Velpeau Comfort, Part 2:
I’ve been wearing my new Velpeau Comfort 4” Medium on and off these last few days.
It took a fair amount of time before I became accustomed to wearing it while sitting. At first it felt like my head was forced slightly upwards as opposed to the proper chin tuck position suggested by my physical therapist (aka neck perfectly straight, eyes looking forward). It also felt a little harder to breathe because of the extra tightness around the neck (and maybe because it forces me to breathe through my nose).
Anyhow, the strap softened after a few days, solving both of those issues for the most part. I also realized that the head angling problem could be solved by sitting up straight instead of slumping back. This gets in the way of watching TV, but soon I was able to keep the Velpeau on for long periods while typing or reading.
Wearing it while lying down was an easier affair. It worked well enough during my afternoon trial naps that I went ahead and gave it a go while sleeping. I was able to get through several nights wearing the Velpeau. Unfortunately, it did not solve the problem of jaw dropping so I had to reintroduce my ResMed chin strap into the mix. Needless to say, when combined with that chin strap, things became super restrictive; the lack of movement was frustrating enough that I decided to put sleeping with the collar on hold.
Overall, the strap hasn’t performed completely up to par. However, I’m still happy with my purchase and look forward to playing around with it some more.
