SleepWeaver 'elan' Fabric is better than silicone

I was diagnosed with severe OSA and commenced CPAP therapy in August 2012. I tried different masks that left red marks and tiny pustules and all in all I hated them all. I was surfing the net for anything other than silicone and found the Circadiance 'elan' fabric mask. Unfortunately the mask was too big for my nose but I loved the concept so much that I have altered it. It now fits me well and I sleep in comfort without my husband being fanned, no real marks on my face and hardly a leak. Since CPAP therapy I have had very little muscle pain in my shoulders (a considerable discomfort to me prior to the therapy) and my blood pressure and pulse rate have come down considerably. I can't say I feel that much more energetic but I do look forward to going to bed and don't need to go to the toilet frequently during the night. The problem I have is indigestion or upper gastric pain, but after reading this forum I feel it may be better to have my Auto-set range lowered. What a shame I will have to wait until Monday to address this problem.

Welcome to the forum! It is very common to completely eliminate the nightly bathroom breaks... or reduce them. What kinda fabric mask are you referring to? Please enter your equipment in the control panel. Why do you have to wait till Monday to lower your minimal pressure? Sorry for all the questions, but the lower end of the autoset mode is for comfort. The upper end is more important because that is the limit the machine will ramp up to treat an apnea.

Sheriff

If you would add your machine etc. through your Profile it would help immensely.

Someone will have the info to help you more access to your machine

Cheers,
xena

Oh, please, tell how you altered your élan.
I wear my élan almost exclusively, but it is still a bit big for my face
(fits my nose OK, but the "bunny cheeks" nearly cover my eyes,
putting the upper seam right in line to send just enough air leakage directly INTO my eyes.)
sheriff, this mask:

I should be getting my Elan today or tomorrow, so any and all pointers would be appreciated.

I've watched the video several times and I'm anxious to try it. It looks very comfortable... but we'll see.

I tried both the SleepWeaver Advance and Elan masks. I agree that the Elan is too big. I don't like the way it puffs up in front of my eyes. I settled on the Advance. Anyone who likes the Elan but finds it a little too big should definitely give the Advance a try. Since you can get 30-day money-back guarantee and try with no risk, why not?

Also noticed that the Elan doesn't rate as highly in user reviews:
3.5 of 5 114 Reviews - Elan
3.9 of 5 131 Reviews - Advance

I had the Advanced first and really liked it, but wasn't fond of the headgear that goes up across the head. Then I found out that the Elan was newer, and didn't have that headgear piece. I was anxious to give it a try. I did give it a good try, and just couldn't stop it from blowing air into my eyes. If I got it right and then turned over or bumped it slightly, it would blow that air into my eyes. Thank goodness for the return policy. I sent it back and told them to send me another Advanced. Sometimes newer isn't necessarily better. I love my Advanced!
Lori

I found the regular cushion on the élan had my "Goldilocks"-sized nose opening, while the hole in the
back of the Advance is a bit large, and the mask tends to wander about on my face.
I understand that Sleepweaver is listening to us, and I trust they are working hard to snatch
as many of us away from the 'big two' as they can. (Full face, guys --hint)

Sheriff Buford wrote:Welcome to the forum! It is very common to completely eliminate the nightly bathroom breaks... or reduce them. What kinda fabric mask are you referring to? Please enter your equipment in the control panel. Why do you have to wait till Monday to lower your minimal pressure? Sorry for all the questions, but the lower end of the autoset mode is for comfort. The upper end is more important because that is the limit the machine will ramp up to treat an apnea.

Sheriff

Everything about this is new to me, including replying to your questions. I have entered the equipment but don't know where to find the software details. My CPAP is set on Auto set from 4 - 20. I felt I needed to wait until Monday because my prescribed pressure was 11 and since using Auto set the pressure has gone up to 12.2. Obviously I needed 12.2 to treat my apnoeas but have been suffering from excess gas in the upper gastric region so need some advise, so felt I needed to wait for office hours to contact my therapist.

chunkyfrog wrote:Oh, please, tell how you altered your élan.
I wear my élan almost exclusively, but it is still a bit big for my face
(fits my nose OK, but the "bunny cheeks" nearly cover my eyes,
putting the upper seam right in line to send just enough air leakage directly INTO my eyes.)
sheriff, this mask:

If you can post me an email address, I will send you a photo of how I altered the mask. I am so new to this I don't know how I can show you any other way.

cherylgrrl wrote:I tried both the SleepWeaver Advance and Elan masks. I agree that the Elan is too big. I don't like the way it puffs up in front of my eyes. I settled on the Advance. Anyone who likes the Elan but finds it a little too big should definitely give the Advance a try. Since you can get 30-day money-back guarantee and try with no risk, why not?

Also noticed that the Elan doesn't rate as highly in user reviews:
3.5 of 5 114 Reviews - Elan
3.9 of 5 131 Reviews - Advance

Has the 'elan' been around as long as the Advance? That may have some impact on the reviews.

mon wrote:

Sheriff Buford wrote:Welcome to the forum! It is very common to completely eliminate the nightly bathroom breaks... or reduce them. What kinda fabric mask are you referring to? Please enter your equipment in the control panel. Why do you have to wait till Monday to lower your minimal pressure? Sorry for all the questions, but the lower end of the autoset mode is for comfort. The upper end is more important because that is the limit the machine will ramp up to treat an apnea.

Sheriff

Everything about this is new to me, including replying to your questions. I have entered the equipment but don't know where to find the software details. My CPAP is set on Auto set from 4 - 20. I felt I needed to wait until Monday because my prescribed pressure was 11 and since using Auto set the pressure has gone up to 12.2. Obviously I needed 12.2 to treat my apnoeas but have been suffering from excess gas in the upper gastric region so need some advise, so felt I needed to wait for office hours to contact my therapist.

Is the 12.2 your 95 percentile? The 4 - 20 pressure setting is very close to the minimal (4) and the maximum (20) of the machine, so I'm not sure what you want to increase. When you start out at night the pressure should be 4 (unless you are using the ramp feature). The autoset will increase to a pressure required to treat an apnea. Different apneas can be treated at different pressures. Once the apnea is treated, the pressure will reduce and hang around a reduced pressure until another apnea incident occurs. It may be reduced down to 4 or as in most cases a little higher.

chunkyfrog wrote:Oh, please, tell how you altered your élan.
I wear my élan almost exclusively, but it is still a bit big for my face
(fits my nose OK, but the "bunny cheeks" nearly cover my eyes,
putting the upper seam right in line to send just enough air leakage directly INTO my eyes.)
sheriff, this mask:

Chunky: is that you? It's funny how you communicate a long time with someone, have a "image" of the person in your mind, then actually see the person.

Sheriff

[quote="mon"Has the 'elan' been around as long as the Advance? That may have some impact on the reviews.[/quote]

The Advance has been around longer. I tried the Advance and couldn't get it off fast enough. The Elan came out in June 2012, I think.

My Elan came today and I spent most of the afternoon watching the video and putting on and taking off the mask. So far, it seems much, much, much better (to me) than the Advance. Tonight will be my first night on it, so we'll see how it goes. I have a feeling this is going to be a keeper.

This mask would be ideal for men... much easier with little or no hair... will have to deal with that tonight.

ems wrote:[quote="mon"Has the 'elan' been around as long as the Advance? That may have some impact on the reviews.

The Advance has been around longer. I tried the Advance and couldn't get it off fast enough. The Elan came out in June 2012, I think.

My Elan came today and I spent most of the afternoon watching the video and putting on and taking off the mask. So far, it seems much, much, much better (to me) than the Advance. Tonight will be my first night on it, so we'll see how it goes. I have a feeling this is going to be a keeper.

This mask would be ideal for men... much easier with little or no hair... will have to deal with that tonight.[/quote]