Newbie in tears

zzMy first try on the Mirage Liberty nasal pillows. It's painful. It's noisy. It's cold. What am I doing wrong?

Hi I was just wondering if you could tell me more about your experience with the Liberty. I have been considering getting this mask. I already use a nasal pillow mask, but I would like to have something I could use when my nose is stuffy, and I hate the full face mask.

Here are some tips on using the Innomed Hybrid mask of which the Liberty is a similar copy.

wiki/index.php/Hybrid_Mask_Modifications

Thanks for the advice. I read the link. I will watch the video, i promise! I hope I don't need to tie lady's tights around my head though, I am afraid my kids would laugh me right out of the house!! LOL...

thanks rooster

dusty0318 wrote:zzMy first try on the Mirage Liberty nasal pillows. It's painful. It's noisy. It's cold. What am I doing wrong?

Hi, Dusty.

Sounds like you're in need of some mask adjustment. No mask should be painful to wear. Adjust it while laying down (as you would to sleep) with your machine blowing at your normal pressure, and test the fit by moving your head from side to side to be sure you're not experiencing leaks when you move about. (If you're using a range of pressures, fit the mask while the machine is blowing at the highest pressure in the range.)

Noise may just be the normal sound of the exhaust and your breathing, or it might be leaks. If it's the former, it may just take some getting used to. If it's leaks, adjust the headgear. Nobody gets good therapy with a leaky mask.

As for the cold, I assume you mean the air in the mask is cold. If you're using the humidifier listed in your profile, I suggest turning the heat setting up a bit. You could also heat the distilled water in the microwave a bit before you fill the chamber at night.

Hope that helps...

Nelliebear wrote:Thanks for the advice. I read the link. I will watch the video, i promise! I hope I don't need to tie lady's tights around my head though, I am afraid my kids would laugh me right out of the house!! LOL...

A piece of soft elastic works for me to keep the nasal pillows in place. Since I sew a lot I have all kinds in the house and I found lingerie elastic works just fine. It doesn't need to be tight, just to have enough tension to keep the pillows in place.

BleepingBeauty wrote: As for the cold, I assume you mean the air in the mask is cold. If you're using the humidifier listed in your profile, I suggest turning the heat setting up a bit. You could also heat the distilled water in the microwave a bit before you fill the chamber at night.

I have a feeling I know the cold that she's talking about. After using nasal pillows exclusively I got a liberty for the same reason as nelliebear, in case I'm stuffed up so much I can't breath through my nose. It's quite a bit different than the pillows in that the air from the mask blows directly on your lips and it feels quite cold. On my pillows I usually run my humidifier at 1.5 or 2. With the liberty I had it cranked up to 4 and still didn't notice a difference, it still felt cold. I have yet to crank the humidifier all the way up and try it though. I can't get the leaks under control with that mask. I swear my face isn't flat enough for it, and no matter how tight I crank the straps down it still leaks out the sides something fierce. I guess I should have gone with the small mask instead of the large, but even then I'm not sure it would have worked.

Anyway, I digress. If you can find a way to make it feel less cold, I'd love to hear it. I don't really feel like buying a heated hose for the couple of times a year I plan on using the liberty.

pitrow wrote:

BleepingBeauty wrote: As for the cold, I assume you mean the air in the mask is cold. If you're using the humidifier listed in your profile, I suggest turning the heat setting up a bit. You could also heat the distilled water in the microwave a bit before you fill the chamber at night.

I have a feeling I know the cold that she's talking about. After using nasal pillows exclusively I got a liberty for the same reason as nelliebear, in case I'm stuffed up so much I can't breath through my nose. It's quite a bit different than the pillows in that the air from the mask blows directly on your lips and it feels quite cold. On my pillows I usually run my humidifier at 1.5 or 2. With the liberty I had it cranked up to 4 and still didn't notice a difference, it still felt cold. I have yet to crank the humidifier all the way up and try it though. I can't get the leaks under control with that mask. I swear my face isn't flat enough for it, and no matter how tight I crank the straps down it still leaks out the sides something fierce. I guess I should have gone with the small mask instead of the large, but even then I'm not sure it would have worked.

Anyway, I digress. If you can find a way to make it feel less cold, I'd love to hear it. I don't really feel like buying a heated hose for the couple of times a year I plan on using the liberty.

Hi, pitrow.

Question: Do you use a hose cover?

Let me start by saying I tried the Liberty awhile back. I much prefer (and still use) the Hybrid - which is very similar but far superior, IMO. But for the sake of this discussion, basically the same mask (nasal pillows and mouth cushion). FWIW, I used a nasal pillows mask for well over a year when I began therapy. But I discovered that I was mouth-breathing with it (even with a chinstrap). I taped my mouth shut for awhile, but I didn't like that much. Thus began my search for a FFM I liked.

I've been using the Hybrid exclusively for about 1.5 years now (with a "fix" to keep the pillows seated all night), and I love it. I never mouth-breathe with it, although I can if I have to. In fact, here's a bonus: I determined just recently that the Hybrid has trained me to keep my mouth closed. I had to use my Swift LT for one night due to tooth pain, with no chinstrap and no tape, and my leak line was flat.

I have one of the F&P stand-alone humidifiers, and I turn it on about 15 minutes before I'm ready to mask up. So the water in the humidifier is warm before I even turn the machine on. If that's not possible in your situation, I would heat the distilled water before filling the humidifier chamber with it when you're ready for bed. And get a hose cover if you don't already have one!

To be honest, I never feel like the air inside the mask is too cold for me, but I always preferred sleeping in a cool room at night. Not sure if that has any bearing on how I deal with the temp inside the mask, itself, but it's never bothered me. I do use a nice fleece hose cover, and I haven't experienced any rainout or other discomfort (like unreasonably cold air in the mask).

I hope that helps. Maybe someone else has better ideas... Oh, and Happy Birthday!

pitrow wrote:If you can find a way to make it feel less cold, I'd love to hear it. I don't really feel like buying a heated hose for the couple of times a year I plan on using the liberty.

The best thing I've found for making the air warmer without raising the humidity setting is to put a heat source near the air intake of the flow generator. I use a heating pad. Very simple and effective.

LoQ wrote:The best thing I've found for making the air warmer without raising the humidity setting is to put a heat source near the air intake of the flow generator. I use a heating pad. Very simple and effective.

Wow, now there's a novel idea! Never occurred to me.

I've missed this place and all the wonderful suggestions that come from members. Good one, LoQ!

Thanks so much everyone. I turned the humidifier back on to 3. I unfastened all the straps on the head gear. I went to the bathroom mirror and started all over again. I ended up a bit too tight so I'll have to experiment with that tonight. That took care of all the noise, and I was able to sleep.