I'm happy to hear favorable posts about this mask as this is the only one I've used. I've been on CPAP for just over 2 months and this was the mask the DME gave me. Now that I've had some exposure here and seen the wide variety available I thought I might like to experiment with some others. I tried the full face mask, which was actually more comfortable than I thought, but started blowing itself off my face, which was counterproductive to sleep, so back to the pillows I went. The DME would not let me try any others.
I'm historically a side sleeper but did not like the P30i for side sleeping, so I have adapted to sleeping on my back. I know this isn't recommended for our condition, but I have had good stats, so far so good. I thought that this mask was too noisy, but as I've become more relaxed about the whole experience I notice my breathing becoming more shallow and less noisy. I seem to always be congested more on one side than the other, and the side that is more clear seems to be noisier in the channel leading up to the hose connection. From the responses here, it sounds like this mask is generally quieter than others, so I guess I can't complain. I just push my white noise machine a little closer to my head. Maybe in time I will become accustomed to hearing my own breathing, but it still bothers me considerably! I mean, I will literally lay in bed for hours listening to myself breathe!!!
As a newbie, I guess it was instinct to tighten that baby up as much as possible, but a little bit of experience has shown me that I can actually wear this mask pretty loosely and still keep a good/better seal. I switched out the pillows after a month but the "old" one looked fine so I kept it and now rotate between two. They are holding up very well and I don't see any need to replace as long as they are comfortable and continue to perform for me.
