Pilairo!

[Dormejo]

First report from Mission Pilairo.

As I am a total newbie to this new life pls forgive my non technical language.

Tried the mask before going to bed ... Sent family out......sat with machine and mask and read all the info, not much on the packaging, so I watched a few clips from you tube re fitting etc.

I went to bed earlier as I was really exhausted from a busy week, and lack of sleep LOL.

Mask goes on really easy, I did find the suggestion of holding each soft wing opened out a little to place into nose then it kind of readjusts into position. Not a good description but I'm learning. Keep with me.
When air is turned on, it self adjusts again. Ok what next I thought...... I found the headband fits really well, could see the need to have an adjustment somehow, as it did feel a little loose but did not fall of at all during the night. Even with my long hair.
Strap placement over ear was a bit uncomfortable as it tended to pull the top part of both my ears down causing a slight discomfort to the ear.

Slept well I think, report from second captain, machine did not bother him, noise from gentle breathing during the night was soothing......? No snoring (happy days) no leg spasms(thank goodness) and even though I said I felt restless he didn't beleive so.

First night of mission completed and data not yet avail on other factors, rescheduling for second night.

Do I feel better today......to earlier to advise.

Thanks for your support

[the_nap_ster]

I finally was able to get and new DME supplier, and wow what a positive experience this was! I got my new PCP to fax a mask of choice script to this new DME, but had some issues with the insurance co. they refused the order and told me I had to get the old DME to call them and tell them I cancelled my service with them. I told the ins. co. I am the subcriber and I am canceling with the old DME and logically that should be enough for them to put it on file and NOT accept any bills from them. No don't try logic, so I again called the old DME as they have to telephone the ins. co. to notify them of my cancellation. Then told "we don't make phone calls" I asked to speak to her supervisor and he told me the same sh_ _. I asked him if he could please make an exception and finally he agreed.
The new DME is great, they saw me today, (1 day after this ins. stuff), I went home with a Pilario and am excited to try it! I have to have the featherweight tube to come in. Yes I am excited, as sleep for me has been hard these last few weeks.
I'll post my first try with it tomorrow.

What great news! I LOVE hearing about good DME experiences! And I can't wait to hear what you think of this mask. I hope you sleep well tonight!

[the_nap_ster]

First report from Mission Pilairo.

As I am a total newbie to this new life pls forgive my non technical language.

Tried the mask before going to bed ... Sent family out......sat with machine and mask and read all the info, not much on the packaging, so I watched a few clips from you tube re fitting etc.

I went to bed earlier as I was really exhausted from a busy week, and lack of sleep LOL.

Mask goes on really easy, I did find the suggestion of holding each soft wing opened out a little to place into nose then it kind of readjusts into position. Not a good description but I'm learning. Keep with me.
When air is turned on, it self adjusts again. Ok what next I thought...... I found the headband fits really well, could see the need to have an adjustment somehow, as it did feel a little loose but did not fall of at all during the night. Even with my long hair.
Strap placement over ear was a bit uncomfortable as it tended to pull the top part of both my ears down causing a slight discomfort to the ear.

Slept well I think, report from second captain, machine did not bother him, noise from gentle breathing during the night was soothing......? No snoring (happy days) no leg spasms(thank goodness) and even though I said I felt restless he didn't beleive so.

First night of mission completed and data not yet avail on other factors, rescheduling for second night.

Do I feel better today......to earlier to advise.

Thanks for your support

This is a GREAT report! Was this your first night on the hose? If so, the fact you made it through the whole night with a mask on is a huge accomplishment, and you should feel SO proud of yourself! Heck, I just met you, and I'm already so proud of you!

If the strap bothers your ears, try wearing the strap a little higher, so it doesn't bend your ears down. If the nasal part still feels comfortable like that, it might be your sweet spot.

Also, as far as strap placement goes, my husband (who has thick, shoulder-length hair) came up with a great idea. The strap for this mask is so thin, that you could easily secure it to your hair with a bobby pin or two. So if you want to keep it in one place (or just give yourself the security of knowing it isn't going anywhere), that's another option.

Please let us know how things go with you tonight. And again, congratulations!

[portiemom]

Well I'm not sure if I should even count last night as a first time try with the Palairo? I usually relax in bed by reading, mask on and after a couple of hours, retire the Nook and fall asleep with in minutes. Last retired earlier than usual after chasing around my grandbaby all day, powered up the Nook and put on my new Palairo, woooooooo, this was so nice, quite loud, but I expected that from the reviews here, but atributed that to the inflation of these glorious pillows. The Nook off in about an hour, and then the fight began, I am a stomach sleeper so I usually route overhead and this is where round 1 began (10pm. goes to the Pal), next I tried the under the pillow route, round 2 (11:30pm, goes to the Pal), then I tried the clip to the bedsheet thingy round 3 (3:00am goes to the Pal.) tried the over the head once again round 4(4am. goes to the Pal.) rounds 5-9 gave up strapped on the Aloha (4:15am to 10:20am. goes to Portiemom). It was at 4am I realized, I had gone to bed so early I had forgotten to take my night meds. UGH. So I'm guessing this really isn't a fair first night, that said, I found this mask to have very minimal leaks not matter how I huffed and puffed during our fight, but it was very hot to me and dried my sinuses more than my other masks do. The hot thing, and trouble with the tubing will be a deal breaker for me if tonight doesn't go better. If anyone has a suggestion for the hose routing I would be very appreciative.
REMATCH TONIGHT

[Pugsy]

I got my Pilairo today.
Did a quick fit and trial.
Easy to fit. No problem with strap size. Comfortable totally but the pillows seem to be a bit too large for me but then remember I use XS in the others.. I don't think it is a deal breaker.
Short hose is annoying and I don't even route my stuff over my head. It is noisy. Maybe sort of like the Swift LT. It has been a long time since I used the Swift LT. Much more noisy than the Swift FX. Inhale noise is the main noise. Drowns out the machine noise though. For noise sensitive people I would not advise it. Darth Vadar sounds for sure. It likely would be annoying. The inflation and deflation of the pillows with inhale and exhale if very pronounced. Unsure if it will be annoying or not. I suspect I could get used to it.
Will give it a try tonight and see how things go. Hubby is home so he can report on what noise he hears compared to the no noise with the Swift FX.

I need to take all my covers off my Swift FX so I can compare weight without the covers. Right now not a fair comparison. It is very lightweight though but I have a sneaking suspicion it is more from the lack of hose than the actual headgear.

[SleepDepraved2]

I've been reading through this thread, as my husband will be going for his sleep study next week and I want to have some information on masks for him.

I have to say, though, whenever I see this thread, I hear the song "Volar遍!" in my head!

[Dormejo]

Second night report on Pilairo mask and second night to cpap.

I'm still really happy with this mask. I do feel freer then I did during my sleep tests, using the Quatro.

However after two nights on cpap - my thought tell me it's a going to be a long ride to get to comfortable stage.

Mak overall fits well, does slide down a bit at the base of my head, but never off. I don't believe it stopped me from getting to sleep, had a little shower of moisture during the night, but that's controllable.
Woke up around 7am fidgeting with mask - ok so it's not the 8.30am Sunday morning I'd hoped for (I blame 3 boys 7, 8 and 9 for that) so my body was telling me it's time to get up. So I did.

I really like the softness of the mask, the soft small tubing and it's lightness overall. I am still in training with adjusting to the nasal mask and remembering when I open my mouth a great gush of air escapes and I feel I've just opened the front door in a windstorm!

Do I feel cranky when I get up --NO
Did I get a fatigued headache around 5-6pm -NO
does my co pilot notice the difference YES YES YES

Happy Days

[Suzjohnson]

Ok, after 8 days using this, I've decided I still prefer the Aloha. I ended up really not liking the way the cushion, though it's plenty soft, pressed on the end of my nose and making it hurt like crazy every morning. Putting the headband under the chinstrap, I was able to tease out enough tension that the whole thing seated nicely on my face but that pressing on the nose thing wouldn't quit. Maybe if I had altered the band I could have made it better but unwilling to make permanent changes before deciding whether or not mask was a keeper. I believe they need to work on the headband before they can call it self-adjusting. Elasticized is not the same as self-adjusting - just sayin'... The Aloha, for me, seems to have a smaller profile on my face in that it's easier to read over, and side sleeping with either wasn't an issue with a regular pillow. I don't care for the little hose because it seemed the connector was constantly bumping me. I actually wasn't sleeping that well with the Pilairo so switched to the Aloha last night and it was like coming home. What a relief!

Suz

[sylvie]

I believe they need to work on the headband before they can call it self-adjusting.Suz

I'm betting they do just that shortly.

[portiemom]

Well, I must be the odd gal out with this mask. I find for me it rides very high on the cheek almost to my eye socket, and in the am the tip of my nose and where the clips are, and my front teeth is very sore and I have lots of facial marks. I love the feel of the pillows though and may try one more night with the strap lower nearer the neck. I can get past the noise, which to me is LOUD compared to my Aloha which is silent, and way louder than my Swift lt for her. I have a small head so I'm not sure why I am having these mask issues. M.ay give it one more try and then it's back to the DME.
The ultimate mask for me would be the Bella with these pillows!

[TiredTooLong]

We had Relay for Life this weekend. Went in Friday to start setting up at 8am. Stayed all night....slept about 2.5 hours inside of sleeping bad sitting up in webbed chair (zero gravity) so think if I had apneas they were few. BTW, walked 48 laps or 12 miles. Got home about Noon and took 2 hour nap with CPAP. Went to bed about 6:30pm.

Got 12 hours of sleep. I usually wear a pony tail on top of my head. Last night the hair was down and during one of the turns in bed the strap slipped off but got it adjusted. The strap on the Pilaro for me is just right. I hated the head gear for my previous mask.

All of my stats are a lot lower than with the other mask. I am now 24 days into CPAP. I'm sleeping well with the CPAP. I sleep with a fan on so don't hear the machine or the Pilaro. My only issue is sore nostrils in the morning...but I think when I get used to it the soreness will go away.

[sylvie]

I am now 24 days into CPAP. I'm sleeping well with the CPAP.

What I would have given to have said this 6 months ago, when I started.

[Pugsy]

First night using the Pilairo last night.
Wore it high on my head and the strap stayed in place all night. Had marks on my cheeks near eyes that faded fairly quickly. Will wear it with strap much lower tonight. I think that having the strap high also pulls the nose up and makes the tenderness worse.
End of nose was sore this morning. Similar to what I would experience if I used the Swift FX with top strap too tight. Couldn't see it obviously with mask on but I suspect that piggy nose was present.

My husband says it isn't noisy. No worse than my Swift FX. It seems noisier to me though but that is something I experience with any mask because I hear the inhale and exhale in my head...meaning if I plug up my ears with my fingers I still hear the same noise at the same sound level. It is a bit noisier for sure because I can't hear my machine on exhale like I can with the Swift FX.
So that is one thing I can compare with. Initially inhale and exhale does seem louder to me me but I had no problems going to sleep with it. For people highly sensitive to those inhale and exhale noises...probably not the mask for them.

Be careful that the nasal pillow is fully seated properly. At my first attempt I didn't realize that it wasn't fully seated and the noise and air leak was massive. Since that is where the vent is I thought it was the vented air making the noise. So I at first thought no way with this noise but it was nasal pillow not seated properly that was the culprit.

I could see where the one size fits all strap wouldn't work for people with large heads. I am small person and it was far from loose on me. Though it would be real easy to add an extension with a bit of velcro closure. Surprising how that tiny strap never moved though. If the Swift FX back strap would do that...what a great combination that would make.

Slept quite well for me and really had no issues with it during the night. Will use it tonight with the strap much, much lower and see if that helps with the cheek marks and sore piggy nose which was really just more annoying than it was painful.
AHI went from my normal 1 ish to over 4 ish...and mostly obstructive.. Don't know where that came from.

Interesting that my baseline for leak is no longer at zero though. It is more at 8 cm. With the FX and Aloha it is zero.
Wonder if this might be an instance where the "nasal" selection on the ResMed machine would be more appropriate than the "nasal pillow" choice. Since nasal (over the nose) masks have a little higher vent rate. Picture of leak line below.
That big leak in the middle....I don't think it was my mask...I think it was my mouth but I am not sure. I have been seeing similar pattern with the Swift FX and I am spending a lot more time on my back. Not what I want to do because it causes more back pain otherwise I wouldn't care. Will deal with that later.

So far...the Pilairo. Certainly no "eureka" moment for me. The nasal pillow feels a bit "large" for me but remember I can use a XSmall with the the FX or LT. Not a deal breaker though. I can adjust to the noise that I perceive. The short hose is extremely annoying. Wish I had that featherweight hose from the SleepWeaver. Slept well though and all in all a very decent mask. I don't see it replacing the number one Swift FX though. Let's see what tonight brings with lower strap placement. I can see it being a keeper and not go in the failure drawer. It has some really good strong positives to help balance out the negatives.
No mask is ever perfect though. Always have some pros and cons.

may need to right click mouse and choose "view image" to see all of the picture.

[cherylgrrl]

Have you used any nasal pillow mask with any level of success or has your only experience been with the Liberty?

No, when I tried the Liberty the only mask I had prior was the Quattro. I was under the impression that I would have to have a full face mask, but the SleepWeaver has so far proven that wrong. So I might want to try something else -- maybe at whatever point my insurance will pay for my next mask? The Bella Loops does look good!

Had to chuckle at your observation that you might have different sized ears... I have now proven with the Liberty experience that I have different sized and shaped nostrils! Maybe it was my deviated septum surgery, hmmmmm...

I have my 30 day checkup with my pulmonary specialist tomorrow, and I have a really long list of questions. I wonder if I'll get booted out before I finish. Wish me luck!

[the_nap_ster]

Pugsy, thanks for the awesome review!

Be careful that the nasal pillow is fully seated properly. At my first attempt I didn't realize that it wasn't fully seated and the noise and air leak was massive. Since that is where the vent is I thought it was the vented air making the noise. So I at first thought no way with this noise but it was nasal pillow not seated properly that was the culprit.

This has hit me a few times now, and the other night, I kept feeling leaks/annoyances and finally got up to figure out what was going on. Turns out, I hadn't put the pillows back in fully after cleaning them. It is VERY easy to not seat them deeply enough, which is just a world of leak waiting to happen. I hope that F&P makes the pillow seating system better in the next edition of this mask. But for now, I just check the seating every night before I put it on.