Should I be concerned my "leak rate" is not flat?

[kasualkid]

I have been on therapy for about three months now (only two with at data capable machine), and I guess can largely say that the therapy has been marginally effective. I have a ResMed S8 Elite II with a nasal mask (not sure what model) and a humidifier. Here is a recent (typical) set of daily graphs:



And some summary graphs from the past month:



One thing I have notices as I have looked at others data posted here is that there seems to be an obsession with getting the leak line as flat as possible. Mine obviously isn't and I have tried a number of things suggested here to improve the variableness without much success. A recent trip to my sleep doctor didn't raise any flags from him on the leak graph ( and we spoke to it at length). He did suggest that based on two details that popped out of my sleep study combined with the fact that I still struggle with daytime sleepiness, that I may have an irregular sleep pattern contributing to this or possibly narcolepsy. Because I persisted on the leakiness issue and the fact that I suspect that I still do some mouth breathing he agreed to have me go through a mask fitting for a full face type of mask and he is going to loan me an apap or bi-pap machine to try and compare with my Elite.

So, all that to ask (because there is another recent thread where the conclusion was to not obsess over leaks) based on the data above, should I be concerned about flattening out the leak line?

Thanks,

kasualkid

[Velbor]

So, all that to ask (because there is another recent thread where the conclusion was to not obsess over leaks) based on the data above, should I be concerned about flattening out the leak line?

It may perhaps have been me, cautioning not to obsess over leaks. And indeed, worrying about "flattening" the leak line isn't to the point.

The point of concern is the extent of your leaks. You've crossed the "magic number," or the "caution number", 24 liters per minute, the red line on your leak graphs. Your median leak periodically exceeds this level. Your 95th centile leak consistently exceeds this level.

Your therapy numbers look good, and while there's no evidence that your machine is having trouble sensing events or maintaining pressure, those possibilities cannot be excluded.

The overall configuation of the leak line appears very familiar to me: the "mountains" or "anthills" look very much like my own pattern which results from leakage from the mouth. Is your mouth dry when you awaken? The primary traditional recommendations would be:

-- try a chin strap to keep your jaw from dropping open while asleep
-- try a "full face" mask, which covers both your nose and your mouth
-- try using tape to seal your lips closed.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each of these possible solutions. You will find many posts about them on this forum, and others will likely add responses to your post. Good luck. Velbor

[kasualkid]

So, all that to ask (because there is another recent thread where the conclusion was to not obsess over leaks) based on the data above, should I be concerned about flattening out the leak line?

The point of concern is the extent of your leaks. You've crossed the "magic number," or the "caution number", 24 liters per minute, the red line on your leak graphs. Your median leak periodically exceeds this level. Your 95th centile leak consistently exceeds this level.

This machine was used by someone before me and I have a portion of their summary data to look at and their "median" and "95th percentile" were consistently below the magic line which leads me to believe that I can get better performance out of my "system."

The overall configuration of the leak line appears very familiar to me: the "mountains" or "anthills" look very much like my own pattern which results from leakage from the mouth. Is your mouth dry when you awaken? The primary traditional recommendations would be:

-- try a chin strap to keep your jaw from dropping open while asleep
-- try a "full face" mask, which covers both your nose and your mouth
-- try using tape to seal your lips closed.

I do routinely use a chin strap and have occasionally used the denture tape strips as well but have not seen major improvement in the data - at least not to the degree of moving the peaks below the red line.

Thanks for the feedback, Velbor.

[builta]

Personally, I woud not be overly concerned, just turning in bd affects leak rates (for me).

Keep it up!