Bother!!!!!! Or words to that effect

Hiya, Folks.

Now that I've almost decided to buy myself a Headrest, and having done a search for a sale site in Australia, I can find mention of neither head nor tail of Invacare sleep products for sale in Australia, nor of the Headrest CPAP Nasal Interface, nor of AEIOmed, nor of the Twilight NP.

What the heck is going on? Is the Headrest just a mythological beast, referred to occasionally to excite the superstitious? Don't tell fibs or the Headrest'll getya!

Or are Australians in some way incapable of handling such complex technology? Or maybe, because it fits down over the head, Invacare reckons that it'll fall off because we all stand upside down. Hey, guys, I promise I'll only wear it when I'm lying down - honest, it won't fall off and into space to become more space junk. I'll even tie it on with an extra strap around my chin, just to make sure!

Or maybe it's all a plot to get us to support US courier firms with the extravagant postal charges levied upon us for sales from the US? Is there high unemployment among US courier companies?

AAAAAAArrrrgh.

Very Grumnpy, Very GrizzlyBear (Again!!!!!)

Invacare...the ones who renamed it "Twilight NP".. isn't the middleman for distributing the Headrest mask anymore.

Nor is Evo Medical...who took over distribution of it after Invacare, and gave it back one of its old names "Headrest."

As far as I know, the mask's original (and still) manufacturer, Aeiomed, itself is again distributing the mask -- keeping the old "second name" it gave the mask long ago ... "Headrest."

If you're not thoroughly confused by now, here's more. LOL! The FIRST name Aeiomed gave the mask when they first introduced it was the "Aura." A few months after Aeiomed came out with the "Aura" they had to change its name...changed it to "Headrest." Same name it has again now..."Headrest." Seems there was some other medical company that was already using the name "Aura" for something and objected to Aeiomed's using that name.

You'll often see message board posters still referring to the Headrest mask by its very old "first" name -- the "Aura."

With a little luck, "Headrest" will remain its permanent name from now on. Not my favorite name for a mask (sounds like a tombstone - LOL!!) but the mask really needs to stick with one name.

Have your DME look up Aeiomed.com on the internet and get in touch directly with Aeiomed, the manufacturer -- for the "Headrest" nasal pillows mask.

I always thought that neither Invacare nor Evo Medical cared one whit about promoting the mask. I always thought both those companies were interested in being distributors for Aeiomed purely to get hold of the neat battery option CPAP machine Aeiomed developed...the Everest. I think the mask just went along for the ride as part of the distributing package. As best I can remember, during Invacare and Evo Medical's brief honeymoons with Aeiomed, neither of them ever mentioned the mask on their websites. They wrote only about the battery machine.

So...for a long, long time, that great mask has been one of the best kept secrets in the bricks and mortar cpap supplies world. Few DMEs are aware of it by ANY of its old names, or by the current name "Headrest" either.

I hope Aeiomed prospers and is in business forever. And makes that mask forever. "Just in case", though...I keep buying extra backups of the Headrest mask. I have enough of them to last me to age 80 now, I think. That is, if the silicone still has any oomph to it by then! Will probably have more oomph than I have then.

The "Headrest" by any of its names has been my favorite "every night" mask for over two years now.

As the motto for an especially good brand of preserves and jams goes:

"With a name like Smucker's, it has to be good."

Thanks VERY much, Rested Gal.

We don't have quite the same DME system here as you do in the US (or I don't think we do). If we do, they're doing a pretty lousy job.

Anyway, I've emailed AEIOMed, but no response so far, about a retailer in Aus.

I have found a cheap source in the US (about $US75), and although they charge about $US25 to send it to me, that's a heck of a lot better than some other charges. Mind you, this mob will send it overland in the US for FREE!!!!!!

VERY grateful, and hopefully soon to be rested GrizzlyBear