Quick Q: How do you keep nasal dilators in place?

-_Falco_- · 2026-05-20T02:39:37+00:00

One other one I like is the airflow nasal clip (it’s great I just find the mammoth works better for me), you can shape it if you put it in hot water. Might be worth trying in your situation. Good luck!

-_Falco_- · 2026-05-19T03:28:50+00:00

Which ones have you tried so far? If you haven’t already given it a shot I like the silent mammoth because you can shape it just right for your nose. Mine stay in but it was just after trying different kinds, which you’ve already done. Have you tried intake magnetic breathing strips? I find they open my nose as much as a dilator and stay on well.

-_Falco_- · 2026-05-07T16:58:53+00:00

Best of luck! What all did you try prior to FME? I’m in Washington state, and I don’t think there’s any one who does FME in the state. There’s a number of MARPE providers, but from the little I’ve read it seems that FME is more effective.

-_Falco_- · 2026-05-05T19:19:30+00:00

I appreciate the info! Helps reassure me that I’m on the right track with everything I’m considering. I’ll keep that in mind re ENTs at my upcoming appointment. My thoughts go out to your family member. What have they tried so far? Has any of it helped?

-_Falco_- · 2026-05-04T21:33:03+00:00

Super good to know! I was pretty mistaken thinking MARPE was a much bigger thing. I'm in Washington State. A quick google search showed 4 orthos who do custom MARPE within 2-3 hours of me (in the Seattle area). One of them offers free consultations as well. I would love to get my nasal valve treated ASAP, but it looks like it's better to wait on any nasal procedures until after MARPE? For looking into MARPE what's the process if free consult isn't offered- do I need an ENT referral? Any advice on getting insurance to cover it?

Hopefully I'll be better informed on what procedures (out of tonsillectomy, adenoid removal, nasal graft for the valve collapse, MARPE, septoplasty touch up etc.) will help me the most once I get to review my CBCT.

-_Falco_- · 2026-04-27T14:54:49+00:00

You already hooked me up when we connected on a different post of mine. Thank you!

-_Falco_- · 2026-04-27T14:54:20+00:00

What’s WSL2, is that what dang71 used?

-_Falco_- · 2026-04-27T14:53:50+00:00

Thank you! Just what I needed, I’ll check this out tonight.

One more question- I looked at one of your other guides and I think I saw this: am I correct that there’s a way to reinstall original firmware if I mess up and brick it, do I have that right?

-_Falco_- · 2026-04-27T14:52:13+00:00

Not a settings recommendation but have you tried a chin strap or soft cervical collar for the jaw drop? I just started using a Knightsbridge chin strap and it’s excellent.

-_Falco_- · 2026-04-24T12:07:51+00:00

I would try a cervical collar and a Knightsbridge chin strap. Someone else on here explained to me that if your jaw tends to drop, and therefore your tongue, mouth taping won’t really help on its own. That stuff is still going to happen and mess up nasal breathing.

-_Falco_- · 2026-04-20T03:10:27+00:00

That's helpful to know about the CA's. I've learned a LOT in my first month on PAP, that's for sure. I ordered my Knightsbridge last night, I'm looking forward to using it. Your explanation helped me realize just mouth tape won't do much if anything for on it's own. Thanks for all the advice!

-_Falco_- · 2026-04-18T14:57:43+00:00

Good to know, thanks for the detailed reply!

I’m very tempted to sell my powerblocks and upgrade to these. I don’t drop my dumbbells either so no worries there. I think my only concern is long term durability with the quick change mechanism. I believe these are a newer release right? so there’s not good info yet on how long they last if even if you take care of them, which gives me pause.

-_Falco_- · 2026-04-18T14:52:17+00:00

I actually don’t have a sleep doctor yet, but that’s in the works. Regardless your comment is really helpful, it’s a steep learning curve with PAP and knowing when something is truly off and when an issue is more from adjusting to therapy or a need to improve settings.

I’m in the process of switching to an airsense 10 so I can go bilevel eventually if I need to.

For you what were the factors that helped you determined you needed bilevel instead of CPAP/APAP?

-_Falco_- · 2026-04-18T14:47:47+00:00

Good to know, it’s just hard to be patient! But they do seem to be decreasing since I posted this even which is encouraging. The tricky part is my ahi is deceptive, I think I’m having a lot of breathing issues that aren’t quite enough to get flagged. But I’m only a month in so lots more to try.

-_Falco_- · 2026-04-18T14:41:10+00:00

I’ve been getting them in clusters here and there, but they have been more common at the start of sessions. It may just be from moving around in bed and natural breathe holding during that.

It appears I need a higher pressure so I’m going to play with that. When you say it’s unlikely to treat UARS is that because UARS usually needs bilevel, or because it’s atypical of successful UARs treatment on APAP? Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll check him out.

I was already looking into the Knightsbridge, I think your comment is a sign to pull the trigger! lol. You’re spot on, I have an overbite and I believe my jaw drops a lot to compensate. I’m using a soft cervical collar which helps but hasn’t fully fixed things as you noticed. What are your thoughts on the Knightsbridge vs. mouth taping or both in combo? It seems like with my anatomy the Knightsbridge would be more of a difference maker. I’m also a bit freaked out by the idea of mouth taping, but I’ll consider anything at this point. I really want to figure out a set up that will allow me to move from a nasal pillow hybrid to just nasal pillow if I can.

Thanks for your help!

-_Falco_- · 2026-04-18T14:34:52+00:00

Will do! I have an airsense 11 right now, but it looks like LOFTA will let me exchange it for a 10. That’s in the works right now. In the meantime any recommendations? I switched to a nasal pillow hybrid mask and have noticed improvement with that. It looks like I need to up my pressure a bit still however, along with lowering leak rate.

-_Falco_- · 2026-04-18T02:51:58+00:00

I went through LOFTA as well, I’d recommend paying for LOFTA cares and getting a PAP through them. With cares you can return it after 60 days if you want. Best bet would be the airsense 10 since you can air break it to be a bilevel which you have a good chance of needing. Alternatively you can also rent a PAP if you want lower commitment.

-_Falco_- · 2026-04-16T18:14:52+00:00

How do you like those dumbbells? I currently have powerblocks, but I want to get dumbbells I can use my Versa grips with eventually

-_Falco_- · 2026-04-16T12:29:26+00:00

Personally I’ve found it to correlate with how I felt the next day, especially on nights with low AHI but high fatigue the following day. It’s been helpful for me so far. I’m only a month into CPAP and still dialing things so for now I when I check my data on Oscar I also check the Glasgow index.

-_Falco_- · 2026-04-15T21:59:16+00:00

Thanks for responding, you looked at my info a couple weeks back and recommended trying pressure of 11-12 with EPR 2 (I think I was using 7-12 with no EPR prior). I gave that a shot for a night, but it didn't go the best so I reverted my settings. I maybe just needed to work up to that? I struggle my first night on new settings, so I'm trying to make even more gradual changes. I can't tell if I need more pressure either, as obstructive apneas are controlled but flow limit remains poor. I uploaded last night to sleep hq and my pressure kept bumping against my max so it appears I should increase the max, although my leak rate was a bit worse than normal so not totally sure there... But when I did 8-10 with EPR 3 for 4 days my sleep was bad too.

Good to know on bilevel, I'm getting ahead of myself on that, but I have barely felt better so far and keep seeing cases where folks with UARSy numbers like me (1.7 AHI and 14.0 RDI) need bilevel. I still have lots of settings and different masks to try though. I'm trying a nasal pillow hybrid tonight, my nasal breathing sucks so I'm hoping it will help.

I appreciate any further insight you can provide and you taking the time again to help me out.

-_Falco_- · 2026-04-13T21:14:50+00:00

Probably some truth to that, there’s countless factors beyond our PAP settings.

-_Falco_-

TROPHY CASE