Share your favorite tips for a newbie or a seasoned CPAP'er

[MerMade]

Have been on CPAP one month now. Anyone have any good tips or techniques for this to go smoother ?

Thanks !!!!

[DeepBreath]

I'm a new user too, so take this for what it's worth

If you use the ramp feature to slowly move up to your prescription setting, try the mask fit (hold down the s9 selector knob on the main screen) to make sure you have everything in place before you get too comfortable. Nothing worse than finding out you don't quite have your mask right 20 minutes later!

Cosmo also posted in another thread about getting a metro duster (similar to a can of compressed air, but you plug it in). http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001J4ZOAW

I have one and it works great to quickly dry mask parts. I can completely disassemble, wash, and dry with the metro in just a few minutes. Some might view a $58 dryer excessive, but I love being able to get it dry and put back away in such a short amount of time. I'm still very much an active worker, so being able to wash before bed and quickly put back together is plus for me.

[johnthomasmacdonald]

put the effort and expense into getting a mask that works for you - sooner rather than later

[MerMade]

Thank you !!! the tips are good.

This mask is not working forme at all. It hurts my upper lip and teeth. And I have terrible leaks. This is my second mask. I have leak trouble and am a side sleeper.

[LSAT]

If you haven't done it already, go to the top of the home page for tips for newcomers.

[johnthomasmacdonald]

MerMade wrote: "This mask is not working forme at all. It hurts my upper lip and teeth. And I have terrible leaks. This is my second mask. I have leak trouble and am a side sleeper."

As you'll see from all the reviews for all the masks, the same mask that some people will love will be equally loathed by others. My favorite mask for comfort and absence of leaks even at high pressures is the Resmed mirage FX nasal mask - I've tried the FX swift nasal pillows, the OPUS 360 nasal pillows, fitlife ffm lg and ex-lg, the respironics amara, respironics comfort, fisher-paykal forma and the Resmed FX quattro ffm.

The mirage FX nasal was my favorite right from the first time i used it. It's less intrusive than the FX swift and more forgiving if your nose is somewhat clogged and it's a very light mask. I try to get at least one ffm to work for me when my nose is totally clogged with say a cold ( i always have to tape my mouth) and the best so far is the fitlife but in general i find the ffm leak more and are hot. I also can only sleep on my side



https://www.cpap.com/productpage/Resmed ... dgear.html

[cosmo]

.

[Ford Guy]

Yes.....All it takes to be successful is..$$$.

3 machines
Several Masks
A Zeo bedside
An Oximeter
Hozer
Hose Covers
CPAP Pillow
Ion Batter
Laptop Cooler to dry your mask & hose
And a partridge in a pear tree

[cosmo]

Yes.....All it takes to be successful is..$$$.

3 machines
Several Masks
A Zeo bedside
An Oximeter
Hozer
Hose Covers
CPAP Pillow
Ion Batter
Laptop Cooler to dry your mask & hose
And a partridge in a pear tree

Its pretty funny that ford guy has 11 post and 4 of those post were attacks on me I've never even interacted with the guy. I think this is his second account that he uses on here.

[chunkyfrog]

Boys, you play nice; or I'll have to call the Sheriff.

[Denial Dave]

The gadgets and gizmo's that Cosmo uses are nice to have and make his personal CPAP life easier. But quite a few folks get along quite nicely without most of them.



My humble opinion is that you need to remember the 3 P's;

PATIENCE.
it may take several tries until you find the right mask to get accustomed to CPAP

POSITIVE ATTITUDE

You need to maintain a positive attitude that this will work, even on the darkest most miserable nights of poor sleep in the beginning

PUGSY

when all else fails, ask Pugsy

A possible 4th "P" in the equation could be PAD A CHEEK

PAd A CHEEK mask liners & strap covers may not solve your leak issues, but they too are a nice comfort factor....

After you have found the right mask, then start looking at all of the comfort feature / options that folks here use to make their daily CPAP life easier to live with.

Dave

[MerMade]

Thank you all for your helpful tips.
There are some very good ones

[DeepBreath]

DataVac Duster to quickly dry hoses. Might be too strong for mask parts. Dries under 3 mins.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=85647&p=779326&hilit

I'm using it to dry all my mask parts, and no issues so far. Hasn't hurt the cushions from my Quattro or the pillow from my Swift FX, but I'd urge anyone trying it to proceed at their own risk. I'll agree that it's a solution to a problem that time would take care of on it's own. For me it's helped me be much more compliant with cleaning my gear, I can be completely done with everything in 5 min. Just an idea for new folks trying to find their way

[pbb]

MerMade -- I see you live in North FL, so lack of humidity is not an issue for you -- but if you need moisture for your skin, Lansinoh is wonderful. I use it on my lips and around my nostrils and anything else that can tolerate ointment consistency.

[human_bipap_user]

The Metro Vacuum is a good idea. I admit that I don't really clean the hose as often as I should so this might help me with that task.