CPAPtalk.com

chunkyfrog wrote: Some comfort that I am only a carrier of the MPB gene, but not a sufferer!

Lucky you. My brother was almost bald at 19. He shaves the few hairs he has left. Actually, for all I know he plucks the last three hairs.

KatyDidAgain wrote:Pugsy, thanks for the correction. I think I just attribute all the knowledge around here to you by habit. As for the straps, I've had them so far apart that they started to tear at the join. It is like you said, the bottom one wants to come up and meet the top one and the they slip right off the top. I'm going to try a chin strap tonight, and I hope that I can put that on over the mask to keep it tacked down. That's the only thing I can think of.

I use the carefushion ruby adjustable chin strap with the p10 over it and don't need to seperate the mask straps. I wear the p10 strap to where it rests on the top of my ears and straight back on my head... pretty much like wearing a pair of glasses. I've found that when the strap does begin to stretch it can be easily shortened by washing with hot water and air dried over a heat vent. I've got it to shrink up to 2 inches useing this method... from 20.5" to 18.5" (they come new around 19.5") Another advantage of the above mentioned chin strap is the p10 stays in place no matter what position you sleep... doesn't slide against the neopreme like material of the chin strap. I've been useing the same p10 now for close to 5 months... with a wash every couple weeks the strap still holds snug without the need to seperate the straps.

RuthArt wrote:I have a Swift FX . . .

I experienced the exact same thing with that mask.
Unfortunately, the ladies' version is exactly the same size as the boys',
except for three additional holes, so you can cinch it even tighter.
What nincompoops! This is why I stopped wearing it, and very nearly did not try the P10.

RuthArt wrote:I have a Swift FX that I have been trying to wear....I'm thinking it must be for males because I have to cinch the top strap so tight that the
back strap is almost to my crown and it will not stay on the back of my head; ...I have a very small head.

I have a very small head. (My ski helmet is an XS and that's actually a bit too big for me.) But I have no trouble keeping the Swift FX in place. And even though I wear it riduculously loose, I have no problems with leaks.

I have the TOP silicone strap loose enough to get several fingers between the top strap and my head without stretching the top strap at all. In other words, the top strap doesn't even touch my head. The bottom strap just over my ears and around the back. I have that strap comfortably "tight" or comfortably "loose." This strap does touch my head, but I can easily slip a finger or two under the strap without significant pulling on the strap. I have also found that I tend to prefer to keep one side of the back strap tigher than the other side. (I'm a side sleeper and I think that has something to do with it.)

Another thing that may be relevant in why my FX fits my small head so well: I use a custom mask pad made by Padacheek for the entire silicone strap. (She's actually made me two of them.) I do have to safety pin the top strap to the Padacheek pad to keep it from slipping off the pad and getting tangled in my hair.

I hope there is more that can be done to help get a good fit. (I'm still having trouble finding the right size for the nostrils, I've tried
everyone except large, I have small nostrils, but get leaks on all sizes, probably because I can't get it to fit properly

If you've got the top strap pulled so tight that the back strap is near the crown of your head, the pillows are at the wrong angle to seal properly. That would easily explain the leaks you've experienced.

My advice is to loosen the top strap a lot and see if that helps you anchor the backstrap around your head with the pillows at the right angle.