Good numbers?

Okay so this is my 2nd first night of using a unit, my first time was a rental back in january that I used for a week. If you saw my other thread I had 2 units to choose from and the S8 vantage won

Any way here are my numbers, dont really know if there good or bad or what to look for, I set the minimum to 10 which is my prescribed pressure and left the max at 20.

Pressure 11.2
Leak .46
Ahi 8.5
Ai 1.4
Hi 7.1

Djejdj wrote:Leak .46

Leak on the S8 series is in L/sec so multiply .46 X 60 to get L/minute = 27.6 which is well above what ResMed says that above 24 L/min therapy and data can be seriously impacted.

So either mouth breathing or the Swift FX is moving all over the place. Any hint of mouth breathing? Dry mouth?
The other numbers are slightly elevated but until the leak is under control we don't know how much of that is from leak and ineffective therapy.

Things to look for
fairly steady pressure average not too far from your minimum. You have that.
AHI numbers generally less than 5 is acceptable, especially when first starting out. Apnea Hyponea Index.
Apneas plus Hyponeas divided by the number of hours slept gives the "index" AHI

AI index is average number of apnea events per hour
HI index is average number of hyponea events per hour

The S8 machines seemed to have a history of scoring Hyponeas fairly aggressively but even with that fact many people could get AHI numbers of 1 or 2 or even less than one.

I wouldn't worry about these numbers at all right now because the leak is out of control.
You just got this machine. Are you going to try to get the equipment needed to use the software or are you just going to use the LED numbers?

Work on the leak is number one on your list. Figure out where it is coming from. If mouth, then must do something to keep mouth closed. Some tape, some use chin straps or other such tools. If that fails then full face mask is the alternative.

If leak is the pillows themselves, try a different size, adjust the straps a little more, consider adding the extra fleece side strap covers like Padacheeks has. It does help stabilize things and is very comfortable. For someone handy, easily made at home.
Sometimes adding something like Lanoish ointment helps seal a little better. Don't use vasoline, it is petroleum based and not good to inhale and can harm the silicone.

I did have to adjust the nasal pillow a couple of times because it was leaking but I do snore, I was hoping the unit with the nasal pillow would help me stop snoring, when I rented back in january I couldnt get a full night sleep with the full face, last night was my absolute first time with the nasal pillow and although i did wake up a couple of times I was able to fall back to sleep easily. Is the leak number really bad? Maybe I can try again tonight but make sure the headgear is on tighter? Will getting a chin strap help or am I doomed because I snore ?

Yes, the leak number is really bad. It is a little over 3 times what would be considered a decent leak rate.
You don't have the software and stuff to get the reports do you?

Snore sounds come from open mouth...
There are other avenues to try if you want to stick with the nasal pillows. I used blue painters tape to tap my mouth shut for a couple of months. Chin straps mediocre success depending on person and the strap. Lots of styles from home made to store bought.
I hear lots of people use the Papcap with good success and say it is really comfortable.

If your mouth is dry and someone is reporting snores, your mouth is opening and the air is going up your nose, down a little ways and out your mouth and it really lessens the effectiveness of the therapy.

So sorry to bring the bad news. Good news is that people who want to use nasal pillows have several options to try before resorting to use the full face mask. I couldn't wear one, so I had to make the pillow type work. It can be done but it is work.

Until you get leaks under control, the rest of the numbers don't really mean much. And you need far more than one night's data to base changes on.

I know you are anxious to start tweaking, but it just doesn't work that way. Relief comes AT night...but it doesn't come overnight!

I replaced the nasal pillow to the smallest size and made sure the headgear was on a little tighter and here are my numbers from last night, Im excited because it looks like the leak is better, hopefully its good enough that I dont have to use a full face?

Press 10.8
Ls .26
Ahi 4.3
Ai 0.1
Hi 4.2

Djejdj wrote:I replaced the nasal pillow to the smallest size and made sure the headgear was on a little tighter and here are my numbers from last night, Im excited because it looks like the leak is better, hopefully its good enough that I dont have to use a full face?

Press 10.8
Ls .26
Ahi 4.3
Ai 0.1
Hi 4.2

It is much better.
.26 L/sec X 60 sec = 15.6 L/min which is less than the 24 L/min that ResMed says all bets are off.
Keep working at it and I think it will improve. No guarantee that a full face would be better unless all the leak is coming from the mouth because with FF mask you have more surface to fiddle with to keep the leak at a minimum. Trade one headache for another....

You already almost cut your AHI in half with just this leak improvement. See if you can get that L/sec number in the mid teens (.15 or so) if you can.

Maybe I should try a full face just to see if my leak gets better. According to the manual it says it only uses certain brands for the auto to work properly, if I use a brand not listed will it still be able to give me a good leak reading?

Also you mentioned equipment for software, what does that do? Would it benefit me to get one?

If you are mouth breathing full face mask might help the leak but then you have to adjust the full face mask and fix those leaks and it might be worse than the mask you have now if it is the mask leaking and not your mouth.

Software for your machine is available but the card readers are not so easily found. ResMed doesn't sell them anymore since they discontinued the S8 machines. No one stocks them anymore. I think I have seen some on Ebay but not anywhere else. Some can use a special cable but again not easy to find. Do you have the card in the machine? If so this reader is what is needed. I didn't check Ebay.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... -cpap.html

You can use any mask brand you wish. Makes zero difference with your machine. Mask selection that you see on the ResMed machine is for the leak adjustment for vent rates before the leak is reported. Some machines don't like certain mask types but yours isn't one of them. The leak reported will still be pretty close if you use another brand mask or type.

Software is easily found and would show if the leak is happening generally or maybe just in a small time frame but being really big because we just see an average on the LED screen. It is nice to see but not critical. If you can get your average under control then we know that there are minimal large leaks.