New to Apnea / CPAP - Avoid DME and Go Straight to Online Purchase?

[dreamstream]

Great. Thank you. Wasn't aware the tubes were interchangeable. Interoperability in the world is never as common as I'd like! Right now am leaning toward Frankenstein setup of ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet with Dreamware Mask. That looks like the best possible option based on what I'm reading and learning here and what I know about my diagnosis and sleep style. Thank you!

[snorybob]

Which model of DreamWear are you looking for? Is it the full face or the nasal mask?


Bob.

[big_dave]

Wasn't aware the tubes were interchangeable.

It depends on the type of tubing you use. Standard (nonheated) tubing is interchangeable, but heated hoses are proprietary and must match the machine.

[dreamstream]

Ah, great. Was looking at a heated hose so would that combo still work or I would need a ResMed heated hose vs. Dreamwear hose. Would that be right?

[snorybob]

Resmed climate air (heated) to Resmed machine.

Other end to Dreamwear headgear hose or any other headgear connection(Resmed, Respironics, F&P etc...)

   
     Bob.

[dreamstream]

Great. What I'm looking at getting pricing on right now is:

ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet, ResMed ClimateLineAir heated tube Philips Respironics DreamWear Fit Pack with Headgear and DreamWear Full Face Mask. Looking at having both the the nasal and full face masks so see how they both perform when I my allergies are at their worst.

Thanks again. Appreciate all your insights.

[snorybob]

You could read the reviews on the Resmed N30i which is similar to the Respironics nasal Dreamwear.

Very much alike, but it's worth it to check the reviews. N30i comes in a fit pack also.


   Bob.

[Fats Drywaller]

ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet, ResMed ClimateLineAir heated tube Philips Respironics DreamWear Fit Pack with Headgear and DreamWear Full Face Mask. Looking at having both the the nasal and full face masks so see how they both perform when I my allergies are at their worst.

A clarification:  The "fit pack" or "fit kit" for any mask includes the mask itself and all of the sizes of nosepiece, so the whole bundle is a single item.

When choosing the Dreamwear package, there are actually three variants: full-face, nasal, and gel-pillows.  Just to make things more confusing, what Philips calls "nasal" in that particular case is actually nasal-cushion, which is a variant of nasal-pillows (but without the gel), having much more in common with nas-pil than it has with other masks called Nasal.  And in the Resmed's settings, you set the mask type to "Pillows" when you're using either the Dreamwear nasal-cushion or the Dreamwear nasal-pillows.  To make things even more confusing, the gel-pillows nosepiece is often called a "cushion".  As if that weren't enough, the Dreamwear frame is available in three sizes: S, M, L.  The retail package includes the M, and if you need one of the others, you have to order that separately (among other places, it's available on Amazon in the US but I don't know about .ca).  How do you find out whether you need one of the others?  Well, one way is to buy the regular/medium package, try on the mask, and check it in a mirror against the crude illustrations on the sizing card that is included in the package, also posted here thanks to C0mbe:

http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...#pid196219

With the Dreamwear, that's not merely a matter of comfort; it affects the air delivery, so if you use the wrong size you'll be getting screwed-up CPAP therapy and bad results. Thank you, Philips.

The torture never stops!  One more thing:  Before buying the Dreamwear or any other mask, it's a good idea to read some reviews of it, looking especially for negative points that could possibly rule it out for you.  In this case, it turns out that the Dreamwear is very noisy, probably the noisiest of all masks in the current generation, because the air travels loudly through the hollow silicone frame/headgear: what I call the problem of the Russian heir.  If the noise of the Russian heir won't keep you awake, that's great and go ahead and get the DW.  But if you need peace & quiet instead, better reconsider. For instance, can you sleep well while hearing waves crashing on a seashore next to you? If so, DW should be OK for you.

Disclaimer or claimer:  I own a Dreamwear, have tried the nas-pil and nas-cush variants of it (not full-face), and liked it in some ways but couldn't put up with the noise long-term.  So I shelved it.  The nas-cushion variant is annoyingly leaky when side-sleeping, which has also been reported in reviews & discussion threads here.  The gel-pillows variant (same frame & headgear, just a different snap-in nosepiece) is less leaky, acceptable in that regard, but the noise problem is still there because of the hollow frame, and for me the gel-pillows nosepiece wasn't nearly as comfortable as the cushion nosepiece.

[Fats Drywaller]

A suggestion: It's good to include, in your list of initial purchases, a regular (unheated) air hose in addition to, as an alternative to, the Climateline heated hose. There might be times when you'll want to use an unheated hose, and the Climateline is heavier and therefore more troublesome than a regular hose, so just switching the heat off isn't quite the same thing. There are three kinds of unheated hose: cheapie generic 22mm, Resmed-branded 22mm, and Resmed "Slimline" 15mm. Any of those will work. When using the Slimline, you need to select that in the machine's settings. The default in the software is 22mm, and the Climateline hose will be detected automatically so there's no need to set that one.

[dreamstream]

Fantastic. Thank you. Really appreciate all these insights. Should making a decision to order today!