Pilairo vs Pilairo Q

I'm 2 weeks in and am alternating between sore nose from the Swift FX and extremely puffy eyes in the morning from the FP Eson. The Eson comes up so high on my face - I'm 5'2" and have a thin nose - so it gets right up in my eye sockets and that must be causing the puffy eyes in the morning. But, I've opted for the Eson because the harsh exhaust wind from the Swift is just too much for either me or my husband to bear, though I do prefer the freedom of the nasal pillows with less on my head. I see that FP has a newer version of the Pilario called Pilario Q. The Q must be for Quiet. It appears to have the great exhaust diffuser I like so much on my Eson. The original Pilario did not have that. I've seen comments here that the early Pilario creates quite a breeze.

My DME said I get 3 free masks so I have one left before I have to start paying out of pocket for these, I guess. Has anybody tried the PilarioQ and what do you think? Apparently they come in just one size, so tell me how big your usual nasal masks are. For example, I use the small in the Swift FX and I've been using the small in the Eson.

Alternatively, do you know of other lightweight nasal masks or pillows that have a good diffuser. That draft was going to just make the adjustment to being a hose head 10 times harder.

Thanks in advance from a new and grateful member.

About the only thing I might be able to help with is comparing the Pilairo one size fits all cushion to the Swift FX pillow.
In the Swift FX nasal pillows I can use the XSmall or Small. I didn't have a problem with the Pilairo cushion fitting my nostrils comfortably. The entire cushion inflates and is generally larger than the nasal pillows of the Swift FX or other similar masks but it is so light that it really wasn't a problem.
So I suspect the fitting part wouldn't be a problem. Seems like we never heard of problems with the fit of the Pilairo cushion. Other issues like the vent noise and the headgear strap being too tight we did hear about.
I have NOT had the chance to try the Pilairo Q so I am just basing my thoughts on the original Pilairo. Doesn't look like that they changed the cushion/pillow though.

I don't know of any one who has had the chance to try the Pilairo Q yet. In fact I didn't even know it was available here in the US yet so it must be fairly newly released here. Cpap.com doesn't seem to have it yet.

The diffuser to help reduce the noise was definitely needed. It was a bit noisy and much noisier than the Swift FX was.
Likewise the adjustable headgear was needed. I don't have a large head by any stretch of the imagination and the original headgear was pretty darn snug on me when I wore it where the picture shows. Made my nose feel like it had run into someone's fist and I had never had it be that snore with the other nasal pillow masks that I have used. Fairly easily relieved though just by wearing the headgear a bit lower on my head and it didn't compromise the seal or general fit.

I imagine it is going to be like any other mask..there are going to be lovers and haters.
I could have used the Pilairo well enough but it fell behind the Swift FX which was my main mask at the time and now with the Tap Pap replacing the Swift FX the Pilairo would just be too far down my list for it to be practical. If I get a chance to try the Pilairo Q I might give it a go since I have in the past also tried the original last year when it came out. The cushion/pillow is awesome soft and thin and quite comfortable itself.
Since my own personal preferences is for the least amount of stuff to be on my face as possible the size of the cushion was a negative for me even though it was quite comfy. Also I use a bilevel machine so there's quite a bit of difference in my inhale and exhale pressures..4 cm...and the inflation thing bugged me a little. Kind of like having a balloon continually inflate and deflate on your face. Eventually I did get used to it but it took about a week so that the inflate/deflate faded into the background.

You aren't going to find many members here who have had a chance to try the new Q just yet. It's too new.
Even so it is going to be like any other mask. One man's treasure is another man's trash.
But as far as the cushion itself...even though it is one size fits all they do it very well and I didn't have a problem with that part of it at all.

[quote="Pugsy"]
with the Tap Pap replacing the Swift FX

Is the Tap Pap a new version of the Swift FX? Or do you mean you've liked it better so it has taken the place of Swift in your armamentarium?

I never tried the pilairo because it's one size fits all.
In my experience that leaves me out.
I did try the SleepWeaver Advance; (if only it came in a small--that would be so awesome.)
I love the Elan, but the Advance is more stable--even when it is too big.

I am new to bipap I have used the Pilairo for 4 moths and really like it. Will be watching for the new Q.

decatur11 wrote:Is the Tap Pap a new version of the Swift FX? Or do you mean you've liked it better so it has taken the place of Swift in your armamentarium?

The Tap Pap is a different brand and different concept nasal pillow mask. It can be worn without headgear at all using a mouth guard to stabilize the nasal pillow interface. I am all about the least amount of stuff on my face and head. It was released last March and I tried it and it replaced the Swift FX as number one primary mask from night 1. Prior to the Swift FX (which I had used for 2 years or so) was the Swift LT that I started therapy with in May 2009.
I like to try new and different things just for fun and I have tried pretty much every nasal pillow mask out there except for maybe the GoLife. Some I hated and some were workable but not good enough to make 1st place.

I recently tried the Nano cushion which is the first over the nose type of mask that I could tolerate. I decided it was worth keeping just in case something might happen and I couldn't use my nasal pillow masks for some reason.
Right now the Tap Pap is my primary mask and I have a Swift FX for backup and I will keep the Nano just for grins because the Swift FX gear works with the Nano.
Respironics now has the Nuance nasal pillow mask coming out next week and I will probably try it at some time in the near future. It looks interesting and interesting is good enough reason for me to experiment. Going to try to get my DME to get a demo for me to try. He does that sometimes when there are newly released masks that he can get a hold of.

I am totally satisfied with my Tap Pap and I don't expect anything to take its place nor am I looking for anything special. I just like to try new stuff for fun and it helps with the boredom and also then I can offer my own perspective when someone asks about a mask compared to another mask..since I often may have tried one or both.
I tried the Pilairo just for fun when it came out...last year sometime...used it for a couple of weeks I guess. It's doable and I slept well with it and all that. I just didn't fall in love with it and I ended up selling it at a discount to someone who needed it worse than I did. I can actually probably use several of the nasal pillow masks quite well. I just have preferences as to which ones I like best.
Everyone is different and have different priorities. Things that someone else finds important I might not give a second thought and something that is critical to keep me happy may not bug someone else.
The only way to know for sure if a mask will work for a person is for that person to try it.

Pugsy, I checked out the Tap Pap after you mentioned it. That is exactly what I "invented" in my mind as I was suffering through my titration night at the sleep lab a couple of weeks ago and having all those huge masks put on me to try out. I wear a night guard due to grinding and tooth wear and thought, gee, why not just stabilize the thing with the night guard and there your go, no head gear. So someone beat me to it!

About the PIlaro, when I looked into I found videos about fitting it on youtube that basically said that it fits a certain number of people, but doesn't fit everyone. So "one size fits all" really means "one size fits everyone that it fits" *smile*. If you think that you can sleep well with the tap pap in your mouth, give it a try. You can also try the Pilaro, but if I would get that from cpap.com so that you can get it with return insurance. Actually, for me, I always get the return insurance, since I'm really picky about what I can sleep with for some reason. The Swift FX is my current mask, but I'm going to try the Nuance Pro, and see how that goes. Looking for comfort and a good night's sleep, and the Swift FX is almost there for me, but could be better. I figure I'm going to hit a winner at some point *smile*.

Good luck to you in finding the right mask for your particular needs.