I need some help please - Exhausted with Leak Rate of 28.1

I feel terrible and panicky.

My leak rate is 28.1. Says my apnea incident is 1.1 but I don't believe it.

I use nasal pillows (for several years without a high leak rate). From this morning's research I'm concluding I am mouth breathing as I have woken up with my machine blowing like crazy and on occasion have had dry mouth.

I live in Costa Rica and have no access to CPAP products here so I have to purchase in the states and have them sent here.

I am assuming I need to use a full mask - but what can I do now to help? I have heard of taping but exactly what does that mean. Does it mean taping your mouth?

Where do I start?

I just downloaded sleepy head. Seems complicated.

I not sophisticated about these problems and sleep apnea in general. Also I feel exhausted and slow mentally. To make it all worse I am recovery from a series of total knee replacement. When it rains it pours.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Costa Phil

Hi, other people more familiar with Sleepyhead will help there, but I do want to ask how long it's been since your surgery - anesthetic effects (dopiness) can last weeks - or is all this either very new or pre-surgery?

What are your pressure settings?

Have you felt better in the past than now?

Taping does refer to using tape across your lips - do a forum search in the bar for 'taping' to get an idea how it works, what to use, etc.

Have you gained even a little weight lately (it's amazing how little can make a difference)?

Have conditions (climate, humidity, etc) changed recently?

You need to figure out how to use SleepyHead.
When you say your leak rate is 28.1....where are you getting that piece of information...off the machine LCD screen?
If so, which brand machine?
If it is a ResMed machine...all that means is for 95% of the night your leak was at OR BELOW that 28 mark...does NOT mean you where at that mark for 95% of the night.

You may have been mouth breathing some but it doesn't necessarily mean that you were mouth breathing all night.

Using the software will let you see just how bad or not the leaks (from whatever cause) were.
In this thread I show examples of large leak and 95% numbers and show how easily they can be misleading.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=108724&p=1036669&hi ... t#p1036669

It could be that you just need to replace your nasal pillows. Perhaps they're just worn out or sprung a leak. Your mouth might be open because you're unable to breathe through your nose, rather than any other reason.

Ok I changes machines about 6 week ago when I woke up to my Resmed S9 blowing like crazy. I have the data from Sleepyhead, but it's from BEFORE January 23.

How do I attach the data or display it?

You can't attach anything here.
Instead you have to do images and host the image somewhere.
https://sleep.tnet.com/reference/tips/imgur

and read all three pages here
https://sleep.tnet.com/resources/sleepyhead/shorganize


Examples are shown in this thread to give you an idea how we need things presented.
viewtopic/t103468/Need-help-with-screen-shots.html

Your data from before Jan 23 is pretty much useless for figuring out what has been going on recently?
How come no data since then?

Hope this works.

The gaps are where I changed to the Res Master Auto A-flex M series machine because I thought the RS9 was malfunctioning.

Okay...which machine is showing the leak of 28.1?
The M series Auto with AFlex? If so that leak rate isn't high at all because of the way the M series reports leak.
On the M series LCD screen the leak rate is what we call total leak and total leak is the mask's expected vent/intentional leak plus any excess leak.

Your past data using a totally different machine doesn't help us at all.

Large leak territory on the M series machine is somewhere up around 80 to 90 L/min depending on mask and pressure.
If the 28.1 is from the M series machine you are well below the large leak territory and the AHI is most likely accurate.

If you are having problems...I don't think it is related to leak or AHI.
Something else going on maybe?
Do you take any medications of any kind? If so, what?
How many hours of sleep are you getting on average? Are those hours fragmented with a lot of wake ups for some reason?
Exactly what do you mean by "feeling terrible and panicky"? What exact symptoms are you having?

Thanks for the feedback Pugsy

Leak rate of 28.1 is for the M Series

That data posted is for the Res Med S9. I noticed a change in my sleep pattern in December and the Res med S9 seemed to be blowing much harder. That is when I made a changes to the M Series then back to the S9 and then back to the M Series which I an using currently.

Symptoms: Do not feel rested when I wake up. I'm tired in the early afternoon. Dozing off earlier than normal at bedtime. Feels much like the symptoms that caused me to go for a check up in the first place 3+ years ago. My heartbeat feels faster in the morning as well.

I sleep about 7 hours. I wake up two or three times a night for 5 mins max. Sometimes just a minute or so. Ocassionaly - say once a month I can't get back to sleep and take 5 mg of diazepam.

Occasionally I take a antihistamine sleep aid. Average 1.5 times a week (let's say)

What I mean by terrible is my thinking is cloudy and I'm sluggish.

Had a Total Knee Replacement (Left knee) on July 12th. Took pains meds as prescribed for two weeks and then only as needed - which meant a pill before physical therapy and pill to sleep at night. After the first 6 weeks I took no pain medication during the day. The next three weeks I took pain meds nightly, the next 3 weeks I decrease the weekly nighttime meds to the point of after 3 month taking no pain medication at all.

The next TKR was on October 4 (right knee). Same routine. I have not take a pain pill to sleep at night for more or less two months. I drink maybe once a month and we are talking a beer and a shot of tequila. in the last two month I have probally taken 6 5-mg doses of diazepam.

What I mean by panicky is that going through 2 TKRs in the last 8 months which includes PT, and still in the gym 3 - 4 times a week regaining quad mass, the thought of now dealing with sleep apnea symptoms as before makes me nervous.

I'm a single dad with a ton of things to do and the two TKR's have been very tough. Thank God for the friends and family help I received. But I am now starting to feel normal knee wise - and now the sleep symptoms! It's concerns me. Also I live in Costa Rica and that means returning to the states to see a doc for sleep issues - I spent four months in a friends second home in the US pretty much by myself and I really don't want to leave my home again. That is why I'd love to find a solution here online.

On the S9 reports there is a lot of fragmented sessions.
Do you wake up enough to turn the machine off very often?
When you do wake during the night do you go right back to sleep or spend some time awake and have trouble going back to sleep?

Do you still have the S9?
The M Series machine has a bit more data than what you are seeing but not much and to get it you would need a special card reader and the Encore software.
To be honest I don't know if it would justify the expense.

Hi - I am using the S9 - Collecting data.

I don't really stay awake most of the time. Sometimes yes. But not usually.