New TAP PAP mask review

Papit, I'm going to do as you suggest tomorrow morning.

My doctor faxed my prescription over to Apria, and when I walked in there I was presented with the machine and the mask the dr. recommended. I questioned the Apria rep. as to why I wasn't being given options to choose from....a recommendation doesn't equate to "this is your only option" in my mind.....I never did get a reasonable answer. I felt then (and feel now) that I was pressured into taking the equipment they happened to have on hand!

Thank you for pointing out that I can and should have a copy of my prescription!

Ugh's review... finally.

I bought the TAP PAP two weeks ago. I have serious troubles with gagging, so I was hesitant to try it after all. Finally broke down last night and formed the mouthpiece (with some gagging). Worked fine. Where I use the small and extra small pillows with my Swift FX, I used the medium with this. The instructions say to use the largest possible.

Overall, a good experience. The pros and cons:

Pros:

After the initial gagging fit, I didn't have any further troubles with it.
My leak rate last night was .03, the best ever.
The vents don't make a lot of noise when near bedding like my FX does, which is annoying.
My cheeks are free and can snuggle into the pillow all I want.
Its a lot easier to exhale by comparison.
I didn't adjust my nasal pillows once during the night and wasn't awakened or annoyed with leaks.
The sore I was getting didn't get any worse, so the new pillows aren't bothering it.

Cons:
My teeth don't line up quite right this morning, though I know its temporary.
The hose link to my Climateline is loose, so I'm going to put some tape on that to keep it from coming off so easily.
You can't lick your lips while in mask.


Overall, very happy thus far, and my numbers look good for night one.

ughwhatname wrote:The hose link to my Climateline is loose, so I'm going to put some tape on that to keep it from coming off so easily.

I have had this happen a couple of times myself. I was going to add some tape but I ended up just sticking it in a little further and it has stayed put.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the TAP PAP product reviews. If you have haven't done so already, please also post your feedback on CPAPcom user reviews, if you purhcased your mask through CPAPcom

Regards.

I received my TAP PAP mask this morning. That was sure quick shipping!

I have already fitted the mouthpiece and practiced putting it on and removing it. It's a snug fit, but I have worn a mouth guard for years to prevent me from grinding my teeth, and I don't find this mouthpiece to be any tighter or more difficult to insert or remove.

I hooked it up to my machine, climbed onto my bed and practiced flopping around and rolling from one side to the other. (My husband came home from work and thought I had gone completely mad!). PERFECT fit. The nasal pillows stayed perfectly in place and I couldn't feel any air leakage. The real test will be wearing the TAP PAP all night, but I've got to tell y'all, this is the first time I have ever gotten excited about a mask!

I got my tap pap Saturday; finally got around to fitting it last night. (didn't want to seem too eager--"Murphy" watches for that.)
No problems with the tray in my mouth (I wore a retainer for over a year, and braces for over 2 years)
This is the most stable mask I have ever worn.
My teeth felt a bit funny for about 15-20 minutes this morning, so I will probably alternate with my Swift FX until I get used to it.
I think this is a keeper; now to show it to my dentist . . .

I've used the TAP PAP mask for a couple of nights now, and I give it two thumbs up.

It was a breeze to fit, it's comfortable, VERY stable, I can roll over and stay asleep! Even with my Swift FX, I was waking multiple times a night to readjust the nasal pillows because they'd shift when I moved. With the TAP PAP, I've had the best, uninterrupted sleep I've ever experienced. I've seen my best numbers yet on SleepyHead.

There are no down sides to this mask. LOVE IT!

Any mouth leakers who puff air out of their mouth with a regular chinstrap try the TAP PAP yet?

SleepingUgly wrote:Any mouth leakers who puff air out of their mouth with a regular chinstrap try the TAP PAP yet?

Along those lines, do the Tap Pap users find it difficult to keep the mouth portion from slipping out? I know it's supposed to hook to your teeth... but...?

ems wrote:

SleepingUgly wrote:Any mouth leakers who puff air out of their mouth with a regular chinstrap try the TAP PAP yet?

Along those lines, do the Tap Pap users find it difficult to keep the mouth portion from slipping out? I know it's supposed to hook to your teeth... but...?

There is no chance of the mouthguard slipping out. In fact, I was a bit concerned that I wouldn't be able to get it out the first time without removing my teeth, which are not anywhere near loose! It doesn't hook to your teeth, but is molded to them. It takes concerted effort to remove it.

I found that a bit of gentle wiggling loosens the tray from my teeth.
You don't want to force anything, of course.
I would imagine swishing very warm water around might help if it just won't budge.

chunkyfrog wrote:I found that a bit of gentle wiggling loosens the tray from my teeth.
You don't want to force anything, of course.
I would imagine swishing very warm water around might help if it just won't budge.

What works best for me is to pull down just one side to get it out. When I tried using both hands and pulling straight down, it didn't really work well.

What works for me is what the directions say: Pull down at the molars (basically the BACK of the dental piece). I am also able to "break" the seal by manipulating the front in such a way that I am leveraging the back off. But if I try to pull the front off first I'm pretty sure the front part of my head will come with it!

Had a chance to try to watch TV last night while wearing the Tap Pap. We don't have a TV in the bedroom at home but I wasn't home last night. It's a bit weird sort of having that hose up by my eyes but I got adjusted to it pretty quickly till it pretty much went invisible.

I am still loving the mask...well about as much love as I can muster for having an alien plastered on my face. If I am going to have to use this darned contraption it is pretty sweet to have it be as minimal as it is.
It hasn't made me into a never open my big mouth person though...but it seems like the time that I spend with the mouth opening is becoming less and the amount of probable mouth breathing is also less. Times spent kissing large leak territory and a little above are shorter in duration and excursions deep into large leak territory are much less frequent. Most nights I don't touch large leak territory line (on the S9 at 24 L/min).
Last night on the PR S1 BiPap (my large leak number to avoid on it is 90 L/min) I hit 57 L/min briefly (like for 2 minutes)
so maybe the mouth guard is helping a little to retrain the brain to keep mouth shut or if I am going to mouth breathe it isn't huge deep breaths creating massive therapy pressure leaks.
Again...I don't wake up with these minor spikes in leaks...so I don't worry about them.

Teeth....zero issues now. When I first put the mouth guard in place it feels sort of like having a girdle on...after 3 or 4 minutes it isn't noticed. Removing it no longer requires much effort. Figured out how to easily pull it off the teeth.

So it seems to me that the Tap Pap is secure in it's number one position.

These are some of my first impressions after the first night using the Tap Pap. Pugsy very kindly helped me to obtain this mask, otherwise it likely would have meant a long drawn out procedure to get one through the system here in NZ. So I am very grateful to her for this and for the help from this forum in more ways than one.

I managed 7.4 hours sleep which is almost a record for me. I wasn't woken at all by leaks when changing sleeping positions (I am a very restless sleeper) - as I constantly have been with all other masks I have tried to date.

The only thing that disturbed my sleep last night was the head gear slipping completely off and flapping against my face. I use the head gear as I have found routing the hose over my head has worked best for me. I will try and adjust that better for next time. I may have to try different sized pillows as the edge of one of my nares is rather sore today - so I'll probably have to use a nasal mask for tonight to allow that to settle down.

I had real doubts and fears about the mouthpiece especially when it caused me to gag (I often have difficulty even just brushing my back teeth) but that settled down when in place for a minute or 2. Although it fitted my teeth in its unboiled (original) state, I soon realized without the boiling/molding process the mouth piece wasn't going to keep the pillows in place, if I didn't keep my mouth clenched shut all night (which is contrary to instructions that give the impression it can be used in its original shape)

I found that when the mouth piece cools, after the boiling molding process, it tends to shrink a little and tighten even further on your teeth and this is slightly uncomfortable (not enough to keep me awake) which means they are still a little tender/sensitive hours after waking. Hopefully this will settle down and I will get used to the feeling, or I may have to reboil and see if I can get a more comfortable fit.

Bear in mind I have only used it for one night and these little niggles are not big things. Overall I think it is looking good - the 7.4 hours on the first night tells its own story - it would have been longer (and been the longest sleep I have had since starting CPAP therapy - almost 1 year ago) if the phone hadn't woken me early. I will give an update later.