SleepNet MiniMe or IQ masks - anybody tried them?

derek · Post by **derek** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 7:15 pm

I met with my RT today. He said that their lab was impressed with the SleepNet line of masks (IQ and MiniMe) and that they were planning to stock them. I'd never heard of them. Has anybody used them?

http://www.sleep-net.com

I don't think they are affiliated with sleepnet (the forum)

biggziff · Post by **biggziff** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 7:34 pm

hmmm...the minime headnet/gear looks bizarre...I wonder if it works?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 7:58 pm

I have had the IQ mask in my hand. Its selling point seems to be an imbedded wire that you are to adjust and bend to fit your face. It may be a good solution to all these different shaped faces we have. I have never used it for actual treament, only tried it on for a fitting. It has a gel type seal. it could be a good thing, but I have never slept with it.
Karen , PAD A CHEEK

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 8:04 pm

Their products actually look interesting... I sure wish there was a shopping mall for osa patients!

HappyHoser · Post by **HappyHoser** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 8:06 pm

Oops! That was me.

derek · Post by **derek** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 8:07 pm

That's what my RT said - the embedded wire allows you to fit it to the face to get a much better and comfortable seal.

mikemoran · Post by **mikemoran** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 8:31 pm

Never heard anything good on the mini me. I did get the phantom and even with the wire could not get it to stop leaking around the bridge of my nose. the Gel mask alos felt much heavier.

3isles · Post by **3isles** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 9:42 pm

Hi
I haven't posted in months (seems like) but I am still hanging in there. I use the IQ and have been consistantly for a month or so
I have to take a certain sleep aid that starts with "A" in order not to freak out with any mask, it barely even makes me sleepy, but it takes the panic away
ANYWAY...
I have also tried:
Aura - dismantled and rebuilt, and while the fit is good I just can't stand the vision blockage between my eyes( I know I am supposed to be asleep.... )
nasalaire II - I have different sized nares, so one is too loose or too tight while one is just right
Some "contour" mask - Bleah, bleah, bleah - yuck
Mini me- so cute, and so almost ok, but the little strip of film tickles the tip of my nose drove me nutty and my nose was FREEZING.

IQ is the only one that I can slip on when I am nearly asleep, I tore up the head gear and all thats left is a single strap round my head, my pillow helps hold it in the right place if I sleep on my side, but I have also been able to sleep on my back. It can be a two strap or a three, I use two because it doesn't block my vision. It is WINDY and the wind is cold, but I deal with it. I can usually find a place to put my arm so it doesn't freeze solid. I have found that if I have a cold my face must change shape a bit and it leaks. Doc suggested swollen sinuses might be the culprit. Because of that I can see that it might not fit everyone despite the wire, (which I love). I also found the Sleepnet people are very helpful. I haven't told them how I "destroyed" their nice headgear though.

all that said, I still HATE cpap, though I sleep lousy without it, for me IQ and that drug make it very nearly tolerable.

hope it helps

Cathy

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 2:23 am

I recently tried a Sleep Net IQ mask for a couple of nights. Used the Holey Cap with 3 point configuration. Wasn't bad. I can see how it would be a decent nasal mask and headgear for sleep labs to use for the one short night that people have to wear a mask for a titration. It's definitely more comfortable and less leaky than the commonly used Respironics masks. You can squeeze the IQ's outer shell into about any shape you want. The "Holey Cap" was comfortable.

The IQ mask is all right, but not anywhere near as comfortable (to me) as a nasal pillows interface like the Aeiomed "Headrest" (formerly the Aura) or the Breeze; or nasal masks like the PB DreamFIT or ResMed's Activa. Like so many covers-the-nose gel masks, I had to pull the IQ's straps tighter than I liked as the night wore on, just to keep it from springing tiny leaks when you move your head to different positions.

The bendable wire inside the outer frame is useful for getting an initial fit. But as usual with any gel cushion mask that I've tried...when a person lies down and begins to toss and turn, no amount of "initial fit" is going to keep a gel cushion from springing leaks. The dynamics of flesh and muscle and gravity and the pillow you sleep on are just going to make most nasal masks leak unless the mask has an extremely well designed cushion...a la ResMed's Activa.

Gel cushions like the IQ's always feel wonderfully soft against the face -- at first. It's only when you start actually sleeping in different positions, especially on your side, and have to keep pulling one strap or another a little tighter despite any additional wire bending you do, that you feel the hard outer shell's edge pressing against your face right through the gel. The IQ is just another typical "gel" mask in that respect, although you at least have more ways (re-squeezing the wire in addition to readjusting the straps) to deal with leaks when they spurt out here and there on your face waking you up.

Something like Karen's Pad-A-Cheek strap covers, or any kind of soft pads to slip in between cheek and strap, are a must to keep from having strap marks.

One night or two with the IQ is "ok". I'd not want to wear it night after night. It's one of several masks that's nice enough for an occasional one night change of pace. For me anyway.

Glad to see you're still actively lab-ratting, 3aisles!

IWannaSleep · Post by **IWannaSleep** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 3:04 am

Looks interesting. I can see how their extreme headgear would be very stabilizing to the mask, but I could never be comfortable wearing a shower cap type thing to bed. Just going by the appearance from their website.

Ron

3isles · Post by **3isles** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 7:44 pm

Glad to see you're still actively lab-ratting, 3aisles!

Thanks RG, its been a struggle, but after 6 or so months of thinking I could never make it work, its finally working.[/quote]

Mask	Humidifier