Woke up with a nasty headache - what data do you review?

I am using the Airfit P10 large pillows. My AHI was .1 last night (hypopnea) and my leaks were less than 10 with no large leaks occurring according to Resmed MyAir and Sleepy Head. I wash my pillows regularly and air seems to be venting properly out of the front (gentle breeze of air since the diffuser works differently than most masks). I also use the chin-up strips on my face to help encourage my mouth to stay shut - I do notice way less dry mouth when I wake up so they seem to be working.

My issue is for some reason I feel better when I use my full face mask (simplus). I have learned through this forum that the venting rates (co2) are very similar so I imagine it's not a rebreathing/co2 build up issue. Plus as far as I know there's less turbulent flow with pillows than a ffm (can definitely tell the difference). The only reason I don't use my ffm all the time is because I find it harder to manage leaks and of course the pillows are less cumbersome and more comfortable.

Are there any specific data I should be monitoring to check why I feel the big headache? I don't really drink alcohol or caffeine much at all, usually one coffee in the morning - and I rarely drink at all.

raisedfist wrote: I do notice way less dry mouth

If you are getting headaches, "way less" might not be good enough.

raisedfist wrote:I also use the chin-up strips on my face to help encourage my mouth to stay shut

I've had great success in keeping the jaw from dropping by using a firm foam cervical collar.

I'm sure others will have additional ideas, but if your AHI is low and you are sleeping plenty of hours, you may have to look at other possible causes of your headaches. Here are the ones I had this year.

1. Straps on mask too tight - loosen some.
2. Dehydration (becomes a problem as you get older)
3. Increase in blood sugar
4. Sudden and significant decrease in carbs (sugar, starchy food)
5. Chronic sinus inflammation (apparently permanent problem for me, so no using Flonase).
6. Clenching teeth at night (usually your jaw will also be sore)
7. Restless leg syndrome (cpap will not cure this!) keeps waking you at night
8. Eye infection (yes, this can cause headaches strangely enough).

How about cervical neck issues? How about brain tumors? Seriously... a headache can mean anything or nothing (if a one-off), even a bad smell that got into your room... wait and see if it happens again before worrying too much.

thanks Julie! you are definitely right not to freak out over one night. sometimes we need a reminder when it comes to CPAP!

I do have severe scoliosis and kyphosis so I assume my neck can definitely get sore throughout the night if i'm not careful to fall asleep in a certain way.

I used the nasal pillows during the sleep titration study and the tech said my mouth never popped open. I can tell when the pressures are non-therapeutic, because I would wake up with air flowing out of my mouth leaking (at pressures I used before being titrated). this doesn't happen to me with the titrated settings.

since I don't get a headache every day I wake up it's obviously possible that the headache is non-cpap related. I could have just had a bad night of sleep for other reasons. or maybe I buried my head into the pillow or something.

I think I will use the pillows in the same way for a few days at least and see what happens. then maybe try with the ffm for the same length of time and see if I notice any difference.

I did use the pillows the night before last and I did not wake up with any type of headache and felt good for the day.

Your head gear is doing the job it was designed for but if you are still wondering about 02 blood levels you can get a reading off some cell phones. I just purchased a s7 edge and it can give 02 readings.
You could purchase o2 blood reader also at very reasonable prices on amazon.