In nasal pillow styles, what's better than the Swift FX?

Pugsy wrote: One of my main preferences is I just want as little as possible on my face and head..hence my preference for the Tap Pap...no headgear at all and I had been thinking of getting a little mouth guard anyway because of some teeth clenching that was causing TMJ pain.

I wear a mouth guard at night as I grind my teeth something awful. I have worn the enamel off two of my top front teeth and am down to the dentin. How does one use a Tap Pap, and how is it held in so it's not spit out? As I'm a mouth breather, I also use a Ruby Red adjustable chin strap.

Comments please.

apw5746 wrote:How does one use a Tap Pap, and how is it held in so it's not spit out? As I'm a mouth breather, I also use a Ruby Red adjustable chin strap.

The mouth guard for the Tap Pap is a boil and bite to fit. It's snug on the teeth.
It won't fall out.
Click on the link to it in my signature and watch the video.

Pugsy wrote:

apw5746 wrote:How does one use a Tap Pap, and how is it held in so it's not spit out? As I'm a mouth breather, I also use a Ruby Red adjustable chin strap.

The mouth guard for the Tap Pap is a boil and bite to fit. It's snug on the teeth.
It won't fall out.

It would eliminate the need for my mouth guard, as it looks like it would prevent the lower teeth from grinding the uppers. There's only one complication I see. I would still need to use a chin strap since I'm a mouth breather, and the strap leaves marks. The marks aren't permanent and usually disappear in about a 1/2 hour, and I'm not a vain person.

Neat concept though.

To me, I like the Swift LT better than the FX because the frame like design holds the cushion in place better. I don't think this is common, since most folks prefer the FX with no 'frame' and less on the face. To improve the FX for me would basically be to revert to the LT.

I wish I could try the Tap Pap but I am wearing dental appliances and will have to wear these the rest of my life to keep my teeth.

I guess this goes back to the fact that each of us has very different facial feature and specific needs. I'm glad we have more choices now. When I started CPAP 14 years ago, mask choices were limited and I 'settled' for what was considered odd at that time, the Simplicity. I still have a mask from that time frame, we have come a long way. No more raw, red marks on my face that I cover daily with concealer.

Yes, I currently love my Swift LT & may try the Aloha sometime soon. Glad we have choices.

Jen

jaybeem wrote:I have used Swift FX, Nuance, and Nuance Pro. Couldn't stay with the Swift FX because I was between pillow sizes. I like the Nuance and Nuance Pro better anyway. The design of the pillows makes them more stable for my side and stomach sleeping position.

I'm currently trying a "cut-down" small size Swift FX nasal pillow. Turns out that I'm between the small and medium sizes, and they don't make half-sizes *smile*. So I got this precision cutter thingie, and have taken a couple of hairbreadths off each nostril part of the nasal pillow, and that seems to be working for me. Medium is okay, but a hassle since it is just a bit too large, so I have be adjusting it a lot. The cut-down small size is just about right, except it's just a little shorter than a normal pillow, so I have to wear the headgear a lttle tighter than normal. Being an active side sleeper, I need to have a mask that's tolerant of moving around, and my trial with this modified pillow is working just fine at the moment. I don't think that I'm waking up as much as I was before, which is a good thing. Also tends to keep my leak line a little more sane.

I'd still like Resmed to put out a Swift FX with the same style of venting as the AirFit P10, but I'm figuratively or literally not holding my breath for that one *smile*.

jencat824 wrote:To me, I like the Swift LT better than the FX because the frame like design holds the cushion in place better. I don't think this is common, since most folks prefer the FX with no 'frame' and less on the face. To improve the FX for me would basically be to revert to the LT.

Question for the AirFit P10 and Tap users: the swift LT hose swivels so that it can be positioned and kept with a papcap clip to hang over your head as opposed to dangling by your chin/chest area? I'm an Aeiomed user but since they're out of business for past year+, I know eventually I'll run out of spare parts and have to find alternative mask.

dtsm wrote:

jencat824 wrote:To me, I like the Swift LT better than the FX because the frame like design holds the cushion in place better. I don't think this is common, since most folks prefer the FX with no 'frame' and less on the face. To improve the FX for me would basically be to revert to the LT.

Question for the AirFit P10 and Tap users: the swift LT hose swivels so that it can be positioned and kept with a papcap clip to hang over your head as opposed to dangling by your chin/chest area? I'm an Aeiomed user but since they're out of business for past year+, I know eventually I'll run out of spare parts and have to find alternative mask.

The Airfit P10 does NOT have a swivel.

This is one of the few things someone might see as a needed improvement especially if you want to route it overhead, however I just place the hose over my should and since the minimalist design has no hard part the very flexible pigtail tubing bends just fine for me.

Edit: Pugsy in the next post is correct: I almost forget the P10 doesn't have a swivel due to the lite and flexible pigtail hose (and the fact there is NOTHING much hard where it leaves the 'body' (if you can call it that) of the mask.

The P10 really isn't a MASK -- it's nasal pillows with a thin hose and a minimal head strap.

I have never used any sort of hose hanging thing....tried it and found it more annoying than routing my hose on the bed up and around the top of my bed pillow and down to my face.
I can do that easily with any of the masks I have used.
The Tap Pap especially because it goes up over head anyway.

I don't see any reason why routing the hose upward with a hose routing thing couldn't be done with either the Tap Pap or the AirFit P10.
The P10 doesn't have a swivel hose but the hose is so light and flexible that I forget it doesn't even have a swivel. I still route the hose up around the top of my bed pillow.
Picture the machine to my right if I am supine and I sleep on my left side...or at least I start out there.
Hose is entirely out of my way laying flat on the mattress going around my bed pillow.

So the lack of a swivel on the AirFit P10 doesn't appear to be a deal breaker....it's a really lightweight and flexible hose so it bends real easy and doesn't pull on the nasal pillow when it bends.

Pugsy wrote:I have never used any sort of hose hanging thing
The Tap Pap especially because it goes up over head anyway.

So the lack of a swivel on the AirFit P10 doesn't appear to be a deal breaker....it's a really lightweight and flexible hose so it bends real easy and doesn't pull on the nasal pillow when it bends.

I've put in order for AirFit with DME to send my replenishment unit this quarter and will try out. Next quarter will try the Tap Pap....thanks!

Yes, a hose hanger thingie works fine with tap pap and airfit p10. No problems with either here. I've had very little luck without using a hose hanger, since I move around a lot at night and my mask gets pulled on a bunch if I don't have it coming down out of the sky *smile*.

I've been using the Swift FX for about 8 months now with good results. But it seems like it pushes down on my upper lip pretty hard. Several weeks ago I picked up a new complete Swift mask from the DME (the rules said it was time) but I haven't even opened the package yet. I think I would like to give the Nuance Pro a try (I like the way the straps are arranged) so I called the DME today. They said if the Swift FX hasn't been opened I can swap it for a Nuance Pro. If I don't like the Nuance Pro I still have my old Swift FX so it's pretty much a win win with no extra money out of pocket. I'll pick up the Nuance Pro tomorrow.

I consider myself very fortunate after hearing some of the stories about insurance and DMEs. We have a Medicare Advantage package that has been great (through the local Blue Cross) and the DME has been wonderful to work with.

Picked up the Nuance mask today and like the way it fits. Plus it doesn't seem to have the jet exhaust like the Swift FX. Haven't spent a night with it yet but it has the feel of a keeper.

First with Nuance gel pillows. Although I tossed and turned much of the night (nothing to do with the mask -- too much popcorn before bed) my AHI was .1. With the Swift FX I usually have multiple small leaks during the night. With the Nuance ONE leak all night. One of the biggest pluses was that the exhaust port on the Nuance directs the air up and away from my face and it doesn't sound like a jet engine. The Swift FX isn't that bad but the Nuance is really promising.