Respironics Wisp - First Impressions

RippersVF2 wrote:I have been using the Wisp for about a week now, and I really like it. I was using a Quattro FX but was having leak issues. I was never able to use the auto setting because I would wake up in the middle of the night with major leaks. Now for the past 2 nights I have used auto set at 9 to 16 and have no issue and an AHI of .51! So far so good! Oh and I was nervous about spending the money on a nasal mask because typically I am a mouth breather, but i guess I have trained myself to keep my mouth during sleep. I ordered mine with the silicone headgear and use the medium cushion. At first I tried the large, just because I was used to having a FFM, but after using the fitting guide the Wisp came with, switched to the Medium and has been just fine.

RippersVF2,

Could you describe this "fitting guide" that came with your Wisp? I looked last night through the package contents and didn't find anything like that. Hope I didn't misplace part of the paperwork.

Nevertheless, I followed your example and switched from the Large to the Medium cushion last night, and was surprised to find that it fit me at all, and in fact fit me better and reduced my leak number.

Thanks!

Regards, Nate

Hi, The fitting guide is a single sheet of white paper, approx. 6 1/2" by 2 1/2" , there is an indent you can put your nose next to to size.
Large is 1 7/8- 2"
Small/Medium is 1 1/2"
Petite 1 1/8"
Looks like you would measure from the very outside edge of your nose.
Hope this helps.
I got great numbers using this last night.
Kathy

mrsbongo1 wrote:Hi, The fitting guide is a single sheet of white paper, approx. 6 1/2" by 2 1/2" , there is an indent you can put your nose next to to size.
Large is 1 7/8- 2"
Small/Medium is 1 1/2"
Petite 1 1/8"
Looks like you would measure from the very outside edge of your nose.
Hope this helps.
I got great numbers using this last night.
Kathy

Thanks a lot, Kathy!

Regards, Nate

Interesting input about the Wisp. Thanks you all.

We have been using the Wisp for about 2 months now at the DME I work at. The Respironics rep came out and demonstrated and we started to carry it. For the most part it has been a very successful mask for may patients we have tried it on. We just started getting complaints that the headgear was breaking (cloth) at the clip area as mentioned here. When we mentioned this to the rep. he sent us some new headgears and told us that Respironics is working on a solution but I have not seen it yet.
Most patients seem to like the cloth headgear but the silicone one does seem to be stronger.
I have not seen a package that comes with both headgears.
So far the wisp and the F&P Eson mask have been pretty good maskfor us and our patients.
Hopefully Respironics will fix the clip problem soon.

There is no packing that includes both headgears.

My DME gave me the Wisp with the fabric headgear plus 2 separate packages of which each package included a single headgear (1 silicone & 1 fabric)

My RT just brought me a Wisp and on his recomendation I reluctantly agreed to try it since he had nothing else he felt would be better and nothing that interested me. All I have worn so far is nasal pillows and only week+ in a Pillairo so this is quite a drastic change. I didn't like tight feel of the medium so he tried a large cushion and tho it rested much more comfortably it wouldn't seal.

Thinking I so understand already why Pugsy doesn't want anything but nasal pillows.

I have one question to those of you who use or have used the wisp or other nasal masks.

Is there a learning or toleration curve to dealing with the silicone resting so tight in the crevice of your nostril/cheek, close under your nose and resting on your upper nose?

I spent 30 mins testing it, couldn't get past the irritation of the silicone so close fitting around and under my nose but I have never worn a nasal mask so this is quite a change. I plan to try to use it but am not anxiously looking forward to it.

Still, on the plus side, this wisp is amazingly quiet, very easy to breath, very light hose, and very stable for side sleeping even tho I found the headgear to be a bit challenging to clip on/off.

DJD52 wrote:
Still, on the plus side, this wisp is amazingly quiet, very easy to breath, very light hose, and very stable for side sleeping even tho I found the headgear to be a bit challenging to clip on/off.

First response, perhaps more later: Don't clip it on and off. Get it set comfortably loose, leave it clipped that way. When you want to put it on, place the nosepiece gently over your nose with one hand, and then pull the headgear over the top of your head and into place with the other hand, the same as if you were putting on a hat or cap. (Maybe like you would be putting on a baseball cap but instead of holding the bill of the cap you are holding the nosepiece with one hand and the back of the headgear where the writing is with the other hand.) Then, to fine-tune, make sure the circular part of the headgear is encircling the crown of your head. The front straps across your face should not be so tight as to squeeze your face or your nose. Adjust so that the nosepiece sort of "floats" over your nose. If it is squeezing or pressing, you either have it too tight or are using the wrong size nosepiece.

Regards, Nate

RoRo wrote:RogerSC,
I use the Wisp and have a moustache. It is now my primary mask, very comfortable and good seal. No large leaks even going from side to side..

Just came back to this thread to see what's going on. The Wisp is the next mask that I'm going to try, it sounds promising. So I really appreciate the response about the moustache, since this was the last thing that was holding me back from trying it.

Sorry for the late thanks, but thanks again *smile*.

Thank you Nate,
I tried pulling it on w/o undoing the clips and that certainly simplifies that part at least for now. The headgear was on with the crown encircled, but thanks for the suggestion to check the front straps. I'm not sure what the RT adjusted to stop the leaks into my eyes. If you ran your finger flat down your cheek against your nose/nostril and curved around the bottom of your nose that is where this fits me. The large reaches from the bridge of my nose to literally touch my top lip so I think this medium must be right? I could very well be in shock feeling the close contact with a nasal pillow for the first time. If I can adjust to the uncomfortable feeling of the silicone so close to my nose, this mask has some nice pros I'm pretty pleased with. I'm really new to this but from what I read in this group there are pros and cons to every mask. I hope to tolerate this tonight as my nose needs a break from nasal pillows.
I may wake up to a red sore area the whole way around my nose but the inside may be smiling. Then again, ALL may just be totally fine!

Thanks!

DJD52 wrote: … If you ran your finger flat down your cheek against your nose/nostril and curved around the bottom of your nose that is where this fits me. The large reaches from the bridge of my nose to literally touch my top lip so I think this medium must be right? I could very well be in shock feeling the close contact with a nasal pillow for the first time. If I can adjust to the uncomfortable feeling of the silicone so close to my nose…

Good Morning, DJD52,

As I was putting my Wisp on last night, I got to thinking about the above portion of your posted comment and traced my finger around the side of the mask to see exactly where it rides, because it seems to feel so naturally comfortable on me. Possibly the reason is because I wear glasses, so the sensation of something straddling my nose is not unfamiliar to me.

On the other hand, it made me wonder whether you are trying to enclose the entire top of your nose, placing the upper angled portion of the cushion against your face rather than your nose. If so, that could force the nosepiece to constantly touch the "tip" of your nose, which would likely feel unpleasant. I wear mine so that the two sides of the upper angle straddle the sides of my nose but do not go up so far as to touch my face.

To use an analogy to wearing glasses, I wear mine the way one would wear "reading glasses" not "distance view glasses" or "bifocals." No part of the Wisp touches the tip of my nose, and the top of the Wisp rides partway down my nose, not at the top,

Maybe this additional detail might be helpful to you. Not sure, but thought I'd pass it along.

Regards, Nate

The Wisp is the only mask I have ever used for any length of time. Of course I've been on CPAP all of two weeks. But I love it!

One thing my RT/RN/DME taught me to do with the Wisp was to put it on and then when the CPAP starts to blow pull the mask away from my nose and let it settle back down. This gets the "pillow" part inflated properly and will help ensure that it is sealed well. Washing your face just before bed and washing the body oil off the mask every morning is also important as the slight tackiness of the mask helps to seal it.

If you set the mask on your hand when you are washing it and run water in the hose connector side you will see/feel the "pillows" inflating and trying to seal against your hand. Somewhat amazing how conforming they can be.

I'm using the fabric headgear and being very careful with it. Haven't tried the silicone version, yet. Hopefully a new and improved fabric one will appear on the market shortly.

The one thing that I am a bit worried about is the connector on the mask/hose interface. Those tabs look like they would be very easy to break off. I don't have a spare hose, yet...soon.

Good day Nate,
It almost sounded like you know me. Can't imagine the wisp nasal cushion would fit even my nose upside down or sideways. Tho I can well imagine me trying it upside down or something and thinking wth? Thank you for you input and I do appreciate your input, esp how it shouldn't feel tight. You can see I'm not very good at explaining things and it's why I don't post or comment too often but hopefully my attempts at eplanations can bring a chuckle.

I used it last night, slept soundly until near 3am and woke up only due to the wisp digging a groove under my nose, but the rest wasn't bad. I tried my best to do a few adjustments to the straps but all I did was create leaks. I finished out the night with a nasal pillow mask I already understood. I think the wisp was indeed adjusted too tight by the RT. I started over with the wisp today, making sure it fit like the videos show it should, and as you stated yesterday, then put it back on and put the hose to it. It didn't feel so tight against my face beside/under/over my nose and the tip of my nose wasn't touching inside the mask. I had no leaks even if I tried to smash my cheek into the pillow. I have a feeling the RT was in a hurry when he came here that when he encountered eye leaks he "cinched er down" to stop those.
BTW, I have worn glasses since I was 10. The way the RT had the wisp adjusted there was no way to even put glasses on, but after I loosened it up today I can slide them on right under the sides of the head gear.
I will let you know how next night goes. Thanks again for commenting.

Kim, the wisp is my second mask. I haven't been on cpap for 2 weeks as yet so very much a newbie to everything.
My RT showed me to do the same thing when putting on the Wisp, but I couldn't pull the wisp away to reseat it very well the way he adjusted it, more like just lift it away a little. Now I can pull it away to hopefully reseat/reseal.
I am also using the fabric headgear and I don't
have a spare hose either. Didn't even think of that!

Glad to know you are really liking your Wisp!

Hello, I've been using the WISP for about 3 weeks now, but unfortunately I've had to give up on it.

This is a very nice small and lightweight mask. It has a very nice soft flexible seal. The flap of the seal points inward so that as the mask pressurizes the seal tries to expand outward and seals even better against your nose and face.

For me the problem was that the mask gradually started causing redness and a "welt" on the bridge of my nose. Each successive night just caused the redness to get worse. I'm not certain why it was doing this, the mask was adjusted with the DME's help so that it was extremely loose and slightly leaking, then a final bare minimum adjustment to stop the leaks. The DME said the mask is just supposed to "hover" over your nose. In my case I think the air pressure was causing the seal flap to "wedge" into the bridge of my nose.

I tried both the fabric and silcone headgear; both were fine although the silicone seemed like it would be a lot more durable. The plastic clips were difficult to detach and looked fragile.

I even stopped using it for a week to allow my nose to heal, then tried again, same problem. It's too bad because it is a very small and comfortable mask, I was really hoping it would work for me.

THE GOOD
- small, lightweight
- excellent seal (virtually no leaks)
- also seals well when side sleeping
- clips to "quick release" the hose from the mask

THE BAD
- plastic clips looked like they would eventually break
- the clear plastic "quick release" clips on the hose also looked very delicate and breakable
- left a nasty red mark on my nose

I hope others have better luck with it than I did...