Nasal Mask vs Face Mask (Newbie)

[RaydeeohMan]

Thanks DreamDiver, yeah it's definitely an Autoset machine. And I can get into the menu to change the settings if I ever decide to do so. Right now I am no where near being confident enough to do that. There is just so much I don't know yet. I still have to study how to interpret all that data that Oscar is providing. I'm definitely not worried about getting my RT upset, mostly because to my knowledge I don't have one. I doubt if I'll be hearing from my doctor's office unless I make contact first.

I'm not sure which type of chart is best but here is both a daily one from last night, and one that covers all time, which for me is April 8 - May 3, 2020.

Thanks for all your help!

Some more feedback:

Still good on your current settings, so again you could probably keep it here for a bit just to see how things balance out.

The "daily" chart is often most useful. Obviously, that's the first chart you shared below. It looks like you've set up the left side bar and graphs just right. If you could scrunch the graphs to fit your window or make the OSCAR window taller for your screen capture, we'll also see your flow limitation graph better. At times that can be useful.

Occasionally, it's nice to see your Statistics tab, but that's for long-term views, like 1-month, 6-month and 1-year comparison trends. For now, dailies are good.

Notice how one area in the Event Flags graph is lighter than the other. That's the bit that shows up magnified in the lower graphs. So it looks like you've been exploring the magnification feature for looking closer at specific flagged events in the flow rate graph. That's great! However, unless you've got a question about a specific event or cluster of events that you want someone to view closeup, it's best to show the full graphs. That way, you can better evaluate things like your pressure graph and flow limitations over the whole night or session.

The below image shows an example of how to get graphs back to full zoom: Right click in the area highlighted in red, pull down to "100% zoom level". The screencapture that for upload on the forum.

For now, just keep using the mask and machine, do the research you require to make yourself comfortable and let us know in a few more days how you're doing by posting some more daily graphs right in this thread so we can track your progress with you.

Sounds like you've got this!

Chris

Ok, I'm posting a new chart from last night which shows the whole flow limitation graph, with everything at 100%. I tend to learn new software by clicking here and there, kind of like poking something with a stick to see which way it jumps! I wasn't able to get it back to where it was, so thanks for that tip. I still have to really study these Oscar charts to understand what they are telling me.
My wife tells me that I have stopped shaking and snoring at night, at least while I am in bed with the CPAP machine on. I still wake up in the middle of the night every night, and take it off. I go out to the living room to read until I fall asleep again. That is my pattern for at least ten years now; the CPAP machine hasn't changed that yet. If I try to stay in bed with my mask on after an hour or more I just give up and go read myself to sleep.
I wonder if it would hurt anything if I took the CPAP with me when I went to the other room? I would have to unplug it, of course. Does that cause it to loose its settings or prevent it from transmitting the sleep data the next day?
The other night I forgot to put the SD card back in the CPAP, so no data for that night!
I'm still pretty tired during the day, and nod off watching the news in the afternoon. Things are better for my wife, at least, as I don't disturb her sleep as much.
Thanks for all the advice!

[DreamDiver]

Ok, I'm posting a new chart from last night which shows the whole flow limitation graph, with everything at 100%. I tend to learn new software by clicking here and there, kind of like poking something with a stick to see which way it jumps! I wasn't able to get it back to where it was, so thanks for that tip. I still have to really study these Oscar charts to understand what they are telling me.
My wife tells me that I have stopped shaking and snoring at night, at least while I am in bed with the CPAP machine on. I still wake up in the middle of the night every night, and take it off. I go out to the living room to read until I fall asleep again. That is my pattern for at least ten years now; the CPAP machine hasn't changed that yet. If I try to stay in bed with my mask on after an hour or more I just give up and go read myself to sleep.
I wonder if it would hurt anything if I took the CPAP with me when I went to the other room? I would have to unplug it, of course. Does that cause it to loose its settings or prevent it from transmitting the sleep data the next day?
The other night I forgot to put the SD card back in the CPAP, so no data for that night!
I'm still pretty tired during the day, and nod off watching the news in the afternoon. Things are better for my wife, at least, as I don't disturb her sleep as much.

Thanks for all the advice!

Experimentation with the OSCAR software is a great way to familiarize yourself with it. If you get lost, you can always quit out of it and just open it again. And yeah, it's frustrating when you miss a night of data at the beginning, but you'll have lots of other nights of full data to look at.

It's great that your wife is noting progress! If you can, you should use your machine every time you sleep, including naps. It really makes a difference.

Again, you look pretty dialed in. Sleeping through the night and in any naps with the machine would be a great goal. Some of us wake up, read for a bit and then re-mask up and go back to sleep. Just don't read anything that's going to be keeping you on the edge of your seat, waiting for the next plot twist. Better to read some favorite you're fairly familiar with and will be easy to put down when you realize you're about to fall asleep. Miss Emerita has some great tips for sleep hygiene that could play well into this. Perhaps she'll give you some additional suggestions.

Chris

[RaydeeohMan]

Ok, I'm posting a new chart from last night which shows the whole flow limitation graph, with everything at 100%. I tend to learn new software by clicking here and there, kind of like poking something with a stick to see which way it jumps! I wasn't able to get it back to where it was, so thanks for that tip. I still have to really study these Oscar charts to understand what they are telling me.
My wife tells me that I have stopped shaking and snoring at night, at least while I am in bed with the CPAP machine on. I still wake up in the middle of the night every night, and take it off. I go out to the living room to read until I fall asleep again. That is my pattern for at least ten years now; the CPAP machine hasn't changed that yet. If I try to stay in bed with my mask on after an hour or more I just give up and go read myself to sleep.
I wonder if it would hurt anything if I took the CPAP with me when I went to the other room? I would have to unplug it, of course. Does that cause it to loose its settings or prevent it from transmitting the sleep data the next day?
The other night I forgot to put the SD card back in the CPAP, so no data for that night!
I'm still pretty tired during the day, and nod off watching the news in the afternoon. Things are better for my wife, at least, as I don't disturb her sleep as much.

Thanks for all the advice!

Experimentation with the OSCAR software is a great way to familiarize yourself with it. If you get lost, you can always quit out of it and just open it again. And yeah, it's frustrating when you miss a night of data at the beginning, but you'll have lots of other nights of full data to look at.

It's great that your wife is noting progress! If you can, you should use your machine every time you sleep, including naps. It really makes a difference.

Again, you look pretty dialed in. Sleeping through the night and in any naps with the machine would be a great goal. Some of us wake up, read for a bit and then re-mask up and go back to sleep. Just don't read anything that's going to be keeping you on the edge of your seat, waiting for the next plot twist. Better to read some favorite you're fairly familiar with and will be easy to put down when you realize you're about to fall asleep. Miss Emerita has some great tips for sleep hygiene that could play well into this. Perhaps she'll give you some additional suggestions.

Chris

Last night I actually managed to keep the mask on all night, from about 11pm to 7am. I did wake up 3-4 times but went back to sleep fairly soon. I don't know if it was just sheer exhaustion that let me go back to sleep, or if I am just getting better adjusted to the CPAP. Here is the summary from Oscar for last night:
"The last time you used your ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet... was last night (on May 6, 2020)
Your machine was on for 7 hours, 16 minutes and 2 seconds.
You had an AHI of 0.00, which is under your 7 day average of 1.17.
Your CPAP machine used a constant 6 cmH2O of air
Your average leaks were 2.64 L/min, which is under your 7 day average of 3.05.

So, no events last night! I'm not even sure what events I have been having, episodes of not breathing I guess, but none for last night. Progress!
Ray

[DreamDiver]

Last night I actually managed to keep the mask on all night, from about 11pm to 7am. I did wake up 3-4 times but went back to sleep fairly soon. I don't know if it was just sheer exhaustion that let me go back to sleep, or if I am just getting better adjusted to the CPAP. Here is the summary from Oscar for last night:
"The last time you used your ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet... was last night (on May 6, 2020)
Your machine was on for 7 hours, 16 minutes and 2 seconds.
You had an AHI of 0.00, which is under your 7 day average of 1.17.
Your CPAP machine used a constant 6 cmH2O of air
Your average leaks were 2.64 L/min, which is under your 7 day average of 3.05.

So, no events last night! I'm not even sure what events I have been having, episodes of not breathing I guess, but none for last night. Progress!
Ray

Such great news!

About waking up periodically -- Meh. Don't sweat it. Studies suggest there are more than cultural reasons why we don't ordinarily sleep through the night. It's actually normal for about a third of us. You can always read for a few minutes, like I said, and when you're drowsy, just remask and back to sleep.

Looks like you're on your way! There can be no greater satisfaction than seeing the results of taking control of our lives.

Chris

[RaydeeohMan]

Ok, things do seem to be getting better. I slept all the way through the night the last couple of nights, and I was able to keep my mask on for 7-8 hours. That was true for 5 days for the past week. The 2 nights when I only had my mask on for 4-5 hours was when I wasn't using my chin strap, so apparently I need to be wearing it. I have also noticed that I don't seem to be getting dizzy like I have been for the last couple of years. At times when I would stand up the blood wouldn't reach my brain and I'd have to hold onto something to keep from falling over. I thought that was caused by my blood pressure medicine, but maybe it was just lack of sleep? Anyhow, about the only problem I have now is when I roll over the 'exhaust' air from the tube connecting to my mask blows in my wife's face, waking her up. I need to learn to roll the other way!

Thanks to everyone for all the support I've received here!

Ray

[DreamDiver]

Others may come along with suggestions for reducing CA's, if possible.

It looks like the AirFit N30 could be a good alternative. According to ResMed's manual on the N30, it uses QuietAir technology, a technique similar to the QuietAir Elbow, but for a nasal mask. It's possible vent dispersal will be almost impossible for your wife to detect. I hope others will confirm whether this is the case.

An alternative that works brilliantly for this could be the AirFit F30 Full Face. It's sort of a hybrid between a full-face and a nasal mask, but when it comes to vent dispersal, it's hardly any more noticeable to my wife than normal breathing. I use the F30, same elbow technology, and it's been a blessing compared to any previous mask for that reason alone.

Maybe the N30 could work for you.

Chris

[RaydeeohMan]

Others may come along with suggestions for reducing CA's, if possible.

It looks like the AirFit N30 could be a good alternative. According to ResMed's manual on the N30, it uses QuietAir technology, a technique similar to the QuietAir Elbow, but for a nasal mask. It's possible vent dispersal will be almost impossible for your wife to detect. I hope others will confirm whether this is the case.

An alternative that works brilliantly for this could be the AirFit F30 Full Face. It's sort of a hybrid between a full-face and a nasal mask, but when it comes to vent dispersal, it's hardly any more noticeable to my wife than normal breathing. I use the F30, same elbow technology, and it's been a blessing compared to any previous mask for that reason alone.

Maybe the N30 could work for you.

Chris

Thanks, Chris. I think I will order one of those and give it a try.
I was looking at my OSCAR data and trying to understand what it is telling me. That last report says I have a AHI of 1.84. From what I read, it’s considered normal to have fewer than five events per hour, so that is pretty good. Then I started wondering how far I have come, so I went back to my sleep report from the sleep clinic from 3-9-2020. That report says that I had a AHI of 5.1. That is considered pretty mild apnea. It sounds like I barely met the definition of having sleep apnea. Of course, that is a snapshot in time, the results from that one night. The results could have been much different on another night. The report further states that I had 24 apneas in total, 21 of which were obstructive apneas, 2 were central apneas, and 1 was mixed. It also said I had 6 hypopnea in total, a HI of 1.0. There is a lot more information there, of course. Zero arousals. Zero periodic limb movements (although my wife has told me my legs and/or arms shake a lot on many nights, or did, anyway, before I got the CPAP).
When I look at my OSCAR reports, and also the MyAir reports they all show low AHI scores way below 5.0. I’m just surprised to see that my AHI scores have mostly all been low.

[RaydeeohMan]

I have developed a bit of soreness by my nostrils, I guess Lansinoh is the recommended treatment? I wonder if there is something else I can use, some sort of ointment? Anyhow, I decided now would be a good time to try and switch back to the full face mask. I haven't tried it since April 20, and had trouble getting a good seal with it. I have settled on a size medium for the nasal mask, so I assume that medium should work for the full face mask. I'll try it on early and try to get a good seal before I'm too tired to cope with it!
Question- Should I adjust the air pressure when I am switching mask types, or just leave it alone? It is currently set at 6.

Thanks for all the great advice!
Ray

[DreamDiver]

I have developed a bit of soreness by my nostrils, I guess Lansinoh is the recommended treatment? I wonder if there is something else I can use, some sort of ointment? Anyhow, I decided now would be a good time to try and switch back to the full face mask. I haven't tried it since April 20, and had trouble getting a good seal with it. I have settled on a size medium for the nasal mask, so I assume that medium should work for the full face mask. I'll try it on early and try to get a good seal before I'm too tired to cope with it!
Question- Should I adjust the air pressure when I am switching mask types, or just leave it alone? It is currently set at 6.

Thanks for all the great advice!
Ray

There is a mask-type setting.

On the AirSense 10 Patient Menu: My Options --> Mask --> Full Face

That's all you should really need to set. Sleep well!

Chris

[RaydeeohMan]

[/quote]
There is a mask-type setting.

On the AirSense 10 Patient Menu: My Options --> Mask --> Full Face

That's all you should really need to set. Sleep well!

Chris
[/quote]

Thanks Chris. Yeah, I did switch it to Full Face, and I got the smily face when I ran the Mask Test, so I'll see how it goes.
Ray

[RaydeeohMan]

Ok, it didn’t go very well. I had the full face mask on for about 3 hours but couldn’t go to sleep! I had been nodding off watching TV so I was definitely tired. Using the nasal mask I generally fall asleep in about 15 minutes.
I checked for leaks several times and got the smiley face each time. I wanted to stick with it but the last time I rolled over it broke the seal and it starting hissing real loud. I didn’t want to wake my wife up, so I shut it off, took it off and went to the recliner chair to read.

I don’t think I’ll be playing chess today! Not that I would be anyhow.

I think part of the problem is that I had it too tight on top. The bridge of my nose was starting to hurt after an hour or so. I loosened it up a bit and rechecked the mask fit, but by then I was already past my sleep cycle. I plan to try again tonight, hopefully with better results.

It feels like I am starting all over again getting used to my CPAP, and in a way I guess I am. I only tried the full face mask (F20) once before, so I need to get used to how it feels to be able to sleep with it.
Ray

[RaydeeohMan]

Here is last nights data:

[nicholasjh1]

A couple things. Yes there can be immediate relief, but also keep in mind that typically it takes 1 to 1 1/2 years for the brain to fully recover from untreated sleep apnea according to a least a couple studies. (there is actually a reduction in grey and white matter in the brain during untreated sleep apnea). So glad to hear it's starting to help you feel better and sleep better!

Another thing is that it's my theory at least that during untreated sleep apnea the body gets used to being roused at night, and even sets up mechanisms to have more energy at night (in order to "survive" the suffocation from the apnea's). This is even borne out in some studies which show in people with sleep apnea their creatine levels are higher at night (especially untreated or recently treated). As you may know creatine is used for energy storage from muscle. Point being over time you can expect this to correct itself and eventually sleep better.

[RaydeeohMan]

A couple things. Yes there can be immediate relief, but also keep in mind that typically it takes 1 to 1 1/2 years for the brain to fully recover from untreated sleep apnea according to a least a couple studies. (there is actually a reduction in grey and white matter in the brain during untreated sleep apnea). So glad to hear it's starting to help you feel better and sleep better!

Another thing is that it's my theory at least that during untreated sleep apnea the body gets used to being roused at night, and even sets up mechanisms to have more energy at night (in order to "survive" the suffocation from the apnea's). This is even borne out in some studies which show in people with sleep apnea their creatine levels are higher at night (especially untreated or recently treated). As you may know creatine is used for energy storage from muscle. Point being over time you can expect this to correct itself and eventually sleep better.

Thanks, that is really fascinating. I'm still pretty ignorant about sleep apnea; for many years I dismissed the possibility that I had that because my BMI was right on target. Now I know that is a fallacy. With hindsight I can see that I have been suffering for at least a decade and that lack of sleep has really taken its' toll. High blood pressure, poor memory, poor cognitive function. I had good computer skills at one time, but when I retired (10 years ago) it was becoming harder and harder just to do my job. Anyhow, it does make sense that it would take way more than a month or two using a CPAP machine to undo the damage and bad habits formed during my "period of unrest."
I didn't know what creatine does, but I have had my creatine level checked every year for many years now, and it was within the normal range. It wasn't be checked at night, of course. Anyhow, thanks for your insight.
Ray

[RaydeeohMan]

I have given up on the full face mask for now, as I wasn’t able to sleep with it on for two nights in a row. Yesterday I was totally exhausted, mostly dysfunctional, migraine, etc. I switched back to the nasal mask, and was able to keep it on for 8+ hours two nights in a row!
Last night I woke up a little after 3am and decided to move myself and the CPAP to the living room, mostly to not interfere with my wife’s sleep any more. I had talked to a Apria rep and he said there would be no problem unplugging the machine to move it in the middle of the night. I wasn’t sure what that might do to the data. When I looked at the MyAir summary it looked fine at first, but then I noticed that it had the exact same data for two nights in a row! What are the odds of that? 8.47 usage hours, mask seal 20/20, 1.5 events per hour, 2 mask on/off, score 100 points, both nights!
So, I imported my data into Oscar, and now I can see that it recorded two sessions, with the start and end times matching what I recall. It gives data for the total time I had the mask on, but lists the separate sessions on the bottom left. So cool, no problem. But, then I scroll back in time and I can see that it often shows two sessions anyhow. On some nights it shows just one session.
So, my question is, what constitutes a session? I would have thought there was a lot of difference between unplugging the machine and just taking your mask off, or whatever else causes a session to end.
Maybe I am worrying when I don’t need to worry; my AHI is fine. But, I’d like to understand what happens when I unplug my machine in the middle of the night, move it and crank it up again.
Here are my graphs for the last two nights.