First night with Bleep mask

[khauser]

Add a different hose that is longer and more flexible.

The P10 will work with some surgery. It's a pricey experiment though since it is part of the frame.

I think that there is a hose from ResMed that wouldn't require surgery but I forget which one...let me go see if I can figure out which one it was. One that isn't part of the frame and isn't so pricey.

I'm not seeing the bleep host as the issue, it is clearly being pulled away by the climateline hose because it drags everything where it wants to go (regardless of whether I use a hose management system).

The Tap Pap hose is just slightly larger in diameter ... tried just in case.

[Pugsy]

Can I send you my P10 hose that I surgically altered to fit to try? Just in case it resolves your issue?
It's old and discolored from age (it was old when it was attached to the P10.
I am good with the regular Bleep hose for now anyway.

I would like for you to at least try it. PR said it was a huge improvement for him.

I can suitablely disinfect it. Won't change the color but it will be clean and germ free. All silicone ages and turns a yucky yellow color but doesn't affect the use.

[khauser]

That's really nice of you! Sure, let's give it a go. I will PM you with my address.

I have two other very off-the-wall ideas. One I alluded to is finding a way to attach the bleep interface to the bite part of the tap pap (I actually like that thing in my mouth now anyway). The other is much harder ... a hodge-podge of the dreamports leading to the tap pap frame. That will take some planning and would be last-ditch if I didn't return the bleep, because it would be serious surgery.

Maybe I can convince Stuart to do something like that? Probably not ... I'm probably the only person that thinks this is a good idea, LOL.

[Dreaming1]

Maybe you could jam the silicone of the bleep up through the Silicone openings of the nasal ports on the tap pap and then reattach the sockets on it.

[khauser]

First night of my Bleep + Tap Pap kludge went mixed ... I had a lot of difficulties with the dream ports (before sleeping) and probably weakened the adhesive. That said, they lasted over 3 hours before leaking, and more importantly didn't bother me by tugging on my nose. For that period:

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Unfortunately, and probably because I weakened it, it started leaking. Not enough to even really see but it woke me up, and I could not control it. (It always manages to leak somewhere I can't patch because of my beard/mustache). So I switched to full tap-pap. I slept, but poorly. Check out the results:

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Just a 'few' leaks!

So, I am struggling, yet still motivated. Getting a ton of help from Pugsy (there should be an award...) and will be talking to Stuart for guidance. Stay tuned!

[Pugsy]

Once the ports have been stuck on the nose more than a second or so they simply won't hold if reapplied (been there done that).
The adhesive just isn't very forgiving in that regard. I suppose if it were more forgiving then we would be bitching about it taking off 3 or 4 layers of skin when we removed them.

I am not giving up though. Still have some different things to try in my little bag of tricks when someone really wants to make it work.

I have strongly encouraged OP to reach out to Stuart for additional ideas beyond what I have thought of.
The facial hair thing does complicate things just a little bit but it isn't something that is impossible to solve. Stuart has a goatee himself so some first hand experience there. It can work.

He should get the P10 hose Friday to try to see how much it helps or not and will go from there.

When the Bleep sticks and it's properly connected....it simply doesn't leak. Adhesive failure can happen but for the most part it has been extremely rare for me. For me rain out has been the main culprit...water in the nose piece itself which is pretty much a guaranteed failure waiting to happen. I have to find a working compromise between room air temp, humidity level preference and hose air temp.
I am not crazy about warm air in the summer but sometimes just a 1 degree change makes a big difference.
Like I have always said...nothing is ever totally perfect and often it's a work in progress but the rewards are worth the extra work in my book.

[loggerhead12]

The one-size-fits-all ports don't fit everyone, particularly those of us with large and/or irregular nostrils. I have to reinforce the bottom and particularly the sides or there will be a blowout, usually around 3-4 am. I also have to be super-careful where my nose meets my lip. It's really easy to put a crease in there. It will seal initially but will eventually work itself into a channel that spews air. You have to make sure it's straight by starting at one side and gradually working the adhesive to the other side as you smooth it on. Once it's one, reinforce with tape. I use 3M micropore paper, but whatever works for you.

If you do get a leak, pull the thing off and look at it before you pitch it. Look for creases or other irregularities that might have caused the issue so you can do better next time.

You also can't neglect the cleaning process at all. Soap and water, then alcohol preps the skin for the adhesive.

The good news is that once you figure out what works for you these things are close to miraculous. I often have zero leaks, even up to 10 hours on the occasional weekend. AHI is super low, and I've even managed to reduce my pressure and keep it low. Lower pressure makes everything work better, especially leaks.

[khauser]

The one-size-fits-all ports don't fit everyone, particularly those of us with large and/or irregular nostrils. I have to reinforce the bottom and particularly the sides or there will be a blowout, usually around 3-4 am. I also have to be super-careful where my nose meets my lip. It's really easy to put a crease in there. It will seal initially but will eventually work itself into a channel that spews air. You have to make sure it's straight by starting at one side and gradually working the adhesive to the other side as you smooth it on. Once it's one, reinforce with tape. I use 3M micropore paper, but whatever works for you.

If you do get a leak, pull the thing off and look at it before you pitch it. Look for creases or other irregularities that might have caused the issue so you can do better next time.

You also can't neglect the cleaning process at all. Soap and water, then alcohol preps the skin for the adhesive.

The good news is that once you figure out what works for you these things are close to miraculous. I often have zero leaks, even up to 10 hours on the occasional weekend. AHI is super low, and I've even managed to reduce my pressure and keep it low. Lower pressure makes everything work better, especially leaks.

Thanks!
I don't see any creasing, but I will keep that in mind. I do have large nostrils and they are oblong. In fact that's the problem I have with the Tap Pap . The part that goes in is OK, but the 'seat' (for lack of a better word) doesn't quite cover the nostril. It's so close that at first it works but then it creeps and develops a leak that's big enough that it disturbs the machine ... once or twice it caused the machine to auto-stop! (Also known as auto-wake me up!)

I have a full beard, so there's not a lot of space to reinforce it. Last night I managed to get it surrounded with cut-offs from the dream port, and it did not develop a leak, but instead I got serious rain-out. That's in some ways worse, there's no way to fix it once it has happened. There was moisture in the dream ports, the receiver part (whatever it is called) and my nose, where I could feel it rolling around.

I need to give Stuart a call. Was going to yesterday, but then my car died and re-prioritized my life

[loggerhead12]

... but instead I got serious rain-out. That's in some ways worse, there's no way to fix it once it has happened. There was moisture in the dream ports, the receiver part (whatever it is called) and my nose, where I could feel it rolling around.

Yep, I did that too. I experimented for a while reducing the humidifier setting until I finally turned it off and haven't looked back since. One less thing to think about.

[khauser]

Yep, I did that too. I experimented for a while reducing the humidifier setting until I finally turned it off and haven't looked back since. One less thing to think about.

I am heading in that direction, and maybe with passover humidification and zero leaks that would work for me. Any other mask I've used was quite uncomfortable without some added humidity, especially in the winter months.

For now I bumped the climateline. That wasn't enough, so I will try less humidity. It'll be a challenge to figure out what that means since it was on auto.

Another relatively minor issue is that sometimes I get some turbulence at the entry to the nostril. There may be a correspondence to rain out and turbulence, not sure yet. I haven't figured out why it happens when it does.

[Pugsy]

Auto for humidity on the AirSense is roughly equal to a setting of 4 or 5 if going manual. So you can try maybe a setting of 3.
You also have a choice of up to 86 degrees on the hose air temp.
Also a choice of adding a hose cozy to any short hose you might be using.

Remember....that moisture in the mask can also be coming from your own body and condensing in the mask. When we exhale our exhaled breath contains a lot of moisture and you can't stop that.
I know people not using a humidifier at all who get condensation in the mask from the moisture in their own exhaled breath.
They couldn't figure out where it was coming from until they remembered they were exhaling into the mask.

[khauser]

Indeed I suspect the moisture IS from me, but it's only an issue in the bleep.

The tap pap has an equal-length of unheated hose. I am not SURE of this but I think the Tap Pap's venting is slightly more restrictive, which would, I think, help the heat stay in.

Maybe I'll wrap the bleep in a custom blanket, LOL

[booksfan]

I need to give Stuart a call. Was going to yesterday, but then my car died and re-prioritized my life

Yikes! Sorry about your car. But do give Stuart a call. He has a mustache and beard and I recall from someone else's post his advice to trim just a tiny bit under the nose to stick the adhesive for the ports. If you don't know to look for it, you don't even notice it (I have actually met him). He is SO helpful!

[khauser]

Yikes! Sorry about your car. But do give Stuart a call. He has a mustache and beard and I recall from someone else's post his advice to trim just a tiny bit under the nose to stick the adhesive for the ports. If you don't know to look for it, you don't even notice it (I have actually met him). He is SO helpful!

Thanks ... I did speak with him yesterday and some more today. Still working on things. He is very approachable, and sincere in his desire to help. I would encourage anyone to work with him (and he does as well).

Have already trimmed down the part under my nose, saw that in his YouTube video. That isn't where it leaks, either. I think the leaks are around the crease in my nose, and I'm getting better at dealing with that.

The last issue for me to conquer is the rainout issue.

Timing is interesting ... I have very little time between getting the Dream Ports in place and wanting to blow my nose, LOL!

[Pugsy]

Timing is interesting ... I have very little time between getting the Dream Ports in place and wanting to blow my nose, LOL!

Isn't it interesting. My nose never itches either inside or outside UNTIL I stick the ports on and then it sometimes itches on the inside.
No reason except that my brain wants to screw with me since it's not easy to scratch the inside of your nose with the port on...and it's always after the second port gets attached.