new optilife mask,( I think) will it adversely change things

[thimarine]

Hey guys, me again. I got new mask from the VA again after requesting one for quite some time. I've been using the optilife with and 8" tube for about 4 years. They keep sending me Swift Mirage II masks, which I've never used. I have a stack of them, unopened. They don't want them back. I guess I will donate them to the free clinic in town. I did get an Optilife in the mail yesterday. It has a narrow 18" tube with 4 different size cushions as well as my size (M) pillows and one large pillow. The tube is completely different from what I have been using. It's over twice as long and half as narrow. Is this a new mask? Will the new longer tube change my CPAP for the worse? I thought I read on here that lengthening the tube can change the pressure or something. Does anyone know, is this a new Optilife? It is unlike all my old ones. Thanks.

[codinqueen]

You might consider trading your masks that are unopened for one that you want. See the Mask Roulette posts, started by Croupier. I am not familiar with that particular mask but somebody probably wants to trade a mask they have for one of those. Many people using CPAP are still looking for the perfect mask. Do they have the headgear too? Post that, it is important, if someone wants to trade, they will need to know if the headgear will be part of the trade, since headgears are not cheap and most are not interchangeable.

[thimarine]

I think I can donate the masks given to me by the VA but not trade or sell them. We are given equipment and usually sign documents that we will not sell it on ebay or any other forum. We get things like BP cuffs, home traction machines, oximeters, etc... I appreciate the suggestion and I hope someone can use the masks since they have everything with them, but there is a free clinic in our area and, since our governor cut Medicaid by refusing to taking federal money due to Planned Parenthood, there are people with no help. So, I would rather give them away to the poor.

I have other optilifes that I can use in a pinch, but I am interested in this mask that was sent to me and I just want to know if it is a new model. I had the very first version of the opti life with a very stiff hose which was narrower at the top. It was made softer and the whole hose made wider. This hose is 18", which is twice the length of what I had and the diameter of the hose is 1/2.

Thanks for your input.

DRM