Tell me what you think

[Jeffj318]

Thank you, Pugsy, for your clarification especially about how she is doing. I respect your invaluable input and I believe this puts everything to rest. I thank you for being so brutally honest which actually helps me and I respect you for that.

Do you have any thoughts on the Dreamware over the top headgear she is currently using versus the ResMed N30i?

[Pugsy]

Do you have any thoughts on the Dreamware over the top headgear she is currently using versus the ResMed N30i?

well yeah I have some "thoughts" but they don't mean squat.
Me personally...I don't particularly like either. Too noisy and too much "stuff" on my face and head to suit me...and I have sort of tried both brands. I did manage to sleep with the Respironics version but I found the ResMed version so noisy that I didn't even try to sleep with it. Remember I have been using the Bleep/Eclipse for quite some time and there's no headgear (which I hate headgear in general) and it's been totally silent for me in terms of vent noise or even just the breathing noise that can be heard (and is highly annoying) by some people.

I have always believed that if a person is happy with so and so mask...then they should use it and not give a hoot what someone else thinks of it.

There is no "perfect" mask out there...not even my Eclipse is perfect. There's only what works well for each person as an individual and every individual is going to have their own personal preferences, wants and needs and it's very rare for one person to have the same wants and needs as someone else.
Some people like to screw around with masks and try lots of masks (I have done this in the past and it's why I tried the DreamWear and the ResMed version of the DreamWear) and some people just don't like to experiment and that's just fine.

It doesn't sound like your wife is big on just screwing around with something and that's okay.
Based on the reports from the machine and the reports of how the wife is sleeping and feeling....I certainly don't see any urgent need to go changing masks to maybe find a "better" mask. Some people have the patience for experimenting and some people don't.

If someone is happy with their mask I won't be telling them to change to something else just because I personally might not care for it. I am not the one using it...someone else is and it's their thoughts that matter the most.
The only exception to that rule might be if someone is seeing some really big problems with something and a trial with something else might be in order. Like if someone is a known severe mouth breather and they won't tape their mouth shut (or can't because of congestion which forces mouth breathing) and they are resisting using a full face mask.
Sometimes the full face mask is the best solution for some people. I have seen reports where the leaks exceed 50 L/min for well over half the night and those situations usually warrant a change in masks.

It all goes back to what I have always said....my primary goal has been to get decent sleep and feel decent because without sleep none of this other stuff really matters much.
A "perfect" AHI of 0.0 or leak line of 0.0 just doesn't mean much if we sleep like crap and feel like crap.
Just numbers doesn't always tell the whole story.

The other side of things is if someone just wants to try something because it looks interesting to them and they want to try it then that is a good enough reason to try it.

Your wife's leaks...I tend to think they are mask movement leaks more than mouth opening leaks but of course I have no way to know with certainty. I doubt your wife wants to tape her mouth shut just to see if those leaks are mouth leaks or mask movement leaks. She doesn't care where those leaks are coming from....she is sleeping good and feeling good and there is no urgent need IMHO for her to figure it out unless she just wants to.

[Jeffj318]

Thanks so much, Pugsy. I did not know anything about CPAP at the time that she needed it so I had to do a lot of "homework", watching YouTube videos and scouring CPAPtalk, etc. I had mentioned her stopping breathing during the night and some other sounds to her former oncologist against her wishes because I was concerned that she might have sleep apnea. She was angry and said, "Well, he makes sounds!" The oncologist said, "It is not about him, it's about you."

She went for an appointment with a pulmonologist and took the home sleep study. When she found out she had moderate sleep apnea, she truly wanted to do something as she knew that leaving it to go unattended was hazardous to her health. I admire her for going and trying whatever I came up with for her as she also received chemotherapy which wore her down so much. She did chemo and started CPAP. She truly is a warrior because most people don't have to do both at the same time.

She always uses CPAP therapy now and used to put it on even when she took her 4-5 hour "naps" every afternoon, Pugsy. She has tried to persuade her son to get tested because he snores like a walrus. He won't go and we have had to leave it at that.

Thanks, as always, for your guidance and expertise. God bless you!