Question About Leaks

[Tip10]

Leaks are bad!
Leaks are bad!
Or so we've always been told.
My question is what is acceptable as far a leaks?

I've been switching masks trying to find one I want to use and tried the Sleepweaver for the last couple of nights -- thing leaks like a sieve, BUT my numbers are in-line with what I've been experiencing.
Last night's AHI was 0.8 (0.4 O and 0.4 H) but my leaks were pretty bad.

Below is a comparison from a segment of last night and one from a few days ago on the Activa Nasal mask (AHI 0.6 that night - 0.5 O, 0.1 H)

So my question is -- even though the mask is leaking like a sieve is it actually still doing the job?
It's a whole lot more comfortable and I feel I am sleeping better with it....
It's just I'm used to being able to get my leaks to basically zero and doubt I'll be able to with the sleepweaver.

[Pugsy]

Well it ain't pretty but it isn't a beauty contest. If you feel better, rest better and are more comfortable that is more important than a beauty contest. I know lots of people want that neat pretty little straight line near zero but I want to feel better, be more rested and be more comfortable. ResMed says below that red line (24 L/min) is acceptable and your data seems to be fine. That one little blip up over the red line I wouldn't worry about. I assume you have made the adjustment in the mask selection for this mask? Don't know what you chose but that might make a small difference in what is being reported. What is the expected vent rate for this mask at your pressure? ResMed may not be factoring the vent rate exactly since it is not the norm full face mask or even if you chose "other". They use a generic base number to subtract.

[Tip10]

Thanks Pugsy -- that makes a lot of sense.

The machine is set for Nasal mask -- it has settings for fullface, pillows, nasal and nasal ultra (whatever that is).

We'll run with it a few more nights and see if things stay the way they are before deciding.
With the other masks I usually can only last a couple of days in them before they start "burning" -- they never leave a rash or redness but I do experience a burning sensation in various different places depending upon the mask (nare with the prong, under my nose with the nasal, chin with the fullface). Does not seem to matter what routine I follow as far as cleaning or not or with what the results seem to be the same a couple of days and that's it -- try to go any further and it definitely interferes with sleep.

As a follow up question -- do you know if the machine will still record events in the face of large leaks? I know very large leaks will likely affect therapy but will the machine still accurately record the events?

[Jersey Girl]

Dear Tip10,

My husband was experiencing some redness and discomfort on his face wherever the silicone of the mask touched his face. We purchased a mask liner from http://www.padacheek.com and problem solved! I use a Swift FX and was having some condensation in the mask itself in the barrel area. So, I ordered a barrel cozy for my Swift FX and problem solved! These mask liners are made for your particular mask and they are really, really comfortable. The material that she uses is a microfibre and for us they were well worth the investment (under $20).

Best regards,

Jersey Girl

[Pugsy]

As a follow up question -- do you know if the machine will still record events in the face of large leaks? I know very large leaks will likely affect therapy but will the machine still accurately record the events?

I think ResMed says that above that red line that the accuracy of data will be questioned. It might score events and it might not. They don't tell us exactly what will happen. I have seen reports where lots of events occur at same time of large leak, but then I have seen reports that look really good in regards to event numbers at the large leak. We have no way to tell if there simply weren't any events at the time of large leak or if the machine wasn't scoring because of the large leak.

So if large leak is present and we see a lot of events, probably are happening due to ineffective therapy.
But if large leak is present and we don't see events scored we don't know if it is because there just weren't any or if the machine couldn't figure out if there was an event or not.