Respironics Nuance Pro/Nuance Mask Review

[chunkyfrog]

Second night, lowest leak rate in months! ---I may have to let the bullfrog wear it tonight.
He's been side sleeping for several months (his apnea is nearly all positional),
but his shoulders have been bothering him, and he knows he has to use the machine to sleep on his back.
A small sacrifice, willingly offered. (hearts)
Edit: He says he'd rather start out with a mask he's used to, either the 431 or the fitlife, so it's Nuancing myself to sleep again tonight.

[RogerSC]

Tried it the other night, and liked it, but I still like the feel of the Swift FX better. I'm not a mask collector, so I'll be sending it back...but it is definitely the next best to the Swift FX. I liked the feel of the gel on the nasal pillows, and got a good seal. The main drawback for me is that the mask is different in the way that it feels on my pillow, not in itself a bad thing, but it had me positioning my head in ways that didn't prevent mouth-breathing as well as my head position with the Swift FX. I think that it was the gel packs on the straps on my face that had that effect. I like the silicone part of the straps, since it holds the mask in place better on my face as I move around (I have a beard and fabric straps just slide all over the place *smile*, can't use the padacheek strap covers because of that), but the extra gel packs on the straps were just enough to make it not work quite right for me. Now if they were to have another version of the Nuance without the gel packs on the straps, I'd be happy to try that one. Picky picky picky...

So I'm still looking for my "Mr. Right" (or Mr. GoodBar *smile*) mask. Every time I try a different mask and come back to the Swift FX, I appreciate it just a little more. If I could just find those nasal pillows in a size half-way between medium and large, I'd be a happier camper, too. There's always something, probably why I'll never find my Mr. RightMask *smile*.

[Hawthorne]

The Nuance Prohas the gel packs on the straps BUT the Nuance has fabric straps (no gel). I have the Nuance (not the Pro with the gel straps). I've tried a lot of masks in the 11 years or so that I have used cpap and I find that the fabric strap on the Nuance is quite different than other fabric straps. It leaves no marks on my face at all! With other fabric straps, I always got a strap mark. I could resolve that with pad-a-cheeks but I don't think I will need pad-a-cheek accessory for this one.

You asked about one without the get straps - there is one! It's the Nuance not the Nuance Pro. You might want to give that a try.

I used the Swift FX some time back but I find this better - remember NOT the one with the gel straps - the Nuance with fabric straps.

The other feature I like about the Nuance is the back strap. It kind of "grips" to my head - no sliding - stays put.

[chunkyfrog]

Anyone wanting to switch from pro to cloth frame Nuance, or vice-versa, please note:
you will have to buy BOTH the frame and headgear, as they are NOT interchangeable.

[RogerSC]

You asked about one without the get straps - there is one! It's the Nuance not the Nuance Pro. You might want to give that a try.

Yes, I also mentioned that silicone straps on my face work better for me, they don't slide around on my beard. So what I'm looking for is a version with silicone straps without the extra gel packs on them. The Nuance Semi-Pro, I guess *smile*.

Thanks.

[RogerSC]

Anyone wanting to switch from pro to cloth frame Nuance, or vice-versa, please note:
you will have to buy BOTH the frame and headgear, as they are NOT interchangeable.

Good point. Thanks for mentioning that.

[chunkyfrog]

Note: the pillows are now available at our hosts' site.
List price is $38.99 USD, discount (if they don't mind me saying) is $29.
---Consistent with other parts at the same MSRP, if they do.

[sleeplessinaz]

Last night was my first night with my Pro. I liked it a lot! Very light weight and I did like the gel straps too. I didn't care for how close it is to my eyes though. My Aloha was seated lower and I think I got used to that.

I am going to keep on using this one tho. Love how the nasal pillows are built with the gel rings inside of them and they are super soft. So far so good,

Carrie

[Pugsy]

Second night with the Nuance Pro. Much better than the prior night. Made a very minor adjustment on the cheek straps to give me just a tiny bit more tension and that eliminated the minor leaks that bugged me the night before.
I had a couple of my usual "probably a little mouth breathing" leak spikes at the usual times but the worst it ever got to was 52 L/min and that was very short lived. Since my large leak territory with this PR S1 machine and my pressures is at least 90 L/min...I shrug my shoulders and I don't care since I slept well and leaks weren't an issue.

It's funny but the bigger leaks from probable mouth breathing don't bother me at all and the little tiny nasal pillow leaks from the night before just bug the crap out of me.

I still had some short lived strap marks on my cheeks. This is more because of my firm pillow than it is the mask straps. I will slide my Swift FX Padacheek side strap covers on the straps tonight.

Slept extremely well (for me) last night but then I was extra tired due to some cleaning chores I had done along with the little extra half of a pain pill I took to help ward of pain being as much of a factor as it can be.
AHI 2.10 with no CAs at all. OA was 1.98 and very minimal hyponea...pretty much normal for me. I rarely have many hyponeas.
8 hours of sleep with maybe 3 or 4 very brief awakenings when changing position in bed (changing position causes extra pelvic pain).

I pretty much didn't even notice the presence of the mask on my face or the headgear last night. As I suspected...just takes me a little to get used to having something on my face. Didn't notice the straps being near my eyes as much and that is just a perception thing because the position of them didn't change.
I plan to use it for a week or so to give it a good trial. I will be keeping it just to have an alternate. Is it better than the Swift FX???? I don't know that it is for my needs but it probably is just as good.

[chunkyfrog]

Third night: I switched back to my Wisp after a few hours.
If I keep the Nuance Pro, it will be after altering the headgear so the side straps are not pulled so close to my eyes.
Too bad Respironics is inconsiderate of people with smaller hat sizes, --and lower ears.
They made many improvements over the Resmed Swift FX, but they also missed the mark by not selling a smaller size headgear.
Fortunately, cloth is a lot easier to alter than silicone. Now the question: is it worth my time?

[Pugsy]

They made many improvements over the Resmed Swift FX, but they also missed the mark by not selling a smaller size headgear.
Fortunately, cloth is a lot easier to alter than silicone. Now the question: is it worth my time?

To make it clear..the only part of the Nuance Pro headgear that is silicone is the side straps and they are easily altered for adjustment.
The part of the Pro headgear that goes around the back and over the top of the head is still stretchy fabric and the top has an adjustment strap loop available.
For me the back strap barely makes it as far as not being too large. It is stretchy so bigger heads won't have any issues but those with smaller heads may find that they aren't utilizing the stretch part of things. I am not. While it could probably be a little smaller so that it is a little snugger on the back of my head..it does just fine like it is. Still doesn't want to slide up the back of my head at all. If my head was much smaller in circumference it might be too loose in the back strap department.
I understand what Respironics was trying to do here with that back strap in one piece with stretchiness...avoid any bulk or bumps that a means of altering size in the back would entail. Trying to "tighten" the back strap by way of the top strap only works up to a point. Try to do it too much and the overall mask positioning gets altered too much.

People with very small circumference around the back of the head might find the overall back strap positioning a bit loose. I suppose it could be taken up in some fashion but then the seam or whatever is used create a "bump" will be there for a possible pressure point issues. There simply would be a bump there and even a tiny bump feels like a boulder when you are laying on it.

[chunkyfrog]

Tightening the back strap would not help nearly as much as MOVING IT!
In the case of the Swift FX headgear, the loop to which the back strap is fastened is placed at ONE position in ALL sizes of headgear.
The only difference between a regular and a small is the small can be adjusted tighter over the top of the head,
which pulls the mask in a more upward direction, the smaller a person's skull is; thus pulling the cheek strap towards, perhaps into, the eyes.
If I were to alter my Nuance Pro headgear, I would have to CUT the back strap OFF, and sew it lower onto the continuous portion of the headgear.
I suppose I need to clean off my sewing table.

[Pugsy]

ChunkyFrog I have been looking at that back strap and I can't figure out a spot where it could easily be shortened without creating a bump that might bug someone. If someone totally slept on their side then mid back might work. If someone liked to end up on their back then maybe on the side up near where the top strap joins the back strap. Then it might need to be done on both sides at same place to keep balance. Like you ...for me...the top adjustment only works up to a point before it compromises where it begins to screw with the overall nasal pillow angle which isn't a good thing. If my head was 1/2 to 1 inch smaller around I wouldn't be able to have that back strap secured.

If someone had one of those "serger" sewing machines so that minimal overlap of the material is needed...I would think might be the best way to shorten the back strap with scissors and sew together.
Otherwise a person would have to pick a spot where there is the least likely chance of having to lay on the bump created by putting 2 ends together.
Wonder if taping with Gorilla duct tape or similar tape would stay stuck on the fabric well enough to eliminate the need for sewing???

[chunkyfrog]

I do have a serger, but this would be better done with a flatlock, which I don't have.
My computerized sewing machine has a mock flatlock stitch, which would work with washable stabilizer on both sides.
A bit fussier, but workable. It could look decent (and be really flat) if I took my time.
Of course, I have a fair amount of sewing experience: ---formals, wedding dresses, and lots of altering and mending.

[Issac]

I can't have thing next to my eyes, I'm a side sleeper. I would like to try those gel pillows, though, just on something that's off my eyes like the aloha.