New Swift FX Bella Mask.....

NateS wrote:So I just ordered the Bella loops on line out of curiosity. Sorry to hear they are higher in Canada. Only $24.95 here which is worth it to satisfy my curiosity and I'm sure I may use them even if occasionally if not more.

Ditto! Let's see who gets it first.

Well, once again, I'm an enigma...or an oddball at the least. I tried the Bella hoops last night, and lasted about two hours with them before I went back to my regular Swift FX for Her. My leaks were terrible, I just didn't feel like I could get them adjusted right. If I stopped the leaks, my ears were nearly folding forward. If I got them so my ears were comfortable, if I moved at all, they leaked. My reports this morning confirm higher leak rates, and higher pressures, during the time I was wearing them. I haven't given up hope yet, but I'm sure it will take some tweaking, and maybe some lab rat additions, to get these to work for me. I'm rather disappointed. But I guess I can't say I'm surprised. Things usually don't work quite right for me.

jbn3boys,
If you're an oddball that makes 2 of us, so add me to the club! At first I loved the Bella, but a few hours in, and for the rest of the night I was fighting leaks, and tightening and loosening the ear loops till I thought my ears would fall off onto my pillow. However, I think my fight would have ended early if I would have played with the climate hose instead. I'm use to an over the head hose and just was at a loss as to what to do with all that hose! I will persue again tonight and press on because I think I'm going to really like this mask.

I am thinking that whoever mentioned taking the back strap off the regular headgear and running in through the loops may have been on to something for people who are having too many visits to leak city with just the loops alone. Might just provide that little extra stability that is needed. At least it would eliminate the top strap.

I am seeing more leaks than normal for me but they are not large enough to impact therapy AND most importantly not causing me to wake up noticing them. I am a very active sleeper....lots of tossing and turning on some nights and some nights don't move at all. I fully expect that my moving around is making things less stable...add in the fact that I don't use a hose management system (I may re-evaluate that) makes for lots of potential nasal pillow movement.

Even if leaks are minor they are unwanted if they wake us up. So if leak wake us up we have to fix them.

I think the new Loops are going to be another YMMV thing. Some people will love them and some people will hate them.

For my needs..the Loops will work just fine. I rather like them. Though I do see where it is a whole lot less forgiving if we have to use more tension....when it pinches the ears it hurts..than the top strap feature. There is going to be an awful fine line between stability and pain for some people.

I just got my Bella mask and there is plenty of strap for adjustment on me. My wife says I look good in pink. It looks like I'll have some strap marks so she said she would make me some longer tubes for the strap,she's a good sewer. I notice that where it attaches to the pillows both straps have a notch in them, instead of one notched and one square. So I guess there is no left and right. I've started wearing a chin strap and I wear it under my regular Swift FX but on this I'll wear it over and it will keep my ears flat cause it covers my ears.

squid13 wrote:I notice that where it attaches to the pillows both straps have a notch in them, instead of one notched and one square. So I guess there is no left and right.

Mine also..and others...and if we look closely at the pictures provided by ResMed marketing they show both Loops with notches. Doesn't hurt anything. Still fits just fine from what I see. Probably a cost savings feature for production and also if the dog chews up one...when we replace it we get 2 that will work no matter which one got chewed up. I was taken aback for a few minutes though when attaching everything until I realized what the deal was.

It is true, the two straps are identical in that both are notched. However, if you read the enclosed literature, they are very clear to state that when using the nasal pillows to make sure that the ResMed logo/word is at the top of the mask, facing outward. This makes me think that while there is no right/wrong way to put on the straps, there IS a right/wrong way of putting on the mask itself. Seems to me this could be tricky with the lack of actual headgear. (That's how I always knew which way to put it on--make sure the headgear was right, and the pillows would be right as well.)

As for your suggestion, Pugsy (and someone earlier on), about using the back strap if additional support is needed, I was thinking that might be the first thing I try. However, in just thinking about it, I'm wondering how that will work, and if it will need to be adjusted every night, of if there is enough "give" in the strap to allow it to be stretched to be put on, and yet tight enough to hold things in place. I haven't tried it yet, so I really don't know--just the thought that has gone through my head.

My next few days/week seem to be quite busy, so I think I may wait until things slow down before I try it again. I know I slept terrible last night while I had it on, and I think, at least for now, sleep is more important than experimenting. I'll experiment again when I have a day that it would be okay for me to be extra tired.

I received my Bella straps today, looking forward to trying them out tonight. I will post tomorrow.

So....how did you like the new Swift FX Bella? I'm currently in the market for a new CPAP. Had the Opus but did not like it.
Previously had the Swift Mirage. I was fine with that one but thought I might try the Bella.

I learned early this morning that I cannot take off the Bella in the same manner as I do the regular headgear. Something yanking my ears forward is quite a way to wake up. Still, my ears didn't hurt for long, after I clued in on why my ears hurt and why I couldn't get my mask off.

Lewkarenann wrote:So....how did you like the new Swift FX Bella? I'm currently in the market for a new CPAP. Had the Opus but did not like it.
Previously had the Swift Mirage. I was fine with that one but thought I might try the Bella.

If you read this thread through, you will see what we think of the Swift FX Bella. There are may of us who have tried it and given our opinions already.

I'm so bummed out about the Bella Loops not working for me.....I fought them for about 2+ hours and then went to the whole headgear, which I fought from about 1:00am to 5:30am this morning... Machine read "good mask fit" 0.9 AHI, best number yet! Don't get the whole thing now. Maybe my machine is programed to LIE or maybe I'm dreaming I'm fighting all not long? However my back says no.... help, is there any relief for a stomach sleeper?

Well the first night with Bella went just okay. Comfort wise it was very comfortable for me, pretty easy to adjust and take off. I did have more leaking though. It's seemed to need lots of maneuvering the nasal pillows, as the angle wouldn't stay put. It didn't bother my ears at all, but my ears seem to be too low, No matter how many times i re adjusted, the angle would slip down so the air was pointing to the back instead of up. Hope I'm not confusing you with my strange explanation. I'll not give up on it, I will try to make it work. I did love not having any strap interference on my head and hair.

Mine were back ordered (b/c people like Pugsy ordered them right away ) and just shipped today. Won't get them until Monday I guess.