Reducing Leads; Pad-A-Cheek, Gel Pads, or ???

Greetings, Everyone,

I had a fantastic day once when my AHI was 2.1. Unfortunately, I have not been able to reach that number again; I'm hovering around 2.8 to 3.0. The doc says that I should not see much difference between 2.1 and 2.8, but I sure felt amazingly better with the lower number -- so that is my goal! I'm trying to reduce leaks as much as possible and I've seen that pad-a-cheek helps. Has anyone had success and knows where it can be purchased? Also, I've seen a gel pad on Amazon - does anyone recommend it?
Are either of these products compatible with the Resmed Quattro FX?

Any other suggestions - I'd love to hear about them?
Thank you for any input! It's been slow going but I am feeling better and may some day actuall feel normal!

Hugs to all! xoxoxox

I'm not sure what kind of leaks you are having. I have eliminated my mouth leaks by wearing a foam cervical collar at night.
It keeps me from tucking my chin in, and keeps my mouth from dropping open.
I can still cough, or get a drink of water. I couldn't deal with the tape and didn't like the idea of one more thing wrapped around my head.
They are about $12 at Walgreens or CVS.

I don't know about gel liners. In fact I don't know anyway to prevent leaks with nasal pillows other than to try a different size pillows or work with your straps for a better fit. I'm sure there are liners for the Quattro FX, you can also try Remzzzs or Quietus liners. Pad-a-Cheek probably makes a liner for the FX, too.
http://www.padacheek.com/
http://www.quietusliners.com/
http://www.remzzzs.com/?Click=2625&gcli ... QgodOVkd7Q
Our sponser, cpap.com may also offer some solutions.

I use both the Swift FX for Her and Swift LT. Both are very comfortable, but the LT is a little firmer all round and tends to stay in place a bit better with my stomach sleeping.

I find a bit of tweaking each night makes a huge difference to my sleep quality (and of course the data). Each night I spend an episode of Jeopardy (about 15-20mins) adjusting and readjusting my mask so that it's as loose as possible without causing leaks with a little movement. I keep messing with it until it's both comfortable and leak-free.

I can't remember in my 9-months of CPAP if I've even had a leak-free night, but when I spend time tweaking the leaks are very noticably less.

Some people find some lubricant or lanolin on the nares help the pillows stay in place, I find it makes it worse. I also have the Pad-A-Cheek pillow cover for my FX which make a big difference also. I'm not sure if Karen intended it or not, but the cover has 2 sides and in warm weather I use it with the smooth side to my skin and the fleecy side in cool weather.

Cheers,
xena

Yes, padacheeks makes liners for most all masks. If your pillows are leaking a tad you can use Lansinoh. It is pure lanolin used by nursing moms to prevent cracked and sore nipples. You just use a dab on each nare, a little on the outside and a little on the inside. It becomes tacky after about 5 minutes and will help stick your pillows to your nares much better. It is a very safe product to use, if it doesn't harm new babes while feeding, it won't hurt you. It can be purchased at Walmart in the baby isle...... a tube will last you a longggg time.

mikeandtina - I just wanted to post that I'm a huge fan of the padacheeks solution (the Remzzs where not as good at stopping leaks for me) so I would suggest you check them out - and the creator is a member here I believe

My padacheek liner for my Quattro mask has pretty much eliminated leaks for me!

http://padacheek.com/

Thank you, everyone!
I am ordering the pad-a-cheek now and will repost with the results.

You guys rock!

i love my new pad-a-cheek mask liner; it really improves the comfort of my mask and I think it has reduced leaks. I haven't had any changes in my AHI numbers so I will try tweeking my pressure again.


Its's a great product.

Tina

Moleskin on the bridge of my nose has really made a difference for me with the QFX. It protects my skin and has almost completely eliminated leaks into my eyes. But perhaps the most important thing it does is help keep the mask from sliding up my nose. At least on my head, the upper straps of the headgear pull the mask upward, and the lower straps do not balance this pull. Hence the mask slides up and starts to leak. The moleskin gives the mask more traction, and so it doesn't slide as easily.

I cut a piece that goes all the way across my nose where the mask rests. Round the corners off because the point can be irritating, and trim the top corners back a little to avoid the soft skin under your eyes. I use each piece twice. YMMV.

I make my own mask liners. If you don't want to do that, there's Padacheek and Remzz's. Someone recently posted a link to this site, which seems to be selling a product that's about halfway between the durable microfiber Padacheek liners and the delicate cotton Remzzs.
http://www.quietusliners.com/

mikeandtina wrote:Greetings, Everyone,

I had a fantastic day once when my AHI was 2.1. Unfortunately, I have not been able to reach that number again; I'm hovering around 2.8 to 3.0. The doc says that I should not see much difference between 2.1 and 2.8, but I sure felt amazingly better with the lower number -- so that is my goal! I'm trying to reduce leaks as much as possible and I've seen that pad-a-cheek helps. Has anyone had success and knows where it can be purchased? Also, I've seen a gel pad on Amazon - does anyone recommend it?
Are either of these products compatible with the Resmed Quattro FX?

Any other suggestions - I'd love to hear about them?
Thank you for any input! It's been slow going but I am feeling better and may some day actuall feel normal!

Hugs to all! xoxoxox

I agree with your Doctor. How anyone can tell a 2.1 night verses a 2.8 night is beyond me. A 2.1 verses a 7.5 or 8.0 ,yea.

I can tell when I have a bad night and it will always be over 5.0.

But, that's just me.

We all try to achieve the lowest number we can but don't forget a 5.0 and below is normal.

I have only used Remzzz and find that 1 night out of 10 or so they slide up so that they are obstructing my mask flow. One night is had moved so far both nostrils were covered. Now that is is a lot of work to go through to "induce" sleep apnea! I have an appt with my Tech tomorrow to discuss this but may go ahead and order both the Quites and Pad a Cheek. In addition to this I find that my DME counts a package of Remzzz as a cushion so in order for me to have one Remzzz per night I have to make 3 cushions last 3 months. That is not working for me. My DME quoted me a price of $37.50 for a pkg of Remzz. I found them online for $25.00 and did not look far for that price. I think I would find them even less expensive if I look further. I am DC'ing them so cost is irrelevant but that is one more disadvantage to my DME which I am changing as well.
All joking aside, I am new here and came to this site today because I need to be a part of a CPAP community. after 3 years of treatment there is a lot I need to learn that my Sleep Doctor does not discuss with me. I have numerous health issues and have learned to be responsible for a great deal of my health care. I have the time, desire and the means to do so. I am a much more happy when I am informed. Now I am off to read the glossary for CPAP users. I have no idea what AHI is and I think I need to know this and a lot more.

I had a gel pad; it didn't work for me.
I gave it to a vet, and it didn't work for him either.
The concept sounds good, but the execution lacks thoughtful design.
A waste of my money!

I had an excellent visit with a Sleep Tech today. I have decided to not use any liner for now and see how my cushions hold up. I am so glad I asked for help. I am also going to add back into rotation my Swift LT Nasal Pillows with Headgear. I was having problems with condensation with the LT but the Tech showed me how to utilize the separate temp and humidifier setting on my Resmed S-9 Autoset with heated hose. I did find out what AHI is and mine is regularly below 5, with an average of 2.1.
Can anyone tell me if there is a new member introduction section in this forum?
Thank you very much