Headaches and Leak Rate

I have been using my CPAP for almost 3 weeks. I still am experiencing some headaches and just got the S9 Autoset which shows me what my leak rate is.

I am averaging a leak rate of about 7.. do you think that rate is still hight enough to be causing these headaches? Thanks.

cgmichigan wrote:I have been using my CPAP for almost 3 weeks. I still am experiencing some headaches and just got the S9 Autoset which shows me what my leak rate is.

I am averaging a leak rate of about 7.. do you think that rate is still hight enough to be causing these headaches? Thanks.

I would be looking at a lot of other portions of your report other than leak rate to try to track down the cause of those headaches.

Would help others here help you if you added your equipment and software to your profile.

Best wishes, Nate

For some reason my info didn't get posted with my profile the first time.

Zest Mask
S9 AutoSet with Hi5 Humidifier.

What other readings would you suggest looking at? My AHI are under 1... my pressure is around 13.4. I set my Humidfier to 80.

Ok..got my profile reset.

This should have all my equipment info on it.

Leak 7 L/min? ResMed says that it can compensate for leaks up to 24 L/min..so leak is not excessive.
AHI is obviously not excessive.

Headaches just start with the starting of the cpap treatment? Or did you have them before?
If just started with beginning therapy....consider that the mask straps my be too tight, or head and neck position from using the mask is maybe putting a crimp in the cervical spine and muscle spasms might be causing headaches. The leak is not excessive enough to be a problem unless you are getting short hours of sleep or fragmented sleep due to leaks waking you up.

How many hours of sleep are you normally getting and is it fragmented at all? How is the neck holding up?

I did have headaches prior to start of treatment. Then when I started treatment I tried the nasal pillows and it was irritating my nose quite a bit and I was still having the headaches. I also had my humidity set to a temperature of only 74 with the other setting at 3. I got a different mask to help with the nasal discomfort. My doctor also gave me Flonase at the same time. I used the Flonase along with the new mask and increased my humidity to 80 with the other setting set to 4.5. The headaches went away for several days so I was excited. I was worried about long term use of steroid so I stopped taking the flonase and was still doing well with the new mask and the higher humidity settings.

I started to get a sore on my forhead from the forhead stabilizers so I loosend the forhead strap. I was still getting a pretty good seal, but then my mask started making the "farting" noises so I started to use RemZzz liners. This helped the noise.

The last 2 days I have had a return of the headaches.

It could be sinus headache, Nasal Spray or Rinse may help.