Hybrid

Peterau · Post by **Peterau** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 2:13 am

The Hybrid. “A breath of fresh air” for me

I have been using the Hybrid for 8 nights now and it will be my every night mask from now on. For the last 5 nights my AHI has been less than 1 and my sleep quality has taken a turn for the better.
Why did I decide to try the Hybrid?
1) I am a lifetime mouth breather.
2) I hate the way my UMFF can leak and the way it makes my face itch inside the mask which causes me to wake up.
3) Have been struggling with the F&P Oracle which is working for me but has some issues which are well documented on this site. I would have continued with the Oracle had the Hybrid not been a success.

Sorting this mask, like the Oracle has taken some work. Here is what I have found.
From the top.
When you have completed the sizing for the mouth piece and pillows put it together and connect your CPAP get a mirror and have a good close look at the inner mouth seal to see if it is sitting against your face. I found that I needed to go down one size because the inner seal was not sitting against my face which caused it to leak every time I moved. The mirror also told me I could go down the size as you can see the seal as it goes around your mouth.
Next the pillows.
I have found the best fitting for the pillows is as small as possible and as low as possible. The lower setting may require you to sit the mask higher on your top lip during fitting. Good test here is if you can get the mask to seal with the bottom straps undone using just the chin bit to hold the mask in place. Be careful when you place the chin bit under your chin that it does not pull the mask down, if it does pull the mask down and the pillows start to leak try putting the pillows in the taller position. Doing it this way the bottom straps are more for stabilizing the mask than using the bottom straps to pull the mask down on the face.
Hose:
Unless you are death the only way to route the hose is down. The noise the mask makes with the hose going up and past the exhaust ports is loud. Also on noise make sure the mouth piece is fitted to the mask correctly it can leak and make some interesting noises if not fitted correctly.
Couple of other things. C02 flush rate is higher for this mask than my UMFF. But not so high that the 420 has a problem and is exactly as the instruction sheet said it should be.(I believe the higher flush rate is one of the reasons my sleep quality has improved). This means the exhaust vents do put out a lot of air and it is straight out which may be a problem for bed partners. I have some lab rat things in mind to try and fix this.
Like some other reports here I too have turned down my heated humidifier a couple of settings as the mask does seem to leak if there is too much moisture inside the mask.

Happy Hybriding. I do

inacpapfog · Post by **inacpapfog** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:59 am

Peterau, I think a growing number of us are finding out that in order to get a great leak-free fit, you must use a mirror! Sure made a difference for me!
And I also found that the smaller nasal pillows worked better for me in this case. (Maybe because this mask has the angle built in ?)

maskjkie · Post by **maskjkie** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 5:28 am

Peterau wrote:The Hybrid. “A breath of fresh air” for me

I have been using the Hybrid for 8 nights now and it will be my every night mask from now on. For the last 5 nights my AHI has been less than 1 and my sleep quality has taken a turn for the better.

Peterau,
You say that your AHI has been less than 1 using the Hybrid. What was it when you were using the UMFF?

Peterau · Post by **Peterau** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 5:54 pm

maskjkie,

My AHI with the UMFF would sit between high 3s and low 4s. With the Oracle it would be in the 3 to 4 range. It was a pleasant surprise to have it drop below 1 with the Hybrid.

Peterau · Post by **Peterau** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:02 pm

mashjkie,

One other thing thats dropped since I started using the Hybrid is the pressure 90% of the time has come down 1cm.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 7:52 pm

Peterau wrote:maskjkie,

My AHI with the UMFF would sit between high 3s and low 4s. With the Oracle it would be in the 3 to 4 range. It was a pleasant surprise to have it drop below 1 with the Hybrid.

I'm happy to get more confiirmation from others on this. I discussed with the pulmnologist and we came up with a few reasons why the Hybrid lowers AHI and in effect gives a better quality of sleep.

1. The air that goes into the nares goes directly inside in the case of Hybrid as opposed to being distributed over the nose, over the cheek and into the nares in a conventional FF mask. So, the pressure is more efficiently transferred to the upper airway. This also is a possible reason why the required pressure may be lower by 1-2 cm.

2. The "real" leak with the Hybrid is lower than FF masks because there is less surface area to seal. The higher leak rates that may be displayed are due to the generous exhaust flow rate.

3. Due to the nasal pillows and oral mask configuration of the Hybrid, the pressure keeps both airways open especially reducing hypopneas.

Issac · Post by **Issac** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 6:57 am

What is AHI and why is it important for it to be low?

GoofyUT · Post by **GoofyUT** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 8:22 am

G-d helps those that help themselves......

Use the search function, CPAPodeia or CPAP FAQ to help you to understand what AHI is and why it should be low.

Chuck

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Sun Jul 16, 2006 9:02 am

Isaac, AHI stands for "Apnea Hypopnea Index". An average of the number of apneas and hypopneas we have per hour.

Add the number of apneas and the number of hypopneas together. Divide that total by the number of hours slept. That gives the "AHI".

An AHI of 5 or more is usually considered worth treating with CPAP.

When we are using CPAP, we like to see our AHI be less than 5. Less than 5 "events" (apneas and/or hypopneas) per hour.

Even people who don't have "sleep apnea" can have a few events during the night. If the AHI is below 5 that's usually considered normal.

sleepless_in_sydney · Post by **sleepless_in_sydney** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 4:12 pm

Peterau wrote:The Hybrid. “A breath of fresh air” for me

Peterau,

Do you know where in Australia can I buy a Hybrid mask? I live in Sydney. Thanks a bunch.

roster · Post by **roster** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 4:44 pm

sleepless_in_sydney wrote:
Peterau wrote:
Do you know where in Australia can I buy a Hybrid mask? I live in Sydney. Thanks a bunch.

Try this page. They give an email address for global inquiries.

http://www.teleflexmedical.com/global.php

Peterau · Post by **Peterau** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 4:03 am

sleepless_in_sydney

I purchased mine from CPAP.com. Took 6 days from order to delivery.

sleepless_in_sydney · Post by **sleepless_in_sydney** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 7:41 pm

Peterau wrote:sleepless_in_sydney

I purchased mine from CPAP.com. Took 6 days from order to delivery.

Thanks. I think I will order one from cpap.com too. Hope this Hybrid will work for me.

sleepless_in_sydney · Post by **sleepless_in_sydney** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 5:33 am

I got my Hybrid yesterday. This is awesome!!! I watched the CD, found that the sizes the Hybrid came assembled worked fine for me. Had one leak around the left pillow at around 5 AM, I just inserted it back inside and then it was fine until I woke up at 7:30 AM. I'll see tonight if any of the other sizes work even better.

Peterau · Post by **Peterau** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:46 am

Sleepless,

Glad you have joined the success club. You may have to change your name though. Let us know how you get on. I will be staying with the Hybrid.

Peterau

Hybrid - Breath of fresh air

Hybrid - Breath of fresh air

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AHI

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Re: Hybrid - Breath of fresh air