DreamWear Nasal CPAP Mask users

[Vitamin J]

Yeah, needless to say, that was the last night on that mask...lol

[ghstudio]

I am a side sleeper and I use a mask strap cover on one side to reduce the mark on my face in the morning.  It fits very snugly on the mask arm and I don't think it effects the mask staying on/off at all.  The tension on the backstrap critical to keeping the mask in place.  

I'm not sure the correct way to put the mask on....but I put the top of the mask on my head and then position the strap...then I pull the cushion under my nose. take two normal breaths through my nose and the auto on function turns on the APAP without even turning on the panel light.  Never had a problem opening my mouth using just a nasal mask although prior to the APAP, I was essentially a mouth breather.

[Zedoary]

I probably shouldn't weigh in here but here goes! In my extremely limited experience, I am doing well with it as a primary side sleeper. I don't think I changed sides last night at all.  I used it on the titration study and really liked it.  I've used it twice this week, as a brand new CPAP user, and I did have considerable leaking on the first night, but I feel most of it was a poorly connected hose to the elbow connector joint at the machine. It was pretty constant. We corrected that last night and it was MUCH better on the read out this am.  Some people have suggested bridging sizes of the insert to see what works best for you. Good luck.

[cronkster]

I just want to say that I truly appreciate all the comments on the forum.  We're talking about differences in our use and experience that are often very subtle and vary night by night.  All we can do is try to analyse what's happening and guide one another as best we can.  I find that as soon as I comment, something convinces me soon after that I gave bad advice!

But really it's all good advice.  And the more we think, and experiment, the better we're able to guide not only fellow users, but manufacturers as to what works and doesn't.

[Sam Wallis]

I use a foam neck pillow that prevents side sleeping issues, it's worth a try to see if the neck pillow resolves your problem.

Lubsie, please describe your foam neck pillow. Do you mean one of those horseshoe shaped they sell for traveling?  And how do you position yourself to use it?  I would like to try one but not sure what you mean by a foam neck pillow.

[lubsie]

It is a horseshoe shaped neck pillow made of tempuric foam.  It takes the pressure of the DreamWear Nasal mask while side sleeping.  This is the most comfortable mask I have ever used.  I am able to either the small or the medium sized nasal piece without a leak.  After a month or so, I must replace the nasal piece.

[cronkster]

Just look on amazon for a 'soft cervical collar'.
Mine is a 2 1/2 inch high one.  Just put it on with the indentation under the chin and fasten the velcro in the back.  It keeps your chin up and your head positioned well while you sleep, but it won't stabilize the dreamwear mask. For that, a wide elastic chinstrap, put on after the mask, works better.
As for me, I'm liking this Activa LT. I think I could do somersaults in my sleep without losing the seal.

[Sterling Bland]

The right Mask size is a must but so is the nasal attachment. For side sleeping I found that the large one wraps around the nose for a better seal. My sleep therapist told me to play around with them but that she was a side sleeper, and even though she is a rather small woman, that the large nose attachment worked the best. Well she was right. 

I also had headgear fit problems but mine was to small, though it mostly sat in the proper place it was tight, so tight that I had a permanent stripe in my hair that wouldn't go away. After going to the large headgear everything sat in the same place but had some room up top to move back and forth instead of it being pressing down tight  Now no more stripe, and as a plus it actually took some angle off the nose piece and rolled the top of the nose piece towards my nose reliving some pressure on the bottom making the mask feel as if I'm hardly even wearing a mask at all, I didn't even notice the pressure being put on the bottom until the change, I had written it off as just the way the mask was, but it sealed even better giving me 100% scores ever since, unless the dog decides to go out more than once a night. 

So in conclusion I'd suggest trying the large nose piece first before going to the smaller headgear because if you go to small, even though it may seem to sit in the right place, you'll run into other problems that over time becomes worse than before you started. Also anyone using nasal pillows, no matter how much they try to deny it, they do enlarge your nasal openings, this mask does not do that and my nose has returned to its normal size after 5 months using the Dreamwear headset.

[Zhash]

I love my DreamWear Nasal Mask.  The P10 made my nostrils bleed when I took the nasal pillows off.  I am a woman and I wear medium headgear with a medium nasal mask and it works perfectly.  Sometimes, when I'm sleeping on my side, I will hear a swishing sound. I simply reposition my pillow and it will go away. I think I do it in half asleep because it doesn't wake me up. Honestly, I have the best sleep ever. For years I had a terrible night's sleep and slept with my mouth open and snored. I can't wait to go to bed now and I wake up so rested. Plus, every winter I had a least two sinus infections. Since using the CPAP humidifier, I have had no sinus infections. Yay!