CPAPtalk.com

Hey, R&R and Onlyme. Let me answer you both one at a time.

Onlyme: The DME I deal with is Apria Healthcare. They have been wonderful. HOWEVER...they made a mistake when they told me they could throw in my new Swift as a coutesy. They explained to me that they didn't know I already got two different masks one week or so apart when I started in June and they didn't get paid for the second. The second was a courtesy mask. So they can't do it again now, at the end of July. I understood, went onto an auction on Yahoo and got the mask, brand new, for $66 plus 10 shipping. Saved a good $30 or so from buying it on this site or any other site, maybe more if I went to CPAP Man who charges a fortune for this mask. Anyhow, I pick up the Remstar Auto w/C-Flex on Thursday of next week. Decided there was no rush since I have have to receive the mask from the person I won the auction from. So that's the story.

R&R: I know we all go through it. I just felt like I was filling too many pages with too many posts with too many complaints. The way I feel now? Last night I was able to get the Breeze, with two stretch headbands, lots of paper medical tape and the large pillows, to work pretty leak-free. But I still felt it was too heavy of a headgear and woke up at 1 AM and switched it back to my Activa. I just don't really like the Breeze. Not only do I really have to put what I consider too much pressure again my nose to really seal it, but the headgear is clumsy and too darn heavy, no matter how you rig it up, and it's just not a comfortable mask to wear. I am thinking of either selling it on an auction or maybe to someone on this site that would like to buy a Breeze used one week, without pillows of course, to try to recoup some of the lost finances this past week from having to purchase two masks, one with overight s/h, the pillow, etc. From all I hear, the Swift is supposed to be very, very lightweight, and, with a little inconvenience, something you really can get used to side sleeping with. I did buy the Target shapeable pillow but it's smaller than the king pillow Im used to sleeping with, so I'll have to see if it will work with it when I get it. But I hope it doesn't leak. That would convince me that maybe I am just not designed to wear a nasal pillow interface. We'll see.
I appreciate your kind words and your trying to make me feel like I wasn't really complaining. But if I were to re-read all the posts I've written about my experience with the Breeze over the past week, I'm sure I'd feel like a whiner. Don't like to whine and don't ever want to become someone who does.
So off to a new adventure. I pray the Swift comes soon and then maybe between that and the new machine, I will get some good sleep.
Sorry to hear you don't get eight hours straight sleep either, and it amazes me when I read the threads from people who actually do. Do you think we'll ever get that? Maybe once they come out with that perfect mask that fits us like stretch mittens fit our fingers. Until then, get yourself as much rest as possible. Thanks for the support, as usual.

Sleepless,

No prpblem hon, I am just grateful to get eight hours a night sleep even if I do have to wake up a few times a night and adjust and go back to sleep. For years I was lucky to get two or three or none. As my prostate ages, I have to get up a few times during the night anyway Just don't expect the Swift to be a miracle mask. It is not but it is light, non cumberson, comfortable and it is almost impossible to break. You will have to find the best place to tie off the hose to the headgear. some like it down low, some high, I am a high. You will also have to determine which pillows are right for you. They come with three. I really would find it hard to believe you would need an extra large, I know some big snozzed men that are not and you don't strike me as a Jimmy Derrante type.

Good luck and do learn to accept your sleep in stages and not straight through. While there are a few, most of us do not.

R&R:
I have to say, I am no longer thinking I will ever get a full straight night's sleep, but my sleep that I get now is energizing. Who could ask for anything more? No more exhausted mornings and no more of my 4 PM "put toothpicks to hold the eyelids up" afternoons. I do feel 99.9% better.
I am up right now at 4 AM, though, as I have been for the past week, with the weirdest thing which is going to make me sound like a whacko. My left arm gets this horrible restless feeling and there is no position I can lay in, once I wake up at about 3 AM, to fall back to sleep. I am thinking I may need to consult a cardiologist as it makes my heart race. This is getting ridiculous. And the only way I fall asleep initially at night is if I take 5 mgs. of valium to knock myself out so I don't feel the stressed arm. I am going to call the doctor today and get a referral. This is starting to really stress me out.
Anyway, I promise not to expect the Swift to be a miracle mask. Just really looking for something comfortable that doesn't leak TOO much. But I will take your advice and start accepting my sleep with interruptions until the day they change things for the better.
As always, thanks for your kind words and great insight. Have a good day!

Lori,

I did not use the Swift for a long time--about 2-3 weeks--but the main complaint I had was that as a side sleeper, it kept waking me up when I shifted positions. The straps also kept slipping around on my hair, which would cause leaks.

Many have posted fixes for the Swift since, but I was a newbie and never thought the masks would NEED fixes....

However, I found that I had to readjust it (straps and all) every night for at least 5 minutes. Once that was done, things progressed.

I believe I could have learned to use the Swift more effectively, and the thought of returning is always in the back of my mind. It has a LOT to recommend it.

It is so hard to be so frustrated, isn't it? Doesn't it just seem that there should be enough adaptations to keep one happy with a mask? It seems that you will soon find one to keep you going, but are any of us truly satisfied? It seems we are all looking for the new and improved.

Let us know how it goes.

Karen

Karen,
Lori's post is from last summer! You can find the date on the subject line.

O.