Mask leaking way too much

[Kohkie]

Hi Everyone,

I'm getting good numbers. I tape, so I know I'm not mouth breathing. I keep getting this warning in sleepyhead. I don't know if I should worry about it. When I go to bed I have a nice snug fit on the mask and when I wake up it is usually a snug fit, not leaking or causing any problems. So I don't understand why I am getting this message:

The last time you used your Philips Respironics Auto CPAP...
was last night (on Thursday, May 18, 2017)
You had an AHI of 0.88, which is considered pretty darn good
You machine was on for 7 hours, 56 minutes and 13 seconds.
Your mask is leaking way too much.. Talk to your CPAP advisor.
Your pressure was under 16.4cmH2O for 95% of the time.

I tried switching to my old mask the Swift FX for Her and got the same results. I don't understand how I can get such good numbers and have a leak problem. I love my new mask because it is so comfortable, but if it is leaking so badly I will have to switch. Is there any possibility it is the beta sleepyhead reading it wrong?

I tried to attach an image of Sleepyhead but I discovered I can no longer do that.

Thank you in advance for any help.

[Julie]

Why can't you do SH shots? Are you using Imgur.com and following instructions you got when you downloaded the program?

[Pugsy]

SleepyHead defaults to the ResMed leak threshold number of 24 L/min excess leak to calculate that "time over red line statistic" giving you that warning but you are using a Respironics machine and their red line isn't the same as ResMed's red line.
So you may not be having any excess leaks at all and it's just SleepyHead figuring something using wrong baseline.

Look over on the Events graph...see the LL line at the top??? Are there any large leak flags showing up and if they are are the very short or prolonged?
SleepyHead has been known to scare people with that warning when there's really nothing to worry about.

To fix the erroneous number causing maybe undue alarm go to Preferences/CPAP tab and on the right side either turn off the red line statistic or change that 24 L/min number to something more in line with a Respironics number...problem being is Respironics doesn't have a set number because it can fluctuate so much....but if you just want to still use that statistic probably 50 or 60 L/min is would work and is actually fairly conservative.

[Kohkie]

SleepyHead defaults to the ResMed leak threshold number of 24 L/min excess leak to calculate that "time over red line statistic" giving you that warning but you are using a Respironics machine and their red line isn't the same as ResMed's red line.
So you may not be having any excess leaks at all and it's just SleepyHead figuring something using wrong baseline.

Look over on the Events graph...see the LL line at the top??? Are there any large leak flags showing up and if they are are the very short or prolonged?
SleepyHead has been known to scare people with that warning when there's really nothing to worry about.

To fix the erroneous number causing maybe undue alarm go to Preferences/CPAP tab and on the right side either turn off the red line statistic or change that 24 L/min number to something more in line with a Respironics number...problem being is Respironics doesn't have a set number because it can fluctuate so much....but if you just want to still use that statistic probably 50 or 60 L/min is would work and is actually fairly conservative.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Pugsy. I'm totally new to Sleephead, although I was pretty darn good on Encore Viewer. So I had never thought to look at the LL line, I didn't even realize what it was. There are no flags on the LL line, so I guess I'm good. Yes it did scare me, that's why I started taping, to make sure it wasn't a mouth leak.

I did go to the Preferences file and change the red line statistics to 60 L/min. I really didn't want to see a LL warning every morning. Again, thank you so much for your help, I really appreciate it.

Tami

[Kohkie]

Why can't you do SH shots? Are you using Imgur.com and following instructions you got when you downloaded the program?

Hi Julie,

I haven't ever been to Imgur.com or downloaded the program. I will check it out. I did do a screen shot and saved the file but couldn't attach it.

I looked at Imgur. To tell you the truth, I don't mind posting my CPAP medical data here on the forum, but I really don't want to post it on a public photo site, so I guess Imgur isn't going to work for me.

Thank you for your help
Tami

[Pugsy]

You know you may not even be needing to tape .....so unless you just love taping I think I would back off and watch the LL line.
To be honest...I don't panic with a small short lived large leak no matter what the cause. 5 to 10 minutes of LL isn't the end of the world as long as it doesn't disturb your sleep.
Now if it disturbs your sleep that's a different story.
Up to you....Good luck and glad I was able to so easily put you mind at ease.