Swift Success!!!

roztom · Post by **roztom** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 9:14 am

Actually the Large seems to fit the best with the least leaks but I do have to have the pillows enter the nares. How do you get it so it just sits against your nares without getting leaks?

For me it seems it's not from irritation it's a sharp pain. Very weird.

BTW, where in NY are you? I used to live in Upstate NY & am orig from NYC.

Tom

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 9:57 am

roztom wrote:For me it seems it's not from irritation it's a sharp pain. Very weird.

Tom, I had the same problem the second night I was using mine and when I played around with it later, looking in the mirror for a while, concluded that it was painful whenever the extreme edge (where the air comes out) was touching the inside of my nostril. That kinda makes sense because the plastic there is square cut which means a sharper edge jabbing the inside of the nostril. I don't know how I even managed to sleep a while with it that way, but man, was it painful when I woke up, and my nose was just running something fierce.

I also noticed that even the Large size pillow was a little on the small side for me, and when I put the mask on part of the pillows tended to slip inside of my nostrils instead of just resting on the outside of the nares. I am able to reposition them a little though, so that they mostly rest on the outside of the nares.

The Swift is still leaky for me and I found myself fidgeting with it a lot last night, and the Encore Pro data shows a large leak at times. Not sure how much better I can get it though, given that the size is still a little smaller than optimum. Kinda sounds like maybe you've got a similar problem, Tom.

Regards,
Bill

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 9:58 am

Guested again. Hate it when that happens.

Regards,
Bill

roztom · Post by **roztom** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 10:11 am

Bill:

I don't know what to do next. It REALLY hurt during the night. It was ok for a few hours then I just HAD to remove it and go back to the Nasal.

It was like a fork was being jammed into my nostril. REALLY painful.

It seems large is the right size except for the length it extends into the nare.

I tried the Medium and had the same reaction - maybe I should try small ? MY nares are NOT small but they are slotted.

I wonder if anyone has had success cutting their pillows down so the part that goes into the nares isn't so long? Of course if that doesn't work might just screw up a good pillow.

Best,

Tom

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 10:41 am

roztom wrote:How do you get it so it just sits against your nares without getting leaks?

I think that must be what's causing your pain, Tom. You need the pillows to rest up against the outside of the nares. Also, you want to make sure that the sharp inside edge is not up against the inside of your nostrils (that's qhat caused me pain).

You could try what I did and just put the mask on in front a mirror and see if it's possible to position the pillows so that they rest on the outside of the nares. If that doesn't work, then I think I'd be considering another interface.

Size wise I think the Swift is a marginal interface for me, but even so it has some advantages. I'll probably end up trying another pillows interface, too. Might even see if there's some way to modify the Swift for a better, less leaky fit.

Regards,
Bill

sarnadle_vector · Post by **sarnadle_vector** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 10:42 am

My second night w/ the Swift was last night as well. I experienced some irritation the first night...and that was improved by going down to the medium pillows last night. However, this morning, my nose is pretty irritated, and there are some pimples forming. From what I have read in other posts..this may just be part of the "getting used to the swift" process. I reallllllllllly love the Swift and I'm going to make this thing work! I've been using AYR gel at night while I'm wearing the Swift...and now Neosporin during the day....we'll see how it goes. No real leak issues yet...

roztom · Post by **roztom** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 10:58 am

Hmmm, I'll be interested in seeing how it goes for all of you.

I'm not ready to throw in the pillow yet.

I'm going to play with the pillow size and see if that will make a difference.

I like the light weight feel of the Swift. I can sleep with the Nasal but the Swift is more comfortable (except for my raging nostril).

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for sharing.

Tom

roztom · Post by **roztom** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 11:01 am

Specifically is the Gel a topical ointment for chafing or are you putting some inside the nares?

I wonder how it has been successfully used?

Tom

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 11:20 am

roztom wrote:Specifically is the Gel a topical ointment for chafing or are you putting some inside the nares?

I wonder how it has been successfully used?

Tom

It's a very light gel that is used to lubricate anywhere the pillows come in contact with your nose (inside and out). It is saline based so it is safe to use with the mask materials. If you have chafing... during the day I would use a petroleum based product... the AYR is kind of "sloppy" to use during the day. You may get told to clean-up your nose. LOL!

yardbird · Post by **yardbird** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 12:30 pm

roztom wrote:Actually the Large seems to fit the best with the least leaks but I do have to have the pillows enter the nares. How do you get it so it just sits against your nares without getting leaks?

For me it seems it's not from irritation it's a sharp pain. Very weird.

BTW, where in NY are you? I used to live in Upstate NY & am orig from NYC.

Tom

OK... try loosening your straps a bit. You may simply be pulling it too hard into your nose. That was another thing I did. The air pressure should "inflate" the pillows and hold them AGAINST rather than inside your nares. And yes the pain was sharp. Kinda like someone was trying to pirce your nose for you.

And I'm about 7 miles east of Niagara Falls. In a little town called Cambria just outside the village of Sanborn. About a 30 minute drive south to get to Buffalo, NY.

roztom · Post by **roztom** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 2:31 pm

I'm going to change pillows and see what happens.

I used to live in Watertown, NY.

Thanks,

Tom

Aswab · Post by **Aswab** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 2:42 pm

I second what da' Bird says. I would get the same painful gouging or pinching feeling, particularly on the mediums. I went to the smalls and it got worse then I went to the large and made everyting pretty doggone loose and it all works. I rarely get any soreness or pain and what little I do is generally resolved by rotating the barrel just the tiniest bit and making sure the headgear is not too tight. I am messing with chinstraps and that makes for differences in how tight I need the headgear. Chinstraps are another discussion altogether, which I may offer now.

I did use a cortisoid cream briefly and it got me over the hump but I think it was because of the smaller pillows and the too tight gear.

David

yardbird · Post by **yardbird** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 3:36 pm

roztom,

Go up one size in the pillows. Loosen the straps until they are actually a bit too loose. Now... with your machine ON, start tightening the straps just a little bit at a time. Kind of balancing tightening between the top and the back. Keep going in VERY tiny adjustments until it just stops leaking. Now this all assumes that while you're adjusting the straps you might be making a little adjustment here or there to the "tilt" of the pillows. But it takes surprisingly LITTLE pressure from the straps to get this to seal.

Now... after you get it adjusted, you're not QUITE done... or at least I wasn't... I found that it was VERY susceptible to leaking caused by any kind of pressure on the barrel. Barrel touches pillow ever so slightly while I'm on my side.... leak. Hose has a little too much "drag" on it... leak. So using those very tiny adjustments to strap tension again I tightened straps ... hard to explain.. but very small amount.

Now I can sleep on my side, my stomach, flop the hose over my shoulder, lay it over my chest, run it up next my ear... and it takes quite a bit to get it leaking although I will admit that I get occasional leaks. But I don't think I'm getting leaks that I wouldn't have with any other mask if you put sideways pressure on them or angled pressure.... know what I mean? In fact, the flexibility of the pillows themselves might make this a little MORE leak resistant that a regular mask. I don't know. I just know how good I feel and I don't have anything running up between my EYES!

roztom · Post by **roztom** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 4:12 pm

I WILL NOT be denied !! I hope not anyway. I put the Large Pillows back in and adjusted it while lying in bed so that it doesn't leak.

I'm at 9 cm and it does feel like I've got a jet engine attached to my nose.

Last night I had my HH all the way up to 5. I had a lot of rainout. I'm going to back off the sauna a bit and route the hose so it's all downhill towards the humidifier - I'm going to have the connector tube point down so there isn't anywhere for the moisture to pool up.

I have some KY but I'm not sure it's worth it because the last time I used it I had a major sneeze attack & drained all day. At least last night, all I had was the pain. I guess that's progress.

I'm going to keep at it. MY record so far is 3 hours. I going for a personal best tonight...

Those who "plug & play" this interface are very fortunate.

Tom

roztom · Post by **roztom** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 2:46 pm

Three must be the charm!!

Making progress with the Swift.

I made it to 3 am with the Swift before I switched to my Nasal.

IT worked really well and NO PAIN this time. I used the Large Pillows and put more effort into adjusting it.

I turned the HH down to 3 to try to cut down on the rainout and I routed the hose tube down in front of me instead of over my head. This way I hoped that any rainout would drain back into to HH since my mask was higher than the tube or the feeder hose.

At 3 am there must have been some moisture in the barrel because it became very noisy - that's when I woke up and decided to give my nose a rest. I was so excited about it I had trouble getting back to sleep!

Those of you who have put mesh material in the barrel to quiet the exhaust, how much do you put it? A strip or do you fold a piece over in two?

I am very encouraged and I will get the heated hose when I can make it a full night without my nose taking a contract out on me.

Thanks for your help,

Tom

Swift Success!!!

Guested Again

AYR GEL

Re: AYR GEL

Swift Update