New Respironics ComfortCurve

AllShookUp · Post by **AllShookUp** » Fri May 20, 2005 6:48 pm

Dan01
After removing the cheekpads I attached some velcro (smooth side sticky back) to the plastic bridge. I then cut a piece of 3/4" elastic to fit around my head but attach to the bridge. Sewed velcro (the rough side) on the ends of this elastic. Very simple to do. I then bought some cosmetic sponges and cut to fit the spot that the cheekpads used to be (made a small pillow case for these sponges because I don't know if contact with skin might cause problems). I attach both sides of strap, hold the pads in place as I push up to my face then slide the strap down my head. Turn on my machine and pull the mask over my nose. What a great suction and the mask is now comfortable for side sleeping. My strap fits just above my ears and never slips out of place. You may find that you need a smaller mask size now.

Newsgrouper · Post by **Newsgrouper** » Fri May 20, 2005 7:35 pm

I have no knowledge of physics but can someone explain how positive pressure can create a "suction" on with the nose piece?

Dan01 · Post by **Dan01** » Fri May 20, 2005 10:30 pm

AllShookUp wrote:Dan01
After removing the cheekpads I attached some velcro (smooth side sticky back) to the plastic bridge. I then cut a piece of 3/4" elastic to fit around my head but attach to the bridge. Sewed velcro (the rough side) on the ends of this elastic. Very simple to do. I then bought some cosmetic sponges and cut to fit the spot that the cheekpads used to be (made a small pillow case for these sponges because I don't know if contact with skin might cause problems). I attach both sides of strap, hold the pads in place as I push up to my face then slide the strap down my head. Turn on my machine and pull the mask over my nose. What a great suction and the mask is now comfortable for side sleeping. My strap fits just above my ears and never slips out of place. You may find that you need a smaller mask size now.

I am going to print this and have my wife fix mine up.

Thank you very much. The mask fits great, but laying on my side is a problem. The pads push on my cheeks.

AllShookUp · Post by **AllShookUp** » Sat May 21, 2005 4:29 am

I don't know, maybe it has something to do with the exhaust. All I know is it sucks onto your nose almost automatically as soon as you get it close to your nose. Funny huh! Must be trying to compensate for a leak

DrDroopy · Post by **DrDroopy** » Sat May 21, 2005 7:40 am

I must have extraordinarily dense cheeks. I got home late last night and yanked on the CC without turning on the lights. I woke up this morning and discovered that I had forgotten to put the silicon cheek pads on the dumb thing. I had taken them off to wash them yesterday and this morning I found them lying by the sink. I slept all night on the hard plastic without noticing the difference. Mostly wanted to mention that I think part of the reason for this is that I am continuing to have good luck with using the It Stays adhesive to stop many of the small leaks, so I have been able to loosen the straps and the pads sit pretty lightly on my face. Of course, that doesn't account for the fact that I didn't notice when sleeping on my side!

AllShookUp · Post by **AllShookUp** » Sat May 21, 2005 8:44 am

DrDroopy,
Funny how the CC mask is still comfortable no matter what you do to it huh (at least for some of us). This is one that you just gotta make work for you. I thought the silicon pads didn't cushion that plastic cheek pad very much anyway (probably why you didn't notice). With the cheek pads removed this mask is really light and add that lightweight hose... I hardly notice I'm wearing one. I really love mine now. Catching up on that week I lost my sleep while wrestling this one.

Sending some positive vibes to all the CC users

JerryR · Post by **JerryR** » Sat May 21, 2005 9:53 pm

AllShookUp wrote:DrDroopy,
Funny how the CC mask is still comfortable no matter what you do to it huh (at least for some of us). This is one that you just gotta make work for you. I thought the silicon pads didn't cushion that plastic cheek pad very much anyway (probably why you didn't notice). With the cheek pads removed this mask is really light and add that lightweight hose... I hardly notice I'm wearing one. I really love mine now. Catching up on that week I lost my sleep while wrestling this one.

Sending some positive vibes to all the CC users :wink:

So..........you simply removed the cheek pads? Replace them with anything? Added a strap?

DrDroopy · Post by **DrDroopy** » Sun May 22, 2005 5:53 am

All Shook Up,

Two nights ago, it was quite inadvertant. I had removed the silicon pad pieces that morning to wash them, and I went to bed in the dark, so didn't notice they weren't there. Last night I did it on purpose -- left them off and didn't use anything to pad the plastic "wings". I agree with your previous post -- it made the mask really lightweight and I am certain that the mask sat better on my face and sealed better. It was comfortable -- didn't bother me at all even when I slept on my side. However, I did wake up with some indentations on my face. Someone wrote about removing the cheek piece altogether and fashioning a new strap and I may try that when I have time, but for today I'm going to buy some moleskin with adhesive on the back to soften the plastic. The strap seems to be fine as is, but unless I fashioned a new strap as was recommended on the forum before, I could not get rid of those plastic wings. I'll let you know how the moleskin goes.

AllShookUp · Post by **AllShookUp** » Sun May 22, 2005 8:12 am

DrDroopy

Ditch those cheek pads, they are a pain in the ...
Easy to attach a simple strap with stick-on velcro.
Your newly modified CC will finally let you sleep without fighting it all night!

mikemoran · Post by **mikemoran** » Sun May 22, 2005 11:39 am

Dr Droopy

I think you are really on to something here. I've been battling my CC for the last three days. The only way I could get it toseal properly was tighten the hell out of it which put a lot of pressure on my cheek bones. It was like the itnerface was too far forward of my nose so I was compressing the pads as much as possible. As soon as i would turn on my side forget it, leak city.

Following your lead I took off the pads and used moleskin. Now the interface is just right and when I roll on my side the seal doesn't break. My face is now resting on my cheekbone not on the CC. Will put it through the sleep test tonight. Finally have hope that this will work. thanks

I thought about using a separate strap but the angle of the pads does keep it in just the right position for my nose.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Sun May 22, 2005 12:49 pm

Gotta love resourceful lab rats that are willing to modify masks, sometimes drastically. Warms my heart!

Newsgrouper · Post by **Newsgrouper** » Sun May 22, 2005 12:56 pm

I removed the silicon cheek pads and replaced them with ovals of moleskin. Much more comfortable and stays put without an extra strap. My cheek bones seem to fit "into the: CC cheek pieces, better distributing the pressure. For some reason I can now use both the medium and large nose pieces where before I could only use then large.

snork1 · Post by **snork1** » Sun May 22, 2005 8:38 pm

I don't have THIS interface YET, but...
Has anyone tried the teflon plumbers tape instead of saran wrap for the leaky hose connection problem? The Teflon tape works great for sealing a leak that developed on the dead end of my Swift.

Removing the cheek pads improves the CC! This cracks me up. Amazing the ingenuity and resourcefulness of PAP users! Too bad the companies making this stuff can't tap into that knowledge base. Maybe actually DO the home trials they should be doing, and not just holding any "testing" to just determining if the person was still alive in the morning.

Funny how everyone gets so riled over "animal testing" but we as humans seem to be used as lab rats on a regular basis, and no one squawks a bit. Even though we are buying this stuff as "finished" product.

Keep up the great creativity everyone and know that at least the CPAP'ers appreciate you stepping up to be "first users".

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Sun May 22, 2005 11:08 pm

Excerpt from the Comfort Curve interview with Justin Crout, Respironics Product Manager, Patient Interface, where he explains how much testing they do during development:

cpaptalk's pre-release interview with Respironics about the Comfort Curve

"The testing that we perform depends on how far along we are in the progress of development and typically involves hundreds of participants. We test our products on real CPAP users (new and current) that wear the product night-after-night for extended periods of time." (emphasis, mine)

Soooooo... hundreds of lab rats prior to the release didn't notice a leaky elbow? Or maybe it's a matter of semantics and the "progress of development" includes the "hundreds" they sell their masks to later.

What I'd like to know is -- does anyone find that the cheek pads can actually sit under the cheekbones, the way Mr. Crout describes it here??

"The silicone cheek pads are designed to rest under the cheek bones."

Perhaps it's just a matter of face size (average woman's face, here) but a goodly portion of those huge cheek slabs were uncomfortably on my cheekbones, not just resting under them. I sure can understand why some have ditched the cheek slabs and are into their own "progress of development" to try to make it work better. Wonder if any of the "hundreds" who came before did anything like that?

Even though we are buying this stuff as "finished" product.

Not only that, but as a "finished" non-returnable product. Amazing, when you think about how important a mask is to such a crucial treatment...this business of not even getting to try out the fit for one full night of real sleeping conditions at home. There's a lot more profit, though, in selling non-returnable items, whether a patient can actually use them or not.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon May 23, 2005 5:46 am

rested gal
I did actually get the cheek pads to fit below my cheek bones but did they rest comfortably. Not! For me the only way of sleeping on my side without a major leak was to have them below my cheek bones, but the longer they were in that position the more I hated the mask. Made me feel as though my face was in a vice. Took it as long as I could then ripped the mask off. I finally ditched the entire cheek rest.

snork 1
I too changed from saran wrap to plumbers tape, works much better for me.

Now 100% happy with my CC

New Respironics ComfortCurve

teflon tape?