gone back to full mask

[jono_1uk]

so decided to try the full face mask again... here are last nights results..no leaks ..can someone tell me why my AHI is high?
am guessing air pressure needs to go up?

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[zoocrewphoto]

Your pressure is too low. See how the pressure goes up and down? The minimum is too low to prevent a lot of your events. But the machine is programmed to wait until it detects flow limitations and snores. Then it goes up slowly. Once it does well, it goes back down again. Your machine is set too low, so it spends too much time going up to where it needs to be. It even stops at the top a few times, unable to go higher, but needing to. Your minimum is set at 7.5. I would bump it up to 10 and see how it does. It probably needs more, but sometimes a better start will keep it from needing to climb as much. I would also bump the max unless you are having trouble with higher pressures.

[palerider]

.can someone tell me why my AHI is high?
am guessing air pressure needs to go up?

FFMs often push the lower jaw back, narrowing the airway, and thus needing more pressure to open things up.

[LSAT]

Max pressure is too low also...set pressures at 10/20

[Janknitz]

Your leaks are high too, need to get that under control as that will impair the effectiveness of the machine to manage your apneas.

[Dog Slobber]

Your leaks are high too, need to get that under control as that will impair the effectiveness of the machine to manage your apneas.

Those Leak rate numbers are fine for Respironics.

Numbers like that on a ResMed and I'd agree.

[jono_1uk]

ok so did 10/20 settings as suggested .. would like AHI to be a bit lower .. coped with pressure ok ..does it need to go up?

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[zoocrewphoto]

It will probably need to be a minimum of 11 or 12. If you feel comfortable jumping to 12, go ahead and try it. But if not, just go up slowly and give it some time.

[Pugsy]

I see at least 2 times where you woke up and turned the machine off and then back on again.
Were there more times where you woke up and didn't turn the machine off and then lay there for a period of time with mask and machine on?

[jono_1uk]

Hi Pugsy

No they were all bathroom visits and machine was off and back on again straight way mask remained on and i used the quick release.

[Pugsy]

Why 2 bathroom breaks? Are you male of an age where the prostate causes problems?

It is common for some people to need more pressure when they use a full face mask than when they use a nasal interface mask.
Sometimes a little more and sometimes substantially more minimum pressure when using auto adjusting mode.
I think it is because of what the lower straps, needed to secure the lower section of the mask for seal, does to the airway position.
They all seem to tuck the chin and jaw back a little (sometimes a lot) and this causes the airway to become less open and then when it does start to collapse once asleep it's just harder to keep the airway open so more pressure is needed.

If you want to continue to use a full face mask you will likely have to use a minimum pressure of around 11 or 12 (maybe a little more) to get the same good results you got with a lower minimum. You might cut some of that difference if you can use a cervical collar to help hold the jaw upwards a bit so that you can't tuck that jaw backwards...but then that's another thing to wear on the face.
You may or may not find it all that comfortable. There's always a trade off it seems in just about anything we do....we get to choose the option that is least annoying.

[jono_1uk]

Thanks Pugsy

Age wise am 53 ..prostate all good , not diabetic but keep needing a pee at night ..doctor investigating this issue put me on
to the sleep apnea think because it is known to trigger this.. my apnea was diagnosed a severe up to 70 incidents per hour.
hoping if i get my AHI down then the bathroom trips may stop ..

[Dog Slobber]

Thanks Pugsy

Age wise am 53 ..prostate all good , not diabetic but keep needing a pee at night ..doctor investigating this issue put me on
to the sleep apnea think because it is known to trigger this.. my apnea was diagnosed a severe up to 70 incidents per hour.
hoping if i get my AHI down then the bathroom trips may stop ..

They did for me.

Prior to CPAP, and during the beginning of therapy I used to visit the bathroom a couple times a night.

Now that things have settled in, I can't remember my last nightly trip.

[Pugsy]

Yes...for some people once the sleep apnea issue is better managed the nocturia issues will also resolve.
So keep trying...but also bear in mind that sleep apnea isn't the only cause for nocturia and also there's always the possibility that people have more than one problem at the same time.

It appears you are going to have a substantial difference in pressure needs when using a full face mask. Some people just draw the short straw in that regard. How much of a difference is unknown and at the end of the day you need what you need and you have to weigh the pros and cons with whatever you are wanting to do.

My nocturia totally went away once I got my therapy dialed in optimally. That alone was reason enough for me to continue with cpap therapy even if nothing else improved.
But I am female and had no other potential medical issues to blame the nocturia on.....so mine was fairly simple.

[jono_1uk]

well ..last night seemed really good .. i put the low pressure up again slightly ..only one bathroom visit ... and another stoppage to get to an itch under my mask ..

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