Compatible nasal masks for ResMed S8 Autoset II

[ConnCarl]

I haven't been paying much attention to my therapy lately, but because I've been waking up at night (which never happens when my therapy is effective), I took a close look and discovered a couple of things.

First, my DME quietly switched me from the Mirage Activa LT to the Fisher-Paykel Eson nasal mask and I didn't even realize it, I thought it was just a new design.

Second, my therapy has apparently been so bad that there are no efficacy numbers at all for me to view.  The leak numbers are crazy high too, but of course that could just be due to the mask mismatch, and I've no idea which setting, if any, approximates the Eson's specs.

If anyone has suggestions for their favorite ResMed nasal masks that work well with the S8, I'm all ears.  The only settings I have are:

ULTRA: Ultra Mirage II Nasal Mask
MIR FULL: Mirage Liberty Full Face Mask Mirage Quattro Full Face Mask Ultra Mirage Full Face Mask
ACTIVA: Mirage Activa Nasal Mask
SWIFT: Mirage Swift Nasal Pillows System Mirage Swift II Nasal Pillows System
MIRAGE: Mirage Nasal Mask
STANDARD: Mirage Vista Nasal Mask Papillon

Thanks!

[Sleeprider]

A couple of thoughts for you...Your machine is beyond ancient and due for replacement. Ask your DME for a Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset. This will finally give you a modern CPAP machine with automatic variable pressure and full efficacy data, that will be able to self-titrate to pressures that are appropriate for you considering it ihas probably been 10 years since your last sleep study. I guess a FP Eson mask is fine, but a more minimal solution like the Resmed Airfit P10 nasal pillows would be quieter and equally effective (if not more).

For heaven's sake, update your equipment if you have insurance, and if you don't have insurance we can help you find appropriate equipment at a reasonable cost. Time to update Commcarl! Why not?

[ConnCarl]

Thanks for the response, Sleeprider.

I appreciate your assessment of my S8, and I do have insurance.  But the fact is, I'm more of an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" sort, rather than an "upgrade for the sake of upgrading" guy.

I was diagnosed in the 1980s, and I went through many machines and masks, none of which gave me effective therapy, until 2005.  I had pretty much given up on xPAP at that point, until an exceptionally caring and conscientious nurse said, "let me try this machine on you".  She fitted me with a resmed FF mask and an S7, and switched it on, right there in the office.  I said, "Wow, this is really..." and I didn't remember anything after that.  I slept for 20 minutes before she woke me, and I knew I'd made a breakthrough.

I got my own S7 and immediately got my life back.  I was in the process of qualifying for SSDI at that point, but within months I got a great new job that I loved, and in December I'll have been there 14 years.  Since that time, I changed masks; first to an Activa FF, then an Activa nasal, then an Activa LT.  The improved sealing of the Activa series, and then the successively smaller and smaller masks, all led to minor improvements in comfort.  I did try many other types of masks, but none worked for me as well as the Activa nasal units.  I did try nasal pillows but they don't go well with the configuration of my nares.

When my SO eventually upgraded to an S8, that looked to me like a home run.  Didn't really do anything the S7 didn't do.  But it takes up less space on the nightstand, lighter, easy to travel with, perfectly generic 12 volt coax input for camping and power outages...what's not to like?  I upgraded to my own S8 and never looked back.

But when she got an S9, I decided that unit wasn't for me.  It's not significantly smaller than the S8.  Sure, it's quieter, silent even.  But I have never found the white noise from the S8 to be obtrusive.  It's soothing to me.  It sure isn't the "reversed vacuum cleaner" that my first CPAP was.  That thing roared like a 747 at takeoff.  The heated hose on the S9 is pretty slick...my SO loves it...but I don't use a humidifier so it doesn't do anything for me.  

The S8 does everything I need.  It responds to my pressure needs very quickly, it's always comfortable to breathe against (when I'm awake, anyway), and it allows me to check my basic efficacy stats easily.  I've run it on ordinary AC, my car's power ports, portable battery packs (ordinary ones, not crazy-overpriced "biomedical" units) and even generator power.  It's been stuffed in overhead storage bins, and poked and prodded by the TSA more times than I care to remember.  It's still as reliable as the sun in the morning and the moon at night.  And not for anything, but I like the design.  I dislike pretension in any form, and the S8 looks exactly like what it is, a necessary piece of DME.  It doesn't try to pass for a sleek bedside entertainment system or whatever look ResMed may have been going for with their newer units.

Hopefully that covers "why not?".

I stopped using the Eson.  I never really liked it anyway, it's flimsy and the headgear retention system is awful.  I have a couple of "low-mileage" Activa LTs and I'm using one of those now, but I suspect that ResMed must have some improved nasal masks now, and I'm looking for one that would be compatible with the mask selection options on the S8.  So if anyone can make a recommendation there, I'd be grateful.

Thanks!

[Sleeprider]

The S8 is a fine machine, but without the data, you are flying blind and have no idea why things are not working as they once did. I am proposing that you avoid the discomfort of going without therapy when your S8 inevitably fails, and move it to a backup role. I think you will find the Airsense 10 Autoset provides a more compact form factor than the S9, and of course it has many useful advances in helping you to optimize your therapy. I am fine with you being a curmudgeon, but understand that your choice is like wanting to use tube TV rather than flat screen, because it works. Once you try HD flat screen, you never go back.

[ConnCarl]

Thanks for the response.

In the event my S8 fails, I have a spare S8, and my old S7.  When it comes to backup, I'm all about the grandfather/father/son method.

Love flat panel TVs.  I've had them longer than I've had CPAP.  A technophobe, I am not.

I guess the only thing left to ask is, how do I change my user title to "curmudgeon"?

[OpalRose]

I guess the only thing left to ask is, how do I change my user title to "curmudgeon"?

That user name is already taken.

[OpalRose]

I haven't been paying much attention to my therapy lately, but because I've been waking up at night (which never happens when my therapy is effective), I took a close look and discovered a couple of things.

Second, my therapy has apparently been so bad that there are no efficacy numbers at all for me to view.  The leak numbers are crazy high too, but of course that could just be due to the mask mismatch.
Thanks!

So, aside from the fact that you have a backup for a backup, etc..... you will not be able to figure out why you are waking up at night, or what exactly is the breakdown of you AHI, are you experiencing mostly Obstructives , Hypopneas, Clear Airways?

Your mask is more than likely causing the high leak rate. There really is no mismatch, because any mask can be used with any machine.

If you need to know why you start to feel crappy, and it happens to all of us, you will need a data capable machine.

[ConnCarl]

Thanks, Rose.  I switched back to the Activa LT and slept through the night with no problem.  AHI of 5.0, .5 apnea events, 4.5 hypopneas.

But I'd like to try a newer mask, I'm sure there are some improved designs.  Problem is, if I don't match (or at least approximate) the mask characteristics in the device setup, it'll be harder to tweak the mask fit properly.  I like to see an AHI of 2.0 or less if possible.

I could just check the specs of all the new ResMed nasal masks and compare them to the charts for the S8 compatibility list, so it's not the end of the world.  Just thought I'd check in and see if anyone else has hit their own "sweet spot" with a current generation ResMed mask on an S8.

[ConnCarl]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I'm consistently under 5.0 AHI with an Activa LT, and sleeping comfortably for now. When I get around to it I believe I'll try an AirFit N20.