that your mask is not on as tight as the masks of my friend and I. My personal feeling is I would rather do what I have to to have the mask not leak than risk annoying my heart by periodic stopped breathing all night.

Your second complaint, I'm not sure. You said you wake up with the mask off. You didn't say why. In the first case you said the mask leak wakes you up. If you don't know why, then I personally don't have a suggestion. I can share with you that I wake up with my mask off sometimes and I don't know why. One possibility could be that perhaps it's somewhat unnatural to have a tight piece of silicone crammed against your face while air blasts your skin. If I had a choice, I would not have sleep apnea and would prefer to sleep naturally with out any kind of mask. I also have a nasal pillow mask which I use occasionally when I am having leak problems with the full facial mask and am too tired to take the silicone and rubber out to make sure they are positioned correctly within the plastic. I have allergies and if too stuffy, I won't want to use the nasal pillow mask. Generally speaking, I don't like having something crammed up my nose. They don't seem all that pillowy to me. I do like the idea of having at least a couple of different styles of mask so that when I hate one kind, I can use a second kind for a while until I hate the second kind also and then switch back to the first. I now use the full face mask the most and I think I have less incident of waking up with the mask off with the full face mask. When my insurance allows, I want to try another mask. I fits OVER the nose only and has a Gel interface and is called a Sleep Net I-Q. One last thought. When I started, I tended to be more attracted to masks that seemed less claustrophobic. Now, I think it's more important to to have a mask that gives a secure fit and is going to stay on all night with the least trouble. Well, good luck, Russ. Here are a couple of links on the subject of mask options:

http://www.advanscpap.com/apnea-masks/
p://www.sleepapnea.org/resources/pubs/mask.htm