Resmed Mirage Soft Gel/PR Easy Life nasal masks

[ellen1159]

Found a website, CPAPhelpdesk, that does video reviews of CPAP equipment. They recommended two masks in particular as being good for people with sky-high pressures, like me: the Resmed Mirage Soft Gel and the Respironics Easy Life. Supposedly some users with very high pressures found that the high pressures didn't feel as overwhelming or pummeling with these two masks. However, the reviews go back to January 2011. There are drawbacks to both masks as they are larger than my nasal Wisp and impede reading or watching TV in bed.

Has anyone used these masks? If your settings were lower than mine, say 8-12, did you feel air hunger?

[hyperlexis]

I would avoid the ResMed Soft Gel. I got a SG cushion recently, and found the cushion has a significant design flaw. There is a small slit at the btm of the cushion, just under the nose, where the retainer clip does not attach to the cushion. (The clip fits into a lip running around the three sides of the cushion, except at that one area on the bottom -- the cushion simply has no retainer lip in that one small area.) (The Activa cushion does not have this problem). The result for me has been that the SG cushion then leaks and makes noise in that one spot. The only way to stop it is to tighten the mask severely at the bottom, putting too much pressure on the upper lip.

I'm surprised ResMed has a problem like this in a design. There are other, better nasal masks than this, including the Activa, and the Ultra Mirage II, Mirage FX, and if you want a gel mask, the PR Comfort Gel Blue or True Blue. The FP nasal masks like the Eson are good too.

Good luck!

[ellen1159]

Thanks for the tip on the Resmed Gel.

[jilliansue]

Hi! I have used the Resmed SoftGel. Currently, I use Resmed's Activa LT, which is a silicone cushion (as opposed to a gel cushion) which fits on the same mask frame as the SoftGel. So either the gel or the silicone cushion will fit on the same frame, which I think is kinda neat.

I have never had a problem with the Softgel cushion, although I have not remembered to look at mine in reference to the defect that was posted about recently (great sentence structure going on here!).

I got a Wisp recently and haven't been able to really use it. I plan to continue trying, but I find the air seems to blast at me less - and less noisily - with the Softgel or Activa, perhaps because it is being spread out over a larger area. The Softgel and Activa also leak less for me. My pressures are at least as high as yours, about the same, I think, although I have had them set the same for the past year or so and don't recall right now what they are. I use a Bipap machine, so I have two set pressures, one for inspiration (inhale) and one for expiration (exhale). I keep trying other masks like the Elan and the Wisp, but much as I want to use one of them, I keep coming back to my Activa. And in the meantime, I am building quite a little collection for myself!

And as I am sure you have already read on here, there is no one size fits all. One has to try different masks to find one that works best.

Good luck!
Jill

[StuUnderPressure]

I have been using the ResMed SoftGel Nasal Mask for about 1 1/2 years now & have NEVER had a problem with it.

I do NOT consider it having a "design flaw" at all.

If you make sure the bottom clip is pushed all the way in, you will NOT have any leaks at that area - even if you do NOT tighten the mask straps (headgear) very much.