Sleepyhead data review

[nepatitan]

Was wondering if someone could take a look at my sleepyhead data and just review it for me.
Last few weeks have been sleeping longer and not being fully awake when I wake up. Last night I seemed to not sleep to well though my ahi was 1.1
Another note, the last few weeks I have not hit the ramp button after getting my mask on. It has been very warm here and noticed if I don't hit the ramp button it cools my face more.
Here is a link to the imgur picture http://imgur.com/a/AzVSh

Thanks

[Pugsy]

Why do you feel you didn't sleep well last night? Was it perhaps related to waking up with leaks of some sort?
You had a couple of times where leaks were in large leak territory.
Can you include the leak graph so we can see how far into large leak territory you went?

[nepatitan]

Usually when I wake up, I'm "UP" wide awake, not groggy at all. This morning I woke up around 7:30 where the second leak was, then fell back asleep which is not that normal since using the cpap (been using it for almost 3 months)
I think this is what your asking for (leak graph)
http://imgur.com/a/aFtKr

Why do you feel you didn't sleep well last night? Was it perhaps related to waking up with leaks of some sort?
You had a couple of times where leaks were in large leak territory.
Can you include the leak graph so we can see how far into large leak territory you went?

[Pugsy]

You went WAY into large leak territory during that first large leak time frame...so far into large leak territory that most likely the machine couldn't sense much and there's a good chance that a bunch of apnea event stuff happened and the machine didn't/couldn't flag it. So that nice low AHI might be giving you a false sense of security...meaning you could have had a truckload of events happen during the large leak and the machine simply didn't know they were happening.

With a little bit into large leak territory the machine can still do a decent job sensing and recording and by little bit I mean maybe 5 L/min into large leak territory (which on your machine is probably around 80 to 90 L/min total leak.

So the not feeling so great could be related to missed apnea events due to large leak or simply leaks causing awakenings or arousals (that you may or may not remember) and thus you have crappy sleep quality. Crappy sleep quality equals not feeling so great when we wake up even if the AHI is nice and low for real. In this case we don't even know if the nice low AHI is real or not because of the amount of time spent in large leak.
5 minutes in large leak isn't that big of a deal but 50 minutes is a whole other story.

Whatever is going on with the leaks needs to be fixed.

[Pugsy]

You are showing a full face mask in your profile...is it possible the cushion is getting tired and needing replaced and might be the cause of the leaks?

[nepatitan]

Thanks for the quick reply. I do have a different mask coming next week. Was supposed to get a mirage quattro mask (the one I used during the sleep study)but was never sent and they finally sent it out this week. I have a beard.... lol but listen. I have not had a lot of leaks at first. Could my face be getting thinner causing more leaks? or does the rubber part of the mask change over time? I do re adjust the straps on my mask every night.
I was told, beard oil an hour or so before bed will help soften my beard.

You went WAY into large leak territory during that first large leak time frame...so far into large leak territory that most likely the machine couldn't sense much and there's a good chance that a bunch of apnea event stuff happened and the machine didn't/couldn't flag it. So that nice low AHI might be giving you a false sense of security...meaning you could have had a truckload of events happen during the large leak and the machine simply didn't know they were happening.

With a little bit into large leak territory the machine can still do a decent job sensing and recording and by little bit I mean maybe 5 L/min into large leak territory (which on your machine is probably around 80 to 90 L/min total leak.

So the not feeling so great could be related to missed apnea events due to large leak or simply leaks causing awakenings or arousals (that you may or may not remember) and thus you have crappy sleep quality. Crappy sleep quality equals not feeling so great when we wake up even if the AHI is nice and low for real. In this case we don't even know if the nice low AHI is real or not because of the amount of time spent in large leak.
5 minutes in large leak isn't that big of a deal but 50 minutes is a whole other story.

Whatever is going on with the leaks needs to be fixed.

[nepatitan]

lol I was just asking that in my reply.
the silicone does feel, flimsier

You are showing a full face mask in your profile...is it possible the cushion is getting tired and needing replaced and might be the cause of the leaks?

[Pugsy]

Facial hair creates additional leak challenges but they can be met.
There's a good chance that the oil you use to soften the beard is getting soaked up by the silicone. It happens with facial oils as well and even with daily washings it doesn't always get totally removed and even without the oils the silicone can get tired...add in oils and they get tired quicker.

First suspect in this situation would be the silicone getting tired. Some people can get months or even years out of a cushion with common sense care and others barely make it a month. Insurance normally will cover 1 cushion replacement per month. Check your insurance to see what their replacement allowance is.

Since a new mask is on the way and assuming you don't have a spare cushion handy then I would do what I could with this mask until the new one arrives next week.
You might add a mask liner to see if it helps manage the leaks a little better or at least allows you to sleep a little better.
You can make a homemade mask liner out of an old TShirt. Search the forum for mask liners to get an idea how to do it....I am short on time but there's a thread somewhere on the first or second forum page with a link for instructions on a pattern for a homemade mask liner.

[nepatitan]

okay I have a silly question. When you said about my profile showing a full face mask. I went and checked online to see the brand. I was looking at the pictures and noticed that I have not worn the back strap correctly. I was wearing the upper back strap much higher than in the picture which was always pulling the mask up.
Like this image, the red line is where I was wearing the upper strap http://imgur.com/a/JQS6t

[nepatitan]

I was looking to get the mask liner, I am allergic to silicone but have got it under control with a eczema cream in the morning
Going to look up that thread.
Thanks again

Facial hair creates additional leak challenges but they can be met.
There's a good chance that the oil you use to soften the beard is getting soaked up by the silicone. It happens with facial oils as well and even with daily washings it doesn't always get totally removed and even without the oils the silicone can get tired...add in oils and they get tired quicker.

First suspect in this situation would be the silicone getting tired. Some people can get months or even years out of a cushion with common sense care and others barely make it a month. Insurance normally will cover 1 cushion replacement per month. Check your insurance to see what their replacement allowance is.

Since a new mask is on the way and assuming you don't have a spare cushion handy then I would do what I could with this mask until the new one arrives next week.
You might add a mask liner to see if it helps manage the leaks a little better or at least allows you to sleep a little better.
You can make a homemade mask liner out of an old TShirt. Search the forum for mask liners to get an idea how to do it....I am short on time but there's a thread somewhere on the first or second forum page with a link for instructions on a pattern for a homemade mask liner.

[tan]

one thing to look into: jaw dropping, which may occur when the bottom of the mask pushes onto your jaw. When relaxed, my jaw drops so much so much that seal breaks, which results in huge leaks and mouth drying out and disturbed sleep

[nepatitan]

For me when my jaw drops it makes a better seal lol. If i close my mouth and breath through my nose it leaks a lot by my eyes and the left side of my mouth.

one thing to look into: jaw dropping, which may occur when the bottom of the mask pushes onto your jaw. When relaxed, my jaw drops so much so much that seal breaks, which results in huge leaks and mouth drying out and disturbed sleep

[nepatitan]

So after adjusting my mask and my headgear, the mask definitely fits much better and is not pulling up on my face so much.
Here is the night I fixed it, seems to be slightly better http://imgur.com/a/Pirdr

[Pugsy]

Looks like 2 episodes of large leak. One very brief and the other lasting about 30 minutes.
30 minutes out of 7 hours isn't horrible by any means. The leak was significant though so we don't know if the absence of any events during that 30 minutes means nothing happened or the machine missed them but the rest of the night the data is accurate so overall not a bad night.

[nepatitan]

I was actually very excited to see how I'd sleep wearing the mask correctly. Still waiting to get my new mask in the mail....
Thanks for the help.

Looks like 2 episodes of large leak. One very brief and the other lasting about 30 minutes.
30 minutes out of 7 hours isn't horrible by any means. The leak was significant though so we don't know if the absence of any events during that 30 minutes means nothing happened or the machine missed them but the rest of the night the data is accurate so overall not a bad night.