I love my machine (Vantage S8), I love my sleep doc, I love my RT. My insurance and DME i'm really in like with. But I hate my masks!
Swift Nasal Pillows: Main problems are: it is quite loud (and I use a fan for white noise) - particularly on inhale. and the air pressure itself is keeping me awake - it's intense and difficult to exhale. pressure ranges from 6 to 9 on auto. can't use EPR on auto. (okay, so my machine isn't perfect actually).
UMFF: quieter and easier to exhale, but i have a chronic chipmunk cheek/blowfish problem with it and in order to stop the leaks i have to tighten it to the point that it's uncomfortable.
I'm a light sleeper and a jaw dropper and I'm using sleep meds but they only help sporadically.
I realize it's an individual thing, but given these specific issues, does anyone have a suggestion on what masks to try next? I'm thinking of paying out of pocket and I want to make a good choice.
Jenny
Mask Assistance
3 posts
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the females seem to have different tastes when it comes to masks than us guys. But I also found that Swift to be quite noisy and I also didn't like the direct flow of air into my nares.
I primarily use a UMFF, for the most part it seems to keep my mouth closed if I keep my tongue planted in my hard palate. But once I'm asleep and hit REM I have no idea and suspect my jaw also drops.
If you are mouth breathing you will need to stay with a FF mask of some sort. But most FF masks are large for petite faces even in the smallest size. The Hybrid may work but I found it to be similar to the Swift in noise level and airflow characteristics. But it did have a chin support that my prevent your jaw from dropping.
My next suggestion would be an Activa or UltraMirageII nasal mask, again if you mouth breathe you would need to tape your mouth.
F&P has the the 431 that seems fairly popular here you might look at that one.
I primarily use a UMFF, for the most part it seems to keep my mouth closed if I keep my tongue planted in my hard palate. But once I'm asleep and hit REM I have no idea and suspect my jaw also drops.
If you are mouth breathing you will need to stay with a FF mask of some sort. But most FF masks are large for petite faces even in the smallest size. The Hybrid may work but I found it to be similar to the Swift in noise level and airflow characteristics. But it did have a chin support that my prevent your jaw from dropping.
My next suggestion would be an Activa or UltraMirageII nasal mask, again if you mouth breathe you would need to tape your mouth.
F&P has the the 431 that seems fairly popular here you might look at that one.
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Sleepy Dog Lover
- Posts: 221
- Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 4:27 pm
I love my Aura Headrest. Its a nasal pillow, very quiet, the vent holes blow up instead of out, and it barely touches your face. I did have to use the rubber band fix (thanks for that cpaptalk.com, I educated my DME on it), but other than that, I barely notice it is on.
Always with the caveat, thats what works for me, but it may not work for you. Can your DME let you try on different masks to find the one that works best? If so, take your CPAP along so you can test masks at pressure.
Always with the caveat, thats what works for me, but it may not work for you. Can your DME let you try on different masks to find the one that works best? If so, take your CPAP along so you can test masks at pressure.
3 posts
• Page 1 of 1