Last Breeze Comment Before It's Over

tomjax, you know how much I like the Breeze. One of my alltime favorites.

But I never found it to be "totally quiet. no sound at all."

There has always been a soft shussssh sound every time I inhale with all 4 Breezes I've used, including two of the original and two of the "improved".

A side note: No, they weren't breaking...I just kept finding good deals or swapping masks I didn't like for "extra" Breezes to have on hand; and I won one of them at a TAS chat.

Lori:

ditto for me also with what RESTED GAL just posted! she is such a DOLL! so knowledgeable and helpful. what i like best about her is she is always trying to help in every way, no matter whether you use what she uses or not , it doesn't matter. she is just trying to help everyone with whatever it takes! just had to aknowledge that fact ( as if no one else noticed)!

THANKS RESTED GAL from all of us!!!!

Lori: Keep the faith!!!!!

steve,
ufo13

Lori:

I am so sorry to hear that the Activa is jealous of the Breeze!! Only the nose knows.........

For what it's worth, I had a lot of leaking last night too for I don't know what reason! I had done nothing differently than before. It wasn't uncomfortable though.

I may be wrong, but I think if you buy just the nasal pillows, it is under $20. That may be worth it to you. But regardless, don't feel like a failure and that it is your fault.

Yes, it is just the first *ridge* of the pillow that goes in the apparatus, the other 2 are outside. Are you sure that there is no allergy issue...it does sound plausible! What are you using to clean the pillows??

Keep your chin up!!

Reply to everyone:

Since there are so many of you to respond to, I figured I would make on huge thank you and reply. You are all great and I appreciate your hanging in there with me through this ordeal. I just wish I had better news to tell. I read what everyone had to say. I don't know if, like tomjax said, it's just a misadjustment type of thing or what, but I don't know what else I can do. These medium and large pillows aren't cutting it for me. I will try one last time to adjust the gear. How??? I don't know!!! But I won't give up and try it again.

On the lighter side, I have been given the go-ahead through insurance to receive (no out-of-pocket) the Remstar Auto with C-Flex and Respironics humidifier and although i am not yet entitled as per insurance to another mask, Apria (my DME) is throwing it in for nothing as a courtesy. Whoever is having problems with their DME, I feel very sorry for since I have had nothing but a positive and wonderful time dealing with mine. So they said by tomorrow I will probably be able to come in, get the machine and the mask and we'll see if the Swift works any better for me than the Breeze.

You know, I am usually very mechanical and nothing scares me when it comes to computers, electronics, etc. But this interface has me baffled. I can't envision anymore what could be the problem except maybe the pillows are not the correct size or my face/nose is just not right for a nasal pillow interface. I guess once I get the Swift, that I hear doesn't have many bells or whistles on it to make confusing or hard to adjust, we will have the answer to if it's my nose/face or not.

Thank you all again for your support. Hopefully I will have better news to tell next time I write.

My first mask delivered after the apnea diagnosis was the Breeze. I remember the first night I used it, I had blood on the pillow. Scared the bejeezes out of me. I have no idea why except that nobody showed me how to adjust it and being male I didn't read the directions. Now it is my favorite mask, don't even know it's there. I also use the Swift on occasion just for a change, it also works great but I find it a bit noisy and it definitely becomes a problem when I switch sleep position from one side to the other. Just had a 1.5 AHI nap with my brand new Aura which was recommended by RG. It fits my noggin just right and the design of the thing is such that it is very stable on the head, my head anyway, it won't slip from side to side, and the pressure of the pillows on the snozz is very light. Seems like you got a lot of good advice sofar. Give it a rest until your nose heals completely, then give it another try after really, really spending some time adjusting all the little sliders and strap positions and making sure you have very light pillow pressure and a good seal. Pillows may just not work for you but if you are not a mouth breather, they are the best imho, and worth another try, but you really have to fiddle with the adjustments as opposed to a mask that you just strap on and go. I finally got my Breeze where I wanted it, I duct taped the whole darn thing so none of the adjustments would change. Another use for duct tape.

Lori,

No problem, especially considering how nice your DME is being. I'll just let my Swift collect more dust in the drawer.

I went with the large and large dialator package and ordered the XL pillow just in case. I couldn't find where I could get the Large Dialator seperately. The XL pillow is on back order. The reason i got the dialator is they say the large one may fit better than the XL pillow for some folks. Was just trying to cover all my basis from a sizing standpoint.

Will let you know how it goes.

Mike, please let me know how it goes. Figures the XL are on back-order since those were the ones I was going to try before I gave up. But I definitely want to know how you make out. I wish you the best of luck and pray for you it will go well.

I have to say, after reading the reply from tomjax, it made me go take all the tape off the mask where I had put it and stretch out the headgear and hose and put the large pillows in place. Believe it or not, I might have it set right now where it is just resting gently under my nose and might not be leaking (key word "might"). I retaped it anyway in that position and will try tonight to see if it will behave for me. My nose is feeling much, much better with the Neosporin being on it since last night and there is no raw skin or blisters right now. So, if all goes well, tonight I will put the headgear on and see if Ms. Breeze will cooperate with me. If not, I will just put it aside and wait for Ms. Swift to join the team. I KNOW in my heart it's going to be a pain when sleeping on my side. I just can see it. But I am not going to give up before I try it. Somewhere out there is a mask/interface with my name on it. Where it is right now, I just don't know. Maybe I'll get lucky tonight...
Boy, years ago, getting lucky used to mean something other than sleeping with your mask on leak-free. Scary how things change as we get older and decrepid.

I might have missed a few points after just a quick scan of posts...

The "leak" sure sounds like the infamous Breeze plenum/chamber crack on the seam of the "pillow chamber".

No one mentioned( that I could see) the use of a lube for the contact point on the nares, something like AYR or Castor Bean oil. BOTH the Breeze AND the Swift NEED a lube.

I find its good to rotate between something like the Swift/Breeze and maybe an Activa that have completely different contact points to allow you to toughen up gradually instead of just get sores.

The other comments were all good.....as always.

as always....

Your mileage may vary.

Betcha Sleepless going to have to change her name before too long.

Boy, years ago, getting lucky used to mean something other than sleeping with your mask on leak-free.

ROTFL!!!

And funny that you should finally stroll in to this thread at that time, snorky. LOL!!

I might have missed a few points after just a quick scan of posts...

Good advice though, snork, as always!

RG, have to keep our sense of humor, if nothing else, right?

Snork, thanks for the info. You may be right about the crack. Last night I had it working SOMEWHAT quiet but felt a thin flow of air coming up in the middle.

In any event, I think I've had it. I found it not working again for me, even with the adjustments I had made yesterday afternoon. It was silent when I readjusted everything in the afternoon, but not when I put it on my head at night for bed. I even had to switch back to the med. pillows. I wore it for about 10 mins. When I went to turn over, it started leaking, like the mask was too heavy to lay on your side, even with headband reinforcement. And I found the shell, in the position I had to keep it adjusted to prevent as much leaking as possible, was digging into the skin between my upper lip and nose. Took it off, put on the Activa which leaked all over the place for me last night. Grrrrrrrrr. Not having a good time. I'm trying to be so compliant and have worn a mask every single night, literally, since being given my CPAP machine, but nothing is really working like I feel it should mask-wise. CPAP is saving my life, physically and how I feel mentally and energy level, but the mask situation is really starting to bring me down.

So today I think I will officially file the Breeze in the drawers of masks that didn't make the cut for me, along with the Oracle. Hopefully when I get the Swift from my DME with my new machine it will work better for me than the Breeze did. Can't say I didn't do my homework and investigation beforehand. I guess, though, that when you deal with this type of a situation, there is no guarantee and all the advice 100 people give you in the positive, you can be the first in the negative.

I will end this thread today as defeated. The Breeze beat me. I admit it. I give up!!! I think fstanmyre was right when she/he said I would probably change my name. Maybe Defeated on LI???

Lori:

you may have lost the battle, but you WILL win the war!!! let us know how it all goes with the new equipment! i beleive all will be better for you with the new machine and mask. one added comment: you seem to indicate you are a confirmed side sleeper so i think all will go well with the swift, but yes as others have stated for a side sleeper the pillow will make a big differance! as i have said before i have the anti-ache pillow (see my dis in another previous post) or maybe your target pillow will be OK. i found that if the pillow is a little thicker on top where your head goes and thinner at the bottom it gives more room for the masks, etc. IT DOES HELP A GREAT DEAL!!! also this mask (swift) does not have a lot of things that can get knocked out of place--it hugs your head pretty good and flat etc. as it was stated in another post the swift is not as big or heavy as it looks being only about 2.5 oz. you also get a cd with the kit wich helps a lot!


steve,
ufo13

Oh, Steve, from your lips...I pray everything you wrote comes true. Thanks for the kind words about not winning the battle. I do feel a bit defeated, but I guess as long as there are still other things out there to try, I'm really not.
I did buy the Target pillow, the shapeable one. However, I bought my husband one of those memory foam contour pillows. Maybe he'll let me try it with the Swift on, once I get it. Or if he doesn't, I'll wait for him to fall asleep and then take it .

I am hoping for that call today from the DME saying they need me to make an appt. to come in as supposedly everything was approved from the insurance company yesterday. I will be there with bells on no matter what time they give me. It is about 20-25 miles from my house, as it's the one my insurance deals with. But that's okay since they have been nothing but a pleasure to deal with since this whole mess started.

I will start a new thread once I get the machine and mask and keep you posted on how it's going. Until then, all I can do is send out those positive vibes that IT WILL WORK...IT WILL WORK...IT WILL WORK!!! Hey, I'm due for a little break here, don't you think?

Thanks for all your support!

sLI
Who and where is this wonderful DME on LI?

Hope you get the mask problem cleared up and get some good sleep.

Hi Sleepless,

You certainly get an A for effort. And that is what we must all do. This is not easy. We all have to experiment. You are not complaining but bringing up issues that was all either go through or will as we experiment. We have all learned from others trials and tribs.

Personally, I alternate between the Swift and
Activa. The Swift is gradually taking over the majority of nights for me. It is simple, easy to use and is the best all round for side sleeping. With a momory foam pillow, it is hard to beat.

I also occationlly use the breeze but I feel it is a lot of work with all the adjustments to make. The Swift has hardly any to make but can be slightly adjusted forward and too to keep the seal. Stick with it hon as you Will find the answer.

None, are eight hours without a problem. We just are not there yet. But getting closer, just a few years ago they were all terrible.