Question about Sleepyhead results

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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thesleepermustawake
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Question about Sleepyhead results

Post by thesleepermustawake » Fri Apr 18, 2014 3:41 am

I'm trying to read the charts for leak and pressure to understand if I need more pressure and do something about the leaks
Any suggestions?
https://www.dropbox.com/s/desszfkjqldi1 ... .39.17.png
https://www.dropbox.com/s/b8avsh5jj0fzp ... .39.46.png

thanks

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Pugsy
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Re: Question about Sleepyhead results

Post by Pugsy » Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:59 am

Maybe 1 cm more minimum pressure and it appears you are often maxing out the 12 max...so I would add another 1 cm to it also.

Leaks...you are using the new unstable Mac build I think and the leak graph is zoomed so far out (and I haven't been able to fix it in my Windows version) that it is a bit difficult to see where the 24 L/min line is. Though I think that your leaks probably aren't as horrible as it might look like initially at a glance.
Most of the time you are below 20 L/min line as we can see it easily...you do have a few spikes in leaks but they don't last long.
So unless the leaks woke you up and caused mask fiddling...they most likely didn't last long enough to cause any great impact to your therapy.

Are leaks disturbing your sleep?

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thesleepermustawake
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Re: Question about Sleepyhead results

Post by thesleepermustawake » Fri Apr 18, 2014 8:50 am

Pugsy wrote:Maybe 1 cm more minimum pressure and it appears you are often maxing out the 12 max...so I would add another 1 cm to it also.

Leaks...you are using the new unstable Mac build I think and the leak graph is zoomed so far out (and I haven't been able to fix it in my Windows version) that it is a bit difficult to see where the 24 L/min line is. Though I think that your leaks probably aren't as horrible as it might look like initially at a glance.
Most of the time you are below 20 L/min line as we can see it easily...you do have a few spikes in leaks but they don't last long.
So unless the leaks woke you up and caused mask fiddling...they most likely didn't last long enough to cause any great impact to your therapy.

Are leaks disturbing your sleep?
thanks, I inadvertently changed the zoom and thought I had reset it to normal. my bad.
what wakes me up is when I breathe with my mouth open, the pressure goes up and it dries my mouth.

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Pugsy
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Re: Question about Sleepyhead results

Post by Pugsy » Fri Apr 18, 2014 9:30 am

Those spikes in leaks may be mouth openings and not necessarily nasal pillow movement.
I also will have some times during the night where I see similar spikes and for the most part they are brief and I know I probably am opening my mouth because my nasal pillows never move but I sleep right through it so I don't really care.
Since you are waking up with it...if it is often that you wake up you might want to see what you can do to limit the mouth opening. While it isn't horrible on the leak graph itself and likely whatever time you spent above 24 L/min was brief and not impacting the pressure side of the therapy...they may be disturbing your sleep and anything that disturbs sleep is of course unwanted.

When I first started therapy I had a habit of opening my mouth a lot. Likely from past history of gasping for air during apnea events prior to start of therapy. It was pretty ugly at times so I opted to use a bit of tape to help keep mouth shut.
I think I did it for about 2 months and then sort of got lazy and kept forgetting to tape...and come to find out the really ugly leaks pretty much went away. So the habit of mouth opening became much less of a problem and since I sleep through it when and if it happens now I don't worry about it. It's minimal and short lived and rarely spend more than 10 or 15 minutes with leaks over 24 L/min.

If you want to confirm whether you are seeing mouth leaks or mask leaks you might try a chin strap or taping your mouth for a night.
Whatever the leaks are from...if they didn't wake you up..they aren't hugely horrible and unlikely to be a significant negative factor in therapy itself.

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thesleepermustawake
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Re: Question about Sleepyhead results

Post by thesleepermustawake » Fri Apr 18, 2014 12:14 pm

thanks Pugsy, appreciate the feedback as always.

You have a pug? We have a cocker spaniel

I think I would see improvements in my energy levels if I didn't wake up so often from the mouth leaks, so yes I will try taping my mouth, even if it sounds and looks silly

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Pugsy
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Re: Question about Sleepyhead results

Post by Pugsy » Fri Apr 18, 2014 12:24 pm

Yes, I have a Pug...and a Border Terrier and a Beagle/heeler mix and a Shih Tzu and numerous cats (but only 1 inside) and 2 horses and whatever happens to stumble into my zoo on any given day.
I have had a pug of some sort since the early 1990's. Great little dogs. Totally devoted to their human.
I love all animals though.

The taping the mouth thing....I won't begin to tell you the remarks that I got from my husband when I did it
and yeah, looks a bit silly I suppose but I can't see so good in the dark with my eyes closed.
It was my choice as I simply didn't want to go down the full face mask route for a number of reasons and they are all good reasons IMHO. I thought it was the lesser of the 2 evils.

In your situation look at it to maybe explain the leaks you are seeing (which aren't horribly horrible) and the dry mouth and maybe will help you sleep a little better if dry mouth is waking you up.
I used a cheap painter's tape. It is easily unstuck with a simple yawn. I didn't want something to seal like it was set up in cement. Just a little something to help remind the mouth to stay closed. Chin straps didn't work all that well for me and I found them much more annoying than a little bit of tape.

_________________
Machine: AirCurve™ 10 VAuto BiLevel Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
Additional Comments: Mask Bleep Eclipse https://bleepsleep.com/the-eclipse/
I may have to RISE but I refuse to SHINE.

If you want to try the Eclipse mask and want a special promo code to get a little off the price...send me a private message.

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thesleepermustawake
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Re: Question about Sleepyhead results

Post by thesleepermustawake » Sat Apr 19, 2014 7:55 am

So last night I wrapped some bandage around my head my daughter said I looked like the Mummy....
But it helped keep my mouth hut and I think I had my best night since I started using the CPAP, even though I woke up feeling hungover. I am taking some pain meds for a slipped disc so that might be influencing results

I live in a flat, so one dog is enough

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thesleepermustawake
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Re: Question about Sleepyhead results

Post by thesleepermustawake » Sun Apr 20, 2014 4:58 am