How long do you try out a new mask before you give up on it?

Bregory · Post by **Bregory** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 12:35 pm

Tried a new mask last night, had the worst night sleep yet since being on treatment since october. Overall it was reasonably comfortable to wear, light weight and all blah blah blah.

I woke up several time for adjustments which I expected but the thing that concerns me is that my AHI has averaged around 3 and has been on the decline to somewhere between 1 and 2 in the last couple weeks. Last night it spiked up as high as its ever been (to 5.3) could this be an early indication that this mask is not right for me or could it be that I have to give it a few days or weeks to really decide?

By the way my normal mask is F&P flexifit 407 and I was trying a loaner swift from the clinic.

bdp522 · Post by **bdp522** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 3:43 pm

You can't give up so quickly! It can take several nights and many tweaks to get the mask right. Do a search and find all the tips for the particular mask you use...try them all(not all at the same time!). When you find adjustments that work, give it a week or so then look at the numbers. Every time you change something it takes your body time to adjust.

This post by rested gal has tips for the swift;
viewtopic.php?p=127492&highlight=swift+fixes#127492

Brenda

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 3:47 pm

I used a Swift for 45 minutes once, the Hybrid nearly 15 minutes. Wouldn't give you $.29 cents for either one

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 4:02 pm

My sleep lab told me I'd probably know w/in one week whether a mask and I were compatible but I worked w/the Swift for about 2 weeks. I thought we got along pretty good until the last few days I used it I was getting sensitive on the lip under the nose due to sweat or nasal discharge. I'd have tried working around that but my leak rate was too high according to my sleep lab and they suggested I try another.

I tried the 407 FlexFit as well. And I again thought we were pretty compatible for the first 10 days to 2 weeks but began getting a tender bridge of the nose. And my leak rate was still too high according to my sleep lab.

So .... I now have the ComfortLite 2. I started out using the nasal pillows. Sure enough in about 2 weeks give or take a few days I started w/a tender interior of the snozz. *sigh* But the CL2 also gave me the option of the nasal cushion and that worked well for me .... for about 2 weeks. I decided to try the Medium size nasal cushion rather than the Small that both the DME and my sleep lab seemed to think would fit me best. Ha! I'm doing very well w/the Medium nasal cushion.

I like the CL2 well enough that if the Medium nasal cushion begins to give me problems I'm going to try the nasal seals before giving up on it.

And it is nice as I do have the Swift (small pillows) and the 407 FlexFit (small) for backup if I do run into problems and have to wait for my DME to order another Medium nasal cushion or the nasal seals for me. Tho I hope that I don't have to go back to using them since I like my CL2 so well and have gotten along w/it for 2 months now.

GoofyUT · Post by **GoofyUT** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 4:08 pm

In fairness though, Dog and many others don't like and can't tolerate ANY pillows interfaces. They find them to be unpleasant and even irritating.

For me, I (and MANY others) use the Swift as our tried and true interface and I LOVE it! I admire its light weight, its minimalist design, and its non-intrusiveness that allows me to read with my glasses or watch Tv for a few minutes while I'm in bed and settling off to sleep. And, my AHIs run <0.3 with it.

I will point out though, that the Swift has relatively small dead space, and vents out a LOT of C)2.. For those with a brittle hypocapnic trigger, this can be a problem. In the course of my treatment, I noticed that my AHIs would consistently run higher with the Swift than with the Activa (my second favorite), and I attribute this to the considerably greater dead space of the Activa which permitted higher levels of residual CO2 in the mask. However, over time, I have adjusted and I now get superbly effective treatment as well as consistently good and restful nights' sleep with the Swift.

Brenda's advice above however, is the MOST sound. Give the Swift some time, tinker with it, and then decide after a fair trial whether it works for you or not.

Cheers!

Chuck

sleepyWI · Post by **sleepyWI** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 4:39 pm

I could not bear to use the Swift for more that three days. However, I have become am a big fan of pillow interfaces. The Comfort Lite and Aura (I have both) are far superior in my opinion. More stable, comfortable, and quieter. Everyone has their own favorite and what works for me someone else might find to be dreadful. I feel pretty comfortable now saying that I would know after one night if a mask was not going to work for me.

birdshell · Post by **birdshell** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 5:34 pm

I gave the Swift 3 weeks, and had I known about the adaptations that could help, might have stuck with it. However, it seems to be my pattern that after 2-3 weeks, I would know if I liked it. Thus, the Swift went because I was waking up so often to adjust leaks.

I have tried 5 masks, as I had a few on loan while waiting for the backordered Comfortlite 2. The CL 2 has a centered hose connection, whereas the Swift has a side connection. That was one of my favorite differences, and helped cement my allegiance to the CL 2.

Actually, though, any mask that helps me to sleep well and improve without causing some other big problem is really acceptable to me!

Patrick A · Post by **Patrick A** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 5:42 pm

I had a cl2 mask tried it for about a week ended up every night going back to the piece of junk that APRIA stuck me with. The same mask that was used when they did my sleep study. I like it and it seems to work good for me.

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 8:33 pm

The first night I tried the Swift, my nostrils were on fire after only an hour or so. The next night I spent some time in front a mirror trying to get it optimally adjusted first. Then it was a relatively comfortable mask for me which I used for a few months.

Don't be too discouraged by some of the comments here. The Swift is a great mask for beginners because of its simplicity and ease of adjustment. If the noise bothers you though, you'd be well advised to get something else now.

Regards,
Bill

birdshell · Post by **birdshell** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 1:07 pm

Well said, NightHawkEye.

I would like to emphasize:

Had I known about the many adaptations and fixes for the Swift, I might still have it.

ALL of the masks (Swift, ADAM Circuit, ComfortLite original) that I tried were an improvement over my pre-CPAP sleep.

Further: What works for one, may or may not work for another.

Mask

Machine

How long do you try out a new mask before you give up on it?

How long do you try out a new mask before you give up on it?

Swift

Re: How long do you try out a new mask before you give up on