Mask issues with high pressure...

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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palerider
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Re: Mask issues with high pressure...

Post by palerider » Thu Jul 23, 2015 2:34 pm

Sheffey wrote:Pugsy, I'm sorry you never figured out how to use a FFM. Plenty of us did and I'm glad there was no one around to discourage me when I was learning.
how does one "figure out how to use a FFM"? aside from figuring out how to keep it from leaking...

surely for many people, figuring out how to keep the air going the right way in the back of their mouth is more of a thing.

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joeljjk11
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Re: Mask issues with high pressure...

Post by joeljjk11 » Fri Jul 24, 2015 5:57 am

So last night my leakage was horrible but my AHI was lower at 10.7 so I feel a bit better. I haven't had a chance to look at Sleepyhead but it seems that most of the leakage is from mouth breathing because my throat is really sore in the morning. The nasal pillows have also been pretty tight so I don't think they are leaking at my nose.

What should I do? If I go back to the F10 full face mask with the current pressures, the leakage is just going to be just as bad or worse. Should I just lower the pressure on my machine and go back to the full face mask? Not sure what else to do.

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ChicagoGranny
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Re: Mask issues with high pressure...

Post by ChicagoGranny » Fri Jul 24, 2015 6:09 am

joeljjk11 wrote: If I go back to the F10 full face mask with the current pressures, the leakage is just going to be just as bad or worse.
It sounds like you will not be successful with a nasal interface due to mouthbreathing.

If you go back to a FFM, here are some basics about leak:
To reduce unintentional mask leak -

- Make sure the mask is fitted properly. (See mask manufacturer's video.)
- Make sure the headgear is adjusted properly (See mask manufacturer's video.)
- Make sure to use good hose management - the hose should not pull on the mask.
- If you still have problems, learn from the forum what mask liners are available.
- If your mask still has excessive leak, try other masks. Many people report trying several masks before they find one that works well for them.

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Pugsy
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Re: Mask issues with high pressure...

Post by Pugsy » Fri Jul 24, 2015 7:15 am

If you lower your pressure so you can use a FFM your AHI will go up.

Just how bad is the mouth breathing leak compared to how bad the FFM leak at your needed pressures?
What masks have you tried?
Which mask lets you sleep the best?

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Re: Mask issues with high pressure...

Post by joeljjk11 » Fri Jul 24, 2015 8:08 am

The leakage with the F10 was worse. I will have to look at Sleepyhead tonight or tomorrow and see how bad the leakage has been the past few nights.

I would say I sleep the best with nasal pillows but my throat is sore. I would wake up a lot with the F10 because it leaked like crazy and would make noises all night.

Could I turn the humidification up to help with my sore throat? It is currently set at 70.

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Pugsy
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Re: Mask issues with high pressure...

Post by Pugsy » Fri Jul 24, 2015 8:30 am

Is that 70 degrees air temp in the hose or 70 %? If it is humidity then yeah, try a little more.
I think that there is a separate setting for humidity.
The sore throat is most likely mouth breathing sore throat but you might try adding more moisture to see if it helps.
Are you mouth breathing because of congestion or habit?
Read up in your clinical manual about the humidity vs temperature thing.

If the full face mask leaks worse and wakes you up more often and you like the nasal pillows generally better perhaps work on mouth breathing or adding more moisture in an effort to decrease the sore throat.
It doesn't take much mouth breathing to dry out the throat or mouth.
Sometimes we have to choose the lesser of 2 evils.

If the full face mask leaks were less and it didn't wake you up so much then yeah work on making the FFM work but if it isn't any better in terms of leak control and it wakes you up a gazillion time for whatever reason then I would put my effort with what I liked and let me sleep better.

If you are mouth breathing because of congestion you might find that more humidity helps or for some people it makes the congestion worse so you might play with the humidity setting if you are having congestion.

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Re: Mask issues with high pressure...

Post by joeljjk11 » Fri Jul 24, 2015 12:07 pm

I'm not 100% certain but I believe it is 70 degrees. Should I set it to 75 or so?

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Pugsy
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Re: Mask issues with high pressure...

Post by Pugsy » Fri Jul 24, 2015 2:08 pm

Warmer air doesn't necessarily mean more humidity. You have to change the humidity setting and not necessarily the temperature setting. Temperature is for comfort and rain out prevention.
See page 11 in the manual. Humidity setting is for 1 through 8 with 1 being the lowest.
https://sleep.tnet.com/home/files/resme ... -guide.pdf

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M'ohms
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Re: Mask issues with high pressure...

Post by M'ohms » Fri Jul 24, 2015 5:14 pm

Have you considered trying the Hybrid FFM? It is a nasal pillows mask with a part that covers your mouth. It comes with 3 sizes of nasal pillows as well as 3 sizes of mouth cushions. There is a cup that is built into the mouth cushion that might encourage you to not allow your jaw to drop while you are asleep. Since you like the nasal pillows and you mouth-breathe while sleeping, this might be a good mask for you to try.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/RespCa ... -Mask.html

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joeljjk11
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Re: Mask issues with high pressure...

Post by joeljjk11 » Fri Jul 24, 2015 6:04 pm

I just fiddled with my machine and increased the humidity to 6. I'll leave the temp at 70.

I'll have to try a hybrid mask at some point, thanks for the suggestion.

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Re: Mask issues with high pressure...

Post by joeljjk11 » Sat Jul 25, 2015 8:38 am

Really good news! I slept great last night and my AHI was only 4.3! Leakage was almost nonexistent also. These numbers are great for me.

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49er
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Re: Mask issues with high pressure...

Post by 49er » Sat Jul 25, 2015 8:42 am

joeljjk11 wrote:Really good news! I slept great last night and my AHI was only 4.3! Leakage was almost nonexistent also. These numbers are great for me.
Joel,

That is really great news. May your good luck continue.

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DeepFriedDuck
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Re: Mask issues with high pressure...

Post by DeepFriedDuck » Sat Jul 25, 2015 12:59 pm

joeljjk11 wrote:Really good news! I slept great last night and my AHI was only 4.3! Leakage was almost nonexistent also. These numbers are great for me.
Which settings and mask did you use?

To what do you contribute the improvement in AHI and leak?

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Re: Mask issues with high pressure...

Post by joeljjk11 » Tue Jul 28, 2015 6:41 am

So the past 3 or 4 days I have shown low AHI (last night was 3.7) and have slept well. Could the increase in humidity have made it more comfortable for me and lowered my AHI? I'm not sure but this is great!

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Re: Mask issues with high pressure...

Post by DeepFriedDuck » Tue Jul 28, 2015 6:52 am

joeljjk11 wrote:So the past 3 or 4 days I have shown low AHI (last night was 3.7) and have slept well. Could the increase in humidity have made it more comfortable for me and lowered my AHI? I'm not sure but this is great!
Maybe you are just moving up on the learning curve.