Pilairo Q vs AirFit P10 vs [ Nuance Pro - suffocating! ]

[PhilB]

Hi all,

New CPAP user, here. Still within first 30 days, so I can still experiment with masks on the insrance company's dime to find the right one.

Am curious what you think. (here's my experience to get this started).

Pilairo:
Although it touches more of my face than the Nuance,
Positives:
- I find that the silicon is so thin and delicate that the amount of pressure on any one particular part of my nose is reasonable.
- I slept all night, in exactly one position. Woke up feeling very rested!
- A little nose soreness...nothing major

Neg:
My actual pillow pushes Pilairo against nose. I have to readjust by fully relaxing head...then tugging on Pilairo Q straps and on hose that I tuck under my chest a bit.
After that...it still presses on my nose some. I'd rate this an 8 out of 10. Am considering getting a sideways-Y shaped CPAP pillow...

Is there some trick to getting the mask to hold perfectly in place short of Tap Pap (which looks awkward...)

AirFit
?????
It seems to get great reviews.
Thoughts on this vs Pilairo ?? Should I try it out? Am at the end of my 30 days, but can probably get one more sample to try on insurance's dime...

Nuance Pro
Yike!!! This think killed me! What am I doing wrong? Suffocation city !!!
I'm new here... should I start a separate thread on this issue?

In a nutshell....The Nuance Pro must restrict airflow or something?
I do NOT feel I am getting enough air. Every time I use it, I take it off very soon, heart rate is up, I breathe heavily and contiuously for ** five minutes**, feel like I'm trying to get oxygen levels back up.
then I'm up a for a few hours just trying to let the heart settle down and I'm wondering what to do next....

Is it possible that a machine set up for Pilairo will need DIFFERENT pressure settings for Nuance Pro?

thanks so much for any reviews or advice!

- Phil

[ThisIsMyUserName]

I've had pretty similar experience to you with the Pilairo. I haven't had much success trying to adjust things. I have the older one-size-fits-all strap, and either it works or not. I do find that I sleep great, even though it's not the most comfortable. I find that putting lanolin in the nostrils every couple of nights gets rid of the nose soreness. I didn't do well with nuance either, but didn't have the problems you're describing. A priori, the pressure on the pilairo should work on the nuance. What's your pressure? People with low pressure have experienced feelings of getting not enough air (I've had a little of that; honestly I don't get why). But if you like the Pilairo and not the Nuance, good; everyone's different and there's no right answer. I plan to try to airfit, since it's getting incredible reviews. My personal advice is to try as many masks as you can and monitor how you're feeling, watch your data, etc.

[Pugsy]

Is there some trick to getting the mask to hold perfectly in place short of Tap Pap (which looks awkward...)

My number one mask is the Tap Pap and the only thing restrictive is the girdle on the upper teeth but surprisingly it really becomes a non issue after a little while. The nasal pillows don't move though.

In a nutshell....The Nuance Pro must restrict airflow or something?
I do NOT feel I am getting enough air. Every time I use it, I take it off very soon, heart rate is up, I breathe heavily and contiuously for ** five minutes**, feel like I'm trying to get oxygen levels back up.

Usual suspects for this issue...pressure starting out is rather low (like with ramp use) or the nasal pillow air volume doesn't allow for enough air movement to avoid the suffocation feeling and the opening for the inner cone needs to be large (so a larger nasal pillow needs to be used or maybe a little more pressure)...or the straps are too tight and causing compression of the pillows themselves and thus restricting the ability to inflate and let the air move well.
The size of the nasal pillow cones....seems to make a big difference. Just look at the openings on the various sizes.
Large allows for more air movement and more air movement is what you need to get past the suffocation feeling.
More air movement.....either in size of nasal pillows or a little more pressure.
If using the ramp...don't or at least increase the starting pressure....From past experience...seems like with nasal pillows a pressure less than 6 is fairly stifling for most people and some people need 7 or 8 to be comfortable.

BTW...this air movement issue is common with all the nasal pillows brands and models. People are different and have different needs in terms of air movement to be comfortable.

[Guest]

Do you know if there are any differences in the pillows between the Pilairo Q and the Pilairo?
Or is the differences just in the headgear options and the diffuser?

[paradoiley]

I use the nuance pro. I started out with the small.

I moved to medium at the beginning of the month and found them more comfortable with the larger holes. I turn on the machine at 8.

I'm not sure the advice to leave them loose is applicable to this mask. This mask doesn't inflate because it's gel. I found I did a bit better by making them slightly snug (not painfully so though).

Anyway, I'm going to try out the P10 for my next mask. Although the nuance is working for me, it vents on my wife and she doesn't like it.

[HerbM]

"'Q' for quiet in its name. Features added include a diffuser filter for quieter exhalation and two headgear options included to offer a better fit. "

US $80 ($109 list) from our forum hosts at https://www.cpap.com/productpage/fp-pil ... -mask.html

I wanted one of these but due to the free shipping and free return insurance, it made more sense to try the Airfit P10 first, and so far I am very happy -- looking at the Pilairo Q to try to determine if it could POSSIBLY be better for me.

Definitely getting the Q if I do, as the improvements to the original seem to be important and the discounts on the original don't seem to be that great.

[skram]

Thanks for posting the information on the Q, Herbm.

The reason I asked about the pillows is that I'm testing a Pilairo now and the left pillow is irritating my left nostril and making it sore.
(Other than my comfort, noise and the vent diffuser are important for my wife.)

I would like to try the AirFit, but my sleep centre doesn't have it yet and I'm still in the trial period, so I get to try whatever I want from what they have. That ends Thursday though, so at that time, I'll be buying (and submitting to insurance for reimbursement) the machine and deciding on a mask.
(Haven't looked into the online retailers for Canada yet, as I want to stick with these guys at least until I have the machine purchase done and through insurance - they've been great to work with and have free followups, card/data reading and mask trials for life)

[HerbM]

My wife had insomnia last night while I was using the AirFit P10 for my 3rd night and she says she didn't even hear me breathing or the machine.

She has a little trouble with her hearing but my snoring can still bother her and about the worst time for noise is when you lie awake during the night and can't get to sleep for hours.

Someone with acute hearing my be more disturbed (I doubt it) but it is very quiet.

Being inexperienced, I sometimes have to check to see if it's even flowing. Most of the noise that *I* hear is my own breathing and not the mask.