Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mary Z on November 19, 2009 at 9:09am

Susan, sorry for your nightmare with the AliMed Therapy Putty. Wow! Are you going to try the silly putty?

I also use the Mirage Quattro and try to change the cushion once a month- that helps. Also I'm learning to play with the forehead adjuster, but it's hard to tell what's better or worse. I'm aiming for less pressure on my nose and less leaks, though I don't think I usually have leaks in that area. Mostly blowouts around my cheeks.

Good Luck,
Mary Zimlich

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by susan mccord on November 19, 2009 at 9:26am

Thanks, Mary. Not sure about Silly Putty. At the moment I'm fairly annoyed with the mess all over my bed clothing, and carpet!!! I'm thinking I may try Mack's for the leak. Problem is mask isn't leaking at ALL when I go to sleep so the next thing I know is when I wake up in the a.m. to bad leaking. I can only assume that it's starting after I go to sleep. So, I don't really know which part of the mask to address......

I know for sure I'm not gonna risk another mask breakdown. I've been through so many masks during this weight loss and DME has never blinked an eye about replacing or doing whatever is needed. Johnny-on-the-spot. I can't possibly be the only person who struggles with this.....am I???

Mary Zimlich said:

Susan, sorry for your nightmare with the AliMed Therapy Putty. Wow! Are you going to try the silly putty?

I also use the Mirage Quattro and try to change the cushion once a month- that helps. Also I'm learning to play with the forehead adjuster, but it's hard to tell what's better or worse. I'm aiming for less pressure on my nose and less leaks, though I don't think I usually have leaks in that area. Mostly blowouts around my cheeks.

Good Luck,
Mary Zimlich

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Judy on November 19, 2009 at 11:28am

Susan, as w/gum try ice cubes, chilling that junk to peel it off of your mask, carpet, etc.

Let's see: I used a
1] Breeze nasal pillows my first titration, switched to the
2] F&P HC 407 nasul cushion (we SHOULD have tried the 406) my second titration, chose the original
3] Swift nasal pillows when getting my equipment, then we tried the
4] ComfortLIte 2 nasal pillows, switched to the CL2 simple nasal cushion, ran into hair thinning eventually w/the CL2 so went to the
5] Simplicity simple nasal cushion - and fell in love.

However, between the CL2 simple nasal cushion and the Simplicity simple nasal cushion we tried the
6] Aclaim2 nasal cushion,
7] ComfortGel Small nasal cushion,
8] ComfortGel Petite nasal cushion and
9] Simplicity Medium simple nasal cushion.

Since then I've also tried, not necessarily in this order:
8] Mirage Quattro full face,
9] Mirage Micro nasal cushion,
10] Zest nasal cushion, 11] OptiLife nasal pillows AND nasal cradle cushion,
12] Swift LT for Her nasal pillows and
13] the Zzz-Mask full face.

I "think" that's all of them.

Now - not only has my local DME provider been really good to me, but I've only just now retired my original Simplicity (its in my AutoSet Vantage carry case for emergencies) and so not all of these masks were "exchange" masks, some were my routine mask purchase that I didn't really need since I've used my Simplicitys well past their suggested life span (and then some). Every other mask purchase eligibility I order a mask I'm interested in knowing I can count on my second Simplicity and my still new in the package Simplicity to get me thru until I'm eligible for a new mask again.

And, frankly, knowing now as much as I've learned about masks and mask fitting I probably could make some of those masks I've tried unsuccessful in the past work for me now. But I have no interest in trying since I'm happy w/the Simplicity and am going to be happy w/this doggone Zzz-Mask when we finally figure out what pressures I need w/it.

Meanwhile, try hanging your hose ABOVE YOUR HEAD. There is less tugging on your mask and less tugging the mask down on the bridge of your poor nose!!! Really, it DOES help! You can even buy professional hose hangars from the various online DME suppliers.

AND - my personal experience - I never could get that d*mn thin outer cushion cover on the Quattro to STOP slicing into the bridge of my nose. I think that V in the frame/cushion for the bridge of the nose to fit is too deep for me and that is why I could never get that d*mn thin outer cover to quit slicing the bridge of my nose. I was so sure that I would be able to!

I"m liking this Zzz-Mask full face a whole lot better than the Quattro. I've got everything licked - except - I definitely need a pressure change between the Simplicity and the Zzz-Mask and we haven't figured out yet just what my pressures need to be w/the Zzz-Mask. *sigh* But we are working on it.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Saz RPSGT on November 19, 2009 at 1:01pm

Hello Susan,

Yeah, this stuff is super sticky. I kid you not...this stuff IS Silly Putty.

It is very hard to handle. We found it easier to get off the mask when we put it in the freezer. It still left residue, so we ran it through our pasteurmatic ($20,000 pasteurizing machine we use between patient use) and it came out squeeky clean.

So far we've used this on 4 patients at night and haven't had problems with it getting in hair or on pillows. But....BUT....our patients are only using it for half the night and probably at lower pressures. I'm wondering if heated humidity makes it run or something too. This stuff is so new and there are plenty of variables to hash out.

Seems like this stuff could be helpful for some folks, but sounds like it should be used sparingly.

Maybe even practice using it on an older mask.

Sorry that happened to you Susan. Let me know if you can't get a replacement cushion and I'll try to help you out in that regard.

saz

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by sleepycarol on November 19, 2009 at 5:09pm

Okay Saz, I have a rather stupid question for you.

I know that they pasteurize milk to help kill the bacteria in the milk (or something like that) but what in the world do you pasteurize in a lab setting? Do you use it to sterlize the equipment?

I am just trying to get a picture in my head all that keeps popping up is one of the big gallon glass jugs full of milk. LOL

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Saz RPSGT on November 19, 2009 at 6:43pm

Yuck!!! You just gave me images of milking patients. Bleaaaa....

Yes, we use it to sterilize equipment. It gets it up to 180 degrees or something like that.

In an ironic twist, we do supplement our sleep clinic income by selling giant jugs of milk at the farmers market. That and of course our world famous sleep lab bathtub cheese. ;^)

saz

sleepycarol said:

Okay Saz, I have a rather stupid question for you.

I know that they pasteurize milk to help kill the bacteria in the milk (or something like that) but what in the world do you pasteurize in a lab setting? Do you use it to sterlize the equipment?

I am just trying to get a picture in my head all that keeps popping up is one of the big gallon glass jugs full of milk. LOL

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by susan mccord on November 19, 2009 at 7:36pm

Jeez, Judy, hearing how many masks you went through till you found "the one" makes me feel SO much better. I kinda feel sorry for my DME guy--he's SO good to me and so willing to do whatever it takes. But I'm not eligible for a bunch of stuff I'm getting--he gets creative with spare parts sometimes which seems to work out fine for me.

My Quattro was such a mess from that putty. He originally was gonna just change out the seal (on the phone) till he saw it--he was shocked, same as me--it was a sight to behold. So he tried a whole bunch MORE masks on me and finally came up with a different gel mask--I can't remember what kind it is--I'll look the next time I'm in the back of the house. So now I have this new mask which fits great ('course they all do starting out) plus he gave me a new mask like the one I ruined 'cause I like it a lot--told me to try moleskin if it started to leak, that that might be enough under the mask to d/c leaking. So it's just a crap shoot.

Most, if not all, of the problem is I'm continuing to lose weight so my face is getting like a nano-amount thinner ever 2-3 weeks, hence mask doesn't fit the same. DME asked me how much weight I'd lost, I told him, and he said "Well, stop losing it in your FACE!!!"---we had a good laugh over that! He's a cupcake.

I've liked every single one of these masks I've had except the nasal pillow one. The rest have been fine but all ended up leaking like a sieve. Good grief.........I can tell I'm not getting good sleep--I was doing REALLY well there for awhile, dreaming, more energy, awake in the daytime, etc...now all that's going away. UGH!!

But now I have renewed hope again. I'm going to AZ on Monday for 11 days--at least now I have 2 masks that fit and hopefully won't leak while I'm gone. He doesn't want me to get in a mess while I'm gone, nor do I !!

Thanks for the info--I appreciate it so much--makes me feel less like a troll for being a bad-fit patient!!!! I hate being high-maintenance like this....

Susan :-)

Judy said:

Susan, as w/gum try ice cubes, chilling that junk to peel it off of your mask, carpet, etc.

Let's see: I used a
1] Breeze nasal pillows my first titration, switched to the
2] F&P HC 407 nasul cushion (we SHOULD have tried the 406) my second titration, chose the original
3] Swift nasal pillows when getting my equipment, then we tried the
4] ComfortLIte 2 nasal pillows, switched to the CL2 simple nasal cushion, ran into hair thinning eventually w/the CL2 so went to the
5] Simplicity simple nasal cushion - and fell in love.

However, between the CL2 simple nasal cushion and the Simplicity simple nasal cushion we tried the
6] Aclaim2 nasal cushion,
7] ComfortGel Small nasal cushion,
8] ComfortGel Petite nasal cushion and
9] Simplicity Medium simple nasal cushion.

Since then I've also tried, not necessarily in this order:
8] Mirage Quattro full face,
9] Mirage Micro nasal cushion,
10] Zest nasal cushion, 11] OptiLife nasal pillows AND nasal cradle cushion,
12] Swift LT for Her nasal pillows and
13] the Zzz-Mask full face.

I "think" that's all of them.

Now - not only has my local DME provider been really good to me, but I've only just now retired my original Simplicity (its in my AutoSet Vantage carry case for emergencies) and so not all of these masks were "exchange" masks, some were my routine mask purchase that I didn't really need since I've used my Simplicitys well past their suggested life span (and then some). Every other mask purchase eligibility I order a mask I'm interested in knowing I can count on my second Simplicity and my still new in the package Simplicity to get me thru until I'm eligible for a new mask again.

And, frankly, knowing now as much as I've learned about masks and mask fitting I probably could make some of those masks I've tried unsuccessful in the past work for me now. But I have no interest in trying since I'm happy w/the Simplicity and am going to be happy w/this doggone Zzz-Mask when we finally figure out what pressures I need w/it.

Meanwhile, try hanging your hose ABOVE YOUR HEAD. There is less tugging on your mask and less tugging the mask down on the bridge of your poor nose!!! Really, it DOES help! You can even buy professional hose hangars from the various online DME suppliers.

AND - my personal experience - I never could get that d*mn thin outer cushion cover on the Quattro to STOP slicing into the bridge of my nose. I think that V in the frame/cushion for the bridge of the nose to fit is too deep for me and that is why I could never get that d*mn thin outer cover to quit slicing the bridge of my nose. I was so sure that I would be able to!

I"m liking this Zzz-Mask full face a whole lot better than the Quattro. I've got everything licked - except - I definitely need a pressure change between the Simplicity and the Zzz-Mask and we haven't figured out yet just what my pressures need to be w/the Zzz-Mask. *sigh* But we are working on it.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by susan mccord on November 19, 2009 at 7:48pm

Thanks, Jason. Well, I figure nothing ventured, nothing gained. I never thought about the humidity factor--I run mine on 5 all the time. Hmmmm.....

That stuff IS sticky!!!!! It sticks to itself too, something awful. Silly Putty, which I should own stock in after all I've bought, isn't NEAR that hard to handle. Plus SP dries out and can be gotten off most stuff pretty easy. Plus I've never seen it "run" like this stuff did. Lord, have mercy, I just about croaked when I took that thing off this a.m.!! So did DME--he said he was gonna take it up to the corp office and have some fun with it. I don't think I wanta know about THAT!!

If you've read my response to Judy's reply, you know that my Lone Ranger DME guy just totally bailed me out again. God, I'm lucky. And grateful......

Do you guys want these tubs I've got? 4 haven't been opened and this one has a small amount of putty gone (we know where!)--I hate for it to go to waste if someone can use it. It DOES have to be used sparingly, so it should last a long time. Let me know if you can use it in your lab, or if anyone else wants some, I'll be glad to send it out!!

Susan :-)

Saz RPSGT said:

Hello Susan,

Yeah, this stuff is super sticky. I kid you not...this stuff IS Silly Putty.

It is very hard to handle. We found it easier to get off the mask when we put it in the freezer. It still left residue, so we ran it through our pasteurmatic ($20,000 pasteurizing machine we use between patient use) and it came out squeeky clean.

So far we've used this on 4 patients at night and haven't had problems with it getting in hair or on pillows. But....BUT....our patients are only using it for half the night and probably at lower pressures. I'm wondering if heated humidity makes it run or something too. This stuff is so new and there are plenty of variables to hash out.

Seems like this stuff could be helpful for some folks, but sounds like it should be used sparingly.

Maybe even practice using it on an older mask.

Sorry that happened to you Susan. Let me know if you can't get a replacement cushion and I'll try to help you out in that regard.

saz

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by susan mccord on November 19, 2009 at 7:51pm

HAHAhahahhahahahahhahaahaha..........LMAO !!

Saz RPSGT said:

Yuck!!! You just gave me images of milking patients. Bleaaaa....

Yes, we use it to sterilize equipment. It gets it up to 180 degrees or something like that.

In an ironic twist, we do supplement our sleep clinic income by selling giant jugs of milk at the farmers market. That and of course our world famous sleep lab bathtub cheese. ;^)

saz

sleepycarol said:

Okay Saz, I have a rather stupid question for you.

I know that they pasteurize milk to help kill the bacteria in the milk (or something like that) but what in the world do you pasteurize in a lab setting? Do you use it to sterlize the equipment?

I am just trying to get a picture in my head all that keeps popping up is one of the big gallon glass jugs full of milk. LOL

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by susan mccord on November 19, 2009 at 7:53pm

Judy, remind me to tell you how I solved the nose problem with MY Quattro--easy, but it took some experimenting.

susan mccord said:

Jeez, Judy, hearing how many masks you went through till you found "the one" makes me feel SO much better. I kinda feel sorry for my DME guy--he's SO good to me and so willing to do whatever it takes. But I'm not eligible for a bunch of stuff I'm getting--he gets creative with spare parts sometimes which seems to work out fine for me.

My Quattro was such a mess from that putty. He originally was gonna just change out the seal (on the phone) till he saw it--he was shocked, same as me--it was a sight to behold. So he tried a whole bunch MORE masks on me and finally came up with a different gel mask--I can't remember what kind it is--I'll look the next time I'm in the back of the house. So now I have this new mask which fits great ('course they all do starting out) plus he gave me a new mask like the one I ruined 'cause I like it a lot--told me to try moleskin if it started to leak, that that might be enough under the mask to d/c leaking. So it's just a crap shoot.

Most, if not all, of the problem is I'm continuing to lose weight so my face is getting like a nano-amount thinner ever 2-3 weeks, hence mask doesn't fit the same. DME asked me how much weight I'd lost, I told him, and he said "Well, stop losing it in your FACE!!!"---we had a good laugh over that! He's a cupcake.

I've liked every single one of these masks I've had except the nasal pillow one. The rest have been fine but all ended up leaking like a sieve. Good grief.........I can tell I'm not getting good sleep--I was doing REALLY well there for awhile, dreaming, more energy, awake in the daytime, etc...now all that's going away. UGH!!

But now I have renewed hope again. I'm going to AZ on Monday for 11 days--at least now I have 2 masks that fit and hopefully won't leak while I'm gone. He doesn't want me to get in a mess while I'm gone, nor do I !!

Thanks for the info--I appreciate it so much--makes me feel less like a troll for being a bad-fit patient!!!! I hate being high-maintenance like this....

Susan :-)

Judy said:

Susan, as w/gum try ice cubes, chilling that junk to peel it off of your mask, carpet, etc.

Let's see: I used a
1] Breeze nasal pillows my first titration, switched to the
2] F&P HC 407 nasul cushion (we SHOULD have tried the 406) my second titration, chose the original
3] Swift nasal pillows when getting my equipment, then we tried the
4] ComfortLIte 2 nasal pillows, switched to the CL2 simple nasal cushion, ran into hair thinning eventually w/the CL2 so went to the
5] Simplicity simple nasal cushion - and fell in love.

However, between the CL2 simple nasal cushion and the Simplicity simple nasal cushion we tried the
6] Aclaim2 nasal cushion,
7] ComfortGel Small nasal cushion,
8] ComfortGel Petite nasal cushion and
9] Simplicity Medium simple nasal cushion.

Since then I've also tried, not necessarily in this order:
8] Mirage Quattro full face,
9] Mirage Micro nasal cushion,
10] Zest nasal cushion, 11] OptiLife nasal pillows AND nasal cradle cushion,
12] Swift LT for Her nasal pillows and
13] the Zzz-Mask full face.

I "think" that's all of them.

Now - not only has my local DME provider been really good to me, but I've only just now retired my original Simplicity (its in my AutoSet Vantage carry case for emergencies) and so not all of these masks were "exchange" masks, some were my routine mask purchase that I didn't really need since I've used my Simplicitys well past their suggested life span (and then some). Every other mask purchase eligibility I order a mask I'm interested in knowing I can count on my second Simplicity and my still new in the package Simplicity to get me thru until I'm eligible for a new mask again.

And, frankly, knowing now as much as I've learned about masks and mask fitting I probably could make some of those masks I've tried unsuccessful in the past work for me now. But I have no interest in trying since I'm happy w/the Simplicity and am going to be happy w/this doggone Zzz-Mask when we finally figure out what pressures I need w/it.

Meanwhile, try hanging your hose ABOVE YOUR HEAD. There is less tugging on your mask and less tugging the mask down on the bridge of your poor nose!!! Really, it DOES help! You can even buy professional hose hangars from the various online DME suppliers.

AND - my personal experience - I never could get that d*mn thin outer cushion cover on the Quattro to STOP slicing into the bridge of my nose. I think that V in the frame/cushion for the bridge of the nose to fit is too deep for me and that is why I could never get that d*mn thin outer cover to quit slicing the bridge of my nose. I was so sure that I would be able to!

I"m liking this Zzz-Mask full face a whole lot better than the Quattro. I've got everything licked - except - I definitely need a pressure change between the Simplicity and the Zzz-Mask and we haven't figured out yet just what my pressures need to be w/the Zzz-Mask. *sigh* But we are working on it.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Judy on November 19, 2009 at 9:07pm

susan mccord said:

Judy, remind me to tell you how I solved the nose problem with MY Quattro--easy, but it took some experimenting

Susan!!! Here's REMINDER # 1. HOW did you solve the bridge of the snozz problem w/the Quattro????

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by susan mccord on November 19, 2009 at 9:28pm

Oh! Duh! When I started the Quattro, my nose felt sore in the a.m. for about a week. It seemed to be getting worse so I started putting Mack's on the sore place. After 3-4 nights the pain went away, but my nose stayed RED. Oy vey...and I wasn't even drinking!! lol It was like the Mack's protected well so nose could heal but for some reason, it made my nose red. Sooo, I kept messing around trying to figure out what to do.

Tried lotion, antibiotic cream, and Noxzema--nothing helped.

What I finally ended up using, and it works like a charm!, is Walgreen's "spot" bandaids. They're small circles with a tiny little piece of gauze in the middle. The tape part is clear, stays on well, and comes off without leaving any residue. It's odd, but that tiny piece of padding, right on the bridge of my nose, has made all the redness go away. No more irritation at all. My nose looks normal. Those things come 50 to a box and are CHEAP!!

I can't imagine why they work.....I wouldn't have been able to stay in a FF mask if my nose had stayed either sore or all red. I need a FF, so I'm grateful that I found this little bitty bandaid. I don't know if they'd have helped when it was so irritated and sore. Mack's fixed that. It sticks to the mask, but you can leave it on there for 3-4 nights. (AND it peels off cleanly). I used about 1/2 of one of those little "rounds" each time and just flattened it out and stuck it on. It allowed the bad place to heal. I remember awhile back someone on SG talking about their now actually being cut by the mask. That's why I got alert so fast. Glad I did........sometimes less is more.

Susan :-)


Judy said:

susan mccord said:

Judy, remind me to tell you how I solved the nose problem with MY Quattro--easy, but it took some experimenting

Susan!!! Here's REMINDER # 1. HOW did you solve the bridge of the snozz problem w/the Quattro????

• ▶ Reply

▶ Reply to Discussion

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page