Aura and the Perfect Night.

Lori...I've been keeping a low, low profile on this, so as not to jinx you!

With the two great nights you've had, I'll stick my head up just a leeetle bit. Far enough up for the fabulous exhaust vent of the Aura to puff out a few words.

Ladies, if you don't have a very small head, the Aura's headgear will probably fit you. Even if the topmost straps are too long for you, it will still work. At most, you might have to add a homemade strap worn like a sweatband up at the forehead area to steady it.

Gentlemen, same thing. Unless you have a small head, the Aura should work right out of the box for you.

IF someone has a head so small that the headgear straps can't be taken up enough to keep everything stable, then you can do whatever tweaks necessary to keep it steady. That might be just a homemade strap around the head at eyebrow level. Or a homemade strap over the nasal pillows area. Or even a total deconstruct.

The ONLY reason I deconstructed my Aura - no "headgear" at all - and used my own homemade straps with it was as an experiment to see if it even could be made to work with no headgear. Did that simply because another woman thought the headgear might cause hair breakage. Her original topic appeared here:
Topic posted by LCM (Lorraine) Apr 27 2005 subject: My Hair! It's Being Destroyed!

You can see what I did to my Aura experimentally here:
Apr 29, 2005 subject: Aura Lite - solution to hair breaking or thinning

I personally had had no problem with the headgear or hair breakage. I simply decided to remove the headgear for the heck of it, in answer to LCM's post. I found the deconstruction worked fine, and I actually liked it that way. But it does work great straight out of the box for most people UNLESS they have a very small head or very large nares.

WillSucceed and th reported condensation problems when they tried to use the Aura.

The Aura comes with Medium and Large nasal pillows. Those sizes seem to work for most people. It truly doesn't matter a bit whether you have "slotted" nares or round ones. LOL!!

IF you have very large nares (nostril openings) you might need "Extra Large" nasal pillows for the Aura. It's been quite some time since Aeiomed said they were going to come out with the Extra Large pillows. I don't know if they have designed that size yet.

That would be my only caution for a man about getting the Aura right now. If he has nares so large that, say, the Swift's "Large" or the Breeze's "Large" are almost leaky for him...then I'd wait until Aeiomed comes through with making Extra Large available.

Here are the initial messages that Wader and I posted when we bought Auras at almost the same time:

Mar 10, 2005 subject: aura CPAP Patient Interface ****IT'S HERE****

Mar 11 2005 subject: The Aura by Aeiomed - BEST nasal pillows mask ever!! (imho)

And Ted's (Titrator) review:
First Review in March: Aura CPAP Interface Author: Ted Nugent, nickname "Titrator"

Here's a TON of topics about the Aura since then:
Links to Aura nasal pillows mask topics

I've been using the Aura since March. Wearing one with the headgear or wearing a deconstructed one...works either way for me. My favorite mask by far!
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My disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, nor have I ever worked in the health care field. Those are just my personal opinions. A mask or machine I love/hate could be completely the opposite for others. Finding suitable equipment can be an expensive trial and error experience.

Lori...I've been keeping a low, low profile on this, so as not to jinx you!

Thanks, RG. I choked on my tea when I read that. I was honest to God wondering why you hadn't joined in this topic being as pro Aura as you are.

I am really becoming a convert.. After three nights in a row, I can't see wearing anything other than the Aura. Don't get me wrong, I love my Swift. It was the first mask I truly thought was great. But there are really no problems with the Aura for me whatsoever yet. Will that change? I don't know. I've even decided to try the hh with it and it's fine, no condensation, though I have it set on 1, the lowest. And the hh still leaks air at the connection to the machine no matter what I do, btw. But even with that (put some paper tape around the rubber gasket), my leak rate was a 22 today, the best I've had in a loooong time.

RG, those links are great. I'm going to read the others' comments after writing this. I have to agree, though, that this is one interface that truly works out of the box. I feel absolutely no chance of hair breakage as the rubber never shifts at night and I thnk the only way it won't fit someone is exactly what you wrote, extra large pillows necessary (if they haven't started making them yet) and having an extra tiny head MAYBE. I don't think that you can't get around that one. I am very happy I went for it...so far, still so good.

Congrats, Lori!

I'm just going to lurk and read before ordering one.

I've given up on the Breeze - too many leaks.

The Mirage Activa works well for me but I feel better rested when I use nasal pillows.

Keep up the good info posts and most importantly - pleasant dreams .

OldSeaRock wrote:Congrats, Lori!

I'm just going to lurk and read before ordering one.

DITTO! Great info from you Lori and from RG. I already have three masks (one for each month on XPAP therapy???) This could get expensive! Still, I would like to have an alternate that I like and I have not found it yet. Thanks for the descriptive info on your use of the Aura Lori.

FF

Old Sea Rock & FF,

You know me by now, hard to keep my mouth closed when I have something to say, which is very often. It's also hard when you feel very enthusiastic about something not to share it with others, especially ones for whom it could make a difference to, also.

I have slept with the Aura four nights so far and I am still extremely pleased with it. I am still waking up a few times a night for a few seconds, but there is no hose to worry about and no leaks either. The headgear is the most stable of any I've tried so far, and this is my fifth mask. Sound like you, FF? I have had five masks since the first week in June.

Last night, since I was so sick of patching my mouth with Tegaderm and I've given up on Dr. Sue's device, I decided to see what my leak rate would be without anything and if I could just keep my tongue where it belongs, behind my top teeth. Well, I didn't wake up at all from mouth breathing and my leak rate was still in the low 20's. That is great as it had gone up to a normal 34 with the Swift and taping, and before taping with the Swift, the low-mid 40's. I don't know if I got lucky last night or the Aura doesn't cause me to mouth breathe as much, or MAYBE I am learning to control where my tongue stays finally as I sleep. I am going for it again tonight. It felt great not to have anything across or in my mouth for once while I slept.

OSR, lurk as long as you need to. My only worry is that what is working so well for me may not work as well for you, although you felt the same about why the Breeze was not an interface you wanted to use, either. Honestly, I can't see how this wouldn't work for anyone, but then you can ask people like WillSucceed who didn't like the Aura at all. I can't understand that. I'm going to do a search for the post he wrote in which he explains why he didn't like it as I want to see the reasons again. But so far, I am still in Aura-infatuation.

I hear you, Lori - what works for one may well not work for another.

I've got a good opportunity on a comfort-curve so we'll see what happens there. My "lurking" status is more about not derailing this thread than lack of interest, I can guarantee you. Maybe I'll start another thread on the topic as I'm sort of at a crossroads..

OSR,

Please, go ahead and derail. It's not like this thread hasn't been around long enough to go off in another direction. I'm curious now to know what you're thinking. COME OUT OF THE DARKNESS---NO NEED TO LURK!!!

I have to ask, since I've been intrigued by the Aura and it's potential for side-sleepers. But I am having difficulty seeing what keeps the darn thing on your head?

But I am having difficulty seeing what keeps the darn thing on your head?

Honestly, I have used it the past four nights and I ask myself the same question every morning. I think it's the combination of the rubber pad beneath the lockbox and the adjustable straps. It's so light that it doesn't take a whole lot to keep it where you put it. If it was heavy headgear, it would want to fall over to each side you turn or when you move. It doesn't do that.

Also, I showed my daughter how if I take my hand and literally move the box side to side really fast, the piece that holds the pillows still stays in one place. I don't know how they did it, but it works for me!

Thanks for the explanation. I'm going to follow the "who doesn't like it" thread, but I'm just about ready to try it! I like my swift, and it beats the heck out of the old gear (an advantage to my putting off treatment, maybe, or am I rationalizing?). But it seems like it shifts whenever I turn side to side. It really has been quite stable, but I keep feeling a need to make sure it's still in place. I'm glad you found a keeper!

Professor,
One of the only things, aside from the marks it can leave on your face, about the Swift was worrying about dislodging the barrel that hold the pillows when you turn on your side, especially when the hose can hit into the pillow on the side you keep it on. That bothered me. With the Aura, it is a thing of the past.

Look, I am going to stop selling it because maybe it won't feel the same for you. I can only speak from my experience, which is what I've been doing. I hope if you decide to buy it, it works as well for you as it does for me. I am a happy camper. Don't even know it's on in the mornings, it's so easy to wear.

Yup, same here - the hose isn't really the problem as I finally got that in a place that works for me. But the barrel seems to shift, or at least I'm afraid of dislodging it. I must say, it has stayed put for the most part, but it must be moving a little because I feel something shifting there. And you're not losing your hair with the Aura? Are those bands rubber? What crazy things will people say about the antenna-looking device on the top?

Hey, can you get Shortwave with that thing? OK, that's another thread. But in the looks department, well, are any of them winners? Do any of us care if it works???

I have been looking at pictures and asking the same question as ProfessorSleeps. What keeps it on your head? I would love to try it.

My Swift seems to be leaking more so than earlier and this is the only mask I have tried as I cannot breathe with anything touching the bridge of my nose. Not in my head, no air gets through. The dr. noticed it also.

Also the last 3 nights I am feeling like pre cpap: sleepy, oversleeping, groggy, napping during day if I sit down, etc. I don't know what the problem is but would love to try the Aura. By the way, hopefully my card reader will be here any day now and I can see exactly what's going on with my numbers and try something different. I've had my auto set 11 - 16. Think I may try straight Cpap (14) tonight.

Lori or Laura, do you think I would be able to keep Aura on with hair in a bun high on head? This is how I use Swift and it seems to help keep it in place. My hair is long and Swift slides around with it down. I've tried just a pony tail or pulled back and below the back strap and neither of these work as well with Swift as a bun high on head. What do you think?

Now don't go getting funny on me, can it get shortwave...it's enough to have to wear the appliances without fellow cpap-ers ribbing you about it .

No, I don't feel any hair breakage. And it's not "rubber bands." It's a rubber pad similiar to what you might find on the bottom of a bath mat. I've seen it described like that. It has largish sized nubs on the bottom side that keep it in place when the headgear is on your head. If it doesn't move, how can it break your hair? So far, I have literally no complaints except, for some weird reason, I am now trained to wake up a few times a night for no reason. Thank goodness I go right back to sleep. And I'm hoping in a few weeks of using the Aura, when I realize I don't need to check anything anymore, that may subside.

Elliejose,

What I did to keep the Swift in place, and sometimes just to safeguard the Aura, is I'll either put my hair temporarily in a pony tail and then pull it through over the back strap to serve as sort of a barrier to keep the back strap from riding up, OR I'll make a makeshift bun without any pins and put the back strap across it, which gives the back strap a tighter fit.