Pilairo!

[the_nap_ster]

napster - great review! My nap with the Pilairo was as you describe but my full night didn't follow suit. It did seal like a champ and I was amazed at my non-existent leak line this morning. However, it left me wondering about the advertisement's claims that the mask virtually hovers over your nose as I found that, oddly, it felt heavy on my face. I have a medium to small head and even after tugging and pulling at the headstrap, I couldn't keep the mask from bumping into the tip of my nose, which was pretty sore this morning, and no, I don't have a large nose! If I took my fingers and manually lifted it away from my face, it was pure heaven. Finally, in the wee hours, figured out that if I took the headstrap and pulled it down to the bottom of my skull it was loose enough to be comfortable. Another issue I had was the sensation of not getting enough air, and found myself gulping air through my mouth to catch up. I increased my pressure from 7 to 8.60 and that took care of that. Had about 60 central looking events after I did that but think I still wasn't sleeping steadily so perhaps best to disregard them until I have another long, recorded sleep. It is, for sure, noisier than the Aloha and I had to adjust the swivel by hand. Neither one of these issues is a deal breaker, but it would have been nice.... I'll give it another try tonight but confess I'm not quite as enthused as I was yesterday.

KimberlyM - it sits on the upper lip but there was virtually no pressure. Nope, no marks on my face this morning.

Suz

KimberlyM: I agree with Suzjohnson. It touches my upper lip, but there is no pressure. The mask is clearly designed to stay nice and loose.

Suzjohnson: thanks for your report! I am wearing the mask right now as I type this, ha! Without thinking about it, I had secured the strap at the base of my skull, under my ponytail, and just for fun, I tried it higher up. And I felt the hard plastic on the tip of my nose! I think you're right about securing that strap lower to make the fit looser. I also have a higher pressure range than you, and I think that might make a real difference for this mask. I suspect people who have pressure ranges on the very low side of things may not see complete inflation. And you are right about the noise! I am not one who cares much about that, but if someone is sensitive to louder masks, this is NOT the quietest one I've tried.

Suz, let us know how tonight goes for you, okay? I'll do the same!

[KimberlyM]

Thanks Suz and Napster. I just ordered one and I will report back also!

[Suzjohnson]

Good Morning! After applying all the lessons learned the night before, last night was great, as far as the Pilairo goes. My chinstrap started coming off so around 2:30 AM, I took it off believing if I just slept on my side, my mouth would be more cooperative. HA! The roar from mouth breathing didn't phase me but it sure did my husband and my charts reflect this other than steller experiment. Time to replace chinstrap and fortunately, I have another in my stash. Back to the Pilairo. Having the pressure raised a bit helped to keep the cushion plumped up so the whole thing didn't rest on my face and nose, and having the strap pulled down to the top of my neck giving max looseness combined to give me more the results I had been hoping for. It's amazing how difficult it is to dislodge the pillows when moving around and side sleeping. If you can keep your mouth shut, the mask itself just doesn't leak! I love that!! It sits low enough on my nose that wearing my glasses to read is a cinch and it's small profile keeps the claustro beast at bay. If one didn't need to wear a chinstrap, it would be cool, cool, cool.

I'm going to assume that my crappy looking charts and high AHI are related more to mouth breathing than raised pressure so tonight I will leave the pressures alone but use a new chinstrap. I've been toying with the idea of ditching the chinstrap and just doing an ultra good tape job. What do you think?

Suz

[Pugsy]

I've been toying with the idea of ditching the chinstrap and just doing an ultra good tape job. What do you think?

That's what I did back when I was first starting therapy.
I was leery of taping at first. I remember reading about it thinking "no way in h..." but got curious so tried it.
First of all I did it during the afternoon so I could test what it felt like and how easily it would be to actually break the seal with a good yawn or something. Then I also tested it with the machine off so that I could get a feel for how uncomfortable it might be if the power went off. I found it was not distressful at all. Air will move and it depends on the individual how much comfort is involved. I got bored after 30 minutes and quit. Do what you need to do to be comfortable with taping to alleviate any concerns you might have. A power alarm to wake you in the event of power failure might be an option.
First night I taped we had a thunderstorm and a power outage. I woke up (no power alarm) only because things were strangely quiet. Lay there breathing for a few minutes till I realized why it was so quiet. No distress, no panic, no nothing.

After a couple of months of taping I started getting lazy and "forgetting" until lights out and would let it slide. Much to my surprise my reports didn't show any huge massive leaks impacting therapy. So I abandoned taping. Not everyone is so lucky but it does happen especially if you keep doing the tongue in the roof of the mouth thing.

FWIW...I just used plain ordinary blue painter's tape. I already had some handy left over from a painting job and I didn't want to buy anything else unless I needed it. I had no issues with the plain blue tape but some people do.

I am due for my 6 month insurance full mask thing very soon and I am interested in the Pilairo. If my DME has one I may just give it a try because I like to try new things when it comes to nasal pillow masks. Not interested in the other types of masks.
I did try the Aloha and it ranks a close second to my Swift FX. I have this thing about "less on my face" is a real priority for me.

[the_nap_ster]

Okay, let me start here. This is the Sleepyhead data from my first night on the Pilairo.



It was the best night of sleep I've had since starting therapy. No strap marks, no arousals, no apneas. I feel so good this morning.

I put my chin strap on first, with the Pilairo on top (with the strap at the base of my skull, anchored by my ponytail). I also used the Elan featherweight tube as an extender. Before I fell asleep, I could feel the slight adjustments in inflation with my inhale/exhale, but it felt kind of soothing. I don't love the angle of the exhale port, but I ended up loving that the elbow doesn't self adjust. I could angle it wherever I wanted to keep the exhaust away from me, and then have it stay there. And yeah, it is not silent. I sleep with the sound of rain on, so it didn't bother me, but fair warning for people who need silence (or whose partners need silence!).

This mask also appears to reduce my pressure needs. I normally hover between 12-13. Last night I hovered between 10-11, never getting higher than 11.58. And it was not an exceptionally great sleep hygiene night for me. There was caffeine and wine yesterday, which usually means higher pressures and worse sleep. Interesting. Time will tell whether that trend continues.

So far, after night one, grade tentatively adjusted to A+! I *really* hope this silicone holds up!

[sylvie]

Napster, those numbers are CRAZY! good. I am sleeping with the Pilairo the first time tonight and hope I can at least come close to that if not exactly that. I also hope the silicone holds up. The pillows are amazingly comfortable. I am putting my chinstrap on first and everything seemed just fine. Also, I don't like unhooking the strap from the mask base for cleaning--it seems a little precarious, so from now on, I'm just dunking the silicone part into some soapy water for cleaning. I don't want anything to hurt my Pilairo.

[Suzjohnson]

Okay, let me start here. This is the Sleepyhead data from my first night on the Pilairo.
So far, after night one, grade tentatively adjusted to A+! I *really* hope this silicone holds up!

Napster, that is 100% fabulous!! A+, no doubt.

Suz

[Suzjohnson]

[quote="Pugsy"
I am due for my 6 month insurance full mask thing very soon and I am interested in the Pilairo. If my DME has one I may just give it a try because I like to try new things when it comes to nasal pillow masks. Not interested in the other types of masks.
I did try the Aloha and it ranks a close second to my Swift FX. I have this thing about "less on my face" is a real priority for me.[/quote]

I don't blame you and have rapidly come to the same conclusion. The less on your face and head, the more natural it feels. If I were you, I would contact your DME now so if they needed to order it for you, it would be available when you want to try it. It took me a month to get a small headgear from mine which left me shaking my head in wonder that they manage to stay in business. Your Swift FX is pretty minimal and has been on my list of masks to try because of your preference for it. That's high praise, in my book!
I have taped my mouth shut in the past using plain old blue painters tape and found it totally satisfactory but haven't gone so far as to use it on it's own, so I see I need to test that out next.

Suz

[squid13]

Has anyone found a place to buy a replacement cushion when the time comes to replace the one in the mask? I haven't found any yet.

[SleepingUgly]

Question about the noise with this mask... Does it make a constant noise, like a white noise machine, or is it an ebb and flow with your breathing ala Darth Vader?

[the_nap_ster]

Squid13: I haven't found anywhere to buy replacement pillows yet either. If F&P creates my soul mate mask and then doesn't sell replacement pillows (or sells them for a million dollars a pop), I am going to suspect I'm starring in a Greek tragedy.

Question about the noise with this mask... Does it make a constant noise, like a white noise machine, or is it an ebb and flow with your breathing ala Darth Vader?

SleepyingUgly: there is some ebb and flow/Darth Vader things happening with this mask. It's not ANYWHERE as loud and annoying as the Darth Vader effect of my FF masks, but it whooshes more when I inhale, less on the exhale. Once I relax my breathing, it sounds like the ocean to me. I've lived my whole life about 30 minutes from the Pacific, so this is very relaxing for me. For others, perhaps a little too much of the Dark Side. I wish I could figure out a way to record the sound! In all seriousness, if you want to hear it, send me a PM and we can arrange a phone call demonstration. I think this (along with the larger nostrils/more silicone in nose part) will be the deal breaker on this mask for some people.

For me, this mask has transformed the way I look at my therapy. Finger crossed ( ) this keeps up. I'm actually excited to put it on again tonight.

[sylvie]

I slept with Pilairo last night for the first time and had the best sleep therapy night ever! My numbers were great and I never woke to find I had to adjust the pillows, which always happens to me. This mask is a keeper!

[SleepingUgly]

Napster, did you ever try the Aloha? Or the Bella? (I think you tried that one -- I will have to search your posts to see if you compared those). What do you like better about this one compared to those?

[the_nap_ster]

Napster, did you ever try the Aloha? Or the Bella? (I think you tried that one -- I will have to search your posts to see if you compared those). What do you like better about this one compared to those?

Before the Pilairo, those two were my favorite masks. I am a very light sleeper, and the more stuff on my face, the worse sleep I get, no matter how effectively my OSA is being treated.

I like the Bella Loops a lot, and my husband still uses them. But they hurt my ears, and the pillows still slip sometimes, causing leaks unless I crank the straps. And every so often, for no reason, I just had a terrible night with Bella. Feeling crappy all the next day was not great.

I love the Aloha. But it still left strap marks, and I had to replace the pillows all the time. And I don't love wearing full headgear. The Pilairo is more like the Bella on that point -- the headgear feels like nothing.

Most importantly: for both Aloha and Bella, I could FEEL the pressure against my nostrils. It wasn't a lot of pressure -- I don't mean piggy nose -- but I could feel the firm silicone. I feel NOTHING with the Pilairo. The inner silicone is so fabric-like that there are no pressure points. For me, this means no strap marks. But it also means much less interruption of sleep. This is the closest I felt to wearing nothing, even compared to Elan.

PS: As a point of comparison, I think "piggy nose" is impossible to achieve on this mask. You cannot tighten it such that it will apply pressure on your nostrils. It will just continue to inflate around your nose. That is how little pressure there is on your face with this mask.

[the_nap_ster]

I slept with Pilairo last night for the first time and had the best sleep therapy night ever! My numbers were great and I never woke to find I had to adjust the pillows, which always happens to me. This mask is a keeper!

Oh, this makes me so happy. I think there might be a few of us who find this mask life-changing. Keep updating us on how it goes with time, okay?

Suz: how did your night go?