djam's therapy thread

[palerider]

I can't believe how well I'm sleeping with this pillow mask.

Well, that's good, because you're NOT sleeping well.

In fact, you haven't slept ANY since you got it, you're tossing and turning in a delirium now... nothing is real, this is all just part of your fevered imagination.

You just THINK you've been sleeping well!

Your nightmare is just beginning!

[palerider]

\
pugsy? can we make djams the post boy for the forum?

POST boy (looks at the 217 and counting posts in the thread) or POSTER boy?

[babydinosnoreless]

Djams,

My husband and I recently went through the search for a new mattress. Even the non pillow tops can not be flipped anymore.

We got a non pillow top, thankfully the store had a 90 day replacemnt policy. That thing was like a board. Then we tried the mattress topper the salesman suggested and it was like an ice rink cold and hard. Finally switched it out for another pillow top. much better except it is so tall short little me needs a step stool to get into bed at night.

[zonker]

I can't believe how well I'm sleeping with this pillow mask.

Well, that's good, because you're NOT sleeping well.

In fact, you haven't slept ANY since you got it, you're tossing and turning in a delirium now... nothing is real, this is all just part of your fevered imagination.

You just THINK you've been sleeping well!

Your nightmare is just beginning!

oh dear! djams, i think you've fallen under palerider's spell!!

[zonker]

\
pugsy? can we make djams the post boy for the forum?

POST boy (looks at the 217 and counting posts in the thread) or POSTER boy?

and speaking of palerider's spell...



if only there was some way to look at one's posting before postering.

[djams]

I am a woman and I get to say it..."I told you so".. I told you so...I told you so.
And I am not above saying it...obviously.

You're right, you're right, you're right! And I'm so very glad your are!

Here's the deal folks...not everyone will like a nasal interface mask and not everyone will be able to use it successfully and I don't really give a rats behind what mask someone uses as long as they are totally happy with any mask anyone uses. I don't care.
No, I don't particularly want to use one myself so I don't because I don't want to and I don't have to. But I really don't care what someone else uses.

My job isn't to decide on what mask a person should use...my job is to help a person use whatever mask they decide they want to try and use.

If someone has the slightest interest in at least trying a different kind of mask for whatever reason they might have...then my job is to help them try one and do what I can to make it a successful experiment.
Just wanting to try something is a good enough reason to try something in my book.

Right again! Honestly, I'd put out a feeler in another post and Pugsy sensed the interest. Here I am 2 weeks later and I'm certain I'm now a nasal pillow mask guy. If you're reading this and thinking about it, give it a try! Just do it.

I can't thank you enough Pugsy. I would've hemmed and hawed about trying a pillow mask, and maybe gotten around to it 3-6 months from now, maybe not. Who knows.

[djams]

Djams...what I find most interesting with this experiment is you really haven't had the really big and really fast spikes in pressure like you normally will sometimes see and fairly regularly see.

There's something about the full face mask that is affecting the airway patency causing those spikes. I suspect it probably has something to do with what the lower straps on a full face mask does to the overall position of the jaw...pulls it back ever so slightly and thus narrows the airway ever so slightly. I can't prove it...I have no studies to back up my theory but it's a logical assumption.
Something is causing the change though and airway position or jaw position is about the only thing I can think of that is the variable.

Another prediction....you are going to be even more happy with the P10...it's lighter...less tugging on the pillow by the hose...no vent noise.
Do be prepared to use the Lansinoh....I had some nostril soreness initially and my nostrils had been using pillow masks for years and years without any soreness. Not horrible soreness...more like I ran my nose into someone's fist soreness...gentle minor bruised feeling.
But even I had some soreness. Be careful with positioning of those 2 straps because that's how you adjust the tension...it's real easy to get piggy nose with the P10 if you aren't careful. I put the bottom strap way down at the base of my skull and use the top strap for main adjustments. Play with them...slight movements can make a big difference in the overall tension.

I'm sure that you're right about the lower mask straps on the FFM. While you were on vacation I made the same observation in a post above. On the nights that I started with pillows and switched over to FFM after 2-3 hours, it was really noticeable when I snapped the lower mask straps in place. Really felt the lower jaw move both back and down. Mostly back. Having the comfy mattress is helping some too I think. Funny how I'd wake up with slight ache in my hip, and my immediate reaction was "damn I'm getting old". When it should have been "damn this mattress sucks".

I just spent a few minutes with the P10, and my initial reaction is "WOW, I like this". It's everything you mention above, plus no jet stream from the vent. I really like the 2-strap adjustment system. It's very effective. I ended up with the same type of strap positioning you describe. Looking forward to going to bed!

Appreciate the heads up on the soreness. Knowing this will prevent an initial poor reaction to the mask.

[djams]

I can't believe how well I'm sleeping with this pillow mask.

Well, that's good, because you're NOT sleeping well.

In fact, you haven't slept ANY since you got it, you're tossing and turning in a delirium now... nothing is real, this is all just part of your fevered imagination.

You just THINK you've been sleeping well!

Your nightmare is just beginning!

It's all been nothing but a really good dream? Say it isn't so!

[djams]

pugsy? can we make djams the post boy for the forum?

Well...he's definitely going to be the one I refer people to who say "I was told I was a mouth breather and couldn't use a nasal mask".

Before him it was perrybucsdad that I would refer people to...and I just about had to twist his arm off to get him to at least try a nasal mask.

there are a great many lies that are told to us by those sleep doctors. being told if you are a mouth breather and can only use a ffm may not be THE worst, but it's certainly up there.

In my case, I can't blame anyone but myself. During initial fitting, the DME coordinator picked up a nasal mask, and I waved her off. "don't bother, that'll never work for me".

[djams]

Djams,

My husband and I recently went through the search for a new mattress. Even the non pillow tops can not be flipped anymore.

Wonderful. So they managed to cut the like of the mattresses. Geez.

We got a non pillow top, thankfully the store had a 90 day replacemnt policy. That thing was like a board. Then we tried the mattress topper the salesman suggested and it was like an ice rink cold and hard. Finally switched it out for another pillow top. much better except it is so tall short little me needs a step stool to get into bed at night.

This sounds all too familiar, even the height thing. Took me months to get used to it, and I was worried I'd injure myself if I fell out of bed from that height!

Wish us luck in our search!

[Pugsy]

Well I was told during the titration study that I just HAD to use a full face mask when the initial nasal cushion mask caused my nose to be congested...immediately....and just as immediately relieved if I removed the pressure off my nose. My nose was just fine without the nasal mask he cranked down like a vise grip.
Yeah...using a full face mask pressing on my nose is going to do nothing but cause more congestion.
I had to threaten to leave in the middle of the night if he didn't give me a nasal pillow mask to try. He refused at first.
Dumbass idiot tech.

Sometimes we are told stuff that isn't true or they are just dumbasses and won't listen to reason.

I knew from night one at the titration study that I was going to have to make nasal pillows work some how because back then there wasn't much of a choice at all in masks that didn't touch the nasal bridge area. There were the 2 hybrids and the Oracle and that was it.
And the straps on the hybrids just killed my neck.

The rest is history. I never even gave the DME an option as to what to dispense...I told him what mask I wanted and why and I wouldn't deviate. They never argued with me.

[palerider]

I can't believe how well I'm sleeping with this pillow mask.

Well, that's good, because you're NOT sleeping well.

In fact, you haven't slept ANY since you got it, you're tossing and turning in a delirium now... nothing is real, this is all just part of your fevered imagination.

You just THINK you've been sleeping well!

Your nightmare is just beginning!

It's all been nothing but a really good dream? Say it isn't so!

Ok, "it isn't so!"

[babydinosnoreless]

Djams,

My husband and I recently went through the search for a new mattress. Even the non pillow tops can not be flipped anymore.

Wonderful. So they managed to cut the like of the mattresses. Geez.

We got a non pillow top, thankfully the store had a 90 day replacemnt policy. That thing was like a board. Then we tried the mattress topper the salesman suggested and it was like an ice rink cold and hard. Finally switched it out for another pillow top. much better except it is so tall short little me needs a step stool to get into bed at night.

This sounds all too familiar, even the height thing. Took me months to get used to it, and I was worried I'd injure myself if I fell out of bed from that height!

Wish us luck in our search!

Good luck in your search! I highly recommend finding a place that has a good return policy.

[djams]

First night with the P10. Lots of leaks.

Majority of this is the hose tugging on the mask. Woke up multiple times and noted it. Also think I had the straps a little loose - still no soreness this morning.

The mega leak (93L/min! ), I don't have recollection of this at all. I even turned the machine off and back on. Don't remember it. I can still see breathing in the flow rate chart, but barely.

I'll figure it out. I had a lot to do after work yesterday, and didn't get to take my time working with the new mask before I went to bed. Even considered not wearing it because of this.

Boy is this mask quiet! that is, when it's not leaking. Comfy on the head, too!

[realshelby]

Did you put some lanolin on your nose? That can help with getting used to wearing it. But the P10 is about as easy on your nose as any mask can be. The reason I ask is that when I tried the lanolin with the P10 I too saw more leaks than normal. When you can, try wiping the P10 and your nostril area with a wipe before putting it on. This cleans both and sort of makes the mask stick to your skin. Significant difference in leaks for me.