Aura/Everrest/Twilight whatever it is called

WillSucceed · Post by **WillSucceed** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 5:56 pm

I tried the Aura when it first came out and had limited success. Foolishly, I did not try and of the fixes that others have talked about on this forum.

I'd like to try it again so, if anyone has an Aura that they want to sell, or donate, please let me know!

tangents · Post by **tangents** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:11 am

I can donate an unused large pillow interface, if you can come up with the interface hose & headgear.

Good luck,
Cathy

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:43 am

Wiil,
I live too far away to help with any donation - but I can tell you that I found the newer seals - those made by Invacare and sold in a new mask package easier to use.

Especially the Large size. (I'm doing some personal testing on which I will report in a few days).

By the way, since the Aura seals can be beaten out of shape to fit anyone's face, you may want to consider only unused, untried seals. If you decide to order one, ask about the make of the seal:

Last November I ordered a new seal, and within a week or so had to order a whole new mask because the hose on mine sprung a leak. Masks don't come without seals - at least not form cpap.com, and I didn't check with others. The mask package (Invacare) had a new style seal - the seal ordered on its own was old style (Aeiomed). Things may have changed since November.

O.

kurtr · Post by **kurtr** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:45 am

Will,

Have you given up on the Opus?
I received mine a week ago. I could seal with the small pillows but exhaling was difficult. The medium pillows leaked until I used dental floss to pull the pillows together as described in a post a few months ago. Now this mask is working great for me. The best sleep I have had in a long time.
So if you have not tried this fix to the Opus it is worth a try....
Good-luck.

Kurt

WillSucceed · Post by **WillSucceed** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 9:07 am

Thanks, all, for the info.

Ozij --> I'll do some hunting locally and will be cautious to inquire regarding old (Aeiomed) and new (Invacare) seals. I don't know if my local suppliers carry Twilight NP, but I'll check.

Kurtr --> I find that I get a really good seal with the small Opus. I solved the reduced air-flow issue by trimming away a SMALL (really small) bit of the opening on each of the pillows (on the small size) so as to get slightly more air flow. The Opus works well for me and is stable but, I don't like the marks that it leaves on my face in the morning. I do think that it is a good mask as it is so small and lite.

sharon1965 · Post by **sharon1965** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:31 am

I don't know if my local suppliers carry Twilight NP, but I'll check.

willsucceed,

my supplier is medigas and my RT there told me a while back that she'd never heard of this interface and that if it was american she couldn't get it for me, which sounds like a bunch of hooey...she then told me that even if she could get hold of one, she couldn't sell it to me because if it's not one that they normally supply, first it would have to go through legal, quality control, testing etc...so i just gave up and bought one un-used from a forum member who had decided not to bother switching to it

i've been using it for a few weeks and i'm still working on getting it right, but since i decapitated it and moved up to the x-large pillows (weird, since i don't have a big nose or big nares) it's pretty comfortable

(...there's been a lot of buzz on the boards lately about the nasalaire II, do you have any experience with that one? my six months is up on july 4th so i'm getting ready to see my RT about a new interface and preparing myself for being told they don't carry it and can't get it...what a farce...i'm also thinking about the breeze for my next attempt...any thoughts?)

WillSucceed · Post by **WillSucceed** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:51 am

Hi Sharon1965:
I've tried the NasalAire, both I and II as well as the Tiara Snaap (sp?) and about 8 million other interfaces. This quest for the golden chalice (interface) makes me even crazier than I usually am. I was not able to get an all-night seal out of any of these cannula systems and did not like how far up my nose they have to be. I much prefer systems like Opus and Breeze that seal at the edge of the nare rather than inside the nare.

I have an Opus that I really like relative to seal and stability, but I don't like the marks that it leaves on my face. Perhaps if my face was not so fat... you know the rest of THAT story...

I use a Breeze most nights and have excellent success with it. I used tape to "lock" all of it's connector/adjustment points in place and this has really helped. I have a brand new Breeze in the box which I keep as a fallback if my current Breeze breaks. My only problem with the Breeze is that it can be bumped out of place if you sleep on your back. For side-sleeping, I think that the Breeze is the best interface as there is no side-of-the-face headgear to be bumped by the pillow. This was my big problem with the Swift (and somewhat the Opus) as the semi-rigid side-of-the-face headgear would transfer lateral pressure to the nasal pillows, and then to my nose, while laying on my side. Sometimes I'd wake up with a sore nose.

As I have access to insurance money twice per year, I keep trying different masks. I tried the Aura some time ago and found that it was not stable enough. After reading Ozij's very helpful post, I called AeioMed and found out that the nasal pillows section of the Aura has be improved by making the metal wires that are imbeded in the silicone stronger so that they hold their shape better. He also told me that AeioMed and Innvacare have recently gotten a divorce. The AeioMed guy told me that Evo Medical is now the carrier/distributor of Aura/Twilight NP. Aura/Twilight NP is NOT, according to the AeioMed guy, available in Canada.

Sharon, why don't you find a couple of equipment suppliers accross the border in Michigan that carry the masks that you want? You could skip across the border, try a few on and, given that the price is significantly less than in Canada, make a purchase in the US and just carry the mask back with you. I've done this with a supplier in Buffalo-- no shipping charges from the online places; carry your CPAP equipment WITHOUT a mask with you (ya' never know when a day trip might turn into an overnight stay) and when returning to Canada, all you have with you is one complete setup which is entirely explainable. I've even submitted these purchases to my employee benefits provider (Manulife as well as Sunlife) and have received full reimbursement from them.

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): breeze, swift, CPAP, Aura, AEIOmed, seal, Nasal Pillows

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): breeze, swift, CPAP, Aura, AEIOmed, seal, Nasal Pillows

Linda3032 · Post by **Linda3032** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 11:03 am

Will, as Ozij mentioned, there are the old style and new style pillows. The old style just had a bendable wire inside the pillows. The new style has the bendable wire plus a clear plastic piece (I guess it's to form the pillow better).

I pull the pillows together so they touch each other -- I use papertape near the upper/middle part of the shank. I get a better seal that way.

However, and this is what I'm building up to, I prefer the old style pillows. When I ordered a pillow replacement last year, I was sent the new style. I didn't even know they had redesigned it. The new style is a little harder to pull the pillows together because of that clear insert, but still can be managed.

Hope you have more luck with this attempt. And will be interested in your comparison of the Aura vs the Opus.

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 11:04 am

<snip>....I called AeioMed and found out that the nasal pillows section of the Aura has be improved by making the metal wires that are imbeded in the silicone stronger so that they hold their shape better. He also told me that AeioMed and Innvacare have recently gotten a divorce. The AeioMed guy told me that Evo Medical is now the carrier/distributor of Aura/Twilight NP....

That means the poor mask is due for another rename!!!!

O.

Linda3032 · Post by **Linda3032** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 11:07 am

ozij wrote:
<snip>....I called AeioMed and found out that the nasal pillows section of the Aura has be improved by making the metal wires that are imbeded in the silicone stronger so that they hold their shape better. He also told me that AeioMed and Innvacare have recently gotten a divorce. The AeioMed guy told me that Evo Medical is now the carrier/distributor of Aura/Twilight NP....

That means the poor mask is due for another rename!!!!

O.

sharon1965 · Post by **sharon1965** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 2:54 pm

will

thanks, once again, for all your input

willsucceed said:

Sharon, why don't you find a couple of equipment suppliers accross the border in Michigan that carry the masks that you want? You could skip across the border, try a few on and, given that the price is significantly less than in Canada, make a purchase in the US and just carry the mask back with you. I've done this with a supplier in Buffalo-- no shipping charges from the online places; carry your CPAP equipment WITHOUT a mask with you (ya' never know when a day trip might turn into an overnight stay) and when returning to Canada, all you have with you is one complete setup which is entirely explainable. I've even submitted these purchases to my employee benefits provider (Manulife as well as Sunlife) and have received full reimbursement from them.

i did purchase the aura/twilight/NP (LOL) out of pocket since i couldn't get one over here, but other than that i've been sticking with whatever i'm covered for...i guess i'd have to look into whether or not i could submit receipts to greenshield instead of the supplier doing so...i do have a friend in detroit who receives stuff for me and then brings it over when he comes to windsor, so i save international shipping that way, but i like your suggestion, too...

however, since i'm fully covered for a new one in a week or so, i'll try the breeze first and if that doesn't work for me i'll see if i can get the nasalaire II from medigas...they're good about swapping out masks, at least...i'll save my pennies for purchasing the machine you use instead and let my coverage take care of the masks (assuming i'm not able to upgrade my machine and still be covered for it...which is probably the case )

sorry to highjack your thread; good luck finding an aura...it's worth the try, for sure; i'm finding it better and better; if i could get the minor leaks under control i'd be loving the thing

sharon1965

WillSucceed · Post by **WillSucceed** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 6:28 pm

Sharon1965:
Ontario's Assistive Devices Program will let you have a new machine once every 5 years; your employee benefits program should go along with this guideline. You will have to convince your Dr. to write a script for Auto-pap, citing that you need this rather than CPAP. ADP funds Autopap with the same code, at the same dollar amount, as it does for vanilla CPAP. Medigas will strongly resist letting you have APAP at the CPAP price but, they are required to as per ADP. You have to push, hard!

I talked at length about this in another thread. Do a search on ADP and Willsucceed -the thread is a fairly recent one, occurring earlier this month.

If your current machine is functioning without problem, neither ADP nor your employer insurance will agree to giving you a new one. You might need to be creative in how you talk with them.

sharon1965 · Post by **sharon1965** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 8:30 pm

I talked at length about this in another thread. Do a search on ADP and Willsucceed -the thread is a fairly recent one, occurring earlier this month.

willsucceed

i know, i remember reading it; that's why i said i'd be saving my pennies in case i am able to convince my doc of the need for an apap and i have to pay out of pocket for it

thanks
sharon

tangents · Post by **tangents** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 6:39 am

Sharon1965 Wrote:
if i could get the minor leaks under control i'd be loving the thing

Sharon, why is it leaking? Do you use some kind of salve (Nayr gel, chapstick, KY, etc) in your nose? Have you tried tying or wrapping the nosepiece with some tension to bring the sides closer together? Have you tried tying a pantyhose tight or piece of stretchy material around the base of your nose?

Take Care,
Cathy

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 11:44 am

WillSucceed wrote:He also told me that AeioMed and Innvacare have recently gotten a divorce. The AeioMed guy told me that Evo Medical is now the carrier/distributor of Aura/Twilight NP.

ozij wrote: That means the poor mask is due for another rename!!!!

Wow! Will, my goodness! You just dropped that casually into the conversation! Didn't you know such news deserves a topic all its own to us Twilight/Headrest/Aura fanatics??!!

http://www.evomedical.com
eveRest™2 now distributed exclusively by evo

http://www.evomedical.com/pdf/evo_Evere ... _28_07.pdf

http://www.aeiomed.com/
THE INDUSTRY’S SMALLEST INTEGRATED CPAP SYSTEM, EVEREST™ 2, NOW DISTRIBUTED EXCLUSIVELY BY evo MEDICAL SOLUTIONS

Of course, all the hoopla is about the battery option cpap machine. The mask, as always, takes a back seat -- just going along for the ride while the machine is snapped up by a new distributor. Best kept secret in the DME world...that great mask. heheh.

ozi, it appears the machine and mask are going back to their old middle names, but with a "2" now in the name of the machine:

HeadRest - for the mask

EveRest 2 - for the machine

Reminds me of the advertising tagline of a great jam/jelly that's very popular in the South (U.S.):

""With a name like Smuckers, it has to be good!"