Resmed Swift LT for her nasal pillows, last how long?

[msradar65]

I have been on cpap now a little over a month. I use resmed LT for her nasal pillow mask. This morning I awoke with one blowing air in my face. I think they have gotten soft over the course of the month. I also use Lanisoh on my nose every night.

So how long should I expect the nasal pillows to last? I have received my first set of replacement pillows, so I will probably change out tonight and pitch the old one.

[jweeks]

Hi,

They seem to last about 6 weeks for me. I usually buy 10 of them for around $12 each from a vendor that I found on E-bay. This ends up being less than what my co-pay would be if I got them via my insurance plan.

-john-

[cpapernewbie]

john: do you mind sharing the address of your LT supplier?

[msradar65]

I bought some from Ebay seller as well.

[Emilia]

I get about 2 months out of my pillows.... now on my second set and those are closing in on 2 months. That is an excellent price... can you share the ebay vendor with us? I think I paid $22 per online!

[Gymrat76]

Wow, I had no idea the pillows had such a short lifespan! I've been using my Swift FX for close to 2 months now and have not had problems, nor did I expect them to become soft so quickly! Is the 6 week lifespan of the silicone pillows the average lifespan for this product? Looks like I'll need to start ordering some replacement pillows soon

[Popi]

My pillow (for men) is on its 13th month...with zero problems. I wear it 6-8 hours a night and wash/soak it in vinegar weekly. And that's it. I'm still using my original equipment that I first received with my machine. I have spares, but everything is still functioning properly, so I see no reason to change anything out.

[socks349]

I'm actually over 18 months on the same pillows/mask and everything. I think I have at least 3 spares of everything too, just can't find a good reason to replace. I'm wondering if other factors are more important, such as any creams, gels, etc that may interact w/the pillows and increase aging. I just use a high quality face cleaner, wash w/water, nothing else. I do pull the pillows off the mask each morning so it rapidly air-dries and I reassemble pillows to the mask, reattach tube before sleep. I wash pillows once a week in water with some baby soap, rinse well and air dry, same for mask and tubes. Haven't seen anything growing in there, nor any change in the texture of the pillows.

[plr66]

ResMed began producing noticeably inferior quality LT pillows about 2 years ago. If you have 6-7 hours to do some light reading, you might check out this now-well-worn thread.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=41729&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

It appears that the flimsier pillows are likely being manufactured in Asia. Rumor had it that the better and longer lasting pillows may have been (possibly still are?) produced in New Zealand.

There is a mold number embossed on the bottom side of each pillow, as shown below.

I think it would be very interesting & useful if everyone like Popi and Socks349, who is currently having long-term successful use of their "newer generation" LT pillows (6 months or more) would get out a magnifying glass and post what number is on their pillows. (Be careful to hold the pillow as shown, so that 6 and 9 are not confused).

[img]http://i491.photobucket.com/albums ... .jpg[/img]

[socks349]

My current pillow has a tiny '10' embossed as you indicate. Then I looked at the two spares and saw '8' on one '0' on another - but packaging for the spares does say Resmed Singapore, pillows made in China. Maybe I need to switch to one of these and see what happens...

[plr66]

My current pillow has a tiny '10' embossed as you indicate. Then I looked at the two spares and saw '8' on one '0' on another - but packaging for the spares does say Resmed Singapore, pillows made in China. Maybe I need to switch to one of these and see what happens...

That might be helpful, Socks. And be sure to keep that good one in a really safe place and labeled!

[msradar65]

I just checked my pillow and it has a number 2 on it. I do use lanosih on my nostrils every night. I also discovered that the left side pillow the inner pillow was turned the wrong way.

[sewsleepy]

Well, this is an interesting thread. My husband and I both use the Swift LT. I've had my pillow (or "nozzle" as we call it, ha ha) for about a year, he has had his a little less than a year, and no sign of them wearing out. Mine has a 7 on it, his has a 5.

I had just read recently that you should replace the pillows every 6months and I realized we had had ours so much longer than that, but really they both still work fine.

[plr66]

I just checked my pillow and it has a number 2 on it. I do use lanosih on my nostrils every night. I also discovered that the left side pillow the inner pillow was turned the wrong way.

Msradar, unless someone has evidence to the contrary, I think we can put #2's on the poor quality list. When I had my "good" LT pillow, the inner shell never turned the wrong way. I couldn't even imagine how that could happen until I got some of the flimsy ones. I'm not sure whether Lansinoh has a negative effect on silicone, and don't remember anyone having ever mentioned that here.

[msradar65]

Well, I washed the nasal pillows and I think I am going to try a new one tonight. I'm glad I picked up extras from e-bay. Causing awaking to air blowing in your eye is not pleasant.