Thank you all so much. I will try the Medipore tape. I may also try a wider painters tape, since I think I have 1.5" right now.

I always knew I was a drooler, just not this bad! I recently switched over to settings that make it much harder for me to keep my mouth closed. I have run through multiple chin straps and discovered that my lips still burst open in little puffs. So I switched to painter's tape. It works great ... u...

Thanks for asking this - I've run into this issue with my new settings and the chin-strap isn't cutting it. I have ordered a Pap-Cap to see if it is more effective than my current strap.

By painter's tape do people mean regular masking tape, or the specialized wider tape (blue?)

I spoke with my RT on Thursday and she agreed to talk to my pulmonologist. She asked me "Were these settings decided based on a sleep study or was he guestimating." Um. Guestimating. Long story short, I heard back on Friday that they had a new card for me to try. Everything is the same, except the b...

I went digging through my records, because I seem to have ABGs done every year - and the only figure I can find for vital capacity is from 5 years ago when my capacity was 39% - so that makes sense according to what your doctor said. I've never found them to be as bad as getting an IV placed, but th...

Well, another failed attempt last night. I switched to the ST after an hour. I am calling my RT when they open this morning. Madalot - that's interesting that you say that you felt like the machine was trying to kill you, because I was wondering last night if it were possible to choke to death on ai...

Thanks again. I am combing through Madalot's threads - she does seem to have recently dealt with a very similar situation. I have to admit, despite being on a Bipap for 7 years - I am a total newbie in some senses. How do people learn that they can download their data on their own computer? In my ex...

I was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension when I was 33. It was secondary to my muscular myopathy and after 3 years of bipap & oxygen at night it was no longer an issue (though I still get an echocardiogram every 2 years).

Thank you, Michael! On my S/T my breathing rate was set at 6/min - so this feels like a radical change to me. But as you say, there is that element of time with new settings and machines - perhaps I need to give it more time. With the AVAP, the pulmonologist said he was going to increase pressures a...

I have been switched from a Bipap ST to a Bipap AVAPS, because a combo PFT and blood gas draw indicated that I was holding on to too much CO2, thanks to weakening breathing muscles. In addition to higher pressures, and a tidal volume backup (?), my pulmonologist increased my breathing rate to 18/min...

Thank you for the replies! I think I have a NasalAire 2 in the closet, so I'll have to try it again. I had tried it before I had the dermatitis problem, so I wasn't motivated by wanting something off my face. Maybe I can get it to work. Harry - I think you're right about the silicone allergy -- my c...

I had been happily using a Bipap ST for 7 years with Swift Nasal pillows, until mid-summer when I developed contact dermatitis. I don't know if this is allergic reaction developed to silicone, akin to people developing rashes to latex, or what. It started after I got my replacement Swift LT pillows ...

I put my Swift II back on last night, and already my nose is less raw. But I prefer the shape of the LT, more stable when I move in my sleep. Arrrrrrrrr! Maybe a Swift LT II is in order...

My old Swift ll didn't do that. This is interesting to me, because I switched in March to the LT after using the previous model for almost 6 years, and I've been having the same problem, but it never occurred to me to attribute it to the LT. Ayr Gel doesn't do it for me, so I have been using Lasino...