[Self Diagnosis] Interpreting SH Data

[Okie bipap]

Have you considered a mask liner? Normally, they do not stop the leaks, but they often make them less annoying and do not interrupt your sleep as much. If you want to try one, I made mine from the pattern at this site: http://montfordhouse.com/cpap/diy-cotton-mask-liner.pdf

I made mine out of an old, well-used tee shirt. I have also made liners out of knit plaint rags I purchased at Lowes. This liner will work well for small and medium sized masks. The hole in the center allows clearance for you mouth and nose. It can be enlarged as long as you make sure you leave enough material to go under the mask cushion.

[Subspace]

I've thought about buying one as I heard that it helps with leaks (to some extent) and is better on the skin compared to the silicone.

Going to see if I can adapt for a few weeks to the F20 without the liner and then consider it an option at a later time.

I did buy a Cervical Brace today since I believe that most of the leaks happen when I drop my head/chin towards my chest.

[djams]

I've thought about buying one as I heard that it helps with leaks (to some extent) and is better on the skin compared to the silicone.

Going to see if I can adapt for a few weeks to the F20 without the liner and then consider it an option at a later time.

There's also the AirTouch F20. Same mask, with a memory foam cushion. If it's the squeaking, wheezing, farting noises that are waking you up, this cushion will put an end to that.

[Subspace]

I've thought about buying one as I heard that it helps with leaks (to some extent) and is better on the skin compared to the silicone.

Going to see if I can adapt for a few weeks to the F20 without the liner and then consider it an option at a later time.

There's also the AirFit F20. Same mask, with a memory foam cushion. If it's the squeaking, wheezing, farting noises that are waking you up, this cushion will put an end to that.

Do you find the need to replace the memory foam every month? I heard this is the case and that it's not washable. I did consider it as an option but it seems like an expensive route. Would like to hear your opinion on it.

[Pugsy]

My DME is a cpap user and uses the memory foam AirTouch F20...he says he can get about 3 months out of a foam cushion before it starts falling apart.

No...you can't wash with soap and water but you can use some baby wipe type of cleaners on it to wipe off and remove some of the facial oils.
It's water that is primarily hard on the foam. Second thing thing that is hard on the foam is simply exposure to air. I would keep it in a baggy away from the air during the day if it were me and I wanted to use that mask.

How long it actually will last will mainly depend on your facial oils and or any sweating you might do.

[Okie bipap]

My wife and I both tried the Air Touch 20 cushion and found they were very comfortable. However, we could not get a good seal once the pressure got over 15 cm. Other people say they can get it to seal with higher pressures, but we sure couldn't. We both use identical machines with relative high settings. My pressure starts at 17 and goes up from there and my wife's pressure starts at 16 and goes up from there.

[Greg Riddle]

I hope this helps. The f20 mask will leak a lot if it's too tight on the top straps. If you allow the cushion to inflate more it will seal better. With the mask strapped on and the machine running try pulling the mask away from your face a bit. Just to the point air leaks out. Then set it back down on your face. This will inflate the cushion and help seal. If that doesn't help then use your fingers to pull on the seal a little on the sides of the mask next to your nose next to where the cushion gets thicker for extra support on the sides of your nose. Trust me this mask needs to feel kinda loose to seal. My pressure is at 19 and I keep thinking there is no way it's tight enough. the tighter I make it the more it leaks. Starting off too tight will not allow the cushion to inflate.

A good tip for trying to prevent leaks during sleep is to relax your face. While your awake and putting your mask on your facial muscles are tense. When you fall asleep they relax. The max fit you made while tense will likely cause leaks when asleep. Try your best too relax all muscles in your head, forehead cheeks and jaw

[djams]

I've thought about buying one as I heard that it helps with leaks (to some extent) and is better on the skin compared to the silicone.

Going to see if I can adapt for a few weeks to the F20 without the liner and then consider it an option at a later time.

There's also the AirTouch F20. Same mask, with a memory foam cushion. If it's the squeaking, wheezing, farting noises that are waking you up, this cushion will put an end to that.

Do you find the need to replace the memory foam every month? I heard this is the case and that it's not washable. I did consider it as an option but it seems like an expensive route. Would like to hear your opinion on it.

I get a 2-3 months out of one. I'm certain that they don't last as long as silicone cushions. I had skin irritation problems with the airfit. Bridge of nose. Wouldn't recommend it if you're a sleep drooler.

Also -

There's also the AirFit F20.

I meant AirTouch F20.

[Subspace]

Thanks everyone,

Update,

I tried the P10 mask for two days with a cervical collar and found that it leaked fairly often. Tried and tested all three sizes (S, M, and L). Most likely as I'm relaxing and my mouth opens slightly causing leaks. I'm just going to accept that I'm a mouth breather. I also don't like how loose the strap is regardless of how I position it on my head. Love the simplicity of it but I believe that is one of its flaws, at least to me.

Decided to go back to the F20 mask and adjust the straps/tightness as recommended by some of the users. Greg is correct that the bridge portion needs to be a bit loose. If I over-tighten that part, it will cause leaks as my face relaxes overnight. The bottom needs to be semi-tight. After these adjustments I got minimal leakage during the night. I'm going to order the foam cushion and the liner for the F20 and see how those two items fair.

Here are the results of last night,

I'm thinking that I should raise my minimum to 11? I do feel that 10 is a lot easier now, a bit too easy. Something I've noticed is how I started with 5cm minimum and thought it was a pretty rough starting pressure. Now I can't even breathe if it is anything below 9-10cm. Pretty cool to see how our body adapts.

[Pugsy]

I see the results from last night in terms of the report and numbers.
I don't see any report on how you slept or feel today....for me that's just as important as the numbers.

FWIW...based on what you see from last night....I see no need to increase the minimum.
A lot of the "movement" you are seeing is from the visual scale involved here. There's really not that much movement in pressure going on as one might think...
Your minimum is 10...the max it went to was 11.98 (12 for all practical purposes)....it ranged within a 2 cm range...that's not much movement at all.
Looks impressive on the graph due to scale involved but in reality not much movement.

[Subspace]

I see the results from last night in terms of the report and numbers.
I don't see any report on how you slept or feel today....for me that's just as important as the numbers.

FWIW...based on what you see from last night....I see no need to increase the minimum.
A lot of the "movement" you are seeing is from the visual scale involved here. There's really not that much movement in pressure going on as one might think...
Your minimum is 10...the max it went to was 11.98 (12 for all practical purposes)....it ranged within a 2 cm range...that's not much movement at all.
Looks impressive on the graph due to scale involved but in reality not much movement.

Pugsy,

I slept alright. Woke up two times during the night (probably more than that but I can only recall two). Once at around ~3:30am and again at ~6:50ish. Not sure why I woke up at ~3:30am but I do know that I woke up at 6:50am because that's the time I normally wake up during weekdays (work). At the ~6:50am wake-up point, I did notice that I had a dream but it wasn't a pleasant dream nor was it a nightmare. Something in between the two, slightly leaning towards unpleasant. Can't recall what the dream was about though. I haven't had a pleasant dream in forever and if I have any dream, they are hard to recall once I wake up. I'm thinking that my sleep is not as deep (REM) as I want it to be but I could be wrong. I just have this strong gut feeling that my sleep has never been "deep."

How I'm feeling? I feel as if I could sleep more. A bit tired but not as much as before I started doing CPAP. It's hard to tell at the moment. It also doesn't help that I'm only sleeping ~6 hours and not the full 8ish hours each day. Despite all of this, I'm still heavily motivated and will keep pressing on. And as always, any suggestions are always welcome.

[Pugsy]

Did you know it's normal to wake after REM stage is over ...normally we just roll over and go back to sleep and don't remember it but sometimes we are awake long enough to remember it?
Did you know that we can dream in any sleep stage...doesn't have to be REM or deep sleep?
Most people think that we should close our eyes and go to sleep and not open them again until morning and that is "perfect" sleep...well it's not normal and while it can happen sometimes...it's an unrealistic expectation.
Even under the best of circumstances just the normal post REM wake ups are considered normal happenings...remembered or not.

It's when people report multiple awakenings being remembered that I start really getting concerned because I know there are probably more that aren't remembered.
Remembering 2 or 3...not a cause for alarm...remembering 10 to 20...then we start worrying.

Duration of sleep...those hours of sleep...is going to play a huge part in how you feel and the cold hard fact of life is that 6 hours or less isn't enough for most people...heck even 7 hours isn't enough for some people.
For me...I don't feel my best and most rested unless I get close to 8 hour of minimally fragmented sleep. Unfortunately I rarely get that much sleep for reasons unrelated to sleep apnea, cpap or masks.

And you might be getting more "deep" sleep than you think but if your hours of sleep are short...you can't squeeze in more time in deep sleep with short hours. The cycles have to cycle and if you run out of time for the cycles they aren't going to happen.

My idea...try to figure out what needs to change to get you more hours of sleep.

[Subspace]

Did you know it's normal to wake after REM stage is over ...normally we just roll over and go back to sleep and don't remember it but sometimes we are awake long enough to remember it?
Did you know that we can dream in any sleep stage...doesn't have to be REM or deep sleep?
Most people think that we should close our eyes and go to sleep and not open them again until morning and that is "perfect" sleep...well it's not normal and while it can happen sometimes...it's an unrealistic expectation.
Even under the best of circumstances just the normal post REM wake ups are considered normal happenings...remembered or not.

It's when people report multiple awakenings being remembered that I start really getting concerned because I know there are probably more that aren't remembered.
Remembering 2 or 3...not a cause for alarm...remembering 10 to 20...then we start worrying.

Duration of sleep...those hours of sleep...is going to play a huge part in how you feel and the cold hard fact of life is that 6 hours or less isn't enough for most people...heck even 7 hours isn't enough for some people.
For me...I don't feel my best and most rested unless I get close to 8 hour of minimally fragmented sleep. Unfortunately I rarely get that much sleep for reasons unrelated to sleep apnea, cpap or masks.

And you might be getting more "deep" sleep than you think but if your hours of sleep are short...you can't squeeze in more time in deep sleep with short hours. The cycles have to cycle and if you run out of time for the cycles they aren't going to happen.

My idea...try to figure out what needs to change to get you more hours of sleep.

Duly noted.

I believe that I can make some accommodations to get a full 8-hour sleep and will work towards that.

[palerider]

I'm thinking that I should raise my minimum to 11? I do feel that 10 is a lot easier now, a bit too easy.

I'd go for 11.4... it's best to be a little above where the pressure is when it jumps back up. Your pressure chart looks very active, but it is actually in a pretty narrow range... but there's still room for improvement.

Something I've noticed is how I started with 5cm minimum and thought it was a pretty rough starting pressure. Now I can't even breathe if it is anything below 9-10cm. Pretty cool to see how our body adapts.

indeed