New User - Mask Poll

sleepyred · Post by **sleepyred** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 8:28 am

Just curious - I am using the Activa Mirage - have water in my mask set at 3, leaks under my nose, have it "ridiculously" loose, and I am still unhappy.

If you like your current mask - just a few questions:

1). Which mask do you currently use?
Why do you like it (if you do)?
2). Which ones did you ditch prior to the one you like or how many?
3). How hard was the "break-in" period?
4). Where did you purchase your mask or did your insurance pay for it?

Any helpful hints for a newbie would be graciously accepted!

ufo13 · Post by **ufo13** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 8:42 am

sleepyred:

1-SWIFT
2-Light, simple, effective
3-Comfortlite, Breeze, mirage vista, etc, etc
4-Swift breakin-NONE
5-most purchased from CPAP.COM

Hope this helps you!

steve,
ufo13

biggziff · Post by **biggziff** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 2:53 pm

I've tried 5 masks so far...the Swift is my favorite.

Jere · Post by **Jere** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 9:38 pm

Swift for me too. It was the DME that suggested it and I have been with it since. It is the least confining and - for me - the most comfortable.

SLPYHED · Post by **SLPYHED** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 9:51 pm

1. The Breeze...Lowest leaks and I don't know it's there. Side sleeper.
2. Breeze, Ultra mirage, Activa and Nasal Aire II.
3. A couple of nights.
4. Yahoo auctions, cpap.com, insurance

I will try the Everest just for kicks, but the Breeze is the best for me.

SH

msr986 · Post by **msr986** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 9:56 pm

I love my Swift, but I just got my shinney new Aura about a week ago. The Aura could take the top spot on my list. I need another week before I know for sure!

felineperson3 · Post by **felineperson3** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 10:32 pm

SLPYHED.

So far in the past year I have tried these:
Nasal Aire Cannula
Comfort Select Nasal Mask (this one was the worst of all for me as it made the bridge of my nose so sore)
Ultra Mirage Full Face Mask
Swift
Aura
and saving the best for last in my list--the Breeze. The Breeze continues to be my all-time favorite as I am a side-sleeper.
I paid out of pocket for all of mine with about half being suggested by my DME and the rest I bought on-line from Cpap.com. The masks costs were much higher through the DME, however, until I learned about buying them here. This past year has been filled with many trials & errors on my part, but I thank the Lord for letting me stumble onto this forum as I feel I would probably have not had the fortitude to remain compliant without all the helpful advice I found by reading the posts here. This forum has so many good people on it that are so willing to share and help you with adjusting to this new way of sleeping. I thank each of them for their helpful posts and I wish you much success with finding the right equipment that works for you.

scotty · Post by **scotty** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 11:37 pm

1a). Activa Mirage

1b). It wasn't my mask of choice, but I really like being able to disconnect the hose from the mask. BTW, does anyone know if other masks have that feature?

2). I used ComfortGel in the sleep lab and wanted to get that mask, but my supplier didn't carry it.

3). I took to the ComfortGel immediately in the lab. Although I was able to sleep well with my Activa Mirage from Day 1, it's only recently that I'm finally getting comfortable with it.

4). I had to buy my own mask since the program I used only contibutes to the machine (and the DME's jack up the price because of that to rip off the consumers AND the government program. Next time I'll get it all by myself online.)

Scotty

sleepyred · Post by **sleepyred** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 5:33 am

[quote="scotty"]1a). Activa Mirage

1b). It wasn't my mask of choice, but I really like being able to disconnect the hose from the mask. BTW, does anyone know if other masks have that feature?

Good Point! I have not thought of that - for those of you who have to heed the call of nature and us the breeze, Aura, etc, do you have to take the whole mask off? Now that my active mirage is broken in - the quick disconnect is really easy. Just if I could stop those pesky leaks - I'm trying every suggestion you all have given!

inacpapfog · Post by **inacpapfog** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 6:31 am

1. current mask----Swift...because it is easy on facial pressure points and
the straps are simple, comfortable and easy on/off with
no readjustments.
2. previous masks.... Activa, OK , it's just too much facial coverage for me,
Aura, great, except that the headgear pulled out my
hair around the crown due to those rubbery staps,
Breeze, too uncomfortable with that hard plastic
strip at the back of the headgear and it shifted
too much during the night causing leaks.
ultra mirage FF, I just use this one for colds, when a
nasal mask won't work for me
3. break in period....about 3-4 weeks for me....I found that I had to
tolerance for something sitting on my nares all
night long! I would be fine for 2-3 nights and then I
would have to alternate for 1 night . Then I would go
back to the Swift and go another few nights. After
the second week , I could sleep 4-6 nights straight
without a break. Finally, after the 3rd or 4th week,
I was able to sleep nightly with the Swift!
4. purchase...........I paid out of pocket for this one because my DME
did not have one. I walked into a local DME and
simply purchased one! Best money I ever spent!

Oh 2 breathe · Post by **Oh 2 breathe** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 7:43 am

I'm breaking ranks here by sticking up for my Comfort Curve. There's been a lot of mixed reviews on this mask but I love it.

1. I use the Comfort Curve
2. I like the unobstructed visual field for reading. It's also very comfortable, no red marks on nose, no skin irritation on sensitive skin. It feels relatively natural compared to other masks i.e. no weird things up my nostrils.
3. I tried several full-face and nose-masks as well as nasal pillows - all were very irritating to my skin and left red marks.
4. It took a couple of weeks to train myself to sleep in ways that minimize leaks i.e. slight tilt toward the side rather than full side sleeping. A contoured memory foam pillow helped with this. I also found that if I put wedge-shaped padding in the sides of the mask it flattened out the mask and I got a better seal around my nose. After 6 weeks I sleep very soundly with it now.
5). I got it from Ottawa Oxygen Therapy, Ontario, Canada. I highly recommend this company as the service was excellent. The respiratory therapist allowed me to try a good range of masks on a trial basis before I finalized my choice of the Comfort Curve.

Good luck to you!

~OTB

Marie · Post by **Marie** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 2:17 pm

Comfort Classic.
Only one I tried because I haven't had any trouble with it.
But it is not a favorite of the masses of hoseheads.
My insurance paid for it.

Marie

Rod · Post by **Rod** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 5:06 pm

Hi: I have only had my mask and machine for just over a week. I am using a Comfort Classic mask. It was comfortable at first, but it tends to leak when I try to sleep on my side. It works fine if you sleep on your back.My DME had not heard of the heated hose before I told her,so I am just reading and listening like you to make my own informed decision about another mask. My Ins. paid for this mask, and will do so yearly, or earlier if it breaks. Rod

Severeena · Post by **Severeena** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 9:29 pm

I use the Hans Rudolph Full Face Mask.

I find it very comfortable and I can sleep on my side with it.

My Leakage is .41L/S to .42L/S

The head gear is a lot different and they are coming out with a new head gear that has starps as well as the cap.

Ric · Post by **Ric** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 12:19 am

I notices on cpap.com you can sort masks by POPULARITY.

here are the top 5 I found there:

1. Respironics comfort curve
2. Resmed mirage activa
3. Resmed mirage swift
4. Puritan Bennet Breeze
5. Respironics comfort gel.

This includes a mix of nose gear and full face gear.

I am still shopping for my first setup. The swift looks the least "astronaut-looking" device, pretty minimal, and the least intrusive by appearance. My question for this audience, do those "nasal pillows" to the job and stay put and does say "mouth breathing" defeat the system. The only mask I have tried was at the sleep clinic, it was a full-face mask and I remember it was difficult to sleep other than on my back, (probably a comfort gel or something equivalent). I am waaaay open for input on choosing the initial setup. I hope I get it right the first time.

New User - Mask Poll

New User - Mask Poll

Scotty - good point

comfort classic

Here's another way to rate masks

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Additional Comments: Aussie Heated hose for rain out/PapCap Headgear and chin strap