Headrest Mod Variation

OK, so what is it about the Headrest that causes otherwise relatively sane people (yes, in THIS forum....!) to immediately start changing what Aeiomed considers to be the perfect mask with the perfect fit every time?

I've been using the Comfortlite 2 with Direct Seals for most of my five months on Bipap. I like the mask a great deal because I don't have The Battle of the Side Straps, the Blinkers on Both Sides Syndrome, and innumerable other issues.

But, hey, I got a good deal on a Headrest, so I figured it was worth a shot, especially since, much as I like the CL2, the head piece is a bit large (fits my husband fine: I must be a lowbrow!) and is likely to prove hot as we get into N'Awlins summer weather.

Other comments, thus far, on me and the Headrest can be found here:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=40762&p=356863#p356863

Took the Headrest out of the box, and groaned, "What idiot puts nubby rubber straps on something intended to go on HAIR?!"

OK... I'll be fair. I'll wear it exactly the way it was made for a couple of nights before I start messing with it. (But I hunted up Rested Gal's Lab Rat notes on it and read them, any way.)

I liked it. Rainout was startling... haven't had rainout like that with my CL2 since I added a fleece hose cover, and used a strip of fleece to wrap the hose on the top of the CL2.

The rubber-nubby stuff Had To Go.

I noticed the tabs on the back of the straps looked a bit like the tabs on the CL2 straps, and said, "Hmm."

I unfastened the straps and tied the whole rubber-nubby arrangement on top, not being QUITE ready to irrevocably slash and burn a brand new mask, even though I was pretty sure it could find a home with one of the radical deconstructors even if I couldn't make something of it.

Next, I took some slightly stretchy wicking fabric and cut a piece which I wrapped over the rubber-nubby base and tucked it between the nubby stuff and the lock box. This covers the rubber and will absorb and wick any perspiration away. A Pad-a-Cheek similar to the CL2 might work, too.

I opened the front tabs on my CL2 head gear strap and slid one strap over the lock box and hose. I joined it to the other front strap with a piece of velcro, and then drew the single strap into place, sliding it forward. Depending on how you thread it, you can effectively turn this into the rubber band fix as well.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36037&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... rest+nylon

I tested it for one night with the original straps tied over my head. Then just took a pair of sharp scissors and cut them off.

I have also taken a strip of wicking fabric and wrapped it around the nasal piece to insulate it and absorb any dribbling rainout. Because I have a narrow nose, by the time I had the nosepiece adjusted so the pillows were not popping out of my nose, the plastic was pressing against my face and making me sweat. So the wicking fabric should prevent that. Another, wider and longer strip is now wrapped around the main hose.

I haven't yet had a chance to test this last pair of adjustments because I'm down with a wretched cold and can't use a nasal mask. Since my RT has refused to get me a non-nasal mask ("You have a working mask... you don't need another one!") I'm without my machine, period, until my delivery from CPAP.COM gets here today.

I'm no artist, but I'm including two pix which may help you visualize what I am talking about above. If I can get to feeling enough better that I can take some photos, I'll add them.

Good lord, you're that creative with a wicked cold????

I'm clearly doing something wrong.

I'm blaming the carbs.

YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Babs

Babette wrote:Good lord, you're that creative with a wicked cold???? I'm clearly doing something wrong. I'm blaming the carbs. YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Babs,

I'm eagerly anticipating Return to The Hose when I get over this blasted cold!

Besides, one year ago as of RIGHT NOW, I was in an operating room, having a 24" incision carved in my gut. I wasn't specifically thinking about it... until I woke up after a Night With No Hose and hurt almost as bad as I did when I woke up from the anesthesia!

The obvious solution is to Do Something Creative and Get My Mind Off The Ouch!

My carb fix for today is Medjool dates stuffed with pecan halves.

Hmmmm.... Dates..... (drools)

LOL,
B.

Babette wrote:Hmmmm.... Dates..... (drools) LOL, B.

Stuffed with pecans. Or a bit of cheese and a small piece of crisp bacon and warmed....

And this has nothing to do with Headrest modifications... I don't think wrapping the nose piece in bacon would improve the seal...

Hi Kira & Babette

Witty posts from both of you. And Kira, thanks for the demo, it is creative beyond imagination. All the 3 1/2 months I have been on Cpaptalk.com I have read many glowing posts about the Headrest,--I don't remember reading they were pillows --SO suddendly I know I won't be trying that wonderful mask.

I have had 3 pillow masks, the the Res Med swifts, I discovered my nose does not like like - will not tolerate - and will get infected if I try them again. Maybe I can try in a year if the raw places in my nose will have finally healed - I had so much infection, that I had visions of it turning to a staph infection.

Sorry you are sick - but so much better than you were a year ago. Thanks for all the work you did describing your Easter Bonnet.

Jan

SaltLakeJan wrote:Witty posts from both of you. And Kira, thanks for the demo, it is creative beyond imagination. All the 3 1/2 months I have been on Cpaptalk.com I have read many glowing posts about the Headrest,--I don't remember reading they were pillows --So suddenly I know I won't be trying that wonderful mask.

I have had 3 pillow masks, the the Res Med swifts, I discovered my nose does not like like - will not tolerate - and will get infected if I try them again. Maybe I can try in a year if the raw places in my nose will have finally healed - I had so much infection, that I had visions of it turning to a staph infection.

Sorry you are sick - but so much better than you were a year ago. Thanks for all the work you did describing your Easter Bonnet.

Jan,

Were all the pillows masks you tried Swifts? I have tried a Swift Lt once and did not like it, although I may (if I can find a Swift Light For Her inexpensively on CPAP Auction) give it a go again, as it could be nice to have a mask to wear when I'm reading and may want to be able to roll over, push the button and doze off.

I tried many masks before my titration and many of the so-called pillows were quite painful. I started out with the CL2 simple seal and then tried the nasal pillows which came with it, and found they worked, secure in the knowledge I could go back to the simple seal if there was a problem. From there, I graduated to the CL2 direct seals, which I like better than the pillows because they aren't IN your nose.

However, as I said, I've heard so much about the Headrest, and I did want something smaller and lighter for summer, so, when I got a good deal on a Headrest, I decided to give it a shot.

The Headrest pillows are significantly softer and more adjustable than my (short) perception of the Swift pillows, although dedicated Swift Lt. users will doubtless disagree.

I was taking a break from direct seals because my Shadow-goof came bounding up on the bed, hit my CL2, and drove the edge of the seal into my nose, slicing one nostril. Ow! (My fault: I should know better than to be facing the door when I hear paws thundering down the hall!) So the Headrest arrived just in time for an experiment, and much to my surprise, they sealed well, and did not further abuse my poor, tender nose.

LOL! Easter bonnet! What is this? The CPAPTalk Rested Gal Easter Parade?

Excuse me if this has been answered already but I'm not understanding why it is up to your RT what masks you get. It seems with a prescription from your Dr. that states mask of patients choice, it should be up to you what mask you want. It is a shame you are going without any therapy at all because the RT has deemed a FF mask unnecessary for you. The RT works for you and therefore shouldn't be calling shots on what kind of equipment you get. If your insurance will pay, you should get what you want not what the RT says you will get. I am blessed with excellent insurance and I can literally get all the equipment I need with no time limit. I just call my RT and they order what I want.

How do you find the noise level of your Headrest? I know that several people on the forum have mentioned in older posts that it's a bit noisy, but I was hoping (wishful thinking?) that the manufacturer may have since done something to quiet it down a bit. I've been a Breeze user since they came out, and I've noticed that the manufacturer has made several running changes to the design over the years; the current version is noticeably quieter (and the vent stream exhausts in a less obtrusive direction) than the original.

slapmeawake wrote:Excuse me if this has been answered already but I'm not understanding why it is up to your RT what masks you get. It seems with a prescription from your Dr. that states mask of patients choice, it should be up to you what mask you want. It is a shame you are going without any therapy at all because the RT has deemed a FF mask unnecessary for you. The RT works for you and therefore shouldn't be calling shots on what kind of equipment you get. If your insurance will pay, you should get what you want not what the RT says you will get. I am blessed with excellent insurance and I can literally get all the equipment I need with no time limit. I just call my RT and they order what I want.

My insurance is my husband's insurance. When I call the number on the back of the card, I am told I have to talk to the HR department of his company as to what is covered and what is not. The HR department refuses to talk to me because I am not the employee. My husband has been incredibly busy at work and has not had time to contact them, because they are in a different time zone than he is.

And, as I said in another thread, if I tell them I want X,Y or Z, and they come back with, "Your insurance won't cover it. You are only allowed 2 masks a year," what am I supposed to do?

This is, I might add, in spite of the theoretical 30 days trial and return on masks...

This is why I am looking at masks which are highly recommended by folks here in the Forum, and looking at different mask trials.

I bought the Headrest out of my own funds, and it's definitely one I will continue using. With, of course, a few modifications. <g> Something about this mask that causes people to want to modify it.

El Pap wrote:How do you find the noise level of your Headrest? I know that several people on the forum have mentioned in older posts that it's a bit noisy, but I was hoping (wishful thinking?) that the manufacturer may have since done something to quiet it down a bit. I've been a Breeze user since they came out, and I've noticed that the manufacturer has made several running changes to the design over the years; the current version is noticeably quieter (and the vent stream exhausts in a less obtrusive direction) than the original.

I don't find the Headrest any noisier than my CL2, although that does not necessarily give you a reference point if you haven't tried a Comfortlite 2.

It's a different sort of noise, if that makes any sense. The CL2 has the exhaust ports right near the nose piece, and they jet straight out. This distresses the Dachshund Duo when they get cold air squirted at their ears.

The Headrest, as many people have noted, jets straight up, which avoids hitting partners or furred partners in the sleeping adventure. It is also significantly lighter, right out of the box, than the CL2. (I was interested in the Breeze, but I'm not sure about another mask with a very heavy head piece.)

As to whether the noise level has been changed, I don't know... I'm too new at this xPAP adventure to have tried many masks to compare them.

Don't bother with the Breeze. You've got the best of that genre of masks right there in your hot little hand.

Love the line about the sleeping adventure.
B.

Kira, this looks like Lab Rat Award fixin' in the makin' !

Will give you time to get over your cold and really give your mod a good wringing out. Let us know how it goes!

Pictures of the fix would be great, if you get a chance.

Like Babs said...
"Good lord, you're that creative with a wicked cold????"

WTG, Kira!

I have been curious about the Headrest....and I'm probably gonna have to get it on my own dime.....so its a question of where it goes on my long list of stuff I want to get on my own....

The Dreamer.

rested gal wrote:Kira, this looks like Lab Rat Award fixin' in the makin' !

Will give you time to get over your cold and really give your mod a good wringing out. Let us know how it goes!

Pictures of the fix would be great, if you get a chance.

Like Babs said...
"Good lord, you're that creative with a wicked cold????"

WTG, Kira!

When you're miserable, you'll do anything except housework to take your mind off the misery! I'll see what I can do about getting some better pictures. If I hadn't just bought the Zzz-mask, I think I'd be grabbing another Headrest! You're right... that lock box isn't as big as it looks in the picture!