Mask swift FX issues

[alby_c]

I have been using the swift fx mask for over a year now. I took a little while to get used to them inside the nostrils but I very rarely get above AHI 1 with them and I sleep well on the whole. love the nasal pillows. while I have a full face mask, and a nasal mask for when colds make the pillows not an option, whenever I use them I cannot wait to get back to the pillows. I am one of those who make others envious (sick) - I took to CPAP like a politician kissing babies, from the first night it was great and changed my life.

That said I have 2 issues.
The strap across the back of the head can ride up an so the mask unseats itself, lots of leaks and noise and both me and my wife get woken. I try to keep the classic "short back and sides" to counter this but its not always successful. The strap slips over longer hair very easily.
Second - The diffuser seems to blast a column of cool air across my arm/chest/wife and either wake me or her. While I position it carefully when I am going to sleep, we all move a bit and bingo.

I use a resmed S9 autoset with EPR so the diffuser blasts it out on every in breath.

I read in the P10 blurb about a redesigned diffuser - is it better? How does its headgear go in staying in position?

Any other thoughts?

[trish6hundred]

Hi alby_c,
The P10 does have a better way of diffusing, you won't get blasted with cold air from it. A lot of people here on the forum don't like the headgear but I do well with it. Of course, YMMV.
Hang in there for more answers to your question.

[DariaVader]

i had the same issues with the swift fx and am now using a p10. way better diffuser!!! for the hair slippage, i put the bottom strap under my hair. works great. with the p10, i put my head between the back straps so that the p10 is hanging around my neck with only the bottom strap behind, then i pull the top one back over the forehead so that it acts as a headband, and then smoosh the p10 into place I have a little head, so i can use the extra tightening this provides. ymmv.

[Zorki1c]

I also switched from the Swift FX (which I had used for nearly a year) to the Airfit P10. Gone is the jet exhaust sound. I had my annual appointment with my sleep doc today and she said the number of nightly leaks have dropped from and area of concern with the Swift FX to almost zero with the P10.

[TyroneShoes]

Also a switcher; also think it is a much-improved design over the FX. Lower AHI also. Seems more stable even for side sleeping. I think even the curve of the pillows at the nare end is improved, which may be why it works so well.

The diffuser is so clever that you can no longer use the flow from there as a reliable indicator that the xPAP is even on. The headgear is much more comfortable, and the hose is more flexible. The right-angle bend is gone, but I find that to be an improvement. Also very quiet.

If you plug the hose with your thumb (removed from the feed tube from the xPAP) and take it apart and try to blow directly through the diffuser, it is much more difficult than with the FX. While that means the flow is mild and quiet, it may also mean that the CO2 is not being exhausted as efficiently as it once was; not sure if that is really an issue any more or not.

[gjw]

The Airfit P10 mask is so much more quiet compared to Swift FX. The special diffuser realy works like a charm.

;-> gjw

[PaulaO2]

Before you try it, make sure your supplier has a mask trial program. While the P10 and the Swift are almost identical, the headgear is very different. The headgear on the P10 is, well, it is a single band split about ear level so that one half goes on top and one goes on the bottom. That's it. No adjustments. One size is supposed to fit all. It doesn't, of course.

However, the diffuser is wonderful. You can have your hand just a few inches away and not feel any air coming from the mask.

[Elizabeth25]

I started with Nuance, switched to Swift and now have P10.
The Nuance and Swift felt comfortable enough and I had no leaks but they left marks on my cheeks that lasted for hours.
The thing I love most about the P10 is the venting. So quiet. No blasting air. The head strap works well enough for me. I wish it was a little wider so that it might move around less. But even with some movement I've got no leaks.
When there is a new version of P10 I will certainly give it a try.

[DocWils]

I had to heavily modify the FX in order to make it workable (after the second night, in fact), for the same complaints you had with it, and that included making an air channel for the exhaust port. Switching to the P10 I did not have to modify it at all - I thought and still think the strap is doof, but by slipping the bottom part of the split back under my hair, so the hair acts as a barrier, it holds it in place well enough. I would not go back to the FX ever again, since it is much heavier and the mods make it even more ungainly - once I had modified it, it was fine and comfortable enough, but the first time I slipped on the P10, I was amazed - quiet, practically so light one could not notice it, so much better. My complaints one can see in my review of it in the product review section, but I would advise you to consider the change over - it is the better choice.

[TyroneShoes]

OK, I'm confused, Doc. Your profile references the FX, something you would "not go back to".

Please elaborate on "making an air channel". Was this some method of diverting the exhaust blast?