First 2 weeks and my thoughts on P10, Brevida and Dreamwear masks

[JeffT]

Deleted multiple post. Sorry...

[tomkatt]

How is the weight with the Brevida? or does the headgear have a strap you can run the hose through? I have a hard time with the whole elephant trunk thing. The weight pulling down makes it hard for me to sleep. With my Wisp I tuck the hose up in the headband loop, and I'm planning to get a Dreamwear with a top connection to eliminate the issue altogether if that setup works for me.

I really like the look of the Brevida though, with its whole hyrbid sort of "nasal mask/pillow" thing going for it, and the diffuser to cut down on the noise.

[JeffT]

Hi tomkatt. The weight is much the same as the P10 and the Nuance masks - not much at all, and it comes attached to a lightweight and flexible hose. I suspect if you were to take it all apart and remove the hoses and weigh them the P10 would be marginally lighter as it doesn't have a swivel mechanism and the mask itself is smaller, but we are talking very small weights here.

There are no retention straps on the headgear, and the way that the hose attaches through a swivel mechanism would make it impractical to run the hose to a loop on the top of the head (i.e up and over the nose between the eyes) but if you wanted to use velcro to loop it around one side near one ear and out the back you could do that OK but I haven't tried it.

That said, I don't find the weight pulling down an issue because the way the mask fits it distributes the weight over the surface area of the nose if that makes sense. On the P10, the weight pulling down made it hard to keep the mask in one place, and every night I used it I had at least one large leak, and often several, and the hose sticking straight out from the mask added to the issues.

On the Brevida I have had no large leaks at all since I started with it. It's like on the P10 the whole weight is pivoting off the end of the nostrils hose and all. On the Brevida that pivot point is essentially the whole end of the nose and the top of the lip under it, which prevents a lot of movement even when tugging on it, but also the pillow seals even when there is movement up and down. and with the swivel attachment the hose itself isn't hanging out front and trying to pivot around that point, so there is less movement happening. I hope that makes sense. Hard to describe.

I would have to say the first few nights using it I found myself playing with the swivel mechanism a bit to get the hose in the "right" spot, but for whatever reason I realise I am not doing that anymore - I just put it on and get into sleep position and leave it. I have just two nights ago bought a side sleeper cpap memory foam pillow which has a cut out on the side of it so that when you put your head on it on its side, the area under the nose has no pillow under it. That certainly lets the hose dangle without interference.

Good luck with it all. I would be interested how you find the Dreamwear. I still think it could work well and will probably get a large one to try sometime when I can.

[SideSleeper]

Great reports--thanks for posting JeffT. My #1 mask is a Wisp, but I've been on a search for the headgear that doesn't cause further hair loss--I seem to have speeded up the loss process in the nearly 2 years using a PAP. I was the first in our area to use a Dreamwear--I'd just started this hosehead journey and was fighting using the machine. I liked it a lot better but just couldn't get the leak problem solved. I used a chin strap for awhile but believe it was the main cause of accelerated hair loss. I then successfully went to a soft cervical collar after going back to the Wisp. I hear my own breathing more with the DW--that bothers me. I did get the gel pillows for the DW recently--liked them better but the mask shifting and leaks were still not good. I got a Brevida and started wearing it this week--will report after a few more nights. I had to tighten the mask after a few hours of trying to get leaks settled down the first night, then did pretty well. My leaks with any mask are small--had only one large leak--that came with a mask adjustment in the middle of the night. I'll report on the Brevida when I have more experience wearing it--it looks hopeful!

[JeffT]

Thanks for posting - would love to see how you go with it and what you think. On occasion I find the strap rides up my head a little and I get a little leaking, but I probably keep the strap a little loose - it could go tighter but it copes well with being loose because of how it cradles the nose. Like you I don't want pressure / rubbing on my head.  

Last night for the first time I knocked the diffuser off while asleep and the resultant breeze on my arm and extra exhaust noise woke me a little, but I just snapped it on and went back to sleep. I don't know how I did it. 

Good luck with it!

[SideSleeper]

Used the Brevida last night and did well. Had small leaks but nothing serious showed up on Sleephead. I'm going to fiddle with it a little tonight--left nostril hurt little this morning--I sleep only on my right side. To keep the weight of the hose from pulling on the mask I leave a little slack then tuck the hose under the end of my pillow. My headboard lets me tread the hose through it so I pull all the rest of the hose in back of the headboard. I think there are clips that attach to the headboard that do the same thing--hold the weight of the hose up.

[Sheepish]

Nice write-up, JeffT.


I'm also trying out all of the masks you mention, save the Brevida. Here are a few thoughts.

• For initial nostril soreness with the nasal pillow masks, the P10 and the Nuance, try Lansinoh, a nipple relief cream for nursing mothers made from natural sheep lanolin, no kidding. Apply just a tiny, tiny dab to the nostril rims before bedtime, then a bit more after you get up in the morning and take off the mask. After a few days, you probably won't need it anymore. I went to Walmart and asked the pharmacist for some, and though he pointed me to a similar product, he was mostly all like \_(ツ)_/. I went all the way across to the other corner of the store to the baby section (hadn't been there in quite a while ), and found the Lansinoh myself. I presume you have Walmarts Down Under, just as we have them here Up Top (Canada). I'm pretty sure I've heard you guys have sheep, too.  
  
• The Dreamwear certainly gives the impression it's leakier than the others, but when you look at the empirical data in Sleepyhead, the leak rate is actually often lower than others, I've found.
  
• For crease marks on your cheeks from the headgear, are you using any padding?
  
• CPAP does help alleviate grumpiness, as you observe. Not completely, though, as there remain so many things in this world that conspire to
  
• Based on some of your descriptions, I think I'll put the Brevida at the top of my list of which mask to try next, when the time comes.
  
  
  

[JeffT]

Thanks for your feedback and thoughts. They should be useful for forum users.

I'm settled for the moment on the Brevida, which is still working very well for me. Haven't had any dislodgements or any other issues with it yet, and despite using it every night for a few months now, no irritations to my nose or marks on my face. I bought my own mask (was using a loaner) which gave me a chance to try the smaller version as both sizes come in the pack, but the medium-large proved to be right for me.

Getting the tension right on the new mask took a little - I originally had it tight but have realised I can have it a little looser with no problems, and it is more comfortable that way.