Nostrils wrong shape for nasal pillows!

[larry63]

Went to a new DME after a struggling to get a good seal with my swift fx pillows -- new RT had me try my current mask on and she couldn't get a seal.

Turns, out, she said that my nostrils are simply the wrong shape to work with nasal pillows! My nostrils are flared towards the sides, that the round nasal pillows with the Resmed Swift fx simply are too difficult to seal, even though I've been trying like a champ the last three months. For the last two days, I've been using a conventional nasal mask, and if is such a relief not to wake up several times per night re-appling the lanolin, adjusting the straps again, and trying to get back to sleep, afraid of turning over!

I'm writing this, just in case any body else has had trouble getting nasal pillows to seal.

Well, hopefully I got a simple answers to 3 months of miserable fatigue, irratibilty, low work hours and depression. The nasal mask forms a nice seal which never seems to slip during the night. I am actually after only two nights, now feeling about as good as before I started CPAP! I am only simply a bit tired and irratible - still can't concentrate much, but I thursday I actually woke up without restting the alarm, and made it through an entire day!

So I am out of the dense fog of bad CPAP, and back in to the normal fog of my daily life before CPAP. Who knows? Maybe I will eventually actually start to feel better then before I started CPAP!

Thanks everyone who pushed me to do something about the situation. It is very difficult sometimes when you can't think straight, to get the energy and motivation to do something about it, and luckily I pushed through, and maybe this is the answer. And maybe not - it could be only an anomaly or placebo effect - I need to got a few days more to be sure.

[msla]

Larry,

Other brands of nasal masks may work. See if you can try some of them. I use FP Ophus 306 successfully but could not get the Optilife to work for me at all. I ended up giving it away. Another option is nasal prongs. Sometimes they made the inside of my nose a little sore. I have found it takes a little time to get everything just right for myself.

Rolf

[Emilia]

The Swift LT's pillows can be turned around, if needed, to accommodate nares that are \ / or / \.... mine are more like the latter and I get a great seal. I don't think the FX allows that.....or someone correct this if I am wrong.

[robysue]

The nasal mask forms a nice seal which never seems to slip during the night. I am actually after only two nights, now feeling about as good as before I started CPAP! I am only simply a bit tired and irratible - still can't concentrate much, but I thursday I actually woke up without restting the alarm, and made it through an entire day!

So I am out of the dense fog of bad CPAP, and back in to the normal fog of my daily life before CPAP. Who knows? Maybe I will eventually actually start to feel better then before I started CPAP!

Congraluations on finally getting a good night's sleep! You've been through so much since I joined this forum. Here's hoping and wishing that your new nasal mask continues to work well for you and that you are soon feeling better than you did before starting CPAP.

[ignorant1]

The old original style "Adams Circuit" type of nasal pillows are GREAT! Why?

1.) There are SEVEN different sizes available (including "dialator" type pillows)
2.) You can actually mix and match sizes (i.e., a large for one nostril, and a medium for the other)
3.) They can each be ROTATED to the correct orientation in regards to the oval nature of your nares
4.) They are still being used on the PB "Breeze" nasal pillow setup, so they are readily available

Newer is not always better...

[larry63]

The old original style "Adams Circuit" type of nasal pillows are GREAT! Why?

1.) There are SEVEN different sizes available (including "dialator" type pillows)
2.) You can actually mix and match sizes (i.e., a large for one nostril, and a medium for the other)
3.) They can each be ROTATED to the correct orientation in regards to the oval nature of your nares
4.) They are still being used on the PB "Breeze" nasal pillow setup, so they are readily available

Newer is not always better...

Ok, you're user name is interesting, because I plead ignorance myself - what an "Adams Circuit" pillow system - do you happen to have
a link (otherwise I'll do a W3 search for "breeze pillow" I guess...

[Muse-Inc]

I have thin slotted nostrils supposedly the wrong shape for pillow...been using pillows since I got my equipment Aug 20, '07. Now, that said, the RespCare Hybrid Universal comes with 3 sizes of pillows that can be set at 2 heights and you fit the pillows into the oral cushion (also comes with 3 sizes) when you re-assemble following cleaning. For a good seal, you always set the angle of each pillow to match the angle of each nostril.

[Sirca]

The Swift LT's pillows can be turned around, if needed, to accommodate nares that are \ / or / \.... mine are more like the latter and I get a great seal. I don't think the FX allows that.....or someone correct this if I am wrong.

The FX pillow unit can be attached to the side straps upside down. There's a "key" stamped into one of the attachments, but you can assemble it the wrong way without snipping off the key if you want to try it.

Slightly altering the orientation of the pillows relative to the nares can really help. I find that the inner part of the front of my nostril to be very sensitive to pressure. Reversing the orientation of the pillows takes the pressure off nicely, but can sometimes induce leaks. Experiment!

Also, the pantyhose trick (viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36928&p=322402#p322402) can be used to gently pull the pillows away from sensitive spots. It takes some time to get it just right, but has made the difference in being able to use one of my nasal pillow masks.