My one month battle with the FX is over

[cortez356]

The war is over and I won! I only have one useable mask, the Swift FX. Right from the beiginning I had nothing but troubles. But I persisted and for the last 4 nights it has been great. I have to admit that the mask was noi the problem. It was the mask wearer!! I am sure the females on this board know that men do not like following instructions!! I watched the video but still for over a week had the whole mask shoved up my nose. I also did not reset the mask with the pressure on. But now with lanolin applied I can sometimes get a perfect seal the first time. I woke up at 1 am and forgot the mask was still on. No pressure on my nose and no leaks. Once in a while I get a big leak when I turn over. If it wakes me up I can fix it without getting out of bed. Thank you to all the posters who gave tips on the mask!! Next time I will listen. Well, maybe!

Bob

[snuginarug]

Thanks for the encouragement, Bob. Just brought my own FX home yesterday. First trial run did not succeed, but I will persist. Could you post a link to the video you watched?

[snuginarug]

PS

Here is Janknitz's very helpful fitting info, for those of you reading along with me in the hopes of tips and info...

I mention this because some DME's are stupid and tell people to cram the nasal pillows up their nose. The nasal pillows do not go UP the nose, they rest against the nose, and only a very small portion of the tip of the cone-shaped nasal pillow is actually in the nose.

Now, here's my handy, dandy fitting guide (I really need to post this on my blog so I don't have to type it every time!):
1. Loosen the headgear straps. Start the fitting while you are NOT wearing the mask.
2. Hold the nasal pillows up to your nose.
3. NOW turn the machine on. The pillows must fully inflate for a proper fitting.
4. Put the headgear on and tighten just enough to stop any leaks. Lie down in your normal sleeping position and adjust the pillows only enough to stop leakage. If you can't get the leaks under control, try going UP one size.

One of the biggest leak causes is the weight of the short slinky hose pulling on the pillows. Consider some sort of hose managment system--commercial or homemade--to hang the hose over your head so it doesn't hang down.

[cortez356]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcRRbCMu_tk

Here isa the link. Yopu can also find it on cpap.com. I almost forgot one iomportant item that was mentioned by others. I kept having trouble with my hose pulling on the mask. I installed one of those 3m clips on the wall and that helped. Finally I used a velcro wire tie around the swift hose and clipped that to my t shirt. Harbor freight has those velcro pieces .

Bob

[chunkyfrog]

Hose management devices can help a lot. I'm planning to get one of those.
My plant hanger/fishing pole works good, but is not at all portable.
Now that I am not wearing the FX, except to read in, the pole keeps my Climateline out of danger.

[Janknitz]

Bob,

I'm so glad it's finally working for you. It's a great mask--the most comfortable one out there and it really drives me nuts when people give up on it because the stupid DME's don't know their stuff and fit it incorrectly. Must all be men (Yes, what is it about men and directions?????)

I hope you will go back to your DME and tell them exactly HOW to fit the mask so they don't do the same to more innocent newbies. I think we should stage a flash mob--every successful swift user will descend on his or her local DME at the same time and teach those Bozos how to fit the mask

The video on the ResMed site is OK, but they don't really say or show that the pillows do not go up the nose. A simple drawing or brief explanation would suffice.

[larry63]

The war is over and I won! I only have one useable mask, the Swift FX. Right from the beiginning I had nothing but troubles. But I persisted and for the last 4 nights it has been great. I have to admit that the mask was noi the problem. It was the mask wearer!! I am sure the females on this board know that men do not like following instructions!! I watched the video but still for over a week had the whole mask shoved up my nose. I also did not reset the mask with the pressure on. But now with lanolin applied I can sometimes get a perfect seal the first time. I woke up at 1 am and forgot the mask was still on. No pressure on my nose and no leaks. Once in a while I get a big leak when I turn over. If it wakes me up I can fix it without getting out of bed. Thank you to all the posters who gave tips on the mask!! Next time I will listen. Well, maybe!

Bob

Way to go, Bob - I'm glad you found something that works for you!

I used the the Swift FX at first, but it just didn't fit the shape of my nostrils. But I hear that there are other companies who make various shaped nasal pillows so I might try again. I do remember that when I was using the Swift FX I had not only the problem of having to wake up through the night trying to re-seal the thing, but more importantly, when eve I turned on my side I woke up and had to reseal it and sometimes it was impossible.

Another thing that nobody here seems to mention, is the time that it takes to (a) adjust the mask before going to sleep, and (b) cleaning the mask.

I find that it was less for for the nasal pillows.

I know that for the average person, the 10 minutes at night to fit it, and 15 minutes in the morning to wash, rinse and hang up and dry (which realistically never happens), it would mean nothing. But for us CPAP people who are tired and unfocused and struggling to keep our jobs, that half hour is a _huge_ difference, so I would would rather have an uncomfortable mask that gets me to work only 30 minutes later, than a a comfortable one that takes me an extra 10 minutes on top of that.
apply
The advantage of the nasal pillows is that they are so easy to strap on as compared to a conventional nasal mask, considering you're attempting to do this right before bedtime, when routine activities take a lot longer than they normally would!
The problem is that they wake you up in the middle of the night (at least for me) when I change sleeping positions. And the extra time to apply the lotion (and remember and somehow find the time to actually buy it) is somewhat of a drawback for the pillows.

Anyhow, again everyone's different, and good luck with the pillows!

[DreamLady]

Maybe I'm unusual, but I have zero problems using the FX. I don't spend 10 minutes every night fitting it. I turn on my machine, wait for the pillow to inflate, apply the pillow, slip the headgear in place, and I'm ready to go. As for turning over, I seem to have found just the right adjustment (along with my hose management), that maybe I have an issue once a night. That just involves lightly holding the pillow to my nose while wiggling it a bit and it slips right back into place.

In the morning, I wipe the pillow down well with a mask wipe and hang the mask up, ready for the evening. I wash it on the weekend.

If only the slinky hose weren't so heavy, it would be the perfect mask!

[larry63]

Maybe I'm unusual, but I have zero problems using the FX. I don't spend 10 minutes every night fitting it. I turn on my machine, wait for the pillow to inflate, apply the pillow, slip the headgear in place, and I'm ready to go. As for turning over, I seem to have found just the right adjustment (along with my hose management), that maybe I have an issue once a night. That just involves lightly holding the pillow to my nose while wiggling it a bit and it slips right back into place.

In the morning, I wipe the pillow down well with a mask wipe and hang the mask up, ready for the evening. I wash it on the weekend.

If only the slinky hose weren't so heavy, it would be the perfect mask!

Hey Dreamy, I remember now that the hose was a big problem for me, come to think of it. Because the pillows fit with such little tension, I found that the hose force was enough to break the seal when I moved around. I was waking up all the time when I used the nasal pillows.

I wonder if if it would be possible to fit a lighter, thinner hose onto the Swift FX (although one would think that if were possible, the engineers would have realized that).

Incidently, when you say a "mask wipe", what do you mean? I'm always looking for a way to quickly clean a mask if I didn't have time to clean it in the morning and have a chance to let it dry.

[jlk]

[quote="Janknitz"]Bob,

I'm so glad it's finally working for you. It's a great mask--the most comfortable one out there and it really drives me nuts when people give up on it because the stupid DME's don't know their stuff and fit it incorrectly. Must all be men (Yes, what is it about men and directions?????)

I think the women that bore us forgot to pass on the "read directions first" gene. john

[BusyLyn]

No, the 'read directions first' gene is on the X chromosome...

[MoonBear]

Just wanted to say congratulations! I would love to be able to use the nasal pillows, but am bonding with my Quattro. My husband says I look like a cute fighter pilot. Sleep well!

Namaste,
MoonBear

[cortez356]

Another great night . AHI was .02. I do get some leaks when I turn over but only for a few minutes. However I have noticed that if I get a leak after 4 a.m. it is impossible to correct. I think the Lanolin has been diluted by moisture and no longer helps with the seal. I would have to get up, wipe the pillows clean and start over. The cat gets me up at 5 or 5:30 so I just remove the mask for the last hour. Even my Pulse Ox report was great. Nothing under 94% and pulse between 76 and 38.

Bob

[Laurie1041]

My first mask trial was the Swift FX and I gave up on it after a month. I experienced extremely sore nares throughout the night that continued into the day. I believe I tried every suggestion and tip mentioned on this site. I used Lanisol, applied the headgear after the pillows were inflated, put velcro on the back of the headgear to keep it from slipping, avoided over-tightening of the headgear, and tried using the next size up in pillows. I found that even the most minimal dab of Lanisol (sp) caused the pillows to slide. Pain aside, the most bothersome problem that I encountered was the development of huge leaks when I tried to sleep on my side (the position I sleep in). I ended up spending the first month frustrated with unacceptable leak values and was at high risk for CPAP failure (aka "closet CPAP").

My sleep doc turned out to be correct when we discussed different mask interfaces. He indicated that my nares were very narrow and that I would probably find that I could not achieve a proper seal with nasal pillows. Disappointing to say the least! I really liked the fact that the FX is so lightweight and that I could read with it on.

I feel very relieved that I persevered and went through several mask trials until I found one that works for me. It was suggested on this forum that I give the Activa LT nasal mask a try. This was my fifth trial and I was crossing my fingers (and toes) that this mask would be comfortable and not leave a huge indentation on the bridge of my nose. I could not be more delighted! No appreciable leaks, very comfortable, and I can sleep on my side without having to readjust my mask. I wake up in the morning with minimal marks on my face which disappear within the first half-hour of removing the mask. I may have other problems with PAP to work through, but at least I have solved the mask problem! As far as reading goes, my mom is getting me some type of book stand gadget that goes over the head (not sure what is involved in this) so that I can read more comfortably. When I get it, I'll post details about the book stand gadget for those with nasal masks who would like to be able to read in bed. Laurie