Leaks and Events

[ggrimes620]

Hi everyone, newbie here. A little background information before I get into all the issues I'm having with my therapy. Two years ago at the age of 34, I was diagnosed with severe ulcerative pan-colitis. It took several months and an inadvertant sixty pound weight loss to be diagnosed. Those months were the longest and most painful in my life. I was given prednisone to help get things under control as well as Remicade infusions I continue to receive every six weeks to stay in remission. I knew I snored before I was diagnosed with UC, but I wasn't aware of any instances I'd stop breathing periodically throughout the night. It was discovered after I was tapering off prednisone and I was finally gaining my weight back. Prednisone tends to make the face more round and it also made my neck a lot larger too. I was referred for a take home sleep study and it was discovered I had over 700 events throughout the night. I was told that was incredibly high and I was at great risk of having a stroke or worse. Apparently due to my neck size, an overbite, and still having my tonsils, I'm definitely in need of cpap therapy. Moving on to using the cpap machine and using the myAir app on my phone, I'm averaging 6-10 events per night and also having trouble with mask leak. I know not a lot of faith should be placed into that app and that is exactly how I found this community. I'll wake up sometimes throughout the night with air blowing out the sides or top of the mask into my eyes and I can never get it to stop. I end up turning off the machine and starting it right back up. I have noticed my face is sweaty and oily in the morning too so that has to be a factor in this issue, right? I never use the humidifier although it stays connected.

I'm hoping my equipment shows up in my profile or in my post. If not, I'm using the ResMed AirSense 10 Series AutoSet with the humidifier and heated hose. I'm also using the ResMed AirFit F20 (large) mask. I looked around this website and found there is software to better help understand and improve my therapy. I don't have an SD card for the machine yet, but I will get one this week. I'd love for everyone to give me some tips and pointers.

[Miss Emerita]

Welcome! You've sure had a rough time of it, but I hope you're now on track to return to full good health.

It's very good that they caught your apnea, which is severe, and that you've embarked on treatment. Once you get the SD card and get set up with Oscar, the experts here can help you with any fine-tuning your settings might need.

Meanwhile, you've mentioned mask trouble. Have you tried looking on line for videos about how to fit your mask? With some masks, fairly minute adjustments made a big difference.

Do you breathe through your nose during the day? If so, I wonder whether you might want to try a nasal pillow mask. The more surface area of your face that a mask touches, the more ways it can leak, and pillow masks need only to fit your nares.

Some people find that a low, fairly firm bed pillow makes it easier to wear masks comfortably. And some people get help from a hose management system -- Hose Buddy, or a hose hook or lanyard, or just routing the hose up over a headboard.

Others will chime in I'm sure, and I look forward to seeing your charts once you're set up with Oscar.

[palerider]

I'm averaging 6-10 events per night

We like to talk about "AHI", which is an average per hour. 6-10 per night is pretty good to great, depending on how many hours you've slept.

and also having trouble with mask leak. I know not a lot of faith should be placed into that app and that is exactly how I found this community. I'll wake up sometimes throughout the night with air blowing out the sides or top of the mask into my eyes and I can never get it to stop. I end up turning off the machine and starting it right back up. I have noticed my face is sweaty and oily in the morning too so that has to be a factor in this issue, right?

Mask liners were a huge help for me, they make the mask more comfy, tame the leaks so they're not bothersome, and will probably cut down on the sweaty bit.

padacheek.com makes the best ones, they're more expensive initially, but they're made to last, and be washed and used for a long time. Plus, Karen, the owner, is a super nice lady, and a member here.

[ggrimes620]

Welcome! You've sure had a rough time of it, but I hope you're now on track to return to full good health.

It's very good that they caught your apnea, which is severe, and that you've embarked on treatment. Once you get the SD card and get set up with Oscar, the experts here can help you with any fine-tuning your settings might need.

Meanwhile, you've mentioned mask trouble. Have you tried looking on line for videos about how to fit your mask? With some masks, fairly minute adjustments made a big difference.

Do you breathe through your nose during the day? If so, I wonder whether you might want to try a nasal pillow mask. The more surface area of your face that a mask touches, the more ways it can leak, and pillow masks need only to fit your nares.

Some people find that a low, fairly firm bed pillow makes it easier to wear masks comfortably. And some people get help from a hose management system -- Hose Buddy, or a hose hook or lanyard, or just routing the hose up over a headboard.

Others will chime in I'm sure, and I look forward to seeing your charts once you're set up with Oscar.

Hi Miss Emerita and thanks for the welcome!

The SD card will arrive tomorrow and I look forward to posting my results for help. I've tried several different techniques with this mask and some nights it'll work and others it won't. I breathe through my nose throughout the day, but just like clockwork, my sinuses start messing with me and I get stuffy. I have tried all the OTC medicines such as Benadryl and I still find myself having to breathe through my mouth at night. I believe I'd have greater success with the nasal pillow mask, but I'd need to purchase a chin strap to help keep my mouth closed. I'm sure it would be a little difficult at first getting used to it, but I don't think my sinuses will allow that. I have two very soft pillows that I sleep on at night and I find that is a problem with this mask. I'm a side sleeper and I can feel the mask pushing against the top ridge of my nose during the night and that adds to the discomfort. Like you said, it may be a good idea to invest in a firmer pillow.

[ggrimes620]

I'm averaging 6-10 events per night

We like to talk about "AHI", which is an average per hour. 6-10 per night is pretty good to great, depending on how many hours you've slept.

and also having trouble with mask leak. I know not a lot of faith should be placed into that app and that is exactly how I found this community. I'll wake up sometimes throughout the night with air blowing out the sides or top of the mask into my eyes and I can never get it to stop. I end up turning off the machine and starting it right back up. I have noticed my face is sweaty and oily in the morning too so that has to be a factor in this issue, right?

Mask liners were a huge help for me, they make the mask more comfy, tame the leaks so they're not bothersome, and will probably cut down on the sweaty bit.

padacheek.com makes the best ones, they're more expensive initially, but they're made to last, and be washed and used for a long time. Plus, Karen, the owner, is a super nice lady, and a member here.

Hey there Palerider! I usually get in about 7-8 hours of sleep each night. You're telling me that range of AHI isn't too bad? I know the closer to zero the better, so I suppose you're right.

I visited Karen's website and I will be purchasing a mask liner or two. It really is amazing to see all the different products and solutions that are available for sleep apnea! The trick though, for a newbie such as myself, is finding what will work for me. Thanks for the tips and pointing me to her website!

[zonker]

I breathe through my nose throughout the day, but just like clockwork, my sinuses start messing with me and I get stuffy. I have tried all the OTC medicines such as Benadryl and I still find myself having to breathe through my mouth at night.

have you tried flonase?

I believe I'd have greater success with the nasal pillow mask, but I'd need to purchase a chin strap to help keep my mouth closed.

here is an alternative to a chin strap which works for me-

viewtopic/p1089718/viewtopic.php?f=1&t= ... s#p1086296

good luck!

[ggrimes620]

I breathe through my nose throughout the day, but just like clockwork, my sinuses start messing with me and I get stuffy. I have tried all the OTC medicines such as Benadryl and I still find myself having to breathe through my mouth at night.

have you tried flonase?

I believe I'd have greater success with the nasal pillow mask, but I'd need to purchase a chin strap to help keep my mouth closed.

here is an alternative to a chin strap which works for me-

viewtopic/p1089718/viewtopic.php?f=1&t= ... s#p1086296

good luck!

Hi Zonker! I've tried Flonase and it didn't do much more for me than Benadryl unfortunately. The alternative you posted looks promising and I'll look into it. Thanks for the suggestions!

[palerider]

I'm averaging 6-10 events per night

We like to talk about "AHI", which is an average per hour. 6-10 per night is pretty good to great, depending on how many hours you've slept.

and also having trouble with mask leak. I know not a lot of faith should be placed into that app and that is exactly how I found this community. I'll wake up sometimes throughout the night with air blowing out the sides or top of the mask into my eyes and I can never get it to stop. I end up turning off the machine and starting it right back up. I have noticed my face is sweaty and oily in the morning too so that has to be a factor in this issue, right?

Mask liners were a huge help for me, they make the mask more comfy, tame the leaks so they're not bothersome, and will probably cut down on the sweaty bit.

padacheek.com makes the best ones, they're more expensive initially, but they're made to last, and be washed and used for a long time. Plus, Karen, the owner, is a super nice lady, and a member here.

Hey there Palerider! I usually get in about 7-8 hours of sleep each night. You're telling me that range of AHI isn't too bad? I know the closer to zero the better, so I suppose you're right.

Chasing zero is a game of diminishing returns.
5 is crap.
2 is pretty good
1 is great
0.5? great
0.25? great
the occasional 0.00? great.

Ie, not much difference under 1.5ish.

I visited Karen's website and I will be purchasing a mask liner or two. It really is amazing to see all the different products and solutions that are available for sleep apnea! The trick though, for a newbie such as myself, is finding what will work for me. Thanks for the tips and pointing me to her website!

Just beware, there are a lot of scams, and totally unnecessary things.. (cpap "cleaners", "wipes", hose brushes, tons of other stuff that exists only to bilk people out of their money.)

[Miss Emerita]

For what it's worth, my allergist helped me get a handle on nose-clogging with a combination of Flonase and Azelastine sprays, plus a Montelukast (Singulair) pill before bedtime.

And although I naturally breathe through my nose, my mouth tends to open at night. I successfully used a combination of a snore collar (to keep my jaw in place) and Somniflex mouth tape (to keep my lips from parting), and now all I need is the tape.

[zonker]

For what it's worth, my allergist helped me get a handle on nose-clogging with a combination of Flonase and Azelastine sprays, plus a Montelukast (Singulair) pill before bedtime.

And although I naturally breathe through my nose, my mouth tends to open at night. I successfully used a combination of a snore collar (to keep my jaw in place) and Somniflex mouth tape (to keep my lips from parting), and now all I need is the tape.

do you wear your crown as well?

[ggrimes620]

Ok ladies and gents. I received my SD card in the mail today and plugged into my machine. I removed it and plugged it into my computer and imported the data. I'm going to have to read through viewtopic/t88983/Pugsys-PointersSleepyH ... Hints.html to figure out what I need to post here for you guys. So much data!

[ggrimes620]

I don't know what I've done here.

Screen Shot 2020-02-27 at 7.41.18 PM.png (455.39 KiB) Viewed 2373 times

[zonker]

I don't know what I've done here.

Screen Shot 2020-02-27 at 7.41.18 PM.png

well, congratulations! your first 0 AHI!!


put the card in, sleep tonight, then download tomorrow. post those results here.

[ggrimes620]

Haha. Roger that! Thanks!

[palerider]

Yes, you need the card in the machine while you're sleeping... some of the data is only written to the card, not stored in the machine.