First night observations

Hello again! I figured out how to check the data for the system leak and AHI from my first night with my machine. The system leak was 38.3 and the AHI (apnea/hypopnea index?) was 5.5. I have a Mirage Swift II with the nasal pillows. I found that I would wake up when I heard air rushing, which may be why my AHI was 5.5 (which is still good I think). My mask felt just right and didn't leave impressions on my face. The leak issue makes me think that perhaps I should tighten it just a bit?

I also noticed my throat and nose were very dry this morning. I had the humidifier on 2. I'm going to try 3 tonight and see what happens.

Sounds like you're losing all the 'good' air out your mouth, which (if you're like a lot of us) opens up once you're asleep and would account for the dryness. The best fix is to get a full face mask rather than a nasal one, so you might want to look into the various ones at Cpap.com (start with Quattro, Liberty, UltraMirage).

The goal is to get the AHI to less than 5. If you think you might be mouth breathing you could tape your mouth shut for a night and check the leak rate in the a.m. to see if it made a difference.
You can go to page 7 of this link to get the exhaust rate (pressure-flow curve) chart for your mask.
http://www.resmed.com/us/assets/documen ... er_eng.pdf

Brenda

Good suggestion by Julie, the leak could very well be air coming out of your mouth.
I have a Swift LT. My average Leak Rate went from 0.62 L/s to 0.08 L/s when I started using a chinstrap.
I even had one night with a leak rate of 0.00. Taping is another option.