Mask Leak Oddity?

[sfrank0315]

Hi,

I have been using my machine for five weeks but am noticing a trend that seems strange to me but I wanted to know if someone could shed some light. I check my mask leak data every night and I noticed that the higher the leak, the lower my episodes are. To me, that defies common sense but maybe I am not considering something. Except for the second night I haven't gone past the 24 l / min threshold but l have been close. Last night I had my highest leak rate in two weeks but one of my lowest episodes over the same span. This has happened a bunch of other times. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

[LSAT]

Personally, If I'm sleeping well with few if any wake ups and my AHI is low, I don't worry about leak data.

[chunkyfrog]

As long as your reported leak is under 24 (you do have a Resmed machine?)
and your AHI is under 5; (preferably under 2), there is nothing to worry about.

[Wulfman...]

Hi,

I have been using my machine for five weeks but am noticing a trend that seems strange to me but I wanted to know if someone could shed some light. I check my mask leak data every night and I noticed that the higher the leak, the lower my episodes are. To me, that defies common sense but maybe I am not considering something. Except for the second night I haven't gone past the 24 l / min threshold but l have been close. Last night I had my highest leak rate in two weeks but one of my lowest episodes over the same span. This has happened a bunch of other times. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

Not really.
Depending on the leakage.......you're getting more airflow to your breathing circuit. Which can be a good thing.
As long as it isn't "Large Leaks", you should be fine. These machines can still record valid data with fairly sizeable leaks.
I've experienced that frequently, too.


Den

.

[ChicagoGranny]

Except for the second night I haven't gone past the 24 l / min threshold but l have been close.

We really can't tell what you mean. Are you looking at the data on the display or are you looking at the nightly timeline on Sleepyhead? What is your pressure range? What is happening with the pressure? What does the leak line look like?

We don't even know what machine and mask you are using. Please fill out your equipment profile - https://www.cpaptalk.com/ucp.php?i=prof ... pment_info

If you want a definitive answer on what is happening, use Sleepyhead software and post some nightly detail graphs here.

[sfrank0315]

Except for the second night I haven't gone past the 24 l / min threshold but l have been close.

We really can't tell what you mean. Are you looking at the data on the display or are you looking at the nightly timeline on Sleepyhead? What is your pressure range? What is happening with the pressure? What does the leak line look like?

We don't even know what machine and mask you are using. Please fill out your equipment profile - https://www.cpaptalk.com/ucp.php?i=prof ... pment_info

If you want a definitive answer on what is happening, use Sleepyhead software and post some nightly detail graphs here.

I've never heard of Sleepyhead. I just sign in each day to look at the ResMed My Air bar graphs. I updated my machine information. I know the leak is supposed to be below 24.

[sfrank0315]

As long as your reported leak is under 24 (you do have a Resmed machine?)
and your AHI is under 5; (preferably under 2), there is nothing to worry about.

Yeah, it fluctuates but is always below 24. My Ahi is another issue. It was 30 for my sleep study. When I started five weeks ago, it was between 10-15. Now it's typically between 6-8. I know this isn't ideal but my doctor won't allow the pressure to be increased until he sees the data over more time. He said I'm still going through an adjustment period. I have a follow up in early August.

[Pugsy]

The MyAir leak number is what we call a 95% number and it does NOT mean that's where your leak was at for 95% of the night.
The definition of 90/95 % numbers (be it leak or pressure) is where a person was AT OR BELOW for 95% of the night.
The "or below" part of the definition often gets missed or forgotten.
It's a number that is easily skewed to the high side with just a short term higher number (leak or pressure).

Most likely you spent the bulk of the night well below whatever that 95% happened to be.
If you want to investigate further you would need to use software to see the detailed report showing the actual leak line itself.
Software...either ResMed's ResScan software or SleepyHead (written by a forum member).
https://sleep.tnet.com/equipment

I think the SleepyHead link at the tnet website is still broken so if you want to use SleepyHead you need to go here and get it.
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread ... workaround