Anybody have these problems with the Mirage Activa mask?

[SithLord]

Although I am happy with my ComfortGel mask, I was intrigued by the Mirage Activa inflated seal which is advertised for "active" side sleepers. Got two different sizes from cpap.com with return insurance of course .

I thought it was going to be a great mask for me, but found two things I can't get past:

1) The mask seems way larger than my ComfortGel. When I sleep on my side, the larger mask size (especially the rubber outside flanges) jars the mask off my face. Ok it has a better seal, but what good is that if the mask size itself makes it hard to sleep on side? I can alleviate this by sleeping with my head at the end of the pillow and the mask off the pillow. But with the ComfortGel I could sleep in middle of pillow.

2) The mask seems to "pulse". This may be hard to describe without appearing crazy . Given the air inflated seal, I expect it to pull in and loosen during inhale and exhale. I don't mind this since it's gradual and follows my breathing. But what I find bothersome is a distinct small pulsing when transitioning between inhale and exhale. When I start to exhale, the mask starts to loosen slightly, then a very quick tightening and release of mask occurs before the rest of exhale. During this pulse, the mask pressure on face is greater than at end of inhale. Could C-Flex be causing this?

I read product reviews on the Activa and a lot of people like it. I know mask selection and fit is very personal, but have others had the above issues? I am ready to return the masks, but wanted some confirmation I am not alone . I am fairly new to CPAP therapy, so I don't trust my own judgements yet.

Regarding the Activa air inflated sealing. Although not advertised as such by Respironics, doesn't the ComfortGel mask do something similar? It seems the thin outer clear rubber forms an air seal between your face and the inner blue gel.

[bdp522]

Although I haven't tried the mask, I have read that it is a bit larger. As to the pulsing, it has been refered to as a lovesick octopus. So I guess that's normal! It seems most get used to this in a short time.

Brenda

[Goofproof]

I have both, I went back to the Comfort Gel, It does all the things you say, but if you had checked prior posts, that's normal for it. What I didn't like is the headgear allows the mask to ride up. So I went back to the Gel. I don't like the vent on the Gel, and it seems excessive, very cheap, if it had the vent that's on the Comfort Full, I would like it better. Jim

[blarg]

The activa's pulsing comes from C-Flex. When the pressure decreases, the mask deflates slightly. You can try turning C-Flex down or off.

So, that said, why don't you post a few night's reports on both? That would provide a pretty clear picture of which one's working better for you.

[SithLord]

Thx blarg. If I did my due diligence as Goofproof suggests, I would have found from "Darth Vader Look":

I find that the higher you have your c-flex set the worse the pulsating gets. I turned down the c-flex to level 1 and it has been great. At c-flex set to 3 it felt like I was in the movie alien with one of those creatures over my nose

I did try a search for "Activa" but the 2098 matches was daunting. Searched again today by adding pulse keyword and found a more reasonable list. Sure wish you could only search in title .

I don't have any data on the Activa yet. I couldn't fall alseep with it. Although I am looking for a long-term sleeping partner, my standards aren't low enough (yet) to include an Octopus .

I am going to adjust C-Flex and give the mask another try. The good seal and loose straps are very appealing.

[Roger...]

I’m also a side sleeping that didn’t appreciate the humping when I first started with the Activa, but after taking the advice of another poster to loosen the straps I found the mask would settle down, and now it is my nightly companion.

On my mask the straps are so loose that they don’t let the mask seal much until I’m lying down. Once down the mask, makes the seal and the expansive bellows increase the sealing. On my side, if I let the hose hang over the edge of the bed too much, the weight of the hose and its blanket can pull on the mask slightly creating a corner leak. When this happens I move the house back over and sleep goes on again.

I like my Activa and have a spare in the drawer in case this one has something break. I also use the large mask pillow even though the measurements say I should use a regular size. In my case I moved to the large because the standard size would sometimes irritate the lower section of my nose slightly. While the larger one doesn’t do that, it doesn’t seal quite as reliably as the regular cushion. Still, my mask leakage numbers are well within acceptable limits so it is really a non-issue.

Good luck on getting your animal tamed.

[Snoozing Gonzo]

Never make the critter angry by sneezing! It will jump around for quite a while.

I alternate between #1 C-flex and none at all so I can't comment much on its effect on the movement. My experience with the Standard and Large is the same as Roger's; a tossup between a bit more comfort and a bit more leakage.

I cannot let my hose hang or route under the blanket. I drape the hose above my head so I move under it. (There are a lot of suggestions on how to do this on this forum - try the yellow light bulb to start.) I may wear my Activa a bit tighter (esp. with the Large) than others but it's still much looser than I ever wore the Comfort Gel. The angle adjustment also affects comfort and leaks much more than the Gel. The top strap does not have to be equal to the bottom and you may find with a few nights of micro-adjusting that each side may be a little different (so is your head and your pillow).

Good Luck

Chris

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): activa, hose, C-FLEX

[momadams]

Roger,
Wouldn't it just be easier to move the hose?
Shari

". When this happens I move the house back over and sleep goes on again. "

[Roger...]

Roger,
Wouldn't it just be easier to move the hose?
Shari

Hello Shari,
Move the hose? I might be missing the point, but when I attempt balance on the edge of the bed, this is when the hose sometimes jumps off the bed and tugs on the mask. If the leak is loud, it breaks the dream state and forces me to get it back on the bed. If the leak isn't much I don't awaken. In my case the mask needs to hang from above, but the head board went away when I began using this king sized air bed.

At some point a head board will reappear and the mask will have some place to hang from. Until then I just live with the maintenance my rolling around creates.

As a side note, I use the highest C-Flex setting with the mask. In the beginning I tried all three settings and found it didn't make any difference in how the mask pumped. When I noticed this thread yesterday I spent a few minutes fiddling with the mask last night to see if I could get it to pump and found making the mask tighter is a good way to get the action started.

[WillCunningham]

I am a huge fan of my Activa mask. I had to turn off C-Flex to avoid the stutter step of the octopus motion. I don't mind it beating to the same pulse that I am breathing at, but the c-flex gave it a really weird rythim that I could not stand. I have a bi-pap so I didn't really need the c-flex anyway and have been happy with the Activa ever since. I definitely recommend trying it without the c-flex for a night to see the difference.

I do have problems with the headgear creeping up, but it still maintains a seal so it gets the job done...with much much looser straps than the ComfortGel did for me. In fact I loosened the straps so it was barely on and it worked well for me, even with a beard and mustache.

I used a ComfortGel for quite a while and went through about 4 of them. They were too fragile to wear as tight as I needed it to be for maintaining a seal. I broke a number of them and found the blue gel part to loose it's elasticity and seal making ability over about a 3 month period.

I was elated to discover how sturdy the Activa is, and I do have to agree it is much bigger than the ComfortGel. I still battle with that sometimes but the end result is still much more comfortable for me. I think that part is very sleep style related, I don't mind sleeping with my mask off the pillow or with a very smooshy pillow that can handle it. The part that I have trouble with is the exhast. I can't stand to have it blowing on my arm so when I am side sleeping I have to cover my arm with an extra pillow so the hose doesn't blow directly on it.

Finding the right mask for you is the real key, I hope it works out for you in the end!

Good Luck,

Will

[SithLord]

Thx. I will definitely give the Activa a fair shake now and play with C-Flex settings.

Regarding size. I have been using a medium ComfortGel. First tried a large, but it was clearly too big around my nose. I have two Activa sizes right now, standard and large. Placing just the rubber over my nose ... With the large size, the thin lower rubber just barely sits beneath my nostrils. With the medium, it is about 3/4 up my nostrils.

I know Snoozing Gonzo and others have indicated that size is a tradeoff between comfort and leakage, but does it sound like the large is a better fit for me?

[SithLord]

Last night I tried the Activa mask again. This time I used C-Flex 2 and ramped from 6-8. Never needed ramp feature before, but the initial lower pressure w/ less C-Flex seemed to eliminate the "kiss" for me when falling asleep.

[sleepyred]

I just love my trustworthy activa! I have tried mask after mask and keep going back to my old faithful. It is big on the face, but I can sleep on my side without leaks. I also have the hose hung above my headboard so it does not tug as I turn. The swivel on the front works like a charm. I have had the lowest leak rate with this mask. I change my cushion every three months and have never changed the headgear. I do have to use a chin strap and I'm with Blarg here - it actually works for me!

To me the activa is like that old pair of tennis shoes you just can't part with.....

Sleepyred

[blowfish]

.

[sleepyred]

If you find it - let me know!

Sleepyred

[quote="mth712"]
I am still looking for a Full Face that will seal on me.