New to CPAP

[AnalogDE]

Hi,
I just started my CPAP therapy two days ago. Downloaded SleepHead software to readout SD card data from my PR System One (560).

Untreated, I had AHI=7.5 during WatchPAT sleep study.

My AHI with the new machine is 0.13 - 0.7. Leaks are high at 25-30. How are leaks detected? Mask is on fairly tight, not sure how to adjust to cut down the leaks...Any advice?

Therapy range right now is set to 10-15 cm2 H2O. I see in the plots that I am hitting the max pressure of 15 cm2 H2O sometimes.

[Sheriff Buford]

Please post your equipment in your profile. Resmed and Respironics have different ways to record leaks. Seems your AHI is low (sleep study-wise) and you have a good handle on the AHI at home. My goodness! I've never heard of anyone having an AHI that low for a sleep study! Over-tightening of your mask can make the mask leak as bad as under-tightening. What type of mask are you using? It's hard to advise you without knowing what your equipment is.

Sheriff

[AnalogDE]

Updated my profile and signature with equipment I'm using.

[ChrisD]

Welcome AnalogDE

Something to note, the forum has a search function (upper left corner). Try searching for "leaks" or "leak rate".

All masks have an intentional leak rate. Does your leak graph spike or is it flat?

Chris

[jdm2857]

On PR machines, the leak rate you see is a combination of the "intentional leak" (the normal leak through the mask vents) and the "unintentional leak",
which are the leaks we want to avoid. So to judge your leak number, you have to deduct the intentional leak for your mask at your pressure.

If you look at the intentional leak rates for your mask (first blue column in the chart linked below), you'll see that your leak numbers are right in
line with the intentional mask leak rate. So your unintentional leak rate is minimal. In other words, you're good.





FYI, ResMed machines have a mask setting which is used to determine the intentional leak rate for the mask being used. The machine then
subtracts this from the total leak, displaying only the unintentional leak rate.

[Sir NoddinOff]

To jdm2857: Thanks for that great chart. I'm sure I've seen it before but it's nice to have again as a reference.

To the OP, AnalogDE: It sounds like you are on the right track for a newbie. NIce numbers so far. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[jdm2857]

Here's the original, which includes the mask settings for ResMed machines:

http://www.resmed.com/us/assets/documen ... sa_eng.pdf

What's strange here is that masks that are in the same column have different settings. The Mirage FX and Mirage Activa
are both in the first column, but for S8 machines, the setting for the Mirage FX is "Standard", while the setting for the
Mirage Activa is "Activa".

[AnalogDE]

Here's my Pressure/Leak chart from last night.

[jdm2857]

The upper leak line is the total leak. The lower line is SleepyHead's guesstimate of the unintentional leak.
You can see that it is virtually zero. I wish I could get my leak line to look like that.

[Pugsy]

Your excess leak is minimal to none.
The PR S1 machine says hit can handle/compensate for a good bit of excess leak above that vent rate.
They never actually tell us where large leak total leak numbers begin but past experience (mine and others) with the 560 machine it seems to be around 80 L/min total leak (vent rate plus excess) and for the 50 series machines around 90 L/min.

As long as you are well below large leak territory then leaks are not an issue unless they are causing you to wake up often. Then they become an issue just because they are disturbing sleep quality and not so much because they are so bad they are negatively impacting therapy itself.

Also remember that with pressure increases in APAP mode that the intentional leak or vent rate will also increase so some of that upward movement on the leak like graph is to be expected because your pressure goes up and the vent rate goes up with the pressure increase.

[AnalogDE]

Thanks everyone for the helpful explanations.