Apap pressure has gone up

[possum]

Hi,
This is my first post. I have been on my s9 autoset for 4 months now. My pressure setting is 11-20 I started out on a Opus 360 nasal pillow mask then I went to a Mirage Quattro then Quattro FX. Now I have gone back to the nasal pillows. As you can tell I am having a hard time finding a mask that works for me. I think I like the nasal pillows better because less leaks and better sleep. The only reason I changed was because the inside of my nose got sore but seems to be doing good now. I did have a sleep study, they said I have severe sleep apnea, Don't have my data handy. My question is with the full face mask my 95% pressure was on avarage 12.4 but with the nasal pillows it has gone up to 14. Is that because I am sleeping better? My AHI last night was 0.6.

[Tino2You]

Hi Possum,

Did you remember to change the mask type (pillow vrs full face) in the S9 configuration when you switched masks? Did you use the same hose (I have a slimline host on my Swift FX and a regular hose on my FFM) That could account for the difference. Also, what was the leak rate? Hard to tell what is really going on without looking at the graphs.
Sorry to not be more helpful,
-tino

[Sheriff Buford]

A lot of folks are successful using a full face mask. A full face mask can be leak free. Don't let this prevent you from trying one out. That being said, nasal masks are less intrusive. I would love to use a nasal mask but can't.

Sheriff

[possum]

Thanks for the info Tino I will check the setting, I think it is still on FF mask.

[Suddenly Worn Out]

Has the mask settings in your S9 Autoset been changed as you change mask types? Sounds like you have been doing a lot of switching back and forth between nasal and full face masks. You have to change the setting in the computer for "nasal mask" to "full face mask" and back again if you make another switch to another nasal mask. Otherwise you wont get the right pressure and your readings will mean squat as far as accuracy goes. And your therapy will be poor.

I just leave mine on full face mask because thats all I ever use. Small details make a huge difference in this CPAP thing.

Eric

Hi,
This is my first post. I have been on my s9 autoset for 4 months now. My pressure setting is 11-20 I started out on a Opus 360 nasal pillow mask then I went to a Mirage Quattro then Quattro FX. Now I have gone back to the nasal pillows. As you can tell I am having a hard time finding a mask that works for me. I think I like the nasal pillows better because less leaks and better sleep. The only reason I changed was because the inside of my nose got sore but seems to be doing good now. I did have a sleep study, they said I have severe sleep apnea, Don't have my data handy. My question is with the full face mask my 95% pressure was on avarage 12.4 but with the nasal pillows it has gone up to 14. Is that because I am sleeping better? My AHI last night was 0.6.

[Pugsy]

The mask selection feature on the ResMed S9 machines only affects the leak numbers that get reported.
The machine subtracts a generic number at whatever pressure is used depending on which mask is chosen. Full face masks will have have a slightly higher generic vent rate that is subtracted prior to the reporting of the leak.
This feature has no bearing on the pressure delivered. The machine does not make any adjustments to pressures based on the mask selection feature. 10 cm of pressure is 10 cm of pressure no matter what mask selection choice..either correct or incorrect.
Leak rates may be slightly off though. If a mask with lower vent rate is used and the machine is subtracting a vent rate for a full face mask then it might point to less excess leak rate because full face mask's vent rate is typically a little higher.

[avi123]

Hi,
This is my first post. I have been on my s9 autoset for 4 months now. My pressure setting is 11-20 I started out on a Opus 360 nasal pillow mask then I went to a Mirage Quattro then Quattro FX. Now I have gone back to the nasal pillows. As you can tell I am having a hard time finding a mask that works for me. I think I like the nasal pillows better because less leaks and better sleep. The only reason I changed was because the inside of my nose got sore but seems to be doing good now. I did have a sleep study, they said I have severe sleep apnea, Don't have my data handy. My question is with the full face mask my 95% pressure was on average 12.4 but with the nasal pillows it has gone up to 14. Is that because I am sleeping better? My AHI last night was 0.6.

Reply,

Possom, I don't know why you set your pressures at 11-20, but I usually suggest to start setting the APAP at a max pressure equal to the sleep study optimized pressure for CPAP. The min pressure I set about 3 cm below it. But next, I readjust these pressures by looking at the pressure graph on Rescan, to have the graph confined within the two limits, as close as possible without the graph "kissing" the limit lines. See my pressure graph below, and also a Stats table.

As to your question, imo, the answer is yes, the S9 Autoset could have reacted the to nasal pillows as to Upper Airway Resistance and increased the pressure by 1.6 cm to 14 cm. Could you show graphs of your UAR or Flow Limitation to see the affect of the nasal pillows on it?


I myself have wasted more than half a year of treatment by trying out Full Face , nasal pressures, and other masks untill I have arrived at my present set-up which gives me an enviable level of treatment.

[DoriC]

Hi Possum,

Did you use the same hose (I have a slimline host on my Swift FX and a regular hose on my FFM) -tino

Tino, is there a reason why you use different hoses with different masks? Do you notice a difference in air pressure or comfort? I've been trying to figure out which one might be better with my husband's FFM but he's unable to give me an opinion.

[possum]

My machine is set to nasal pillows. The last few nights my pressure was at 12.6 for several nights in a row with 0 leaks and AHI of 0.6 at the highest. Checked my pressure this morning and the average for the night was 16 with 0.1 AHI and 0 leaks. The only thing I can figure is I am sleeping better than ever and the s9 must feel I need the higher pressure.

[Suzjohnson]

Possum, those numbers are fabulous! Because you re sleeping so well, at this point, if I were you, I would, 1. assume the machine knows what it's doing, and 2. if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
The pressures I've ended up using are higher than what I was prescribed to use so it seems needs can vary with time. Thank goodness for auto adjusting machines!

Suz