Noobs Beware!

[FLcracker]

Mizz Cracker has been doing real well...After much trial n' error, we finally have her set up working pretty well...pulling mostly 3 to 5 +'s, an occasional 8 or 9, even a one time so far 2+ .... Yay!!!!

The one unending problem was mask leakage...She pretty well solved that by making her own liners, and using extra homemade headbands to keep the mask firmly in place....That's when the numbers really started dropping ... (One more 'Yay!').

Then Tue morning she wakes up, and her left eye is stuck closed...when it won't open on its own, she uses a fore-finger and thumb to 'pry' it open...Now she has it open, but with much pain and blurred vision...She heads of to the office, but is back home by 11am, pain and consistent watering, and has to go see her eye doctor...He looks,says she needs to see eye specialist...He tells her she has removed at least 2-3 0f the five layers of eyeball skin, in the outside corner of her eyeball (she sleeps mostly on her left side)...

The specialist has to do some light corrective surgery (scraping), and she's not to do any labor where she needs to read a lot...She makes her living with computers...so she's down for a while.

$70 co-pay for both doctors, and a 'script that totals $296.98. And at least two more office calls ahead

Doc asked if she were on CPAP....'Yeah'...He says that a leak is what likely caused her eye to dry out so bad that the lid adhered to her eyeball...He's seen it before.

I'm being restrained from nailing the wonder blower to one my oak trees, and using my .357 to see just how many pieces I can make it into... BUT...SWMBO says 'NO!!, and she almost always prevails.

Good news is, she's sleeping so well and soundly, she didn't notice the leakage that seems to have caused this... So beware folks...They are double edged weapons...They can sure help you, but they can obviously hurt as well...So be careful!

Best to All, FLc

[Sleeprider]

Good information, and a reasonable warning. Does your wife have chronic dry eye as well?

and ouch!

[retired_guy]

Oh boy, Cracker guy --- good shout out.

I'm sure it has been suggested before, but I'll do it again: Buy her a nice little pillows mask such as the Resmed P10. Eyedocs go a little nutzie when you tell them you use a cpap machine because of the leak thing. But that is not as much of an issue with a pillows mask. There are a bunch of other reasons why I like the P10 instead of my former masks, but I think you've probably heard it before.

[Ghost1958]

Wow she must have had a really steady leak to her eyes. If she doesnt like pillows go with a Eson nasal or Simplus FFM. I have both and if I do get a leak its never around eyes due to the way the top of the cushion self adjusts .

[FLcracker]

Good information, and a reasonable warning. Does your wife have chronic dry eye as well?

No Sir....Mostly the opposite...We are both pretty troubled with allergies to a lot of the fauna that grows in certain times of the year around our part of the Blackwater Swamps where we live... Meaning wet runny eyes, and sneezy runny noses.

and ouch!

Yep! That's exactly what she said!

FLc

[FLcracker]

Oh boy, Cracker guy --- good shout out.

I'm sure it has been suggested before, but I'll do it again: Buy her a nice little pillows mask such as the Resmed P10. Eyedocs go a little nutzie when you tell them you use a cpap machine because of the leak thing. But that is not as much of an issue with a pillows mask. There are a bunch of other reasons why I like the P10 instead of my former masks, but I think you've probably heard it before.

Thanks much..we'll be looking into that suggestion... She's a mostly 'mouth open' sleeper...so I never really considered the trial of nasal pillows...opting instead for a FFM from day one....Tried another (Flexifit 431) for a couple weeks...Constant bad leaks, went back to the original.

I have a feeling that before this all gets sorted out, I'm going to be needing a 'mask drawer', much like the 'holster drawer', that I already have...

Best, FLc

[retired_guy]

I think everyone in the civilized world is a "mouth breather." At least it seems like that sometime. I know I'm the poster child for "Mouth Breathers R Us."

...and yet I use the pillows mask very successfully. Why? Because once we get air supplied by Mr. Nosie, we learn to keep our mouth shut. In my case I do still use a chinstrap to help with that at night, and Mrs. R_G does a great job of helping me keep my mouth shut during the day.

[FLcracker]

Wow she must have had a really steady leak to her eyes. If she doesnt like pillows go with a Eson nasal or Simplus FFM. I have both and if I do get a leak its never around eyes due to the way the top of the cushion self adjusts .

That one was on the list of possibles, when I went in search of a better fitting one for her... I'm thinking I may look further into the 'pillows', before I try another FFM...

Good to hear from you Ghost!! We're both waving at you and Mizz Terri.

Stay warm and well up there in BlueGrass!

FLc

[Sleeprider]

FLcracker, just to keep things simple, you might want to look for some mask liners. They are supposed to be much more comfortable against the skin and stop leaks. She may or may not be able to do nasal therapy. It would be great for her if she can, but this is a pretty good solution that has worked for others.

[trish6hundred]

Hi FLcracker,
I'm sorry to hear about Mizz Cracker's eye problem, hope she gets better, soon.