Thursday, March 12, 2009

nasal pillows

Nasal pillows are something that I have never tried and really didn’t know much about. From what I have read they work in conjunction with the cpap machines. Instead of a mask covering your nose and mouth, the tubes go directly into the nostrils. Apparently the part that goes into your nose is cushioned so it isn’t as uncomfortable. Somehow this is supposed to be more natural than the regular cpap mask.

Well, I had to have a full face mask when I used the cpap machine because my mouth is open when I sleep, so this wouldn’t be much help to me. If you don’t have that problem you might want to look into the nasal pillows.

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2 comments:

  1. David, I'm guessing you've been over all this with your doctor, but I thought I'd share some info about my case, just in case it might help.

    I've been using the nasal pillows for a month or two (I just began CPAP treatment then) and I'm also a big time mouth breather. For the first few weeks, I used a chin strap, but I've also been trying to learn to keep my tongue sealing with the top of my mouth when I sleep. For the last couple of weeks, I stopped using the strap and I think it's working. The data in my machine shows the amount of leakage is small and the number of apnea episodes is well within the normal range.

    My point is, you can learn to sleep with your mouth closed (or at least tongue-sealed). It takes a while, but I think I've done it and I think you can too. A co-worker of mine did the same thing (which is the only reason it occurred to me to try). As far as masks go, the nasal pillows are very nice and I got used to them very quickly. I hate to see you discouraged by something that you might be able to overcome.

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  2. Thanks for the encouraging words Michael. I might give it another try.

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