86yr old mother adapting to CPAP - doubts & questions

[Dulcecica]

There are so many masks on the market... not just the few you've tried, but you're asking us to speculate about which would be best for your mother who we don't know. Even if we did and saw her in person we couldn't do more than guess at which ones might work for her. Is there no way to get her to a dealer to try on various ones, lying down and relaxed, together with her usual one and compare to see what might work. I know myself all too well, but could not guess at what would work without trying on various ones and then seeing if they do the job overnight for a while. We'd love to help, but there are limits to our being able to guess at this... much as we'd like to. I hope you do find 'the right one' (tho' many of us still 'make do' with masks that aren't perfect in every respect) and let us know what happens.

I agree, the only thing I can ask for is for your personal experience, speculate on what is best for someone else is not good.
So I guess I'm just asking if someone has had an experience that is applicable to my mom's case. She doesn't go out of the house, I managed to purchase online her cpap equipment based on the prescription of the doctor and at at-home somnography. Still waiting on the insurance people to get in touch "after the coronavirus scare is over".

[Dulcecica]

It seems my mom is not the only one having leak issues with the Dreamwear pillow, and those that had problems with it seem to love the Resmed N30i, so I went ahead and bought it.

I hope this works out for your mum. I used the N30i for a few weeks, and found it to be great. The only problem is that it tends to blow air downwards onto you, but that isn't a really major problem. I tried the Dreamwear one for the last couple of weeks, in case it was better. It was better in that it blew air away from me, but I had a lot of leaks and problems with it, which I didn't expect. I got the N30i back today, and I feel like I've been reunited with an old friend! I'm actually looking forward to using it tonight. I've only been on CPAP for a couple of months, but the N30i is the best one I've tried, (out of three that I've tried).
Good luck with it. Hope it works as well for your mum as it does for me.

Thank you. I'm glad you got it back. All we can do is try out the different options and go for the one that is an acceptable combination of comfort and functionality!
I will let you guys know how it goes once we get it on Wednesday!

[khauser]

Still waiting on the insurance people to get in touch "after the coronavirus scare is over".

That could be a long wait, depending on luck, definition of 'over', etc. In the mean time aren't medical professionals, including the insurance people, supposed to be working>? (The answer is yes).

I would ratchet up the squeaky wheel noise a bit. Or in the current vernacular, bring out your inner Karen! (Apologies to any people named Karen.)

[bombayone]

Thank you for being a very dedicated daughter. Your mother is fortunate to have you. Has using CPAP improved your mother's overall quality of life?