Pad-A-Cheek Straps Helped Leaks

krousseau · Post by **krousseau** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 10:05 am

I sew a lot and have made covers for the hose etc but had never been moved to make mask straps because I had no strap problems. Well...Karen sent a set of Hybrid straps to me. My initial thought was “I don’t have a strap problem...how am I going to review these”...it turned out to be easy. I have had a stubborn problem with the Hybrid leaking at around 70-100 for a large part of the night-which of course makes my other numbers higher. Anyway last night I tried the covers.
I didn’t exactly follow the directions provided-I used a hemostat to thread the cover over the preadjusted straps with the clips attached. The process was quick & easy. Using the wire threader and directions would have taken another minute and also been easy.
They were slightly more comfortable-but as I said I didn’t have a significant comfort problem with the straps. The bonus was when I downloaded my data this AM. My set pressure range is 8- to 14 and I am usually in the 11 to 14 range-last night’s average pressure range was 8 to 10. The leak rate was right where I project it should be. OA’s are almost always <1. Hypopneas and vibratory snores are where my flags have been concentrated. Last night hypopneas and snores were down by 50-75%. My explanation is that the strap covers prevent the “slide & leak” that must occur while I’m sleeping & turning. Oh and yes-no strap marks this AM! This is only one night but the results were so dramatic I feel sure the covers are going to get the credit for solving this stubborn problem...THANK YOU KAREN!!! I’ll recheck my data aver a week and see if this holds up...Kay

tooly125 · Post by **tooly125** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 4:40 pm

Kay,
I agree that padacheeks help the hybid to stay put and help reduce leaks.

Sleepless in St. Louis · Post by **Sleepless in St. Louis** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 4:55 pm

I've all but given up on the hybrid. Pad a cheeck was nice enough to send me a sample to use with the updated hybrid strap. I don't feel as if I've given the pad a cheeks a fair evaluation because I cant' get this darned mask to work right for me. But I can see how they could really help with comfort and marks. I'm back to the swift swoosh marks. Weeeeeeee.