help with Bella Loops

Ok. so I am thinking about trying the Bella Loops on my Swift FX. Are there Bella Loops for Him that I cannot find, or are these marketed and sized for women?

aTdHvAaNnKcSe
-tino

They are marketed for women but they will adjust out to accommodate the male head and ears just fine.
Not all women have tiny heads.
Lazer got some and he has done well with them.
So pink color marketed for women but the sizing in unisex. There's a lot of room for adjustment in those straps.

That is great...I think I found my next purchase. Not that the original headgear is bothering me, I just thought I would change it up.

-tino

Tino2You wrote:That is great...I think I found my next purchase. Not that the original headgear is bothering me, I just thought I would change it up.

-tino

If I already have the mask with the original headgear, can I buy just the bella loops? Or do I need anything else to connect them to the mask in place of the bella loops?

Bon Bon wrote:If I already have the mask with the original headgear, can I buy just the bella loops? Or do I need anything else to connect them to the mask in place of the bella loops?

You can just buy the Loops..they work by attaching to the nasal pillow thingies just like the regular straps have and hose assembly. Nothing else is needed.
Around $25 from what I have seen.

Edit....don't freak out when you see the Loops have notches in both sides...it doesn't matter...they still fit just fine.

Pugsy wrote:

Bon Bon wrote:If I already have the mask with the original headgear, can I buy just the bella loops? Or do I need anything else to connect them to the mask in place of the bella loops?

You can just buy the Loops..they work by attaching to the nasal pillow thingies just like the regular straps have and hose assembly. Nothing else is needed.
Around $25 from what I have seen.

Edit....don't freak out when you see the Loops have notches in both sides...it doesn't matter...they still fit just fine.

That's not a bad price. It seems like they'd be a little more comfortable than the original headgear? The fewer straps around my head the better.

Bon Bon wrote: That's not a bad price. It seems like they'd be a little more comfortable than the original headgear? The fewer straps around my head the better.

Well....I am going to be honest here...we are trading over the head stuff for around the ear stuff and the ears are a whole lot more sensitive than our heads are. And the tension on the Loops has to be just perfect and took me nearly a week to get it right.
Sometimes with just changing one notch on the loops each night. The balance has to be near perfect.

Couple of hints...don't try to adjust fit while sitting up...the weight of the short hose assembly tends to pull the loops a bit and just right sitting up meant too tight when laying down (for me anyway). I was way too tight the first nights.
If your ears have a little groove where they attach to your head...more chance of the Loops staying in place. If things are pretty level where the ear lobes attach then the loops don't have any place to rest and they tend to slide around.
If they slide just a little the top of the ear will fold over and that pinches and hurts especially when the loops are too tight to start with. I have a nice groove for the loops and I found that it would still sometimes slide out and pinch.

They are remarkably stable even when things seem loose. I don't like my hose routed over my head but I suspect that with proper overhead adjustment to allow for free moving hose (that hose is a troublemaker for the loops) it would do quite well.

I found that the little padded covers over the straps weren't quite enough to prevent cheek marks...but remember I am using a buckwheat pillow which pretty much doesn't have any give to it unless I make it give so just about anything will leave a mark on my cheeks if I lay on it long enough. Heck, even a wrinkle in the pillow case will...so as with anything regarding cpap stuff..YMMV.
I have Padacheek's side covers..extra padding that slides right over the side things..I leave the pink covers on...PITA to take off.
They work quite well for me. She also has some fleece covers for the Loops themselves..tiny little things and they do a really good job. I really didn't have that much problem with the feel of the loops behind and over my ears and loop covers for me weren't a critical issue.

My step sister had never used anything but an over the nose nasal mask which totally decimated her nose and didn't even know that nasal pillow masks existed....so her first trial with a nasal pillow mask was the Bella Loops. Absolutely loved them.
So much better than what she had been used to.. I gave her the traditional headgear to go with it but she says she prefers the Loops.

There doesn't seem to be much middle ground with the Bella Loops...either love them or hate them.
I actually go back and forth between the Loops and the traditional headgear. Sort of depends on my mood. The traditional headgear is put it on and forget it and the over the head stuff is not a huge problem but sometimes I am just tired of the "stuff on my head and face" so I will use the Loops for a while. Then maybe I wash my barrel cozy and stuff...then switch back to traditional for a while.

My suggestion would be to try the Loops if a person has a mind to and if only minor annoyance with the strap marks or behind the ear thing...add Padacheek's stuff. If you totally hate it...I doubt that Padacheek's stuff will turn a pig's ear into a silk purse.

2 drawbacks...that ear pinching thing for one and the weight of the short hose assembly for the other. I know it doesn't weigh all that much but it does sort of pull on the loops a bit...
Both can be managed though.

Once you get the loops adjusted just right...there isn't any need to change the adjustment but it can take a bit of adjustment getting there...too tight hurts and actually creates more leaks I found. Too loose and the darn hose will pull the cones right out of your nose with every little movement in bed. Once you get things situated though..you barely know they are there.

I bought the Bella Loops to go with my existing Swift FX. It took me a little while to get them sitting comfortably over my (very small) ears. In the mornings it still feels a little like I slept with my glasses on with the loops irritating behind my ears a little - even with the PadaCheek covers - but maybe it's my fault and I need to make some more adjustments.

Cheers,
xena

xenablue wrote:I bought the Bella Loops to go with my existing Swift FX. It took me a little while to get them sitting comfortably over my (very small) ears. In the mornings it still feels a little like I slept with my glasses on with the loops irritating behind my ears a little - even with the PadaCheek covers - but maybe it's my fault and I need to make some more adjustments.

I tend to have a little discomfort with the left ear..no matter what I do. Not huge enough to worry about but occasionally annoying.
I sleep on my left side a lot...probably has something to do with it.
Right ear never bothers me. Sometimes wonder if one ear is "off". Of course I blame the left ear.
Right ear... I never know the loops are there.

All this "Bella Loops" talk. I think I will switch back to them for a bit from the SleepWeaver Elan the next few nights! I liked them rather well and at least I will be able to see out my eyes again.

Pugsy wrote:I tend to have a little discomfort with the left ear..no matter what I do. Not huge enough to worry about but occasionally annoying.
I sleep on my left side a lot...probably has something to do with it.
Right ear never bothers me. Sometimes wonder if one ear is "off". Of course I blame the left ear.
Right ear... I never know the loops are there.

Thanks for the great information, Pugsy! Our host offered free shipping on the Bella Loops so I decided to go ahead and give them a try.

Between these Bella Loops, the o-rings that were recommended and my new buckwheat pillow I hope to be sleeping soundly again very soon. Now if I can just find a fix for that darned chinstrap!

Bon Bon wrote:

Pugsy wrote:I tend to have a little discomfort with the left ear..no matter what I do. Not huge enough to worry about but occasionally annoying.
I sleep on my left side a lot...probably has something to do with it.
Right ear never bothers me. Sometimes wonder if one ear is "off". Of course I blame the left ear.
Right ear... I never know the loops are there.

Thanks for the great information, Pugsy! Our host offered free shipping on the Bella Loops so I decided to go ahead and give them a try.

Between these Bella Loops, the o-rings that were recommended and my new buckwheat pillow I hope to be sleeping soundly again very soon. Now if I can just find a fix for that darned chinstrap!

BonBon, do you have a Swift FX? Your profile says Quatro FX. Not sure but I think the Bella Loops are only for the Swift FX.

-tino

Pugsy wrote:

xenablue wrote:I bought the Bella Loops to go with my existing Swift FX. It took me a little while to get them sitting comfortably over my (very small) ears. In the mornings it still feels a little like I slept with my glasses on with the loops irritating behind my ears a little - even with the PadaCheek covers - but maybe it's my fault and I need to make some more adjustments.

I tend to have a little discomfort with the left ear..no matter what I do. Not huge enough to worry about but occasionally annoying.
I sleep on my left side a lot...probably has something to do with it.
Right ear never bothers me. Sometimes wonder if one ear is "off". Of course I blame the left ear.
Right ear... I never know the loops are there.

LOL Pugsy - yeah that's prolly it - one of my ears is a bit "off" - I hope it's not the one they take a pic of for my green card LOL.

xena

Tino2You wrote:

Bon Bon wrote:

Pugsy wrote:I tend to have a little discomfort with the left ear..no matter what I do. Not huge enough to worry about but occasionally annoying.
I sleep on my left side a lot...probably has something to do with it.
Right ear never bothers me. Sometimes wonder if one ear is "off". Of course I blame the left ear.
Right ear... I never know the loops are there.

Thanks for the great information, Pugsy! Our host offered free shipping on the Bella Loops so I decided to go ahead and give them a try.

Between these Bella Loops, the o-rings that were recommended and my new buckwheat pillow I hope to be sleeping soundly again very soon. Now if I can just find a fix for that darned chinstrap!

BonBon, do you have a Swift FX? Your profile says Quatro FX. Not sure but I think the Bella Loops are only for the Swift FX.

-tino

Tino,

I have both masks, the Quattro FX being what I was using when I joined this forum. I'm struggling with a lot of leaks on that mask though, so I went back to the Swift FX and forgot to change my equipment profile. On my way to do that now. Thanks!

I'm not sure what went wrong last night. And I forgot my data card at home in the machine. All I know is I switched back to the "Bella Loops" with Swift FX last night and also wore the PapCap in an attempt to keep my mouth breathing minimized. I woke up before alarm this morning to 17+cm blasting and presumably major leakage at the nasal pillows as I could feel the air and it was rather disruptive. I actually went to bed early and should have logged 9+ hours of sleep but Zeo only gave me a 79 this mrng if I remember correctly. I'm a little out of whack this morning but made it to work and have my coffee so hoping to get it together in the next hour or so. Will be curious to look at my reports tonight and try to figure out what promoted the increase in cm to the point that it practically blew the FX out of my nostrils.

Otherwise the backs of my ears are a little sore this morning since I haven't worn the bellas in some time probably. I have a back ache but the marks on my face are drastically reduced since not wearing the SleepWeaver Elan for a night.

I seem to be caught up in a transition between two masks and deciding which one is going to work the best once again.

Yes, mask selection and adapting is the hardest barrier to this, plain and simply.