Optilife fix

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
girlsaylor
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Optilife fix

Post by girlsaylor » Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:42 am

I may be the only person who has trouble with having a small head, very silky hair, and headgear slippage problems.

While I've been loving using the Optilife, I've found the headgear adjustments simply don't keep it in place for me. Seems the angle of the headgear where it splits off doesn't work for me. Even with putting my hair in a ponytail over the bottom strap in back, my scrunchies won't hold that back strap down. So it slides up the back of my head, allowing the top strap to slide forward and down onto my bangs in front. No amount of tightening straps keeps it in place.

I finally figured out the one-size-fits-all headgear just didn't accommodate my small head very well. I took the 7-8 inch black velcro hose-handler from my bipap auto cord and opened it up, sticking the little machine velcro strip to both the top and back headgear bands, in the back, of the Optilife straps. It's easily adjusted to pull that top strap back where it would sit on a normal size head, and doesn't seem to pull the lower strap up. My scrunchies on my ponytail stay in place in stead of riding up with the back Optilife strap. I guess I just needed a bit more stability to keep the straps where they're intended to be. Also, I did try using both of the strap guides on the plastic front piece, and moving the strap forward didn't solve the problem. Another nice thing about putting this little 'stabilizer' on the back straps is that I can wear the mask straps fairly loose. As the mask rides on my ears (headgear is simply too large for a small woman's head), I don't mind the straps being over the tops of my ears, as there is no pressure, wearing the mask straps fairly loose, just barely snug.

girlsaylor


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rested gal
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Post by rested gal » Fri Apr 27, 2007 8:28 am

Nice "fix", girlsaylor! Simple, effective.

Earned ya this:

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zzzzzz!!
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Post by zzzzzz!! » Fri Apr 27, 2007 8:45 am

What rested gal said: Nice "fix", girlsaylor!

Now could you come up with one for those of us who lack sufficient flowing tresses to make a ponytail?

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Daffney_Gillfin
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Post by Daffney_Gillfin » Fri Apr 27, 2007 9:52 am

zzzzzz!! wrote:What rested gal said: Nice "fix", girlsaylor!

Now could you come up with one for those of us who lack sufficient flowing tresses to make a ponytail?
I have the flowing tresses, but really got tired of having a lump on the back of my head. It was uncomfortable when lying on my back.

What works for me is to just use the treasured pantyhose leg. I loop it over the back strap, pull both ends around to the front (one end from each side of my head), and loop one end through the chin strap. Then I tie it so that there is plenty of slack. It's not tight at all, but it stabilizes enough to keep the head gear in the right place on my head, and the knot is out of the way in every position.
--
DG
Silverlining output screenshots http://www.flickr.com/photos/daffneygillfin/
"Pain breeds compliance" -- Rudy Reyes
Pressure set at 11(min) - 15(max) Titrated 11

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zzzzzz!!
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Post by zzzzzz!! » Fri Apr 27, 2007 9:56 am

Thanks DG, I'll see if I can get hold of some pantyhose and give that a try.

girlsaylor
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ponytails

Post by girlsaylor » Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:01 am

Ah, the tresses problem. I normally leave one soft scrunchie, or at most two, in a ponytail for the added stability. I'm going to try my Opti tonight and take the scrunchies out to see if it stays put.

Oh, and Daffney, I think the pantyhose fix would work well also. I don't have such things on the sailboat, but it might be a good idea to have one pr for just such times, instead of cutting up a piece of clothing, lol. It's amazing what we do for a good night's sleep.

Oh, RG, I'm blushing right now...or is it the start of a sunburn. Hmmmm. I think I'm getting peaked. Need to get to the yacht. Yacht, you say? Well, not exactly a yacht. More like getting a rescue boat from the boat graveyard, lol. Varnish fumes seem to be getting to me.

girlsaylor

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Daffney_Gillfin
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Post by Daffney_Gillfin » Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:05 am

zzzzzz!! wrote:Thanks DG, I'll see if I can get hold of some pantyhose and give that a try.
Just for clarification, while commonly referred to as pantyhose in this forum, I'm really talking about tights -- not your everyday pantyhose. They're a little heavier than the normal pantyhose and hold their shape better. I think they have spandex added in.
--
DG
Silverlining output screenshots http://www.flickr.com/photos/daffneygillfin/
"Pain breeds compliance" -- Rudy Reyes
Pressure set at 11(min) - 15(max) Titrated 11

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zzzzzz!!
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Post by zzzzzz!! » Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:29 am

[quote="Daffney_Gillfin]Just for clarification, while commonly referred to as pantyhose in this forum, I'm really talking about tights -- not your everyday pantyhose. They're a little heavier than the normal pantyhose and hold their shape better. I think they have spandex added in.[/quote]

Ok, thanks for the clarification; I'll see what I can find. Between Parisian habits, prices, and the crappy exchange rate, things that are simple (and inexpensive) in the US are not often that way here!

Jaggles
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Post by Jaggles » Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:21 am

just bought an optilife at lunchtime. I am excited to try it out. I have a big fat manhead so hopefully I don't have any of these problems.

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RichCMH
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Post by RichCMH » Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:26 am

Jaggles... search and read some previous posts. I have a larger man-head also and I love the OptiLife!

-Cheers

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rested gal
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Post by rested gal » Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:30 am

Daffney, WTG! Here's your trophy for a good fix!

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Daffney_Gillfin
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Post by Daffney_Gillfin » Fri Apr 27, 2007 5:01 pm

rested gal wrote:Daffney, WTG! Here's your trophy for a good fix!
Wow! Thanks! I'm honored.
--
DG
Silverlining output screenshots http://www.flickr.com/photos/daffneygillfin/
"Pain breeds compliance" -- Rudy Reyes
Pressure set at 11(min) - 15(max) Titrated 11

SlapShot
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Post by SlapShot » Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:42 pm

Does anyone have a problem with the plastic part of the mask under the nose? It really irritates me the way it touches my face between my nose and upper lip. I sometimes pull it away from my face so that it's not touching, but it's kind of hard to hold it and fall asleep at the same time.

I'm thinking I might have to do some engineering this weekend. I'm very inspired by the others here who have posted their modifications.

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Daffney_Gillfin
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Post by Daffney_Gillfin » Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:59 pm

SlapShot wrote:Does anyone have a problem with the plastic part of the mask under the nose? It really irritates me the way it touches my face between my nose and upper lip. I sometimes pull it away from my face so that it's not touching, but it's kind of hard to hold it and fall asleep at the same time.
Yes. Sometimes, less often than not, that bothers me. However, I seem to have no problem falling asleep holding the hose so that it doesn't do that. I'm not sure exactly why sometimes it happens, and others it doesn't. When I try to adjust things to fix it, it usually ends up making things worse. Therefore, I just hold the hose in a way that the mask doesn't bother me. Once I fall asleep, it's no longer a problem.

Holding the hose is just something I'm used to I guess. I did it often with the Swift. I even fell asleep holding my head gear to keep the mask (CL2, I think) on during titration.

--
DG
Silverlining output screenshots http://www.flickr.com/photos/daffneygillfin/
"Pain breeds compliance" -- Rudy Reyes
Pressure set at 11(min) - 15(max) Titrated 11

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ScottH
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Post by ScottH » Fri Apr 27, 2007 7:07 pm

I'm a heavy-duty toss and turn side-sleeper, so I'm always re-adjusting the mask position to keep it from pressing up under my nose. Like Daffney, I've just learned to tweak the hose position whenever I rotate so that it doesn't add any side-to-side tension and break the seal or push into my face.

My oddity with the OptiLife is that my two nostrils are just enough different in size that one side is always sore and the other is pretty much comfortable. I test-drove the Hybrid in the sleep clinic today and the one thing I really liked was the ability to have two different size pillows on the thing.

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.