CPAPtalk.com

squid13 wrote:knk what size O ring do you use for those nasal pillows?

Here is the post that inspired me. And I find the size mentioned there works well with both the medium and the large pillows for the LT.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=45777&p=411389#p411149

Well I bought some O rings and put them under my Swift FX medium pillows and it sure made a difference. I didn't have to adjust them during the night and it improved the leak problem I was having. I tried them on my medium Hybrid pillows and it looks like they'll work on there to.

squid13 wrote:Well I bought some O rings and put them under my Swift FX medium pillows and it sure made a difference. I didn't have to adjust them during the night and it improved the leak problem I was having. I tried them on my medium Hybrid pillows and it looks like they'll work on there to.

That's GREAT news!

Where else but this forum can we learn stuff like this?

no one ever said --- what song was it singing????

fuzzy96 wrote:no one ever said --- what song was it singing????

From what I've read, I believe that most masks tend to sing either the theme to Phantom of the Opera or the theme to the Lone Ranger.

It's amazing how such a simple thing as an O ring can make cpap nights so much better. It makes my mask want to sing.

fuzzy96 wrote:no one ever said --- what song was it singing????

Mine just hums... prob cuz it don't know the words?

Ohhh, if I were the ornery type I'd drop the name of every earworm I can think of, right here!

Near as I can tell though, my mask was sticking pretty much with the minuet from the Grand Serenade for an Awful Lot of Winds.

Seriously though, thanks everybody for the suggestions (and the fun!). O-rings helped a lot, and pretty much took care of one source of leak. Now that the pillow leak is under control, I can tell that there is another leak from the ball-and-socket swivel where the two parts fit together. I haven't figured out how to hand that one yet, although I think I'll try taping the swivel joint to see how it does tonight. (I'll stay clear of the exhaust port!)

The first six weeks with this Opus mask were wonderful, but since it hasn't been mishandled in any way, either they aren't built to last, or I simply got a lemon. Time will tell.

Update -

Yesterday I totally disassembled and cleaned the whiny ball and socket joint on the mask. Last night I again used the O-rings on the pillows, and added a dental floss-tape crossed lasso to hold the two pillows at the correct distance for my particular nose. I had noticed that when pressurized, they were not only expanding (which the O-rings took care of) but they were also angling slightly farther apart than was comfortable, and that was also contributing to leaks.

I also changed my use of lanolin - instead of applying it directly to my nose, I spread a very thin coating right on the outer side of the tip of each pillow.

Result - I felt a huge difference in the overall seal, and breathing felt much more relaxed. With the cleaning and the pillows at optimum seal, the high-pitched whine from the ball and socket joint also went away. My AHI last night was 0.49, the lowest it's ever been, and the average and total leaks were also at the lowest I've seen since first starting cpap. As a result, I feel almost energetic today and with any luck at all the trend will continue

Thanks again for all the tips received here! Y'all are THE BEST.