Phillips DreamWear Mask

[AMESS]

New mask--new problems. Came with under the nose pillow and gel pillows in the nose. Was hoping gel pillows would work. Not happening. The pillows are short and don't go in far. Leaks, leaks and more leaks. According to what I have read--gel pillows are supposed to be great. What am I doing wrong?

Finally changed to under the nose pillow. Not too bad. Comfortable. Question. Pressure goes up to 20 on my machine, and ramps up to about 14. . But with this under the nose piece, felt like a wind storm. Is this because you feel more air since it does not sit inside the nose? Or am I just getting too much air for this type of piece? Did NOT have sleepyhead card in machine so could not get data from there.

[Pugsy]

The gel pillows WILL stay in place even at higher pressures when properly fitted and sized. I suspect that you may need the smaller frame if tightening up the back strap doesn't help enough. They aren't suppose to go up inside your nose very far...they are supposed to rest gently on the nostrils and the use of the headgear and back strap is supposed to keep them from moving around...being up inside your nose is NOT the way they are suppose to be worn or keep a seal.

The nasal cushion DreamWear...yes the air movement can feel like it is more air moving. It's just the way nasal cushion masks feel when compared to how the pressure feels with a nasal pillow mask.
I used the DreamWear cushion and the gel pillows on my ASV machine and saw pressures well over 20 pretty much every night and my leaks were minimal.

I think that a big part of your problem is the fitting of the headgear. There's a fine line between too loose and too tight and you haven't yet figured out where that line is. These masks WILL work at pressures much higher than where you are going and work quite well.

[AMESS]

I do have everything small . Will recheck tonight about how tight. Yes of course I tried to shove the pillows into the nose. I knew you would have the answer. I shall rest them gently tonight and see what happens. TY


Will be sure to put sleepyhead card back into machine.

[Pugsy]

The DreamWear mask package comes with the Medium frame...so unless you special ordered the Small frame then you have the Medium frame.

Use the side strap covers and the back strap to help with tension and stabilization if you already are using the Small frame and the mask wants to move around too much.

Also..the gel pillows in the DreamWear...the smallest available is the Small and I personally felt that I would have liked to try an XSmall because no matter what I did there was too much mask movement large leak to suit me. And I verified it was mask movement leak by taping my mouth to see if the leak stopped and it didn't.
And I was already using the small frame because I got it special order...and I was already using the fleece side strap covers (don't like the big dents I got without the covers).

For this reason (wanting to try XSmall and it not being available) I gave up on the 4 month long DreamWear trial experiment and it is delegated to the box of stuff that I might use down the road but in reality probably won't.
I liked the gel pillows better than the cushion though. Too many years of using nasal pillows and knowing that if I felt air blowing it was leaking.
With the DreamWear cushion I kept feeling the air but it wasn't leaking but the feeling the air disturbed my sleep because of years of not feeling the air. Just having a little bit of air blowing on the skin around my nostrils disturbed my sleep and the cushion is going to do that.
So for me...the gel pillows was the better of the 2 choices with the DreamWear.
I do understand that others like the cushion better and that's fine. Maybe if I didn't have over 8 years with nasal pillows the air blowing on my nostril skin wouldn't bug me so much.

[AMESS]

The therapist messed up. I knew the mask package came only medium. But I told her I wanted a small--and she went and got one from the back. . Checked it on the head gear to be sure. Pillows and cushion small and I got the fleece straps too. I am sick of trying stuff and now collecting it. If the place does not ask me for the masks back when I exchange them I do not volunteer. So I have a few.

Good luck to me tonight.

[Pugsy]

You might end up being like me with the Gel Pillows and the Small pillow thing. I have tons of experience with this stuff and tried all sorts of tricks to get the mask to quit moving around but I just moved more than I would like. Now I slept through all the movement...which is why I tried for so long.
The only thing left to try was a smaller size gel pillow and that's not available in the XSmall...for sure going up was the wrong way because I tried that and it made things worse.

Which mask of all that you have tried lets you actually sleep more soundly with minimal wake ups from leaks or mask discomfort?
Just from a comfort perspective and remove the machine reported leaks from the perspective for the time being?
Which mask do you like the best comfort wise, dent wise, and best sleep quality wise?

[AMESS]

I do not sleep soundly. Always wondering whats happening or going to happen with the mask. I got the best nights sleep and best score (no leaks ) with the ff Air fit 20. However, it did not last. The foam started to creep up and give me bags. When I tightened the straps my nose was in pain. I did not like the feeling of all the stuff on my face but if it worked right I would have learned to tolerate it.

The swift fx is not bad--but the straps are flimsy and it moves a lot. Other than those 2 star comments about this stuff -I hate them all.

[Pugsy]

You are going to have to find a mask that you can sleep with first...you are fast running out of options.
Then work with what you need to work with to make that mask work the best for you. You aren't going to find a perfect mask...it's not out there.
There's always going to be some little something that could stand improvement.

Pick the best of the lot in terms of sleep quality (screw the scores at this point because without decent sleep the scores don't mean much).

[AMESS]

you got that right!

[AMESS]

Emailed the company and told them tons of people here need x-small pillows and cushion. Will it do any good?/ Probably not

[USMCVet]

I do not sleep soundly. Always wondering whats happening or going to happen with the mask. I got the best nights sleep and best score (no leaks ) with the ff Air fit 20. However, it did not last. The foam started to creep up and give me bags. When I tightened the straps my nose was in pain. I did not like the feeling of all the stuff on my face but if it worked right I would have learned to tolerate it.

The swift fx is not bad--but the straps are flimsy and it moves a lot. Other than those 2 star comments about this stuff -I hate them all.

You don't sleep soundly and wake up easily? Ever try running a box fan on medium or high just for the background noise to block out those small noises that might otherwise wake you up? I have been doing it for years and has helped me.

[AMESS]

Yes I have a sound machine--it helps--thats all

[Janknitz]

The pillows are short and don't go in far. Leaks, leaks and more leaks. According to what I have read--gel pillows are supposed to be great. What am I doing wrong?

That tells me that you may not be using the nasal pillows correctly. They are not supposed to "go in far", and that may be your problem with them. Nasal pillows are meant to rest on the outside of your nares. The inside is not supposed to have contact with the nasal pillows. The air openings should simply be directing air inside your nose, but very little of it should be actually IN your nose.

Try this experiment. Turn you machine on (with the mask off) and place your hand on the opening to the nasal pillows. The air pressure should push them against your hand. That's how you get a seal--against the outer part of your nares. If you are trying to cram the nasal pillows up your nose, most likely you are tightening the mask too much. That's what's causing your leaks--you mash the pillows and the thing can't seal.

I have not tried the gel cushions with the DreamWear mask but I suspect it works like others. Nasal pillows need to rest lightly against the nares, not very tight, and not up into the nose.

My DreamWear medium frame is probably a tad too big, so it's easy to displace my nasal cushion, but I can easily snuggle my face in the pillow to fix it. It's not the most stable mask, but it's very comfortable.

[AMESS]

This works till I move or turn over. Then the pillows move too.

[AMESS]

Even though its the most comfortable mask I've had, I am getting rid of it. Ahi is higher than ever since I started 3 months ago, and the slightest turn in bed causes the pillows to leak badly. I am not doing so good--going on 12th mask as of tomorrow. Will also will being seeing doc next moth to hash this over.