Bleep/DreamPort nasal mask review thread

[Danvers]

I'm a newbie who's been using the Bleep/DreamPort for about a week. When I have a little more experience, I'll write a full review.
Right now I'm having an issue with the adhesive leaving a film on my nose. I'm linking to a post I made about it here, because Pugsy said Stuart is monitoring this thread and hopefully might have some ideas how to help!

viewtopic/t175341/BleepDreamPort-Adhesi ... ation.html

[djams]

Soooo.....
I was discussing the whole issue of diffusing the vent from the bleep, and my friend was standing the other side of the table, and she saw the dreamway the other way up and she instantly realized what we needed was Barbie underwear.

So I made some!

Love this! Particularly the provocative lean forward pose. Oooooh baby!

Living up to your handle - kate *does* style!

Maybe you should submit this to BleepSleep.com for consideration in the "customizing your dreamports for you" section.

[djams]

Here's a simple tip that might be helpful for brand newbies. I did this when I received my first shipment from Stuart.

To get the feel for(and sound of) attaching and disconnecting the dreamports - do it while they're still attached to the adhesive backing. It's nothing like connecting under the nose, of course. But it does familiarize you with the sound and feel of what you should hear. Like this:

20190322_201716.jpg (57.95 KiB) Viewed 20394 times

Also have been meaning to share BleepSleep blog post where Stuart talks about his "eureka moment" and how he cobbled together the very first prototype.
https://bleepsleep.com/cpap-commando/ The genesis of the "great idea".

[djams]

Awhile back, I felt like we were kind of struggling with the names of the various parts of the DreamPort. I asked Stuart if he had a diagram of it disassembled with the parts labeled. He responded with this about 5 minutes later.

Then I promptly forgot to post it.

Here it is - common names that we can use when discussing the bleep.

DreamPort Part Names.jpeg (47.7 KiB) Viewed 20388 times

[Pugsy]

Here's a simple tip that might be helpful for brand newbies. I did this when I received my first shipment from Stuart.

To get the feel for(and sound of) attaching and disconnecting the dreamports - do it while they're still attached to the adhesive backing. It's nothing like connecting under the nose, of course. But it does familiarize you with the sound and feel of what you should hear. Like this:20190322_201716.jpg


Also have been meaning to share BleepSleep blog post where Stuart talks about his "eureka moment" and how he cobbled together the very first prototype.
https://bleepsleep.com/cpap-commando/ The genesis of the "great idea".

Thanks for sharing Stuart’s story. I already knew bits and pieces of it but not all of it.

Here’s another hint for people thinking in they are hearing leaks and want to try to figure out where the are coming from and don’t want to burn those pricey ports experimenting. Attach the ports like you did in your picture and stick some scotch tape on the back side on the paper to effectively seal things. The attach the hose to your machine and turn the machine on so that it is blowing but you can easily look and feel for leaks with the mask in your hands.
When it’s the port attachment that is the problem that is usually fairly easy to spot in terms of felling and hearing.
What’s not so easy are the 2 other places. The silicone where it attaches to the clip and the silicone where it attaches to the plastic part that has the vent holes.
The tiny taco thing that Jason talks about...there is a top and bottom of that tiny junction that needs to fit perfectly. I saw one picture where from the top it looked fine but from the bottom there was an ever so tiny irregularit or gap.
And that little groove all the way around the plastic vent hole part...I have seen ever so tiny gap and Stuart had a guy that had the silicone totally below that groove all the way around.

If anyone is having issues and they want help......speak up. Send me a PM if you don’t want to go public. Stuart will do video chats and I will as well as soon as I figure out how to do them. Plus Stuart has additional videos available to help with issues.

[djams]

Here's a simple tip that might be helpful for brand newbies. I did this when I received my first shipment from Stuart.

To get the feel for(and sound of) attaching and disconnecting the dreamports - do it while they're still attached to the adhesive backing. It's nothing like connecting under the nose, of course. But it does familiarize you with the sound and feel of what you should hear. Like this:20190322_201716.jpg


Also have been meaning to share BleepSleep blog post where Stuart talks about his "eureka moment" and how he cobbled together the very first prototype.
https://bleepsleep.com/cpap-commando/ The genesis of the "great idea".

Thanks for sharing Stuart’s story. I already knew bits and pieces of it but not all of it.

You're welcome. There are quite a few interesting posts in the blog.

Here’s another hint for people thinking in they are hearing leaks and want to try to figure out where the are coming from and don’t want to burn those pricey ports experimenting. Attach the ports like you did in your picture and stick some scotch tape on the back side on the paper to effectively seal things. The attach the hose to your machine and turn the machine on so that it is blowing but you can easily look and feel for leaks with the mask in your hands.

And thank you for this! takes my simpleton idea and turns it into a great troubleshooting tool!

If anyone is having issues and they want help......speak up. Send me a PM if you don’t want to go public. Stuart will do video chats and I will as well as soon as I figure out how to do them. Plus Stuart has additional videos available to help with issues.

I'm trying to help too - but Pugsy always beats me to the punch answering the questions and addressing problems.

[Danvers]

One thing that might help someone struggling with connecting the ports without leaks:

The first night I wore the DreamPorts I had a huge leak when I hooked up to my big CPAP hose. I knew it wasn’t from the tape. When I went back to the mirror, I noticed that one of the ports wasn’t completely level in the QR socket like the other. I definitely heard a double click when it went in, but it wasn’t flat and level in there. I redid that one and no leaks.
Now I not only listen for the double click, but I look to be sure the port is level and even in the QR socket, and I’ve had no further leaks. For some reason, my left goes in smoothly, but I always have to try 2-3 times to get the right one level. (but I’m terrible at doing things backward in the mirror.)

[Pugsy]

One thing that might help someone struggling with connecting the ports without leaks:

The first night I wore the DreamPorts I had a huge leak when I hooked up to my big CPAP hose. I knew it wasn’t from the tape. When I went back to the mirror, I noticed that one of the ports wasn’t completely level in the QR socket like the other. I definitely heard a double click when it went in, but it wasn’t flat and level in there. I redid that one and no leaks.
Now I not only listen for the double click, but I look to be sure the port is level and even in the QR socket, and I’ve had no further leaks. For some reason, my left goes in smoothly, but I always have to try 2-3 times to get the right one level. (but I’m terrible at doing things backward in the mirror.)

Don’t feel bad. I almost always have a little trouble with the second port attachment and it doesn’t matter which side I start with.
And yes, I also have trouble doing things backwards in the mirror. My brain just can’t seem get it.

Port attachment now takes me 5 or 10 seconds even with the second port needing special attention.

Really, really big loud leaks are probably port attachment related. Easy to spot and fix.
Those other attachment related leaks not so easy to identify and as we all know to fix a problem we have to first identify it.
Sometimes a very minor adjustment is something is needed and if I think about it....not all that different from what we might need to do with the more traditional masks.
Sometimes an eight of an inch adjustment in tension on a headgear closure was the difference between success and failure.

[Dreaming1]

Danvers I agree with you on that! The mirror should be the last checked box for anyone using the bleep to start their night. Making sure the dreamports are down in the connectors evenly and that the bleep embossed letting is facing you and not your lip to make 100% sure it’s not on backwards. I did that one time and the tiny arms started rubbing my lip. Got up and checked what was wrong and saw I put it on reversed in the dark.

[djams]

One thing that might help someone struggling with connecting the ports without leaks:

The first night I wore the DreamPorts I had a huge leak when I hooked up to my big CPAP hose. I knew it wasn’t from the tape. When I went back to the mirror, I noticed that one of the ports wasn’t completely level in the QR socket like the other. I definitely heard a double click when it went in, but it wasn’t flat and level in there. I redid that one and no leaks.
Now I not only listen for the double click, but I look to be sure the port is level and even in the QR socket, and I’ve had no further leaks. For some reason, my left goes in smoothly, but I always have to try 2-3 times to get the right one level. (but I’m terrible at doing things backward in the mirror.)

Stuart mentioned to me in an email that there are 4 barbs in each connector. I looked and darned if he isn't right!

So I think that the number of clicks we hear depends on how well we've got everything lined up. I've heard all 4 in rapid succession since.

Good tip, and just to let you know- i share your affliction with working in front of the mirror too. Doesn't seem like it should be so difficult!

[heyslick]

the bleep embossed letting is facing you . Sooo this could be some of my trouble, the bleep wording faces in not out toward the room?

[djams]

the bleep embossed letting is facing you . Sooo this could be some of my trouble, the bleep wording faces in not out toward the room?

Facing you while looking in the mirror.

Sounds like you've got it right.

[Pugsy]

the bleep embossed letting is facing you . Sooo this could be some of my trouble, the bleep wording faces in not out toward the room?

Picture yourself looking down at the Bleep words....you should be able to read the letters normally. They go on the outside of the tip of your nose.
They don’t go under your nose next to your skin.

[Jas_williams]

the bleep embossed letting is facing you . Sooo this could be some of my trouble, the bleep wording faces in not out toward the room?

The embossed lettering is away from your face

[palerider]

the bleep embossed letting is facing you . Sooo this could be some of my trouble, the bleep wording faces in not out toward the room?

The gentle curve of the silicone body should mirror the curve of your upper lip, ie, like they said, the lettering goes *out* away from you.