Mask hacks and other tweaks

A BIG thank you to all of you experienced folks out there who have posted ideas and methods for modifying masks, particularly the Hybrid. I've looked at many previous threads and I think I've finally beaten my Hybrid into submission because my leak line is now completely FLAT all night!!! Oh yeah, and my AHIs have been steadily declining, now down to .3 for a 7.5 hour night. I actually felt like I slept last night!

Things that worked for me:

Cut the chin flap off (and switched from a medium to a small mouthpiece)

Made some polar fleece strap covers

Tweaked the headgear so that the mask straps were not squishing my upper face/eyes (now the top strap sits way back on my head--also helps seal the mask better using less pressure)

and...the most important one....started with the rubberband trick for the nose pillows and modified that a wee bit to work for me. I couldn't seem to get the rubberband to quite work--the pressure on it would be a bit too high or something and after about an hour or so, I'd start to hear air escaping around where the pillow was inserted through the mouthpiece. It was weird and made no sense, but it would wake me up every 90 minutes or so all night. It was a very high pitched sound and I do seem to be very sensitive to that frequency. The only way to fix it was to fuss with the pillow and rubberband, sometimes had to pull the mouthpiece out and re-seat it. Whatta hassle in the middle of the night in the dark!

So....because (according to hubby) I do own every sewing supply and tool available, I decided to swap out the rubberband for some narrow elastic. Voila! I was able to fine tune the pressure of the band so that the pillows stayed in my nose, yet there were no micro-leaks causing noise.

I only woke up 3 times last night (a personal best!), and I was able to quickly go back to sleep. No idea why I woke up, but it's common for me....what isn't common is being able to go back to sleep.

I was even able to roll around without waking up much! Now that's a new thing with Darth (my cpap) because before changing positions meant having to reposition my mask. Not any more!

I sure hope this trend continues...dunno what I'll do if I actually have several consecutive nights of real sleep.....might have to think about cleaning the house or something with all that energy....

Weezy

Good for you! Now can I give you my address so you can come and clean up for me too?

Hi Doc-Wheezy, it sounds like you have done lots of experimenting with the mask. I am waiting for my Hybrid to arrive in the mail (possibly on a slow boat to Australia at the moment!). Could you please explain what you do with the thin elastic?
Thanks
Sue