Newbie with many masks........

Doctor recommended a sleep test, which while at home was certainly not a smooth thing. I got through it. Index was a 29. Out comes lady from the Healthcare place with Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset and a few masks. Looks at me and says "I can tell you are a mouth breather" ( didn't mention my knuckles at least...). I had my nose operated on a couple years ago so I could finally breath through it after 40 years of not being able to except through one nostril. So I guess I did look like a mouth breather! Fits the Resmed f20 to me. Kind of smothers me..So out comes the Dreamweaver full face. That feels much better! But, she says it doesn't seal as good. OK, what do I know.

After the first night I was surprised at how much better I felt! I average over 7 hours per night and 100% compliance, for a beginner that looks like a good thing after reading some here. AHI under 2 on average. I cannot, won't, ignore how much better I feel so I WILL find what works best for me. Not quite 2 months yet.

The F20 works but my nose bridge didn't like it. I would also drool slightly and it was something I wanted to "wipe away" but fought the urge. So, like everything else I do, I started looking for something better. Bought the Dreamweaver full face that I had tried on at first. Ahhh...much more comfy. I was able to use it without any real leakage issues. One thing I don't like about full face is the heated air coming in. Feels wrong. So...

I order a Dreamweaver nasal pillow mask. The tube at the top of these is simply the least restrictive "forget about it" way of having the tube. But, it won't work on every mask! This made my nostrils sore, but I liked it very much. ( Didn't know about Lanolin cream then..) So I order the Dreamweaver nasal part without the pillows. I used this with zero irritation of any kind and actually quite good seal for quite a while. BUT..it mashes my hair down on top and it will not come back up! Look like I just had brain surgery! Plus, the air tubes are a little funky when side sleeping. But overall I could run this forever if needed.

Next comes an order for a Bravida and an Airfit N20 from Resmed. Wanted the N20 to try a nasal mask, the Brevida to see if it was more secure and of course the head band not being on top won't effect what hair I have. Brevida works very well! I learned here about using Lanolin creme and it really solved the nostril irritation! I would like to use the N20, but both nights with it I would wake up about 4 hours later thinking it was a good time to relieve myself. By the time I was done I couldn't breathe through my nose hardly at all! This N20 felt great going to bed, but for some reason my nasal passages must be unhappy with the pressure from the exterior? Both nights the same way, not sure if I woke because it was getting harder to breathe, but suspect that is part of it. Weird.

Bravida works well, but my AHI is higher with it? Seems like the pressure isn't as high with it, especially toward morning. Harder to breath? I am going to run it without the diffuser tonight, I wonder if that will allow it to seal better and maybe feel more like the other masks. It appears that my AHI goes up when the seal on it isn't as good even though it isn't leaking all that much. Anxious to try the "no diffuser" tonight.

I have a P10 on order, will be here Saturday.

I feel like I want the Bravida to work. It is comfortable. Maybe the P10 will be even better. After seeing how comfortable the Dreamwear nasal was, I wanted to try a few others before I settled on one or two as my standards.

Downloaded the Sleepyhead app. Nothing too out of whack there. It was very interesting to see where the AHI was higher along with the rise in leaks from last night. Maybe the Bravida doesn't seal as well as I was thinking.

Wow; someone who has tried the same masks as me in the 1st 2 months. I finally settled on a compromise between comfort, leaks, & AHI with the Dreamwear Nasal Cushion.

Like I mentioned above, If I had to use the Dreamwear nasal from now on I would be ok with that. Surprising how well it sealed! I tried wearing a motorcycle helmet liner under the headgear to keep it from permanently smashing my hair. Didn't really help. Been almost a week since using it and my hair still hasn't come back up much! That really isn't much to complain about I suppose.

My hair does the same thing, but I have enough natural curl in my hair, people just think it is a wave in my hair.

Tried the Brevida last night with no diffuser. It is more noisy, it does blow air onto you. More air than the Dreamwear and others I have used. But not a problem for me. The diffuser pretty much makes it as silent as can be and you just cannot feel air movement with it installed. But I do think I was able to breathe better with it removed. AHI night before last was 3.10, last night 2.08. I know one night of improved numbers doesn't mean much. Not long before wakeup time I did notice it seemed like my breathing was just about the same as when I went to bed, before it seemed like I wasn't getting as much air? That was over several days of use, so there is something to that.

May try the Airfit N20 nasal mask one more time tonight. I want to see if my nasal passages close up again using it.

P10 will be here Saturday......

Been using the P10 ever since it came out... summer 2015? Most nights, it is like wearing nothing! I often actually check to make certain that it is there!

realshelby wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 27, 2018 6:53 am

Tried the Brevida last night with no diffuser. It is more noisy, it does blow air onto you. More air than the Dreamwear and others I have used. But not a problem for me. The diffuser pretty much makes it as silent as can be and you just cannot feel air movement with it installed. But I do think I was able to breathe better with it removed. AHI night before last was 3.10, last night 2.08. I know one night of improved numbers doesn't mean much. Not long before wakeup time I did notice it seemed like my breathing was just about the same as when I went to bed, before it seemed like I wasn't getting as much air? That was over several days of use, so there is something to that.

May try the Airfit N20 nasal mask one more time tonight. I want to see if my nasal passages close up again using it.

P10 will be here Saturday......

I have been using the Brevida for as long as it has been available in the US (earlier, in fact - getting my initial supply from Canada). Your experience with removing the diffuser seems to mirror mine to a large degree. It does seems to be somewhat easier to exhale but not enough to make it a game-changer. If care is taken in adjusting the tension on the straps and positioning them the mask rests very lightly but very securely on the nose. Unlike some, I clean the cushion after each use but put it into a rotation with 6 other cushions so it only gets one use each week. Your response to the N20 was the same as mine, as well. I did not expect my sinuses to seize up as they did and my nose to feel cold and stuffy - that experiment lasted only a few nights - it is not something I want to repeat. One thing I noted in your initial post was the mention of the Dreamweaver mask - was that correct or were you referring to the DreamWear? If Dreamweaver is correct, I am surprised - I have never heard of a DME pulling out the Dreamweaver early or ever, in fact. All-in-all, you seem to be progressing very well; keep up the good work. Two suggestions, though: Download SleepyHead and use it; also making note in your profile of pressure settings will help others in responding to questions. (you can get SH from https://sleep.tnet.com it is under the equip & software tab - the current version is V1.0.0. beta 2)
One final note: your profile refers to the AS10 CPAP (which is the brick of the series) in your initial post you state that you got an AS10 AutoSet, essentially the top of the line in the AS10 series - some might argue the for her really is. You might want to correct it for clarity. In the pull-down listing of machines it has ResMed in front of the AirSense 10 AutoSet listing, not just AirSense.)

Good to hear your results with the Airfit N20 were about the same as mine. I read several article/forums looking for information about that and you are the first to post about it. I think I am done with the Airfit N20 also.

I didn't use the N20 last night as planned, my P10 came in! Very small and light. Done well with it last night but seemed to have several leak episodes. I did "butter" up my nostrils heavily with lanolin creme. That might be part of the problem as it seemed to slide too easily out of position. I will work on that tonight. Too early to tell if it would/could replace the Brevida. I find it interesting that you rotate that many cushions. Do you find that it keeps them from deforming as much when allowed to "rest" between uses?

I meant Dreamwear when I wrote Dreamweaver. I actually liked the Dreamwear full face well enough, but now that I have used nasal and nasal pillow masks the only reason I will keep a full face around is to use when I cannot breathe well through my nose for that night.

Changed my equipment list, did not see the correct unit when I filled that out the first time. Thank you! I have Sleepy head and will be following that. I like to see the leak information especially. Where do I find my "pressure settings"?

realshelby wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 28, 2018 6:09 am

I find it interesting that you rotate that many cushions. Do you find that it keeps them from deforming as much when allowed to "rest" between uses?

Changed my equipment list, did not see the correct unit when I filled that out the first time. Thank you! I have Sleepy head and will be following that. I like to see the leak information especially. Where do I find my "pressure settings"?

Deformation has not been an issue for me with the Brevida: its design, with the supporting buttresses and shape of the connecting cones are well supported by the air pressure in use. That also helps keep the pillow stable without over tightening headgear. I have found the range of tension achievable with the headgear to be more nuanced than I initially thought - that is because I realized fairly early on that the two points of adjustment need not be exactly equal or balanced (that is to say if one makes a one notch adjustment on one side the other side need not be done equally). Thus one ends up with twice the increments of adjustment available.
You state leak information is especially useful to you - I fully agree, in the past week or so I have begun synching oximetry data in SH and when I place the oxy graph immediately under the mask pressure and following the event flags section I can see clearly the direct correlation between desats and large leaks. It becomes abundantly clear why leak control is vital in therapy efficacy - without optimal leak control everything goes to hell.

In your equipment profile , pressure setting are not noted as machines and masks are - rather, they usually are stated in the notes section along with any additional pertinent information you may want.
EDIT: cut a section intended for another response.

I agree that the Bravida head gear can be tightened or loosened by one notch more or less on one side. Discovered that from examining mask after "adjusting" it while in bed to get a better fit.
My nose isn't all that straight and I find that all the nasal and pillow masks I wear tend to flow better when offset ever so slightly. One thing the Bravida does very well is adapt to wherever it is sitting to seal well.
Leak rate on the Resmed P10 wasn't as much as I thought. Actually very low. I assume that the way it leaked immediately woke me due to how the air was hitting me. Quick fix and back to sleep.
Figured out how to find the pressure settings on the Airsense 10 ( 4-20 ) and then realized they are shown on the Sleepy head chart!

realshelby wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 28, 2018 9:16 am

Figured out how to find the pressure settings on the Airsense 10 ( 4-20 ) and then realized they are shown on the Sleepy head chart!

In terms of setting up the AS10: if you set it up yourself you have already learned how to get into the clinical menu, so you adjust your pressure settings as needs must. One "feature" on the AS10 that is often overlooked early on is in the options section, deep in the menu - the first setting in it is essentials with two choices plus or on. Selecting plus allows you more choices in changing certain functions without going into the clinical menu. Plus seems to be most useful option. Earlier in the menu there is a section called response with two choices soft or standard. I don't know the exact difference (I'm sure someone can, though) but it seems to effect the response time and perhaps the comfort as well. This may well be one of the settings that should be dealt with very judiciously - the law of unintended consequences may rear its ugly head.

[quote=realshelby post_id=1260965 time=1532779775 user_id=87694
I didn't use the N20 last night as planned, my P10 came in! Very small and light. Done well with it last night but seemed to have several leak episodes. I did "butter" up my nostrils heavily with lanolin creme. That might be part of the problem as it seemed to slide too easily out of position. I will work on that tonight. Too early to tell if it would/could replace the Brevida.
[/quote]

yeah, you really don't want to do that. ask pugsy; she says she lathered on the lanolin and woke up in the middle of the night with her p10 in her ear!



a little dab'll do ya, as the kids today say....

Might try my mask: pillows and covers mouth so no loss of therapy air. Click on it in my signature to see it.

Phillips Nuance Pro arrived Sunday. I had used a version of these pillows with the Dreamwear system and found they irritated my nostrils. However, I have since discovered Lanolin cream and wanted to try this mask.
Best headgear out of any I have tried! First night was ok, nose didn't do bad at all. But there were leaks that I could detect. Sleepyhead said the leaks were actually less than other masks. Tossing and turning in bed would cause it to tend to block off airflow a bit to one nostril, not what I was hoping for. I spent some time yesterday double checking fit with the three size pillows. Stayed with the medium. Last night I could not fall asleep, I could feel slight leaks. Got up and washed all the lanolin from my nose and mask. Better, but still leaking very slightly under certain circumstances. When pulled tighter I sort of deformed my nose and couldn't breathe as well. After a while I took it off. Probably done with it.

I had the Bravida standing ready. Finished the night in it.

While I have bought 8 masks and am just at two months into this, what I have learned is worth it! First I am a nasal/nasal pillows user. Feel claustrophobic and don't like the feel of the warm air coming in a Full Face. Tried the Airfit N20 nasal mask. Really hoped this would work. Comfortable and sealed well. BUT, both nights, after about 4 hours my nasal passages became constricted and I had to remove it. Dreamwear nasal is very, very comfortable and works much better as far as sealing goes than it looks like it should. I have two problems with it. One the headpiece sits tightly in the exact spot each night. Which mashes my hair flat and nothing I do fixes the band of flat hair around my head! Lying on one side does slow air some, but it was also noisy to me. That said, I could use this all the time if I really wanted to. Good mask and I really liked the tube attachment at the top.

So, right now I have the Bravida and the P10 as the masks I want to and can use with confidence. The Bravida is proven to be comfortable and effective. You can literally bury your head in a pillow and is seems to hold seal. The diffuser makes this simply the quietest mask and there is almost NO way to feel the exhaust from it no matter how close your arm or whatever is to it! Need to use the P10 a few more nights in a row. I have two nights with it, stopped when the Nuance Pro arrived. I can certainly tell why the P10 is so popular. Very quiet, very light, and you don't see much of it when wearing it. I think I can get used to it so that my nostrils "break in" to it without using lanolin. I don't think there is another mask that I want to try for now. These two are the winners and I need to get some time with them. Maybe adjust the pressure....or not based on some more history. I appreciate the input and other info from y'all and hope this post helps someone else that may have a mask fetish!

I almost made the Brevida my primary mask and have the P10 fall to the number 2 spot.
I think I actually used it for 3 months.
The only thing keeping it from being number one was the inflate/deflate thing the pillows did with inhale and exhale (and for some people this isn't a problem) that I found slightly annoying. I could eventually tune it out though...so not a huge issue but that along with the overall slightly more bulkiness of the pillow compared to the P10 eventually caused me to go back to the P10. I simply prefer as little on my face as humanly possible and the slightly smaller footprint of the P10 pillows over the Brevida pillow won out.
It was a very close race though. I would say the P10 won by inches.