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KennyAZ
+0 points
·
over 4 years
ago
Original Poster
i am about 2 and a half months into using my BiPAP. Recently I have been having issues with my gear being comfortable. I use a ResMed airfit p10 nasal pillow. I had used the pinches or whatever they are called to make my gear tighter, but only less than a quarter of an inch. I ordered a new band and was surprised when it came how much my old one had stretched, it was over an inch and a half. I tried the new one last night and my comfort issues were solved. Just wanted to throw it out to other newer users that they may be having the same problem I was an idea to try.
Some have posted that if you wash the headgear it shrinks and tightens up. I never found that to be the case however. I replaced my P10 mask headgear with the headgear from the Swift FX mask. It is much better. See this link.
KennyAZ
+0 points
·
over 4 years
ago
Original Poster
I read that too.i thought I might throw my old one in the washer and see what happens. I’m going to look into that other headgear strap, thanks for the heads up.
Biguglygremlin
+0 points
·
over 4 years
ago
Sleep
Enthusiast
Hi KennyAZ
You make a very good point.
The masks and headgear just don't last as long as we would like them to and the deterioration is fairly gradual so it's easy to not really be aware until they start to become more and more difficult to maintain.
I've had 3 masks in the past 6 years and really noticed the difference when I use each new one.
It would be nice to be able to replace them more often but it's not always possible and other things always seem to take precedence.
KennyAZ
+0 points
·
over 4 years
ago
Original Poster
Do you have the pincher (sorry I don’t know the actual name) things to tighten the gear? When I got my stuff from the medical supply company it came with 2.
The mask that I have been using is the Nuance and it has velcro adjustments on the straps.
With my first mask I washed it a few times at the beginning and it disintegrated and stretched rapidly beyond the scope of the velcro but I persisted with it for 2 or 3 years literally holding it together with staples and rubber bands.
The second one also stretched fairly quickly and the velcro fastenings became unreliable and would come undone during the night but what killed it after I had been using it for a few years was that the gel filled nasal pillows ruptured.
My third one is only a bit over a year old now and still ok but I will need to get another mask shortly if only as a backup for when this one becomes too problematic.
I'm reluctant to spend money on myself and EXTREMELY reluctant to spend money on CPAP equipment.
I just remembered that before I went to the Swift FX headgear, I cut the P10 straps, overlapped them about an inch, and sewed them up again. It helped quite a bit. It can give you some more life out of the headgear before you buy new. I tried the little pincher clips, but found they did not work well. One of the issues I had with the P10 headgear was that it would catch on my pillow and slip off my head. I would wake up with no mask on...
KennyAZ
+0 points
·
over 4 years
ago
Original Poster
I have not woken up without it on but I recently bought some new pillows and was sleeping with 2 stacked that kept my head at a steeper angle. The 2 nights I did this my ahi went from being under 3 for almost 2 straight months to 4.3 and 5.6. Still not bad I know but I switched back to my old pillow and got a .9 and a 1. I don’t know if the angle you sleep can effect your scores or if something else was going on. Strange.
My Fisher-Paykel masks would stretch out, washing them in the sink with dish soap and letting them air dry helped.
My newest mask seems to be very loose on the over the head strap. I can't tell if it is my lack of a hair cut or something else or that the strap is too long from the factory.
Biguglygremlin
+0 points
·
over 4 years
ago
Sleep
Enthusiast
I used to have problems because the straps were sliding around with my hair so I kept my hair trimmed really short but then I lost too many teeth and started losing air through my mouth so I started using a chinstrap and although I still keep my hair short it probably isn't necessary because the straps tend to support each other.
It's uncomfortable and I hate it but the upside is that, in conjunction with an effective chinstrap, stretching and tension are not such an issue because there are too many straps for them to slide around very much.
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