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Permalink Reply by D. W. Conn on September 20, 2009 at 12:32pm

Dennis,
Honestly we never had good result with nasal swift except for those rare low CPAP pressures of 7 to 9cm.
If you continue having problems with mouth breathing plese consult your PCP or sleep pro, I can certainly understand being attached to your beard but it comes down to health. Having sleep apnea and not having it treated properly can lead to multiple life threatening situations. Consider another nasal type mask or full face. If the oral mask is still around give it a go.
I am sure this will not be a popular statement.
Men and women are very different with the approach to apnea treatment. Women tend to do better with the swift then men. More Men tend to be big mouth breathers..thats not to say women don’t mouth breath. Do consider different mask including fullface.


Just my humble opinion.

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Permalink Reply by Noah Calderon on September 20, 2009 at 11:15pm

I've had the RespCare Hbrid mask for about a week now. My main problem was with the nasal pillows--keeping them in my nose. What I ended up doing was cutting the nasal ends off of my Nasal air II cannula and placing them in the mask. Works much bettter, but seems to dry out my nose quite a bit. Feel more oxygenated in the morning, but still getting used to the mask.

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Permalink Reply by Brian Katzung on September 21, 2009 at 10:19pm

D. W. Conn said:

Dennis,
Honestly we never had good result with nasal swift except for those rare low CPAP pressures of 7 to 9cm.

That's interesting. I'm using the Swift LT at 11 cm CPAP with a chinstrap, and my typical AHI is 1.2 or less (down from 83 in NREM).

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Permalink Reply by D. W. Conn on September 22, 2009 at 10:19am

There is always the one! Just kidding....I am sure they work well for some.. but after a pressure of 10 we begin to see issue of leak nasal pain etc. Chin strap always a good idea!

Brian Katzung said:

D. W. Conn said:

Dennis,
Honestly we never had good result with nasal swift except for those rare low CPAP pressures of 7 to 9cm.

That's interesting. I'm using the Swift LT at 11 cm CPAP with a chinstrap, and my typical AHI is 1.2 or less (down from 83 in NREM).

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Permalink Reply by Banyon on September 22, 2009 at 11:34am

1. The Hybrid comes with three sizes of nasal pillows and three sizes of mouth cushions. The Liberty comes with three sizes of nasal pillows but only one size mouth cushion. You have a better chance to properly fit the Hybrid by experimenting with the different size parts.

2. The Hybrid comes with a chin flap. Some users like the chin flap and claim it helps stabilize the mask. Others do not like the chin flap. It is easily cut off with scissors and many use the mask successfully without the chin flap. The Liberty has no chin flap.

3. The Hybrid allows for adjustment of the height of the nasal pillows and the Liberty does not. This means you have more options to properly fit the Hybrid.

Many people do well with the Liberty. However, for the three reasons listed above, I recommend the Hybrid for the first try. It gives you more options to get a good fit.

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Permalink Reply by Dennis McCracken on September 22, 2009 at 11:58am

D. W. Conn said:

There is always the one! Just kidding....I am sure they work well for some.. but after a pressure of 10 we begin to see issue of leak nasal pain etc. Chin strap always a good idea!

Brian Katzung said:

D. W. Conn said:

Dennis,
Honestly we never had good result with nasal swift except for those rare low CPAP pressures of 7 to 9cm.

That's interesting. I'm using the Swift LT at 11 cm CPAP with a chinstrap, and my typical AHI is 1.2 or less (down from 83 in NREM).

My pressure is currently 10 so I'm still hoping that my experience can be mirror Brian's. Thanks for the encouragment Brian.

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Permalink Reply by Dennis McCracken on September 22, 2009 at 12:01pm

D. W. Conn said:

There is always the one! Just kidding....I am sure they work well for some.. but after a pressure of 10 we begin to see issue of leak nasal pain etc. Chin strap always a good idea!

Brian Katzung said:

D. W. Conn said:

Dennis,
Honestly we never had good result with nasal swift except for those rare low CPAP pressures of 7 to 9cm.

That's interesting. I'm using the Swift LT at 11 cm CPAP with a chinstrap, and my typical AHI is 1.2 or less (down from 83 in NREM).

I appreciate hearing your experience. Hopefully, I'll find a way to make what I have work. Rest assured though, I will do what I have to do in order to make this work. I'm just not willing to give up this early ;)

I found the last two nights that by really tightening the chin strap and moving it up my jaw to the base of my lips the mouth breathing was much improved. I'm also using a saline nasal gel with good results on the soreness front. So I'm still hopefully that the Swift LT will work for me.

-Dennis-

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Permalink Reply by Brian Katzung on September 22, 2009 at 2:28pm

Dennis McCracken said:

D. W. Conn said:

There is always the one! Just kidding....I am sure they work well for some.. but after a pressure of 10 we begin to see issue of leak nasal pain etc. Chin strap always a good idea!

Brian Katzung said:

D. W. Conn said:

Dennis,
Honestly we never had good result with nasal swift except for those rare low CPAP pressures of 7 to 9cm.

That's interesting. I'm using the Swift LT at 11 cm CPAP with a chinstrap, and my typical AHI is 1.2 or less (down from 83 in NREM).

I appreciate hearing your experience. Hopefully, I'll find a way to make what I have work. Rest assured though, I will do what I have to do in order to make this work. I'm just not willing to give up this early ;)

I found the last two nights that by really tightening the chin strap and moving it up my jaw to the base of my lips the mouth breathing was much improved. I'm also using a saline nasal gel with good results on the soreness front. So I'm still hopefully that the Swift LT will work for me.

-Dennis-

A couple more points:

First, is your soreness inside the nostril, or at the entrance? If it's at the entrance, make sure not to fit the mask too tightly. Mine is quite lose with the pressure off, and I let it inflate slightly to seal.

Second, make sure the pillows are inserted in the correct direction ("bumps" on the pillow line up with the "bumps" on the headgear frame).

Third, I try to keep the tip of my tongue against the roof of my mouth (pretty much any time I'm thinking about it, to become automatic). It took some practice, but really helps (at least for me).

And yes, where the chinstrap falls can make a big difference.

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Permalink Reply by Dennis McCracken on September 22, 2009 at 3:13pm

The soreness is actually at the end of my nose just underneath the tip. The headgear frame just past where the pillows insert into it makes contact with the tip of my nose . My nostrils are fine. Just to be on the safe side I used the Gel on the tip and nostrils.

I didn't realize that there were "bumps" on the pillow or headgear frame. I'll check this out tonight. I'll feel pretty silly if they pillows are inserted upside down.

I'll try "training" my tongue ;)

Thanks again for the tips.

-Dennis-

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Permalink Reply by Ginny Edmundson on September 2, 2011 at 7:28pm

Can you tell me what brand/type of chin strap you are using?

Brian Katzung said:

D. W. Conn said:

Dennis,
Honestly we never had good result with nasal swift except for those rare low CPAP pressures of 7 to 9cm.

That's interesting. I'm using the Swift LT at 11 cm CPAP with a chinstrap, and my typical AHI is 1.2 or less (down from 83 in NREM).

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Permalink Reply by Brian Katzung on September 2, 2011 at 9:27pm

I'm using the AvalonAire Topaz Adjustable Chin Strap XL. Beware - they come in very large (XL) and very small (doesn't say XL). Very small seems to be based on the head dimensions of a child. They have a fair amount of adjustability, which means the XL can *probably* be made to fit you if you have a "normal" head size range, and which is mostly likely useless for the already too-small non-XL.

They're made of neoprene and slowly stretch. Expect to have to replace them periodically as you eventually hit their adjustment limits.

I also try to start off with a good velolingual seal.

Ginny Edmundson said:

Can you tell me what brand/type of chin strap you are using?

Brian Katzung said:

D. W. Conn said:

Dennis,
Honestly we never had good result with nasal swift except for those rare low CPAP pressures of 7 to 9cm.

That's interesting. I'm using the Swift LT at 11 cm CPAP with a chinstrap, and my typical AHI is 1.2 or less (down from 83 in NREM).

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Permalink Reply by Mary Z on September 3, 2011 at 9:58am

In regard to chin straps, I have heard very good things about The Ultimate Chin Strap.  Do not be put off by it's looks- it's supposed to be very soft and comfortable. http://ultimatechinstrap.com/.  Is is expensive, but with the guarantee if you don't like it you can get your money back ($60).

It has a 30 day guarantee and you can write to the inverntor (who is a "PAP user) and make sure you get the right size.

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