Puritan Bennett Breeze Sleepgear Making me go Bald ??

Bear717 · Post by **Bear717** » Tue Nov 28, 2006 9:59 pm

hey guys,

first off i just want to say hi, im a 31 year old guy who lives north of Boston and I was diagnosed with OSA in 2003. Curing it led to a bunch of health recoveries, I was in extreme fatigue for years before i had treatment and i think its cool you guys have a board ... i look forward to participating.

Over the 3 years i have had a CPAP, ive used puritan bennett's brezze sleepgear with nasal pillows because it is/was the only device i could tolerate. it works great. but i had a question.

it looks like a bunch of you use the breeze sleepgear either with the nasal pillows or the complete nose cover... i have 2 distinct divets in my head right where the bridge of the mask frame sits (----) <-- looks like that. my wife says it looks like the cpap has actually worn a hole in my head on both the left and right side AND on the back left side of my head where that metal frame goes.

i went to a dermatologist and i brought the breeze with me. over the last three years, i am noticing less and less hair where those divets are and it naturally had me concerned, wearing the mask for 1/3 of my life (8 hours a day out of 24). the dermatologist says he attributes it directly to where the frame of the breeze sits and called it "traction alopecia" meaning, tugging of the hair out of the scalp.

so after i thought i was going crazy for 3 years, it was confirmed. the breeze head gear was making the divets. my durable medical company lincare came out and looked at my head and said i didnt have it too tight, i just must toss and turn in my sleep or switch sides a lot.

i would normally not care about this as i expect to lose hair as i get older, but it is in weird places like a bar across the top of my head (----) and in the back left lateral to my left ear... and im afraid i was going to look like a freak.

has this happened to anybody else? i was just wondering if it was a common thing? has anyone ever looked into it or noticed divets in their head or missing hair? i feel like sueing puritan bennett... but at the same time am thankful for the device...

*also lincare just hooked me up with a mirage swift because of the hair problem (its not that bad to the average person, but i can tell...)

i am at a setting of 6.6 on the cpap scale for pressure. in switching from the puritan bennett sleepgear to the mirage swift, my wife started noticing me snoring again for the first time in 3 years and even though i had apneas. ive been on the mirage swift for about a week now and am completely exhausted.

i noticed due to the structure of the two devices that at the same pressure 6.6cm, the puritan bennett breeze felt SIGNIFICANTLY more powerful than the mirage swift in terms of pressure. is this common? i feel like going into the clinical menu of my cpap and changing it from 6.6 to like 7.8cms... i have to get some sleep and am petrified and determined not to resort back to the breeze sleepgear.

has anyone else had pressure problems when changing between masks? ive scheduled an emergency sleep study for next week hoping to address the issue, but i thought i'd try here too because i just discovered your board and saw how kind and helping you were to each other and was wondering if possibly you could help or have advice for my situations regarding the hair loss with the breeze sleepgear and the pressure differentials between masks.

thanks a lot and if there's anything i can help with, let me know!

erik

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Tue Nov 28, 2006 10:40 pm

I'm not a doctor and not suggesting what you should do. But...."if it were me"... lol!! ... I wouldn't hesitate a NY minute to raise the pressure on my machine from the 6.whatever you've been using for the past three years to as much as 10, without bothering with another sleep study.

I would think that most doctors would not hesitate either, to raise your pressure a couple of notches without benefit of another sleep study. If in doubt, check with your doctor. You and he know what your health is in general.

Can Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Titrate Their Own Continuous Positive Airway Pressure?
The answer was "Yes."

Julie · Post by **Julie** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 3:52 am

An idea might be (when fitting the Breeze) to first put a very thin 'cover' over the areas in question (even a tissue or piece of flannel, etc.) and see if that helps.

DreamStalker · Post by **DreamStalker** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 7:55 am

A freak! Hey, you will start the next hair fashion trend with an inverted mohawk

Seriously though, I have not had the problem but I also have not been on the Breeze as long as you have. I modified mine by removing the metal spine and rear triangular plate ... so my traction alopecia pattern will be different if it occurs to me.

I would go back to the Breeze and maybe try wearing a cloth night cap although I do not know how that may affect headgear stability.

Best of luck and do keep us posted as to what happens.

- r

grybeard77 · Post by **grybeard77** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 2:04 pm

I too was developing a bald spot and managed to do the remodel fix suggested by Dreamstalker, and it sure helped, BUT, I also ordered a CL2 head gear/nasal pillows and after using it a few times decided that with further modification it would be better than the Breeze. I cut the top piece off that sat on the top of my head like the breeze, and by trying many different combinations of straps, have finally came up with a comfortable head gear I can sleep all night with. I am a side sleeper BTW....
By using the straps from the Comfort Curve mask on my CL2, straps were fitted upside down so it holds the part that sits on my forehead in place.
A light setting on the tilt mechanism fits very easy and comfortable in my nares all night with very few leaks. Using a pressure of 8.2 and getting a really good nights sleep, finally.

IBTeri · Post by **IBTeri** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 3:16 pm

get a silk sleep cap. less than 5 dollars in the hair care section. I'm wearing one in my picture.

Bear717 · Post by **Bear717** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 6:58 pm

hey guys - just an update... after 13 days on the mirage swift mask i had to go back to the puritan bennett breeze - i just wasnt sleeping.

i think it was 1) do to the pain of having the mask so tigh so it wouldnt fall off my nostrils in the middle of the night and 2) the Large nasal pillows were falling off my left nostril.

i tried so hard and after 1 night back on the breeze, i feel so refreshed i could run 10 miles. im so upset. what should i do? i ordered smaller nasal pilows for the mirage swift, maybe that would help?

i guess im just gonna have to have bald spots on my head ...

maybe that sleeping cap is a good idea, but i toss and turn so much in the night that even with a cap or piece of cloth, i think my hair would still have just as much traction ripping it out

any other ideas for masks? anybody have any luck with a mirage swift or wear one? i found that its much too narrow for my face - hurts a lot.

any help would be great!

thanks...

Liam1965 · Post by **Liam1965** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 8:56 pm

Bear717 wrote:i would normally not care about this as i expect to lose hair as i get older, but it is in weird places like a bar across the top of my head (----) and in the back left lateral to my left ear... and im afraid i was going to look like a freak.

That MUST be it. And here I assumed that my hair loss was due to evil mutant rabbits grazing while I slept.

But no, it MUST be the CPAP machine. The one that's been sitting idle next to my bed for over a year as I've completely and utterly failed to acclimate to it and have thus stopped using it.

Yeah, that's it, CPAP started my hair falling out years ago, before I even knew I'd ever have one. I've got a time travelling CPAP!

Seriously, you're probably right. It's just that, having a grand total of about 7 strands sticking out at random odd angles from my giant white melon, I have a hard time getting too worked up about a few patches.

Still, good luck finding a way to solve the problem. Perhaps one of those old "bathing caps" that swimmers (and my grandmother) used to wear? If you put it on carefully enough, it might not pull anything additional, and might protect your head from the contact points of the mask.

It's all I can think of. Well, that, or do what I do and shave your head. Then no one notices where you've lost your hair, they just think you're a radiation victim, a skin-head neo nazi or the last remaining member of the Telly Savalas fan club.

Come to think of it, I can see why you wouldn't want that. It'd be kind of embarassing.

Telly Savalas. What am I thinking!

Liam, District President, Yul Brynner Appreciation Society

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): cpap machine, Liam, CPAP

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 10:51 pm

You don't mention how you manage the hose.

I hang the hose from above my head, and put a thick tennis sock, folded in two, underneath the outrigger. It seems to me that both keep the Breeze pretty stable.

Does traction alocpea mean your hair is being pulled out, or just being loosened out of its roots by rubbing?

O.

Bookbear · Post by **Bookbear** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 11:35 pm

Evening, Bear!

A suggestion was made here earlier to use a "doo-rag", similar to what bikers sometimes wear so they don't get 'helmut hair', or sweat dripping down in their eyes from under their helmuts. Its possible that would work. I have a flat top, so it isn't too noticable on me, but I DO have a flat spot in the morning when I get up. After showering, its pretty much gone.

You can make it a fashion statement...get one with grizzlies on it...or Harleys!

Liam1965 · Post by **Liam1965** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 6:36 am

ozij wrote:You don't mention how you manage the hose.

I hang the hose from above my head, and put a thick tennis sock, folded in two, underneath the outrigger.

You do realize that the combination above is nigh on irresistable to the immature among us, even knowing how old and tired hose jokes are on CPAPTALK.com, right?

Liam, who stayed up too late last night and is now a bit punchy.

Bookbear · Post by **Bookbear** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 10:05 am

Nevertheless, you resisted, and we're proud of you, Liam!

Bear717 · Post by **Bear717** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 10:46 pm

thanks liam for the comic relief, really....

anyways, going for a sleep study tuesday night

lets see if this mirage swift is actually working

then ill take 8 tylenol before bed and wake up with a punched in the face hangover feeling...

i got medium nasal pillows, i think the larges were falling out and making me apnea... pray for the best!

erik

PS - when are they ever going to come out with the "perfect" mask ???

PPS - have any of you looked into surgery?

Liam1965 · Post by **Liam1965** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 10:50 pm

Bear717 wrote:PS - when are they ever going to come out with the "perfect" mask ???

Why would they do that, when this way they can sell us mask after mask as we try in vain to find one that works right for us.

Liam, who didn't think he was THAT cynical, but maybe, just maybe, he is.

cillakat · Post by **cillakat** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:22 pm

i really think you should try Teri's rec for the silk sleep cap. people with very very breakprone hair use them b/c the slippery surface slips against their hair instead of 'catching' the hair and breaking it.

if it doesn't work you're out less than $10.

you could also try taking 5 mg biotin per day....it speed growth rate of hair. if it helps even a little....again, cheap, non toxic, no negatives etc etc. but not little doses like 300 mcg. seriously about 5 mg per day.

k

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Additional Comments: Avg. AHI .4

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Puritan Bennett Breeze Sleepgear Making me go Bald ??

Puritan Bennett Breeze Sleepgear Making me go Bald ??

Re: Puritan Bennett Breeze Sleepgear Making me go Bald ??