My Experience Trying the Air Fit P10

I had such high hopes for this mask. I was SO disappointed! I must have a huge head (insert jokes here) because it was SO tight! I adjusted the straps (no tabs to adjust, you can only move the straps around in different position to tighten and loosen) to the loosest it could possibly go and still stay on my head. I wear a small nasal pillow in my current mask, which is a Nuance. I had to use the medium in the P10 to get relatively the same size opening. The P10 pillows are so much more ridged than the Nuance. Not soft at all. I found that the straps on the P10 were stiffer than the Nuance. I added the Pad a Cheek covers to the P10.

I LOVE that the P10 does not have a swivel at the hose attachment on the mask. I thought I would not like that, but it stopped "hose fights." The Nuance swivel piece flips around when I change positions and I have to adjust the hose every time. I love that no part of the P10 hose rested on my upper lip. It has taken a long time to get used to that with the Nuance. The P10 air vent is quite diffused, however, with the air blowing on either side of the hose attachment instead of the front, the air blows onto my bare shoulders (I am a side sleeper). I had to cover my shoulder with a sheet. When the sheet slipped, the air blowing on me woke me up.

My Nuance does not leak and there was no way that the P10 could leak because it was practically embedded onto my face. With the Nuance, however, I have trained myself to hold onto the swivel piece when I roll over to keep the mask in place. I did not have to do that with the P10.

In the middle of the night, when I had to use the restroom (I ALWAYS have to go at least one time a night) and when my body woke me up, I felt the pain on my nose from the mask. I was determined to use it throughout the whole night, however, so I put it back on and slept an additional 7 hours. Peacefully. However, when I woke up............

I looked in the mirror and I didn't have just small bags under my eyes, I had steam trunks! I also had two red, deep indentations around my nostrils. Two hours later, my nose still hurts and the bags have not diminished at all. Sigh.

If there was someway that the headgear could stretch so it still made a seal but was not pushing my nose upwards, I think I could embrace it. However, at this point, it is embracing ME--way, too, too much. I don't want to "become one" with my mask!

I also don't have "numbers" from SleepyHead for the P10. For the last two nights, I have completely forgotten to get my SD card from my computer back into my Dream Station.

So, congratulations if you made it all the way through the post! It proves you have a long attention span!

Sleeping Ugly wrote:I also don't have "numbers" from SleepyHead for the P10. For the last two nights, I have completely forgotten to get my SD card from my computer back into my Dream Station.

Actually the beauty of the DreamStation is that even if the SD card is left in the computer all night there is very little lost.
Go ahead and put the SD card back in the DreamStation and give it just a couple minutes to write the data that is stored in its internal memory to the SD card. You lose only the flow rate graph...all other data and graphs will be there.

Which headgear did you get...the blue or the pink?
The headgear does stretch with time and there are ways to speed up the process if you are interested enough to give it a try.
Plus somebody here might have a headgear already stretched out that you could try.

Hi, Sleeping Ugly. The Nuance Pro gel was my favorite mask, but after reading so many glowing reviews of the P10 I decided to give it a try. I had the same problems you had at first (too tight, red marks across my cheeks, huge bags under my eyes). I tried to stretch the (blue) headgear over a bowl for a day, but that didn't help. Then I cut the back straps and added small pieces of elastic. That did help, but once the straps stretched from use, I had to remove the elastic and sew the straps back together. I finally got rid of the red marks and bags after looking at images of real people wearing the mask and realized it was sitting too high across my face. I fixed that by pulling the mask lower right where it sits above the ears, which made it rest lower on my cheeks. Voila! Red marks gone and bags greatly diminished.

However. . .for me there's still an issue with the P10 being dislodged when I change positions, resulting in bursts of air across my cheeks and into my eyes. I ordered a Brevida, which should arrive tomorrow. I'm hoping that it will fit better because the pillows inflate slightly around the outside of the nose.

Best of luck to you. Finding "the one" seems to be a neverending quest.

Pugsy wrote:

Sleeping Ugly wrote:I also don't have "numbers" from SleepyHead for the P10. For the last two nights, I have completely forgotten to get my SD card from my computer back into my Dream Station.

Actually the beauty of the DreamStation is that even if the SD card is left in the computer all night there is very little lost.
Go ahead and put the SD card back in the DreamStation and give it just a couple minutes to write the data that is stored in its internal memory to the SD card. You lose only the flow rate graph...all other data and graphs will be there.

Which headgear did you get...the blue or the pink?
The headgear does stretch with time and there are ways to speed up the process if you are interested enough to give it a try.
Plus somebody here might have a headgear already stretched out that you could try.

Hi Pugsy,,
I got the pink. Maybe I have a manly sized head? I will put my SD card into the my Dream Station. Thanks for telling me that!

I AM very interested in stretching the headgear! There was some positives to the mask for sure!

Bertha deBlues wrote:Hi, Sleeping Ugly. The Nuance Pro gel was my favorite mask, but after reading so many glowing reviews of the P10 I decided to give it a try. I had the same problems you had at first (too tight, red marks across my cheeks, huge bags under my eyes). I tried to stretch the (blue) headgear over a bowl for a day, but that didn't help. Then I cut the back straps and added small pieces of elastic. That did help, but once the straps stretched from use, I had to remove the elastic and sew the straps back together. I finally got rid of the red marks and bags after looking at images of real people wearing the mask and realized it was sitting too high across my face. I fixed that by pulling the mask lower right where it sits above the ears, which made it rest lower on my cheeks. Voila! Red marks gone and bags greatly diminished.

However. . .for me there's still an issue with the P10 being dislodged when I change positions, resulting in bursts of air across my cheeks and into my eyes. I ordered a Brevida, which should arrive tomorrow. I'm hoping that it will fit better because the pillows inflate slightly around the outside of the nose.

Best of luck to you. Finding "the one" seems to be a neverending quest.

Hi Bertha,

I am assuming you mean that you pulled both straps together lower, just above the ears? I thought that made the mask fit tighter? I know what you are talking about because the images I just looked at show the mask fitting low on the face, whereas mine had the strap laying right on the outer corner of my eyes!

Sleeping Ugly wrote:

Bertha deBlues wrote:Hi, Sleeping Ugly. The Nuance Pro gel was my favorite mask, but after reading so many glowing reviews of the P10 I decided to give it a try. I had the same problems you had at first (too tight, red marks across my cheeks, huge bags under my eyes). I tried to stretch the (blue) headgear over a bowl for a day, but that didn't help. Then I cut the back straps and added small pieces of elastic. That did help, but once the straps stretched from use, I had to remove the elastic and sew the straps back together. I finally got rid of the red marks and bags after looking at images of real people wearing the mask and realized it was sitting too high across my face. I fixed that by pulling the mask lower right where it sits above the ears, which made it rest lower on my cheeks. Voila! Red marks gone and bags greatly diminished.

However. . .for me there's still an issue with the P10 being dislodged when I change positions, resulting in bursts of air across my cheeks and into my eyes. I ordered a Brevida, which should arrive tomorrow. I'm hoping that it will fit better because the pillows inflate slightly around the outside of the nose.

Best of luck to you. Finding "the one" seems to be a neverending quest.

Hi Bertha,

I am assuming you mean that you pulled both straps together lower, just above the ears? I thought that made the mask fit tighter? I know what you are talking about because the images I just looked at show the mask fitting low on the face, whereas mine had the strap laying right on the outer corner of my eyes!

Yes, that's what I meant. My straps were also laying right on the corner of my eyes until I pulled the whole thing down, which meant I had to move the straps farther apart to keep it from being too tight.

Bertha deBlues wrote:

Sleeping Ugly wrote:

Bertha deBlues wrote:Hi, Sleeping Ugly. The Nuance Pro gel was my favorite mask, but after reading so many glowing reviews of the P10 I decided to give it a try. I had the same problems you had at first (too tight, red marks across my cheeks, huge bags under my eyes). I tried to stretch the (blue) headgear over a bowl for a day, but that didn't help. Then I cut the back straps and added small pieces of elastic. That did help, but once the straps stretched from use, I had to remove the elastic and sew the straps back together. I finally got rid of the red marks and bags after looking at images of real people wearing the mask and realized it was sitting too high across my face. I fixed that by pulling the mask lower right where it sits above the ears, which made it rest lower on my cheeks. Voila! Red marks gone and bags greatly diminished.

However. . .for me there's still an issue with the P10 being dislodged when I change positions, resulting in bursts of air across my cheeks and into my eyes. I ordered a Brevida, which should arrive tomorrow. I'm hoping that it will fit better because the pillows inflate slightly around the outside of the nose.

Best of luck to you. Finding "the one" seems to be a neverending quest.

Hi Bertha,

I am assuming you mean that you pulled both straps together lower, just above the ears? I thought that made the mask fit tighter? I know what you are talking about because the images I just looked at show the mask fitting low on the face, whereas mine had the strap laying right on the outer corner of my eyes!

Yes, that's what I meant. My straps were also laying right on the corner of my eyes until I pulled the whole thing down, which meant I had to move the straps farther apart to keep it from being too tight.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh, ok! Hey, I just tried that and it feels so much different! It still sits as close to my eyes as the Nuance, but it sure is a better feel than last night! Another thing I did was to flip my hair out over the strap to keep the strap in place. This might work! I feel renewed hope!

The blue headgear is a bit larger in circumference.

While the pink will stretch with time I don't know if it will stretch enough for you but it might.

It does sound like you had the mask situated too high if it was very close to the eyes...and coupled with being too snug you will get edema under the eyes.
Watch a bunch of P10 fitting videos to give you hints on how to position those straps. I actually wear the back strap down close to the base of my skull/cervical spine area and use the top strap for tension adjustment. I wear the mask fairly loose.

Sleeping Ugly wrote:

Bertha deBlues wrote:

Sleeping Ugly wrote:

Bertha deBlues wrote:Hi, Sleeping Ugly. The Nuance Pro gel was my favorite mask, but after reading so many glowing reviews of the P10 I decided to give it a try. I had the same problems you had at first (too tight, red marks across my cheeks, huge bags under my eyes). I tried to stretch the (blue) headgear over a bowl for a day, but that didn't help. Then I cut the back straps and added small pieces of elastic. That did help, but once the straps stretched from use, I had to remove the elastic and sew the straps back together. I finally got rid of the red marks and bags after looking at images of real people wearing the mask and realized it was sitting too high across my face. I fixed that by pulling the mask lower right where it sits above the ears, which made it rest lower on my cheeks. Voila! Red marks gone and bags greatly diminished.

However. . .for me there's still an issue with the P10 being dislodged when I change positions, resulting in bursts of air across my cheeks and into my eyes. I ordered a Brevida, which should arrive tomorrow. I'm hoping that it will fit better because the pillows inflate slightly around the outside of the nose.

Best of luck to you. Finding "the one" seems to be a neverending quest.

Hi Bertha,

I am assuming you mean that you pulled both straps together lower, just above the ears? I thought that made the mask fit tighter? I know what you are talking about because the images I just looked at show the mask fitting low on the face, whereas mine had the strap laying right on the outer corner of my eyes!

Yes, that's what I meant. My straps were also laying right on the corner of my eyes until I pulled the whole thing down, which meant I had to move the straps farther apart to keep it from being too tight.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh, ok! Hey, I just tried that and it feels so much different! It still sits as close to my eyes as the Nuance, but it sure is a better feel than last night! Another thing I did was to flip my hair out over the strap to keep the strap in place. This might work! I feel renewed hope!

You go girl!!!

Bertha deBlues wrote:

Sleeping Ugly wrote:

Bertha deBlues wrote:

Sleeping Ugly wrote:

Bertha deBlues wrote:Hi, Sleeping Ugly. The Nuance Pro gel was my favorite mask, but after reading so many glowing reviews of the P10 I decided to give it a try. I had the same problems you had at first (too tight, red marks across my cheeks, huge bags under my eyes). I tried to stretch the (blue) headgear over a bowl for a day, but that didn't help. Then I cut the back straps and added small pieces of elastic. That did help, but once the straps stretched from use, I had to remove the elastic and sew the straps back together. I finally got rid of the red marks and bags after looking at images of real people wearing the mask and realized it was sitting too high across my face. I fixed that by pulling the mask lower right where it sits above the ears, which made it rest lower on my cheeks. Voila! Red marks gone and bags greatly diminished.

However. . .for me there's still an issue with the P10 being dislodged when I change positions, resulting in bursts of air across my cheeks and into my eyes. I ordered a Brevida, which should arrive tomorrow. I'm hoping that it will fit better because the pillows inflate slightly around the outside of the nose.

Best of luck to you. Finding "the one" seems to be a neverending quest.

Hi Bertha,

I am assuming you mean that you pulled both straps together lower, just above the ears? I thought that made the mask fit tighter? I know what you are talking about because the images I just looked at show the mask fitting low on the face, whereas mine had the strap laying right on the outer corner of my eyes!

Yes, that's what I meant. My straps were also laying right on the corner of my eyes until I pulled the whole thing down, which meant I had to move the straps farther apart to keep it from being too tight.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh, ok! Hey, I just tried that and it feels so much different! It still sits as close to my eyes as the Nuance, but it sure is a better feel than last night! Another thing I did was to flip my hair out over the strap to keep the strap in place. This might work! I feel renewed hope!

You go girl!!!

That's why I love this place! The good advice is GOOD! LOL!

Pugsy wrote:The blue headgear is a bit larger in circumference.

While the pink will stretch with time I don't know if it will stretch enough for you but it might.

It does sound like you had the mask situated too high if it was very close to the eyes...and coupled with being too snug you will get edema under the eyes.
Watch a bunch of P10 fitting videos to give you hints on how to position those straps. I actually wear the back strap down close to the base of my skull/cervical spine area and use the top strap for tension adjustment. I wear the mask fairly loose.

My Nuance mask is fitted very loosely. It makes a great seal, but it is basically just hanging on, lol. I get good therapy with the Nuance, but the dang swivel drives me insane as does the fact that it rests on my upper lip and in the morning I can feel my front teeth have a very slight pressure feeling. The P10 eliminates all of that, but it is going to take some strap adjustment and wear to get it to work comfortably. I haven't given up hope yet!

Hi Pugsy,,
I got the pink. Maybe I have a manly sized head? I will put my SD card into the my Dream Station. Thanks for telling me that!

I AM very interested in stretching the headgear! There was some positives to the mask for sure!

I have my old P10 for Her headgear if you'd like. Used 2 yrs, so plenty stretched. And you'll find that the pillows soften a bit with use; they are a tad rigid the first week or so that I use them but after a few washes in warm/hot water they give a bit more. My only big issue with the P10 was within the first 2 weeks, when my nose broke out from the contact. I got some fantastic advice from Pugsy et al, my nose "toughened" up, and I've never looked back.

I just posted a response and then hit the wrong button and lost it! GRRRRRR!

Thank you, RicaLynn, for your kind offer, but I was posting an update on this mask. The second night was a success! I wore one strap low on my face, resting just above my ears and I held in in place with my hair over it. The second strap was well on top of my head. The mask fit snugly but not tight. In the morning there were no strap marks, and nose indentations and no nose pain. I did have some positional edema under my eyes, but I always had that with the Nuance. I LOVED not having "hose fights!" I look froward to the pillows becoming softer!

Thank you for those who posted for the VERY helpful suggestions and encouragement!!!

Sleeping Ugly wrote:I had such high hopes for this mask. I was SO disappointed! I must have a huge head (insert jokes here) because it was SO tight! I adjusted the straps (no tabs to adjust, you can only move the straps around in different position to tighten and loosen) to the loosest it could possibly go and still stay on my head. I wear a small nasal pillow in my current mask, which is a Nuance. I had to use the medium in the P10 to get relatively the same size opening. The P10 pillows are so much more ridged than the Nuance. Not soft at all. I found that the straps on the P10 were stiffer than the Nuance. I added the Pad a Cheek covers to the P10.

I LOVE that the P10 does not have a swivel at the hose attachment on the mask. I thought I would not like that, but it stopped "hose fights." The Nuance swivel piece flips around when I change positions and I have to adjust the hose every time. I love that no part of the P10 hose rested on my upper lip. It has taken a long time to get used to that with the Nuance. The P10 air vent is quite diffused, however, with the air blowing on either side of the hose attachment instead of the front, the air blows onto my bare shoulders (I am a side sleeper). I had to cover my shoulder with a sheet. When the sheet slipped, the air blowing on me woke me up.

My Nuance does not leak and there was no way that the P10 could leak because it was practically embedded onto my face. With the Nuance, however, I have trained myself to hold onto the swivel piece when I roll over to keep the mask in place. I did not have to do that with the P10.

In the middle of the night, when I had to use the restroom (I ALWAYS have to go at least one time a night) and when my body woke me up, I felt the pain on my nose from the mask. I was determined to use it throughout the whole night, however, so I put it back on and slept an additional 7 hours. Peacefully. However, when I woke up............

I looked in the mirror and I didn't have just small bags under my eyes, I had steam trunks! I also had two red, deep indentations around my nostrils. Two hours later, my nose still hurts and the bags have not diminished at all. Sigh.

If there was someway that the headgear could stretch so it still made a seal but was not pushing my nose upwards, I think I could embrace it. However, at this point, it is embracing ME--way, too, too much. I don't want to "become one" with my mask!

I also don't have "numbers" from SleepyHead for the P10. For the last two nights, I have completely forgotten to get my SD card from my computer back into my Dream Station.

So, congratulations if you made it all the way through the post! It proves you have a long attention span!

I'm just starting out CPAP for the first time. Last week I wore the medium with the pink straps and I had a lot of air leaks. I got a hold of a large and will wear the pink straps. I don't think my nostrils are that huge that I need the large but I guess I will see. It is probably also more of a problem with the tightness of the straps not being right. I am a stomach/side sleeper as well so I sure that is messing up stuff. I didn't realize this was going to be so hard.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I'm just starting out CPAP for the first time. Last week I wore the medium with the pink straps and I had a lot of air leaks. I got a hold of a large and will wear the pink straps. I don't think my nostrils are that huge that I need the large but I guess I will see. It is probably also more of a problem with the tightness of the straps not being right. I am a stomach/side sleeper as well so I sure that is messing up stuff. I didn't realize this was going to be so hard.

I didn't think my nose was that large either, but I noticed a big difference in my *comfort* going from Medium to Large pillows. Finding the right mask is often the most frustrating part about learning to live with CPAP, but you're doing great. Keep going!