[Product Review] VELPEAU Neck Brace -Foam Cervical Collar

[DaveL]

zzzZorro

Thanks for your post. Helps me a lot!

[zzzZorro]

zzzZorro

Thanks for your post. Helps me a lot!

You are most welcome.  I just wish someone would have told me this 5 years ago.  Some among us like to logically analyze sleep apnea 'gimmicks' to death but as you would know after 35 years,  "there ain't no logic to most of it"!

[DaveL]

I've used a home made pad under my chin for about 5 years. It's a LittleLife face pad for their child carrier. Bought it at Mountain Equipment Coop. It works. But not all the time. When it doesn't I wash it and the strap and put it back on. Now MEC doesn't carry it anymore.
I just ordered my second collar from amazon in 4 days. First one came as 2 copper water bottles. Maybe I'm supposed to drink my way through this.

I just ordered a Velpeau without the reinforcement--the comfort version. I had a tough time explaining the copper bottles. I'm keeping them. Maybe I'll find a use.

I was careful to look at the size. I have a big thick neck. Maybe that's why I have sleep apnea.


Dave

[DaveL]

You are most welcome.  I just wish someone would have told me this 5 years ago.  Some among us like to logically analyze sleep apnea 'gimmicks' to death but as you would know after 35 years,  "there ain't no logic to most of it"!

I wore my new Velpeau soft collar last night. First night. I didn't realize how hard it would be to sleep. 


zzzZorro....if I have to wear all this c-ap it had better work.

I'll persist because of all the help I get here.

I may need to get a new mask; the Velpeau interferes with the bottom straps on my ResMed N20.  Score:  $24 Velpeau; $300 new mask....

[zzzZorro]

I wore my new Velpeau soft collar last night. First night. I didn't realize how hard it would be to sleep. 


zzzZorro....if I have to wear all this c-ap it had better work.

I'll persist because of all the help I get here.

I may need to get a new mask; the Velpeau interferes with the bottom straps on my ResMed N20.  Score:  $24 Velpeau; $300 new mask....

Dave- I feel your pain.  Get really tired of wearing all the c-ap also but what is the option? The GrimReaper will come around soon enough without my help..

I am not familiar with the particular model collar you refer to.  I do know that the one I keep referencing with the stiffener is the key for me.  Let's face it, we all have enough blood and treasure involved in this c-ap adventure so a few dollars more ain't gonna be a big deal.  Hope the selection you made works out for you, but if it doesn't, pony up and drop a couple more bucks and get the 'iron maiden' that I use. Just get the biggest if you have a large neck.  Yes, I get tired of stuff around my neck and face all the time and my wife thinks it's funny but I always go back to it because it works for me and nothing else I know of does.. 
Hang in there my friend!

[MickTravis]

I posted about my collar experience in another post, but SleepRider asked me to write about my experience with the Velpeau collar in this thread.

It seems that a lot of my apneic events happen due to my chin tucking. When this happens, there's nothing the CPAP can do to overpower the flow limitation. It tries to, though, and increases the pressure until the mask leaks and I wake up, or otherwise, have OA events.

I've found using a collar to have an immense impact on my sleep apnea treatment. When I wear the Velpeau collar, even loosely, it prevents these flow limitations completely.

I'm sure many collars work just the same, but I got the Velpeau. The dip in the front doesn't prevent it from working. Mine comes with a collar slip cover that can be taken off and washed, which is nice. I have a 15" neck circumference and the large fits fine. A medium would probably work too since a perfect fit is unnecessary.

So long as the collar is fastened tightly enough that my chin can't drop too far, it works fine. This means the collar is quite loose and doesn't touch the front of my neck while in bed. I don't notice it when it's on.

Below are two side-by-side screen shots where the left shows a night's sleep with the collar and the right shows a night without it. The shots are representative of almost all of my nights with one of the aforementioned configurations.

If you're still having trouble with some apneic events that pressure can't seem to fix, I'd try a collar. It might be all you need.

   
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[Fabby]

I tuck my chin during sleep and mouth breathe without a collar. I have been using the Velpeau collars for the past year. I have both the 3” and the 4” in all three styles and find the one with the embedded firmer foam insert to work best for me. Velpeau gives easy to understand directions on Amazon on measuring your neck.

All three styles are very well made and come somewhat overpackaged wrapped in plastic in a box, and with ribbons attached for some odd reason. The velcro doesn’t start to lose its stick, the fabric covering doesn’t wear, pill, or develop holes. Mostly though it seems like the foam is a denser and better grade than the run of mill collar from the drugstore. The foam definitely holds its shape over time and that seems to make Velpeau stand out over the long haul. 

For some reason, I found the model with the removable plastic to be least effective. The plastic piece is much smaller than the collar and it moves around separately from the collar. The plastic doesn’t do much to stiffen the collar. It seems to me that it would marry better with the collar if it were inserted into the collar between the foam and the outside fabric.

I have tried just about all of Amazon’s collar offerings, including the wedge, chin straps and tape. Velpeau has worked best for me and held up best over the long haul.