Leak numbers

[Taylorzzz]

I've had two nights with my cpap machine now. (Resmed S9 with the nasal pillows) The first night was good but the second morning I woke up with a really bad headache.
This prompted me to find and install the software to read the SD card. The only thing that stands out is the leak rate.

The leak data (shown in L/min) is as follows... Median 0.0 95th percentile 12.0 Maximum 62.4

Does anyone else have the same machine and software and can tell me what these numbers mean?

Jeff.

[wil]

If you plot your leak rate at constant intervals (say, once per second), and arranged them from lowest to highest, the median is the point in the middle. 95th percentile is (exactly what you'd think) the number five percent away from the highest, and the Maximum is just that. Obviously, your machine does this MANY more times than once per second.

It means that at least half of the time, you're not leaking at all. It's probably more than half the time.

You've had a leak of 68.5 l/min. This is a significant leak. This could have been for a matter of seconds or minutes. There's no way to tell without looking at the software.

There is definitely some work to be done with leak management. That is definitely the first of many issues you will want to solve to make your treatment successful!

It would be helpful to have information about your equipment (mask especially) and your settings in order for good suggestions to be made. Are you using anything to prevent yourself from mouth breathing? Often your therapy can be lost through your mouth as you sleep. There are hundreds of suggestions on that in this site. I ended up just going with a full face mask... Are you waking up with a dry mouth?

We've all been there... it will get better!

[Taylorzzz]

Thanks wil. I don't see anywhere in the software where it shows data from throughout the night. Do you know if that has to be turned on somewhere? I have a feeling my mask was too tight (sore nose in the morning) which probably caused the leak.

[Wulfman]

I've had two nights with my cpap machine now. (Resmed S9 with the nasal pillows) The first night was good but the second morning I woke up with a really bad headache.
This prompted me to find and install the software to read the SD card. The only thing that stands out is the leak rate.

The leak data (shown in L/min) is as follows... Median 0.0 95th percentile 12.0 Maximum 62.4

Does anyone else have the same machine and software and can tell me what these numbers mean?

Jeff.

Since you're using a nasal mask, my suspicion would be mouth-leaking.


Den

[wil]

Sore nose is bad news... I thought that would improve, but my nose abscessed instead... The skin completely broke down. I had to change masks. It leaked if too loose, caused other problems if too tight.

Sore nostrils are not uncommon in the beginning with pillows... You might try putting a little vaseline on the insides of your nostrils until you adjust.

More likely, you are having "blowouts"... you're leaking air from your mouth... What is your pressure setting? Is there someone (a sleep partner?) who can perhaps shed some light on your behavior while you're asleep?

Oh, and I do not have your machine, so I unfortunately can't give specifics as to the settings... Mine shows a line graph of lost air (PR calculates it differently and counts the vent rate as "leak") in addition to the percent of night spent in large leak.

[Taylorzzz]

Pressure setting is 9cm (i am trying to add all my info) and no I dont have a sleeping partner at the moment that can help me out lol

[wil]

Don't feel bad... I do have a sleep partner, and it ain't all it's cracked up to be!

Anyway, since there's no way of knowing, I would assume that mouth leak is an issue, and attempt to deal with that first. Start with a chin strap (papcap is excellent) or possibly with mouth taping (sounds scary, doesn't it?). Try one of these for a few nights and see how that works for you. If that doesn't create an improvement, then I'd look at other things...

9 CM is not particularly high, so leak control should be easier than if it were higher. It's possible you're not having any mouth leak problems at all, but unlikely. It's something ALMOST EVERYONE deals with...

[ZQuest]

Hello: Jeff After reading your post it sounded similar to what i went thru 3 wks. ago when i first started cpap, my first night was ok but after that first night with the nasal mask my nose got so sore that i literally had to stop treatment for 2 days while my nose heal,but it was on this forum that i found out how to beat this thing... First make sure that you use the correct pillow size for your nares,then try some skin lubricant ( LANSINOH ) this is a pure lanolin cream that breast feeding mothers apply to their breast when they get dry and sore during breast feeding..( Yea! It WORKS WONDERS ) on your nose nares and i believed that it help's with pillow's seal ,you can get it at your local pharmacy. Do not used any petroleum base lubs, as these will affect the silicone material that the mask seal's are made of,lanolin works great and is good for the skin and if you read the Lansinoh directions is even baby safe SOOOOOOOO is a no brainer unless youre allergic to lanolin. Also i am a mouth breather and at the time i did not really Know or even had access to a FF Mask so i try the taping method that has also been mention on a few post on this forum and so far it has work for me,even tho i now have a FF mask i still prefer taping i've gotten used to it i use the (NEXCARE GENTLE PAPER TAPE) ... after a couple of days using the nasal pillow's with the Lanolin the old nose was back to normal , this is what has work for me,and everyone is different and i am just hoping that i have given you a few pointer's...... Best Regards : Phil a very special thanks to a few of many on this forum ( Katie W and Uncle Bob ) real life saver,s

[Max250]

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[Taylorzzz]

Thank Max I will try that!

ZQuest, I think I will go get some of that tape today and see what happens tonight. Its just really frustrating because the first night went so well and now its difficult.
I will be patient because I know in the long run the benefits are incredible compared to the start up difficulty am having.
My leak numbers were bad again last night. I woke up at 3am (4 hours into my sleep) and I had to blow my nose about 10 times because I was all stuffed up.
I ended up just leaving my mask off for the rst of the night.
Tonight will be better!

Thanks again everyone for all your help and advice!

Heres to everyone having a good nights sleep!

[Wulfman]

Thank Max I will try that!

ZQuest, I think I will go get some of that tape today and see what happens tonight. Its just really frustrating because the first night went so well and now its difficult.
I will be patient because I know in the long run the benefits are incredible compared to the start up difficulty am having.
My leak numbers were bad again last night. I woke up at 3am (4 hours into my sleep) and I had to blow my nose about 10 times because I was all stuffed up.
I ended up just leaving my mask off for the rst of the night.
Tonight will be better!

Thanks again everyone for all your help and advice!

Heres to everyone having a good nights sleep!

What level of humidity are you using?
Are you doing any nasal cleansing before bedtime?

Too much humidity can exacerbate nasal stuffiness. Turning the humidifier level down or off can help. Starting out with clear nasal passages is also a "must".


Den

[AndrewB]

I also use the nasal pillows on the Swift FX mask.

A couple of problems that I've had include putting the mask on upside down (yes it is possible) and also with the inner layer of the nasal pillows inverting. Both of these caused an increase in leakage (I just look at the display on the unit).

Other issues I've had have been with poor placement of the pillows or them getting shoved away from my face when I lay on my side.

I've had the unit for a bit over a month now and have gotten used to checking for / adjusting so that these issues aren't a problem.

[Hawthorne]

As soon as I hear "congestion" I , like Wulfman, think - humidity is too high for you because that was my problem.

I don't know where in Ontario you live but I also live in Ontario (London - southwestern Ontario) and I use pass over humidity (having water in the chamber but no heat turned on) almost year round. I use a setting of 1 or 2 during the closest months of the year - whenever that is!!!

I also use "Simply Saline" nasal spray (available at Shoppers and probably other Pharmacies) every night about an hour before bed. This really helps with congestion as well.

[Taylorzzz]

THe place where I got my CPAP set the humidity at 3 (right in the middle). After my first bad night I set it higher because I thought that may be the problem. I will be sure to set iit lower and see how it affects my sleep. Thanks for the tip!

[Hawthorne]

It may not work for you but it is certainly worth a try to lower the humidity! It worked well for me!

I'm using pass over humidity right now and have not used any heat since maybe the end of March. I ALWAYS use the "Simply Saline" spray.