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Chin straps (sigh)
#11
RE: Chin straps (sigh)
Kate wrote: Where do I find it? A dive shop? Seriously, that's what I need. I have run out of ideas.

Try a safety equipment store; it's a mask used for working around chemicals. I bought this mask years ago after I found out the hard-way that I'm highly allergic to fiberglass insulation dust. The mask was a whole lot cheaper than the ER costs.

If you do a Google Image search on "full face respirators", you'll see what is currently available. You need to find one that has an air inlet for attaching the hose and does not have the side filters (unless you really like to sleep all night on your back). Dielaughing

Bob.
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#12
RE: Chin straps (sigh)
JJ, just wondering, have you tried the Swift FX nasal mask? The one with just the lil prongs that go up the nostrils? I find that one works for me. I'm a side sleeper, too. The cushions have to be small enough to fit in the nose. They come in extra small, which I use. I'm asking this because I tried the Wisp too had the same problem. It just couldn't hack side sleeping. I also trade back and forth between the FX and a Quattro Air full face when I absolutely have to have that "air in my face" sensation that isn't possible with nasal masks. Let me know. I've actually learned to keep my mouth shut as some have said is possible. I see no other way my leakage went down besides that. I've given up on chin straps after trying several. I discovered I breath through my clenched teeth and there's no chin strap designed to stop that. The only thing that could maybe would be a mouth device of some kind. I didn't pursue that because my morning dryness disappeared due to my new ability to keep my trap shut. I'm not sure how that happened. I think just the force of the air does it. The tech at the sleep study told me everyone was using the Wisp and how it was an answer to a prayer for so many, but it just didn't work for me. The sensation of having it clamped on my nose was also a problem. I'm beginning to sleep longer now with a mask on after more than six months of trial and error. Just being able to trade off to full face or nasal when I want is a huge factor in comfort. It makes me feel the illusion of not being tied down to one mask. Weird, but that helps. I hope something I've said helps you. I know how much trouble this can be. Good luck and write back!! Love, DJ
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#13
RE: Chin straps (sigh)
(08-30-2013, 10:58 AM)djjwilly Wrote: JJ, just wondering, have you tried the Swift FX nasal mask?

Yep. The Swift FX was about the third or fourth mask that I tried, over a year ago. Leak, leak, leak!
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#14
RE: Chin straps (sigh)
JJJ, is your sleep still as fragmented as it used to be?
Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#15
RE: Chin straps (sigh)
(08-30-2013, 03:45 PM)Sleepster Wrote: JJJ, is your sleep still as fragmented as it used to be?

Not quite as bad. I used to wake up 5 to 8 times a night and rarely got much more than 45 minutes at a time. Now I wake up 3 to 5 times a night, and most of the time get at least 1.5 hours between arousals. On a really, really good night I can go to bed at 11:30 and not wake up until 4, followed by arousals at 5:30 and 7:00 or so. I have these three-arousal nights only about once every ten days or so; most of the rest of the time it's four times, and frequently five times.

I have done nothing in the way of therapy to make this improvement. No special pills, no meditation, no lifestyle changes. The improvement just happened. Slowly, but I'm not turning it down. Smile

I look at the data and try to match it to the arousals, but I see nothing. If I go to bed at 11:30 and wake up at 1:00, you'd expect to see something in the data around 1:00 - an apnea, a higher pressure, or something to indicate what was going on to arouse me, but I never see anything unusual around the arousal times.

Getting back on topic, I have decided to get some elastic bandages and safety pins and just make my own chin strap. My plan is to use a 3" under my chin and over my head, with a 1" or as thin as I can find to run around the back of my head.
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#16
RE: Chin straps (sigh)
(08-30-2013, 07:10 PM)JJJ Wrote: Not quite as bad. I used to wake up 5 to 8 times a night and rarely got much more than 45 minutes at a time. Now I wake up 3 to 5 times a night, and most of the time get at least 1.5 hours between arousals.

I have noticed a similar pattern of improvement, even though my situation is not as bad as yours.

I think it just takes us time to break those habits we formed during the decades we spent sleeping without a CPAP machine. Our brains are so conditioned to having to wake us up every few minutes to breathe that they just can't get used to the fact that they no longer need to do that.

Like you, I can find nothing in my data to account for the arousals.

I do notice, though, that if I'm a good boy and get some exercise for a few consecutive days I do get some improvement. Most nights I can go 4-5 hours before my first arousal. I hate it when I wake up too early in the morning and can't back to sleep, but I remind myself that I shouldn't complain -- things used to be much much worse.
Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#17
RE: Chin straps (sigh)
Try the SP-CHADJ made by AG Industries.
Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#18
RE: Chin straps (sigh)
(08-30-2013, 10:56 AM)PollCat Wrote: Kate wrote: Where do I find it? A dive shop? Seriously, that's what I need. I have run out of ideas.

Try a safety equipment store; it's a mask used for working around chemicals. I bought this mask years ago after I found out the hard-way that I'm highly allergic to fiberglass insulation dust. The mask was a whole lot cheaper than the ER costs.

If you do a Google Image search on "full face respirators", you'll see what is currently available. You need to find one that has an air inlet for attaching the hose and does not have the side filters (unless you really like to sleep all night on your back). Dielaughing

Bob.

I know you're probably joking, but someone might actually try it.

You can DIE if you modify another type of mask for CPAP use!!!

Unless you have a vent designed to let air escape at an adequate rate, you'll be rebreathing your exhaled air.

Don't assume you'll wake up because of the stale air. Low O2/High CO2 can render you unconscious without any warning. Google "Confined space training" for examples of deaths in industrial settings.

You may also find you have some degree of leaks from some source when you start therapy, but the leaks go away as you shift position, and then you end up rebreathing.


Get the free OSCAR CPAP software here.
Useful links.
Click here for information on the main alternative to CPAP.
If it's midnight and a DME tells you it's dark outside, go and check it yourself.
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#19
RE: Chin straps (sigh)
(08-30-2013, 07:10 PM)JJJ Wrote: Getting back on topic, I have decided to get some elastic bandages and safety pins and just make my own chin strap. My plan is to use a 3" under my chin and over my head, with a 1" or as thin as I can find to run around the back of my head.

I got an elastic bandage today, but it's not going well. That is, I can wrap it under my chin and over my head correctly, but no matter how I try to attach a back strap the main strap just slides off my head in front of my face. I think I need to sit in a chair and have a second person figure out the placement and arrangement of the back strap(s).

Also, the elastic bandage material is way too wimpy, plus I can tell it's going to lose its elasticity quickly from being stretched over and over again.

I also just ordered the SP-CHADJ. It was only $15.95 with free shipping. It looks like it might work, so worth giving it a shot.
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#20
RE: Chin straps (sigh)
(08-31-2013, 09:57 PM)JJJ Wrote: I also just ordered the SP-CHADJ. It was only $15.95 with free shipping. It looks like it might work, so worth giving it a shot.

Getting someone to adjust the straps while you sit in a chair is very helpful.

It works well for me, and rather reminds me of a football helmet. I'd still be using it if I needed something that elaborate.
Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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