Bleep/DreamPort nasal mask review thread

[booksfan]

If it's 'super noisy' then you have a leak somewhere, either you don't have the ports on right, or they're not clicked into the clippy bits on the mask body... (I've had both things happen to me.

It's fiddly getting used to clicking the ports into the clips... there's usually two clicks, one from each side, and even then, sometimes I've had to push a little more to get the thing to click into place. Once I get that, it's quiet (with the diffuser) and pretty quiet without it.

the other time i had noisyness was when I dind't have the silicone body properly in the groove of the plastic vent piece.. but that was my first or second night, after I'd accidentally pulled it apart and tried to put it back together while still attached to my nose, half asleep and without a mirror.

Try practicing clicking the ports in with one of the used one.. practice helps, (at least it did in my case).

One night user here. I had both things happen to me last night, I didn't get the ports completely pushed into the clips. When practicing, I got a very distinct "click" but I removed them and when I put them back on, the "click" was much softer. I did have to fiddle it a bit to get it all the way in. I also pulled the silicone body apart!

Major jet lag and a new mask do not mix! Even so, I already know I love this and I anticipate tonight going much smoother!

[heyslick]

pailrider, I'd accidentally pulled it apart as well. i don't remember which side but i will look at it tonight. I will keep trying . I'm not a quitter even though i want to.

[palerider]

pailrider, I'd accidentally pulled it apart as well. i don't remember which side but i will look at it tonight. I will keep trying . I'm not a quitter even though i want to.

Good that you're not a quitter!

Make sure that the ridge on the silicone part fits into the groove on the vent body, it's easy to push the vent body too far into the silicone part if you're not sure what you're looking for.

At one point or another, I've had the thing all to pieces, but it all goes back together

[palerider]

One night user here. I had both things happen to me last night, I didn't get the ports completely pushed into the clips. When practicing, I got a very distinct "click" but I removed them and when I put them back on, the "click" was much softer. I did have to fiddle it a bit to get it all the way in. I also pulled the silicone body apart!

Major jet lag and a new mask do not mix! Even so, I already know I love this and I anticipate tonight going much smoother!

I always get two clicks, and if I don't.. lots of wind noise.

Practicing with a used port getting it seated properly helps, (or at least, it helped me).

[Pugsy]

I have had it all apart also. Sometimes on purpose and sometimes by accident but you know what...once I got good at putting it back together again I haven't had it come apart by accident anymore.
In general....
really noisy leak..that's because the ports aren't clicked in fully....can't miss that one...way too loud and you usually feel a good bit of air on the face.
minor leak that sort of comes and goes...check to see if the arms are in the correct spot.
quiet for a bit and then you hear a faint noise....check to see if the vented air is bouncing off something.

It is silent...totally silent when everything is attached and the vent isn't bouncing off something.

[palerider]

I was actually surprised how much air was blowing up onto my face and eyes and how noisy it was.

The only time that air has gotten in my eyes with the bleep was towards the end of the night, when the adhesive was coming off my oily nose, and it'd developed a channel that went around the side of one nostril and up towards the top.. funny thing, it was my left nostril, blowing in my right eye. I found this out by leaving the machine connected and poking around till I finally figured out where I could press and make it stop.

If you're getting air in the eyes with adhesive stuck well, and it's noisy, then all I can think is that something wasn't put together right... with my coarse filter stuck on the vent body and the hose shoved back on, I can barely feel any air movement (just like with the p10), I feel the heat from my exhaled breath which cools as I start to inhale again, more than actual air blowing... and it's very very quiet... nearly silent.

I decided to try reattaching everything except the adhesives, and eventually, after basically taking the ENTIRE system apart <sigh> got it put back together. I had a lot of trouble figuring out why/where I was having the airflow leak coming from (any advice welcome!). I must not have attached something correctly, and hopefully tonight when I am not so jetlagged/exhausted I will just click and go.

Here's hoping!!! playing with it while awake is good, even using up a pair of ports to experiment.

I gotta say, it's probably not a great mask to put on when you're exhausted, at least not till you've got more practice at sticking the ports on and clipping things together.

A couple times, I have flagrantly disobeyed the instructions, and put the ports on the mask first, gotten them angled to what I thought was "right" and then shoved the thing onto my nose... and that worked pretty well, though I can't recommend it without a big YMMV disclaimer

[palerider]

And how often are people washing the Bleep?

Never, ever. It will never be wet unless the house floods. And I live at the top of a hill.

Even if you sneeze snot into it and it clogs up the vents??? :side eye:

[katestyles]

I have a new machine. Going from ASV to Bipap because medicare makes you start out there. Right now between the machine and me..... it seems we are more sensitive to leaks then before.....

So I may pick up one of these now. Not due for new mask from Medicare for a couple months.

But as I read about how great the tape is, I keep thinking "I wish I could get some of that for mouth taping"

It is a 3M hypoallergenic surgical tape. I see there are paper and cloth variants. I do not know which the Bleep uses.

It is this stuff or similar

tape.JPG (113.22 KiB) Viewed 5366 times

[djams]

It is silent...totally silent when everything is attached and the vent isn't bouncing off something.

This is my experience as well. I've had 2 nights where I sat down on the edge of the bed, turned the machine on and the dreamport was making noise. I returned to the bathroom, gently squeeze the quick release levers on both ports and reassemble.

Any sound is an indication that something isn't put together correctly.

[Pugsy]

It's not the same tape and I don't think it will stick well enough....but give me a bit of time to check on it. I actually have some of that tape (used it on a wound on my mom's leg) and I thought about it but a quick trial on the nose leads me to believe it won't stay stuck all night. I haven't had the time to do more than a quick trial though.

I have a new machine. Going from ASV to Bipap because medicare makes you start out there. Right now between the machine and me..... it seems we are more sensitive to leaks then before.....

So I may pick up one of these now. Not due for new mask from Medicare for a couple months.

But as I read about how great the tape is, I keep thinking "I wish I could get some of that for mouth taping"

It is a 3M hypoallergenic surgical tape. I see there are paper and cloth variants. I do not know which the Bleep uses.

It is this stuff or similar

tape.JPG

[djams]

For people who’ve been using the Bleep for a while...does applying the adhesive strips on the nose seem like it is sustainable? In other words, is this something that gets old over time?

I noted this in my review. For me it is very sustainable. The longer I do it the easier it all gets. At this point, it's just part of my bedtime routine. And I have to take additional steps that probably no one else does(yet). I have a full beard, so I need to shave a small area under my nose for the adhesive, as well as a small area below by lower lip for mouth taping. I do this gladly because the DreamPort makes me feel better. I awake every morning completely rested and ready to go. Most mornings I'm waking before the alarm.

If someone currently has a mask they can slip on in a second (like the N30i), and has low leaks and good AHI, it seems like this mask would not provide any benefit for them (as increased cost and inconvenience of the Bleep would not be advantages).

I can't speak to the "low leaks" part of this as that wasn't the case for me. But will say that I was in the process of deciding between the N30i and Dreamwear nasal masks when I received my trial package from Bleep. The DreamPort made my other masks non-contenders in the decision process. Within days.

Cost decisions must be made based on each individual's situation, of course.

[booksfan]

Second night on Bleep, and WOW, I have found my mask after 14 months of searching! I THINK I got it on right this time, no loud, gushing airflow at all last night, just beautiful silence. I just need to work on remembering to take my meds BEFORE I attach the DreamWay connector to the ports! I'm so eager to try it that I've forgotten both nights. I think that's why I had the airflow leaking the first night, I didn't get it on quite right the second time I put it on. Got smart last night and got a pack of straws for the bedroom for nighttime drinks of water!

Anyway, although it was quiet, I still show some leaks on my Sleepyhead chart. Very low, probably the lowest I've ever had. Do I need to worry about this? I know the adhesive ports were attached correctly and still leak-free in the morning, I checked. Did I maybe still attach something else not quite right? Higher AHI than yesterday (0.5), but still quite respectable I think. Also, my flow limitation seems consistently high. Cause for concern?

screenshot-20190314-113915.png

(and now my Sleepyhead screen is frozen b/c I tried to take a screenshot in fullscreen! ARRGGH! )

[Pugsy]

Those little leaks aren't any cause for concern as long as they didn't wake you.
Are you taping or doing anything to keep the lips sealed. If not,....probably brief mouth opening leaks where the air leaks out a bit.
While I do have some 0.0 leak lines....more often than not I have a few probable mouth opening leaks happening since I don't do anything to try to seal my lips or mouth.
Remember it won't leak around the nose but that doesn't necessarily stop leaks coming from the mouth.

Good job on last night. It is silent when properly attached together....and yes..I kinda figure you would be an immediate convert. I just had a feeling about you since you seem to be a lot like me.

As far as the flow limitation thing...how's the nasal congestion? Any issues in that area?
You could maybe try more minimum pressure to see if the FLs reduce but if you are having nasal congestion more pressure is unlikely to make any difference....me...if I was sleeping good and feeling good I don't know that I would worry about them too much especially in the for Her mode because it tends to make mountains out of mole hills in the FL department. After all that is one of the things it has in its special algorithm to fight a little harder to kill.

Anyway, although it was quiet, I still show some leaks on my Sleepyhead chart. Very low, probably the lowest I've ever had. Do I need to worry about this? I know the adhesive ports were attached correctly and still leak-free in the morning, I checked. Did I maybe still attach something else not quite right? Higher AHI than yesterday (0.5), but still quite respectable I think. Also, my flow limitation seems consistently high. Cause for concern?

[booksfan]

Those little leaks aren't any cause for concern as long as they didn't wake you.
Are you taping or doing anything to keep the lips sealed. If not,....probably brief mouth opening leaks where the air leaks out a bit.
While I do have some 0.0 leak lines....more often than not I have a few probable mouth opening leaks happening since I don't do anything to try to seal my lips or mouth.
Remember it won't leak around the nose but that doesn't necessarily stop leaks coming from the mouth.

Good job on last night. It is silent when properly attached together....and yes..I kinda figure you would be an immediate convert. I just had a feeling about you since you seem to be a lot like me.

As far as the flow limitation thing...how's the nasal congestion? Any issues in that area?
You could maybe try more minimum pressure to see if the FLs reduce but if you are having nasal congestion more pressure is unlikely to make any difference....me...if I was sleeping good and feeling good I don't know that I would worry about them too much especially in the for Her mode because it tends to make mountains out of mole hills in the FL department. After all that is one of the things it has in its special algorithm to fight a little harder to kill.

Yes, I thought I would be an immediate convert as well. So much so that I literally hounded the company (they are based almost next door to me!) to let me be a beta tester! I offered to go in, pick one up, you name it. No luck. I'm surprised you didn't hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth when I found out others were doing what I was so eager to do!

Ah, yes, I actually did have a bit of mouth leak, as evidenced by a little bit of drooling. Thank you for reminding me that that can account for leaks. I don't tape but maybe I will try that.

As far as nasal congestion, not so much of an issue anymore since I had a septoplasty and turbinate reduction about 18 months ago. Sometimes I had noticed a bit of a runny nostril (yeah, one-sided, how weird is that? and always the same side) upon waking, but not the last couple of nights with the Bleep. In the past, I have tried upping the lower pressure range as high as 13 but it didn't really seem to make a difference and it was so close to my median pressure and even above it that I gradually lowered it to 11.4. I avidly followed this thread before receiving my Bleep (yes, even while I was in New Zealand and Australia--you have no idea how envious I was of you lot!!), and saw that some had been able to lower their pressure, so I lowered my minimum to 10. I see by comparison that it actually does not seem to matter for me. My pressure rises fairly quickly to over 11 anyway. I may leave it at 10 for a week so as not to make quick changes, then evaluate where to move the lower pressure.

[heyslick]

Last night was better, the only noise i heard was breathing in and out. I did have some leakage, but read what Pugsy said about mouth leakage. I did hear more noise when i turn on my right side, but i had that with all the other mask. So maybe tonight will be even better I think the tape need to be a little wider towards the bottom . I did put the extra at that bottom I did cut off. I may try to put it a little lower tonight. Also i didn't use the hose buddy last night.