Can I have my own thread?

[-SWS]

....if I take many more nights...

I'm very uncomfortable with THAT language as well. Mentally you have ALREADY allowed for that possibility. Slippery slope, my friend...

Maybe SU would benefit by hearing anecdotes from other posters who found getting used to CPAP to be a huge challenge. What tricks did you use to stick with CPAP? I'm sure there are plenty of newcomers who will benefit from hearing your advice for SU. Sound off!

Help SU and others get back on CPAP!

[SleepingUgly]

Also, could folks please post whether they think a 6' long hose is enough to tie -SWS up with and also gag him? I do have an additional 18" or so with the hose from the Swift FX...

[-SWS]

Also, could folks please post whether they think a 6' long hose is enough to tie -SWS up with and also gag him? I do have an additional 18" or so with the hose from the Swift FX...

Above Words Translated: "Dear Fellow Hoseheads----Please help me with your uplifting CPAP stories or just 2x4 encouragement. Thank you in advance!"

[SleepingUgly]

Also, could folks please post whether they think a 6' long hose is enough to tie -SWS up with and also gag him? I do have an additional 18" or so with the hose from the Swift FX...

Above Words Translated: "Dear Fellow Hoseheads----Please help me with your uplifting CPAP stories or just 2x4 encouragement. Thank you in advance!"

Above words translated: If I'm not back on the hose within a day or two maximum, I will attend the nearest HA (Hoseheads Anonymous) meeting to discuss having fallen off the wagon. In the meantime, my fellow hoseheads, please help -SWS with his all-or-nothing thinking!!

[-SWS]

I call for other opinions.

[kteague]

Was just catching up a bit on this thread, and it jumps out at me how frequently you make reference to mask/hose stability issues. For those who are already prone to light sleep, that can be a nightmare. For 4 of my 5 years on CPAP I've used the Headrest mask. While I love the interface itself, the headgear has never worked well for me, so I've done the lab rat stuff to find what works for me. Unfortunately, what works wonderfully for a while can degrade to a miserable failure in a night. I had made a new headgear as I was moving a few months ago, and thought it was "the stuff". What I had not considered is that the very nature of spandex is to pull inward. Well. I'd start with it around my head and it would start crawling upward till it popped off... over and over all night long. Maddening, but in my mind I thought I was already awake with so many other issues so I was in no big rush to redo things. But last night the inspiration for a new rig hit me. Although this one isn't creepy-crawly, I can tell it's not the end-all, but is so much more stable. Went to sleep - woke up 5.5 hours later. I can't remember the last time that happened. Fell right back asleep after potty break, slept 3.5 more hours straight thru. I think I had underestimated the importance of a good fit. It sounds like you are trying everything to resolve your issues. I just want to encourage you to maintain that focus. I'm sure I'm not the only one who 5 years in still has to re-resolve some of the same old problems. It's that dangling carrot of sweet sleep that keeps us moving forward. Oh, by the way, the TENS Unit is working quite well. Now, if I took the time to use the TENS on each hand for carpal tunnel, and on the right hip and knee for pain, I might sleep like a log, but my bedtime prep time would be hours. LOL Hang in there.

[ozij]

Also, could folks please post whether they think a 6' long hose is enough to tie -SWS up with and also gag him? I do have an additional 18" or so with the hose from the Swift FX...

Nope.
-SWS is the staunchest of friends, and ungaggable.

Was just catching up a bit on this thread, and it jumps out at me how frequently you make reference to mask/hose stability issues. For those who are already prone to light sleep, that can be a nightmare.

Precisely, which is why I am far more concerned by the following, than by the break you took:

and set up the hose management system. The Hoze Boss is not set up properly because my headboard is in the way, so I had to adhere it to the headboard, which is too low. So it's not really retracting at all, and frankly, if it did, I think there's too much tension and it would yank my mask around and cause leaks. But it is holding the hose up a little, so I don't have to wake up so much to reorganize the hose while I sleep.[/quote\]

That is not good enough, and I'm ready to bet you won't accept substandard service from most other equipment you buy. Furthermore bad hose management when you're using a nasal pillows mask can cause sore nostrils. The hose management system is not there to "retract' the hose. It should by set up to let the hose dangle in such a way that the hose dangles loosely and follows when you turn over -- without creating pressure, or pulling and leaking.

By all means, take the break you need to let your nostrils heal - but in the kind spirit of "I have to make this more comfortable", not in a "stiff upper lip" spirit. Your upper lip relaxes anyway when you sleep....
If the Hoze Boss isn't doing the job, get another hose support system. And focus on making sure it give you leak free comfort.

[Slinky]

SU, what size mask do you usually use? Like what size is that Activa LT?. What are you using in your nose to heal it?

[KimberlyM]

SU, did you try the O-rings with the LT? They will hold the pillows so they don't move around in the nose and cause sores (at least in my experience). They also keep the pillows from moving further into your nose when you toss and turn. They don't work on the FX for me, just the LT. Just a thought for when your nose heals. Hang in there. Remember that while sleeping without the mask may lead to a deeper and more restorative sleep for you, it also sets you up for major health issues in the future. Those health issues, such as diabetes, heart disease and dementia will lead to less sleep and poor quality of life. Even if you don't feel the immediate benefits of CPAP now, you are protecting your brain and body.

[SleepingUgly]

The hose management system is not there to "retract' the hose.

That is how the Hoze Boss works--it has two pulleys that retract the hose. Maybe I should have bought something else, I don't know.

It should by set up to let the hose dangle in such a way that the hose dangles loosely and follows when you turn over -- without creating pressure, or pulling and leaking.

So because it is attached low and not retracting, it is sort of dangling. Which is the one you like?

[SleepingUgly]

SU, what size mask do you usually use? Like what size is that Activa LT?. What are you using in your nose to heal it?

In the Activa LT I'm using a Medium. In the Swift LT, I am using a Small, and in the Swift FX, I am using a Medium.

I am putting Bactroban on the sores.

[SleepingUgly]

SU, did you try the O-rings with the LT? They will hold the pillows so they don't move around in the nose and cause sores (at least in my experience). They also keep the pillows from moving further into your nose when you toss and turn. They don't work on the FX for me, just the LT.

I have added the O rings to the Swift FX, which is the one I've been using lately. It is possible that it's not a good one for me, or that the sores were developing before I switched to the FX with O rings and would have happened anyway.

Remember that while sleeping without the mask may lead to a deeper and more restorative sleep for you, it also sets you up for major health issues in the future. Those health issues, such as diabetes, heart disease and dementia will lead to less sleep and poor quality of life. Even if you don't feel the immediate benefits of CPAP now, you are protecting your brain and body.

That is true for people who desaturate. I don't really desaturate, so there's no real danger for me to not use CPAP, except that it is delaying my attempts at quality of life improvement...for which I'm very motivated.

[ozij]

For the first 5 years of therapy, I had a picture hook in the wall at about shoulder height, a shoelace tied to the hook on one side and to a hair scrunchy on the other, and the hose routed through the scruchy. That worked great when I was using my Headrest, the long shoelace supplying the necessary side to side swivel ability, and the scruchy adding some sping. I learned to make sure the mask wouldn't be pulled into my nose in a way that made it painful. Mask "unleakablility" was achieved by the way I attached the mask to my face - for me, the hose mangement system is only there to keep the hose tension from disloding / dragging the mask when I move.

When I switched to a full face mask I needed something to guide the hose from the side/front and not above the vent; that's when I bought the Hozzer.

[SleepingUgly]

For the first 5 years of therapy, I had a picture hook in the wall at about shoulder height, a shoelace tied to the hook on one side and to a hair scrunchy on the other, and the hose routed through the scruchy. That worked great when I was using my Headrest, the long shoelace supplying the necessary side to side swivel ability, and the scruchy adding some sping.

That sounds a bit like the Hoze Boss. Here is what it looks like:

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/pursle ... ystem.html

But unlike that picture, the cords are completely retracted, and it's basically just holding the hose with enough, but not too much, slack so that I can turn from side to side without having to rearrange the hose. It seemed to be working well before my trip, although stupidly I didn't measure exactly where I had it attached, which I should have.

[Rebecca R]

SU, what size mask do you usually use? Like what size is that Activa LT?. What are you using in your nose to heal it?

In the Activa LT I'm using a Medium. In the Swift LT, I am using a Small, and in the Swift FX, I am using a Medium.

I am putting Bactroban on the sores.

When I had problems with nose sores for about the third time, I tried OTC Polysporin antibiotic ointment at first, but I had already waited too long hoping it would go away on it's own and it didn't clear up. My doc said it was a common problem with nasal pillows and wrote me an Rx for a stronger antibiotic ointment. Bactroban is stronger than polysporin isn't it? Since then I have used it as soon as it starts to get painful and it clears up within one day. I am talking about sores on the inside of my nose, not the outside.

r

edit: I also switched to the next larger sized pillow to avoid irritation.