New Swift FX Bella Mask.....

I want to thank Emilia for bringing this to my attention and everyone that has added information, as soon as I saw it, and someone added that they were on ebay, I ordered right then and they work very well for me, now just wish the pillows didn't bother me as bad. But I am gradually getting more used to them. I would probably never have heard about them if not for this site because my DME is so useless, After seening a list on this site about what medicare allows for replacement on mask & other supplies, I called them and she said "we don't do any of that because we are just to small" they have a place in St.Robert, Lebanon & Springfield MO. She even told me I wouldn't be able to ever read my own SD card, I would always have to bring it ot her. Right then I started calling to see if I could switch my business to another DME, and was told that I could. So I have started the process, I hope I have better luck this time, I just didn't know there was so much to it or I would have looked for sites like this before I started. Glad you are all here helping people.
Marce

A night using the earpadding liberated from a Zeo headband seems to work better for me than the Swift FX covers. It would be nice if they were a bit longer and thinner, though. It is also harder to keep the straps staight because of how loose the liberated padding is.

Tried the XSmall nasal pillow last night instead of the Small with the Bella Loops. It didn't help the leak much but man did it help the AHI. Look at that pie chart....For the whole night..
One each...Clear Airway, Obstructive, Hyponea and RERA. That will never happen again. I imagine it was just a fluke.

SH and Encore reports so the leak can be seen not so close up. While ugly line..it is within acceptable range and looks much worse than it is. I will add a bit more tension on the Loops tonight and see how it goes. Several awakenings last night (somewhat normal for me) so unsure if the leaks were the cause or not.

Interesting, Pugsy. I may have to give the Xsmall a try.

Do you (or anyone) notice that the pillows seem to fit differently with the Bella Loops? Wondering if it's just me???

I found that the angling of the pillows was a bit different, but with what I found to be better adjustability (or maybe that's just my padded tunnels talking). I find it easier to position my XS pillows without leaks with my padded Bella than with the standard for Her headgear. Just like with the standard headgear, I needed to remove my barrel cozy for the XS pillows to fit, but the better angle meant that I no longer had silicone resting on my face.

Hi, gang

I've read almost every post in this thread and have not found one that relates to the Bella and folks who have attached earlobes (ResMed does not recommend the Bella for people with attached lobes.).

Any reviews/critique/advice from those with attached earlobes?

Thanks so much,
welki

P.S. My DME had not heard of the Bella either; I sent her the info and she'll be ordering some for her clients

tetragon wrote:I found that the angling of the pillows was a bit different, but with what I found to be better adjustability (or maybe that's just my padded tunnels talking). I find it easier to position my XS pillows without leaks with my padded Bella than with the standard for Her headgear. Just like with the standard headgear, I needed to remove my barrel cozy for the XS pillows to fit, but the better angle meant that I no longer had silicone resting on my face.

Hmmm... will try with and without the cozy. Still tweaking but I know already that I would not go back to the standard headgear. The Bella Loops are wonderful! Last nite I made the side that I sleep on much looser - mostly the lower side. I may tighten a bit more tonight. May be why it seems to fit differently.

welki wrote:Any reviews/critique/advice from those with attached earlobes?

Closest I've got is semi-attached (or is that semi-detached). I think most of my fun with fit is unrelated to earlobes, and is due to the hidden side of otoplasty: what gets left behind the ears.

welki wrote: P.S. My DME had not heard of the Bella either; I sent her the info and she'll be ordering some for her clients

I asked my DME about it on a Friday (I think), they hadn't heard of it. The following Monday, the ResMed rep stopped by to introduce it, and was surprised by my RT already knowing about it.

I am lucky in that I have always been able to pretty much get the same results with either the XSmall and Small nasal pillows. All the way back to when I was first using the Swift LT as my primary mask when I started therapy. I have seen enough reports to know that I haven't really seen any marked difference in my reports. Unless I have similar results (compared to last night's results) the next few nights I am only going to chalk last night up to a random fluke.

I still use the barrel cozy. I like the way it feels. I guess I need to try the Loops without the cozy but I just am not motivated to do so. I like the cozy and prefer to use it and I don't see that any minor difference in AHI or leaks is going to make or break things for me. I can't say that I notice any huge difference in pillow placement with the Loops as opposed to the regular headgear but then again...I really didn't pay special attention to the angle of the pillow. I disassembled the headgear for cleaning when the Bella Loops arrived. I will try to reassemble it just like I had it to see if I can spot anything exciting in position or feel.

My only issue with the new Bella loops is that the strap wants to slide forward on the top of my ear with my rather active tossing and turning during the night. Small head, small ears and just not much room for the strap in the groove before it wants to slide out. I think once I get just the right tension figured out it will suit me quite well. I am almost there right now.

I'm amazed to be reading on this thread that some people can get away with sleeping on their side and/or can have significant head movements at night without encountering really significant leak problems. How do you guys manage to do that? Maybe I'm still to inexperienced (on CPAP for 2 months now), but I find not only must I sleep on my back, face straight up almost like a mummy (go ahead, laugh), but I need to avoid moving my head too much or I begin hearing the leaks around one or both pillows. I do keep the strap tensions on my Swift FX very light and comfortable so the sealing pillows and barrel cusion won't be compressed too much.

Now I wonder whether most people don't sleep mummy-like as I do, but move around a lot and/or sleep on their sides.

I have a very erratic time with the Swift FX. I got to the point where I could use it with no Lansinoh and my nose wouldn't hurt, and then it reverted to hurting. At times I can't get no leaks without having it so tight that my nose hurts and it leaves red rings around my nostrils, and other times I could. I honestly don't understand how, with as much experience as I have with this mask at this point, things aren't more consistent. Anyway, still waiting on DME for Bella information. They always seem to be the last to know everything.

If I could sleep on my back, mummy style as you call it, I would probably have the best cpap experience in my life. But with numerous spinal problems I can only find comfort on my stomach, thus head turning is constant to find any relief from an aching back.

Papit wrote:Now I wonder whether most people don't sleep mummy-like as I do, but move around a lot and/or sleep on their sides.

It is extremely painful for me to be on my back for any length of time due to some old fractures in my back and pelvis. I move around a lot. I sleep on my stomach some as well as turning over to either side.
I have used nothing but nasal pillows for nearly 3 years now. I have had some leaky times but the majority of the time my leaks have always been very minimal.

ems wrote:

FizzyWater wrote:

Pugsy wrote: Obviously you can buy online for $10 less than what DME charges but then you have shipping. Mine were sent to me in a Priority envelope so $5 shipping. I have seen some on Ebay already.

Yep, that's where I got mine. $24.95 with no extra shipping fee.

If $24.95 and no shipping charge... that's a really great price. That means you paid around $5.00 less than the rest of us.

Sorry, I went back and checked and it was the $26.95 one that others have quoted, with no shipping charge.

Papit wrote:Fizzy, You might try adding one of those so-called tube-management clips near the end of your mask's air tube. Then you can clip the tube to your collar or top so it doesn't flop around. Like you, I hate the tubes flopping around on any mask I have tried whether in bed or up to the bathroom.

Thanks, that's a good idea. I have a tube hanger, too, but it's on the side of the bed since I took my last trip - I haven't taken the time to rig it back up from behind, which makes a difference.