i have an activa...love it (as much as one can love cpap treatment).  it never leaks, is comfortable, fits well.  until the cushion ripped, that is.  ordered a new cushion from an authorised dealer online, stupidly in another city because no one in melbourne would answer my phone calls, same size as the other, and clipped it in, thankful that i'd be able to sleep again

NOT...it squirts air directly into my eyes.  resmed refuses to acknowledge that this may be faulty and now insinuate that i bought counterfeit goods made in china, how can they prove it's authentic spare parts and they refuse to honour warranty for internet purchases.  excuse me???  the sleep technician is working her bum off trying to fit me into a different mask.  nothing...they ALL leak.  now she wants me to try the liberty...but after seeing one of the forum members' photo, with his liberty literally tied to his face, i knew it wasn't going to work for me.  she also thinks i need a new machine.  i don't.  the one i have works perfectly.  don't sell me something just because it's new.  sell me something that WORKS.

i know there are some alternatives out there.  i know that there is someone here trying to design a new mask.  but with such a high failure rate for leaking, how come no one's got this right?  if i had the cash, i think i'd visit a medical prosthetist to take a cast of my face and make a cushion specifically for me.

/rant over

Cecile you are preaching to the choir! I wish I had a dollar for every time I have said your exact words! And wanted to do the exact same thing  and get a cast of my face and have a custom mask made! But they would have to make it when your asleep for it to work properly! Actually that mod for the Hybrid and the Liberty isn't all that uncomfortable   it is the mug under it that make it look bad!


_________________
White Beard with a White Beard
Resmed VPAP Adapt SV Enhanced, HumidAire 2i, ResLink with Model 8000 Flex sensor Pulse Oximeter, and ResScan 3.5 software. Respironic EverFlo OPI Oxygen Concentrator 3 lpm
EEP 9.0, min PS 6.0, max PS 16.0

some masks can be resized by heating to soften then pressing against your face until it rehardens, Ive done this with my respironics comfort gell and it fits better

there was a company advertising made to fit masks on the internet

masks that have headgear and rely on tension from elastic straps usually need final adjustment  made when lying down, also allow for new elastic to stretch


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resmed S6 lightweight, respironics comfort gell mask using CPAP since 1995, no humidifier
during my many years of severe fatigue, no doctor ever asked me if I snored

I've said before...we'll all chip in and give the perfect mask designer...$1,000,000...to date...no one's even close to claiming it!!!!


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EVERY SILVER LINING HAS A TOUCH OF GREY
-Grateful Dead


CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO~ http://tinyurl.com/69q52a

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CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO~ http://tinyurl.com/69q52a

*screams with laughter at PuhJommies's post*

indeed!

Cecile, really, ARE you laying down WITH your CPAP turned ON when you are fitting your mask? This makes all the difference in the world in getting a comfortable, relatively leak free fit. Is this the same sleep technician who fitted you w/your original Activa?


_________________
Some people are like Slinkies... Not really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.
Resmed VPAP Auto. Humidaire 3i, Simplicity & Micro masks, ResScan 3.4, S8 ResLink, Embla oximeter.

seriously, i am.  the original mask was fitted when i was at home in my own bed, and it never ever leaked once.  changing the cushion has made a mess of it.  it's not the original therapist, but i'm sure that doesn't matter one iota.  in fact, this person appears to be much better.  the headgear has never fit properly from day one.

i don't want "relatively" leak-free.  i want, and require completely leak-free.  i can not stand to have anything touching my face at the best of times, and this eye leak, which is not apparent at 7cm, starts to blow air as it ramps up and wakes me.  

in the short term, i have decided that no cpap is a damn sight better than with a leaking mask, and have stopped trying.  i'll see the therapist on tuesday but if that doesn't work, so be it.

Cecile did you use your CPAP all the time to sleep before? From your post I was just wondering if you ever really got used to using it? You mentioned in your post that seeing (I assume it was my picture) "tied" in the Liberty that you knew it wasn't for you, well how do you know? Have you tried the Liberty mask?  You say you have stopped using the CPAP and stopped trying. If your therapist doesn't get things fixed are you going to quit CPAP all together? It just about sounds like you are trying to find excuses not to use your CPAP, are you? If you do quit using it have you thought about how that will affect you? short and long term? I hope you don't think I am being critical of you, I am not, I am just curious as to why you seem so negative about CPAP? I know it is extremely difficult to get use to, but it is worth the time, trouble, and effort, to do so! I do wish you luck and hope you can get your problems resolved, Good Luck to You!


_________________
White Beard with a White Beard
Resmed VPAP Adapt SV Enhanced, HumidAire 2i, ResLink with Model 8000 Flex sensor Pulse Oximeter, and ResScan 3.5 software. Respironic EverFlo OPI Oxygen Concentrator 3 lpm
EEP 9.0, min PS 6.0, max PS 16.0

please, don't make assumptions, and don't preach to the already converted.  i have used cpap consistently for three years without a problem, after it took a few months to get used to.  the activa is the second, and perfect, mask for me and i have been using it for three years.  i am not looking for excuses, i WANT to use it...it's an amazing treatment. i am sleepy by mid-afternoon without it and i know i am snoring.  i have a physical, uncontrollable dislike for anything touching my face, so the air rushing across my nose was a HUGE effort to get used to.  nasal pillows are just not something that i have any desire to try.  if a mask is supposed to fit, it should just damn well fit, not have to be tied on.  might work for you, but not for me.

i have been having troubles with insomnia for some months now.  it's not psychological.  i understand sleep hygiene, don't have caffeine after midday. am careful with foods that have preservatives or caffeine at night.  our bed is for sleep and intimacy, nothing else, not even reading.  the bed's brand new, as are the pillows and linens.  the leaking cpap is making this nightmare much worse, and i need to have unbroken sleep, even if i am snoring.

i work fulltime.  it's a very busy technical role in a government department that challenges me every day.  i can't afford to be tired.  ii can't afford to take days and days off to see sleep technicians because i had two hours' sleep the night before due to leaking mask, then fall into bed sobbing because i can't settle and no matter how long i leave the thing on, it squirts cold air into my eyes.  i use a heated humidifier, and heated hose.  i can't manage the sleep deprivation that has been dogging me since the damn mask cushion tore...it's worse than having a new baby.

please don't judge me because i have made a conscious decision not to continue treatment for now if i can't find a mask solution.  i'm not stupid, and am under my doctor's care.  i'm a grown woman making an educated choice to sleep without the machine.  i'm not negative either.  i simply need to sleep, and am actually having a full night, something i have NEVER, EVER had while on cpap treatment.

that said, if you even inadvertently presume a newbie to this forum is new to cpap, and post negatively to them, makes me wonder why i should continue to come post here

Why not just buy a new mask, instead of replacing the cushion? Is that an option?

I agree that you SHOULD be able to buy a replacement cushion and have it work flawlessly, but something is defective here. You can always replace the entire mask.

As to why the perfect mask hasnt been manufactured? If you can guarantee that all faces will have the same exact contours, then I can guarantee a universal perfect fitting mask. These manufacturers have to deal with trying to fit snowflakes with CPAP masks. Its never ever going to be a perfect system, thus they give you a ton of options.

delete please



Last edited by Cecile on Sun Jul 20, 2008 3:07 am; edited 1 time in total

no message needed

Cecile wrote:

i have an activa...love it (as much as one can love cpap treatment).  it never leaks, is comfortable, fits well.  until the cushion ripped, that is.  ordered a new cushion from an authorised dealer online, stupidly in another city because no one in melbourne would answer my phone calls, same size as the other, and clipped it in, thankful that i'd be able to sleep again

NOT...it squirts air directly into my eyes.  resmed refuses to acknowledge that this may be faulty and now insinuate that i bought counterfeit goods made in china, how can they prove it's authentic spare parts and they refuse to honour warranty for internet purchases.  excuse me???  the sleep technician is working her bum off trying to fit me into a different mask.  nothing...they ALL leak.  now she wants me to try the liberty...but after seeing one of the forum members' photo, with his liberty literally tied to his face, i knew it wasn't going to work for me.  she also thinks i need a new machine.  i don't.  the one i have works perfectly.  don't sell me something just because it's new.  sell me something that WORKS.

i know there are some alternatives out there.  i know that there is someone here trying to design a new mask.  but with such a high failure rate for leaking, how come no one's got this right?  if i had the cash, i think i'd visit a medical prosthetist to take a cast of my face and make a cushion specifically for me.

/rant over

I was watching the original aliens movie  the other night, I have some ideas and was wondering if anyone would volunteer to try out my designs?

I've included a protype for your review, thoughts?



http://www.yourprops.com/view_item.php?movie_prop=20330


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My Kinda town Chicago is



Nothing in life is guaranteed, not even taxes -- you have to make money to get money back

PuhJommies wrote:

PuhJommies,

I tried this a few times, strangely I couldn't sleep but my limbs all fell asleep. I also felt cheap for some reason.


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My Kinda town Chicago is



Nothing in life is guaranteed, not even taxes -- you have to make money to get money back