New Swift FX Bella Mask.....

[ems]

I'm amazed to be reading on this thread that some people can get away with sleeping on their side and/or can have significant head movements at night without encountering really significant leak problems. How do you guys manage to do that? Maybe I'm still to inexperienced (on CPAP for 2 months now), but I find not only must I sleep on my back, face straight up almost like a mummy (go ahead, laugh), but I need to avoid moving my head too much or I begin hearing the leaks around one or both pillows. I do keep the strap tensions on my Swift FX very light and comfortable so the sealing pillows and barrel cusion won't be compressed too much.

Now I wonder whether most people don't sleep mummy-like as I do, but move around a lot and/or sleep on their sides.

I have always slept on my side. Sometimes right, sometimes left. I don't move around a lot either. I will occasionally turn over, but maybe once during the nite. I have had the occasional crazy night where I wake up on my back and the mask is on the floor, but very rarely. Actually, I do remember one time when the machine was on the floor.... Aliens?? I think when I was a kid I must have known that someday I would have to use a machine and mask.

[jbn3boys]

I'm amazed to be reading on this thread that some people can get away with sleeping on their side and/or can have significant head movements at night without encountering really significant leak problems. How do you guys manage to do that? Maybe I'm still to inexperienced (on CPAP for 2 months now), but I find not only must I sleep on my back, face straight up almost like a mummy (go ahead, laugh), but I need to avoid moving my head too much or I begin hearing the leaks around one or both pillows. I do keep the strap tensions on my Swift FX very light and comfortable so the sealing pillows and barrel cusion won't be compressed too much.

Now I wonder whether most people don't sleep mummy-like as I do, but move around a lot and/or sleep on their sides.

I almost always sleep on my side, and move from one to the other. But, contrary to what is suggested, I have my Swift FX headgear rather snug. I know they say it works best if it is loose, but I can't move from my back then, and I can't sleep if I don't move. It is not so tight that it hurts, but I do occasionally have strap marks on my cheeks, especially if I've slept soundly on one side for a long time before getting up. I think for everyone there is a fine line of what works (how tight/loose the headgear is) and what doesn't. The key is to find that line, or that sweet spot, that allows you to sleep in the position you prefer, and still control leaks (and keep your AHI where it should be). It took me a LONG time to find that sweet spot. Just don't give up, and keep at it. You can only do so much at one time, as each little change takes time to adjust to. You are still young in this cpap world (2 months), so give yourself permission to experiment, slowly, and find what works for you.

[portiemom]

I'm still tweaking my Bella Loops, and thanks to the folks here (pugsy) and everyone else, I dropped down to the small pillow and had more success with it. I started with the medium, and fought the mask all night, of course I did fall into the, bigger is better mode, and the large from a Fx a friend never used was a disaster. I went back to my Mirage Nasal mask, but having been on pilows for many years I just don't seem to be feeling well (foggy) in the am. despite great numbers
This morning, I feel good even though the leak with the Bella seems a bit high to me 15L and a little higher AHI etc.
I'm wondering if 15L is a high leak rate, so I would appreciate any feedback, also why would I feel so much better with higher #'s?
I love this forum and thank you all for any and all imput.

[Pugsy]

I'm wondering if 15L is a high leak rate, so I would appreciate any feedback, also why would I feel so much better with higher #'s?

The leak is fine. It would need to be around the 70 L/min mark before we needed to think about worrying for Respironics users and 20 L/min for ResMed users. (Edit to add this about ResMed machines since they report only excess leak..for some reason I was thinking portiemom was using Respironics machine...brain fart I guess)

How much higher AHI? from 2 to 4 or 2 to 10? Or whatever. Also, how much of the AHI was Clear Airway Index?
Did you see my post from yesterday? Almost nothing AHI and I didn't feel any different than I feel with AHI of 4.

Minor fluctuations will vary anyway. Funny thing though....way back when I was first starting therapy and struggling to experience the "miracle" I had a day where I woke up feeling exceptionally well. It lasted all day and I was just so thrilled. I just knew that I must have had a near perfect zero AHI the night before. I didn't check my data until that evening....imagine my surprise when I saw the AHI was 10.2. Sometimes we just don't know why we feel the way we do and we just don't have any answers.

Variations in AHI from 1 to 4....can happen anyway. I suspect that you simply slept better for some reason that didn't pertain to a specific AHI number. AHI of 0.0 doesn't guarantee that we will feel the miracle and AHI of 4.2 or whatever...doesn't guarantee that we will feel like total crap.

[portiemom]

Thanks Pugsy, I am getting my SD card reader today I hope, I've been dealing with this concussion thing and new drs. so I don't have any readings to go by except the machine screen ones. My Ahi's are under 2 most of the time so the change is only minor I guess they go from 1.3 with my nasal (don't like too much) compared to 1.8 with the Bella Loops. I do have to keep the Bella quite tight, so I had a sore right ear this morning and I loosened it for tonight. I do think ResMed should make the little pink covers to go all the way around the loop on the underside, kind of like a sticky type soft cover on the inside of the loop only. Strap marks a bit much to go to work with.
If someone, maybe Padacheek can give us a craft store fix it may be worth trying,

[Pugsy]

My Ahi's are under 2 most of the time so the change is only minor I guess they go from 1.3 with my nasal (don't like too much) compared to 1.8 with the Bella Loops.

That isn't enough of a change to even give more than a passing glance. We can vary that much and not ever change anything.

With using the Bella Loops along with my buckwheat pillow...I am getting some marks on my cheeks as well. For me it is from the firmness of the buckwheat pillow. I will get a similar line if a crease is in the pillowcase and I lay on it.

I have some old fleece laying around and I think I will experiment with some sort of little cover for the 2 straps. I don't have any velcro and not sure I would want a layer of velcro to lay on anyway because it would just be another small "hump" to lay on when cheek is on the bed pillow. Thinking about stitching it loosely or using a bit of Gorilla glue to secure the wrap closed. It could stay on permanently that way.
Doesn't have to be removed for washing and it wouldn't need washing often anyway.

[SleepingUgly]

Why are people dropping down a pillow size while using Bella? Is the angle so different than with the headgear? I'm actually hoping for a slightly more upward angle than I have with the headgear. I feel like if I manually tilt them up it lessens the hurt on my one sensitive nostril, but of course it won't stay that way.

[portiemom]

No, not velcro, the craft store has a felt-like material that has a sticky side to it, kind of like contact paper would have. The felt would not be my first choice, but I may give it a try since I could pull it off. If you don't change the pillows this would work ( I think) becasue I would like to cover that piece where the straps connect to the pillow. I wonder who brainstorms all these masks, do they even use cpap? gotta wonder

[jbn3boys]

I do think ResMed should make the little pink covers to go all the way around the loop on the underside, kind of like a sticky type soft cover on the inside of the loop only. Strap marks a bit much to go to work with.

I wonder if you could try a little bit of moleskin. It has sticky on one side, and soft on the other. You could trim it to size and stick it on. (Moleskin is usually found in the foot care area of stores.)

[robysue]

ems:
Since the top strap seems to make my hair very unhappy, (lots of breakage--right on top)
I might consider it just to get rid of that spiteful strap--or maybe wrap it in fabric.

Just catching up with this thread way, way too late. However this did catch my eye since I used to have the same problem with the top silicone strap of the Swift FX. My fix? I asked Padacheek to make me a custom mask cover/pad that covers the entire frame rather than just the straps. Padacheek has a clever design that allows the buckle to be adjusted, but bottom of the strap is covered so it doesn't get in my hair. I've now got two of them. They make a huge difference in increasing the comfort AND in keeping my curly hair from getting tangled in the silicone strap.

[chunkyfrog]

I wound up putting both of the gray side covers on the top--with the ends overlapping, and covering the slider.
I saw the image of Karen's cover,which looks comfy, but I will probably cobble up something simpler and shorter,
and order a mask liner from her.
At the same time, I want to add plastic "D" rings to the upper ends of my pink covers;
(since Resmed assumes I have ears a full inch or so higher--or larger)
I need to justify the expense of my sewing machine more--besides mending hubby's jeans.
(he managed to rip out the rear in 3 pair in exactly the same place.)

[SleepingUgly]

Until I get my hands on the Bella, most of the issues with it and the fixes make no sense to me whatsoever... But I'm still reading!

[Papit]

The leak is fine. It would need to be around the 70 L/min mark before you needed to think about worrying.
I don't know if your SleepyHead is reporting excess leak or not but even if it is...you have a long way to go before worrying.

My sleep doc says essentially the same thing. He mentioned that he wouldn't worry about leaks all the way up to 40 L/min. His main focus in my situation is on AI and AHI. Shooting for zero leaks in his view is not a priority so long as leak readings are not excessively high.

[stemar99]

I work for DME company and setup CPAP's and BiPAP's. I am also a CPAPer myself and use the Swift FX. I ordered a sample set of the Bella straps, and of course cut off the "Hot Pink" cushions and wanted to see how they worked. I was skeptical at first, but to my amazement, they actually work very well. I have had no problems thus far with them falling off my ear, the adjustment actually feels a bit more precise because I can adjust each side individually. I am going to continue to use another week to see how they work out, and at this point, I will definitely suggest these for my patients currently using the Swift FX system, especially for women who has issues with the current headgear strap system. I would even go as far as recommending them for my male patients, just cutting off the "Hot Pink" cushions.

[stemar99]

I work for DME company and setup CPAP's and BiPAP's. I am also a CPAPer myself and use the Swift FX. I ordered a sample set of the Bella straps, and of course cut off the "Hot Pink" cushions and wanted to see how they worked. I was skeptical at first, but to my amazement, they actually work very well. I have had no problems thus far with them falling off my ear, the adjustment actually feels a bit more precise because I can adjust each side individually. I am going to continue to use another week to see how they work out, and at this point, I will definitely suggest these for my patients currently using the Swift FX system, especially for women who has issues with the current headgear strap system. I would even go as far as recommending them for my male patients, just cutting off the "Hot Pink" cushions.