new mask help

[tiredNorlando]

I have been using full face masks over the years, ive lost weight and none seem to fit my face anymore, bad leaks no matter what, irritating my eyes so much I am having to use eye drops all day.

tried some mouth tape that has a little hole in it for a few nights with out cpap at all and woke up feeling pretty good, didnt snore so bad, so i went ahead and bought a nasal mask.. airtouch n30i, I got regular mouth tape reccomended on here, cover roll stretch tape..

I tried the nasal mask for a few nights and slept through the night, woke up feeling better, but baddd dry mouth. the tape is still glued onto my face when i wake up, no air is getting out.

it looks like it got to pressure of 13 and stayed there, but it looks like that was during big leaks! but where is it leaking?

should I raise the pressure? lower the pressure?

like I said, nasal masks are new to me, just trying to make it work!

here are my stats from oscar, any advice is greatly appreciated.


thank you

[Pugsy]

it looks like it got to pressure of 13 and stayed there, but it looks like that was during big leaks! but where is it leaking?

Actually the leaks weren't all that bad. They were very brief. See the skinny dark gray areas??? That's the big leak and it isn't always related to pressures used.

Your Respironics machine reports leaks differently than the ResMed machines so while that top leak line looks bad...it really isn't. You really only have 3 areas of large leak flagged and those aren't very prolonged. If they didn't wake you up I would worry about them.

And where is the leak coming from...it's not always from the mouth opening...it can simply be mask movement and minor short lived breaking of the seal.

[tiredNorlando]

my average AHI is around 1.0, last night and the night before it was 2.0 and higher. If I drag the slider along the ahi graph, it shows it as high as 10 at some points.

also, what would be causing my mouth to be so dry? I mean its so dry it feels like I ate a mouth full of sand!

do nasal masks need less pressure as a ffm?

just looking for some advice on what I should change, as I feel like I am seeing some improvement on the horizon!

thanks again

[Pugsy]

do nasal masks need less pressure as a ffm?

Sometimes people using a nasal mask of some sort can get by with less pressure and sometimes pressure needs don't change at all.

what would be causing my mouth to be so dry?

Well...if the tape covering the lips doesn't come loose then we can't blame mouth breathing but other things can cause dry mouth and some of them aren't related to the cpap use at all.
Gotta look elsewhere for the cause.

[tiredNorlando]

never had a dry mouth until I tried this nasal mask, so the odds are it has something to do with it lol, maybe I will try more tape tonight.

I have the humidity at 1 and hose heat on 1... in florida here so its not too hot or cold or muggy at this time of the year, house is at 74 at night.

thanks

[tiredNorlando]

adding this screenshot as well. leak rate at 44% above threshold.. with average leak rate at 23.26

thoughts?

[Pugsy]

adding this screenshot as well. leak rate at 44% above threshold.. with average leak rate at 23.26

Well.....it would be an ugly report IF YOU WERE USING A RESMED machine but you aren't using a ResMed machine.

OSCAR's % above the red line numbers are based on a ResMed machine's 24 L/min excess only leak number.
Your machine doesn't report excess only leak numbers. Instead it reports total leak which is the mask's expected vent rate (all masks have them) PLUS any excess leak.

So OSCAR is using the wrong metric to calculate "time above the red line" for a Respironics machine.
Respironics red line varies with the pressure and mask and you need to either set the red line at a number closer to what your machine calls large leak territory or just turn that feature off.

Now your machine will flag anything IT THINKS is a large leak with that gray band on the graph and your machine trumps OSCAR in this case.

You absolutely did NOT spend 44% of the night in large leak territory. Maybe 3 to 5 % and that's nothing to worry about as long as it doesn't wake you up.

You cannot use that "time above red line" as a valid data point unless you change the red line to reflect what your machine thinks is the red line. Can't tell for sure but your red line is going to be somewhere around 80 to 85 L/min (that top line in the leak graph).

You can change the red line number if you wish or simply don't bother with that particular calculation.

Go to Preferences
Then cpap tab
then upper right corner change the 24 L/min to maybe 80 L/min and it will be more accurate.

[tiredNorlando]

Ok, so based on my stats, would you change anything? Or leave it alone? I’m going to double tape my mouth tonight and see how it goes. Raise max pressure .5?

Thanks

[Pugsy]

so based on my stats, would you change anything?

No, not unless those 3 or 4 very short lived large leaks woke you up.
I routinely see leaks much worse than yours but I sleep through them so I shrug my shoulders and move on.....and ignore those large leaks.

So I wouldn't change anything.

[Pugsy]

Raise max pressure .5?

Why? What do you hope to gain?

Now I do think that more max might be indicated because you are running such a tight range but that's a totally different situation and fuel for a different discussion.

BUT since your AHI is nice and low there isn't any urgent need to let the machine go higher even if it wants to.

[Mecate13]

When I first started to use my CPAP, my mouth and nose were really dry. What solved the problem right away was to raise my humidity to 5 and and raise the temperature in my heated hose to 84. Worked like a charm! BTW, I have a nasal mask, a DreamWisp and like it very much although it's the only mask I have used.

[zonker]

When I first started to use my CPAP, my mouth and nose were really dry. What solved the problem right away was to raise my humidity to 5 and and raise the temperature in my heated hose to 84. Worked like a charm! BTW, I have a nasal mask, a DreamWisp and like it very much although it's the only mask I have used.

just a slight comment and I hope you don't take it wrong. not everyone will react to the humidity/temp combo you suggest. it's another of those areas where we are all very different in what works for us. if I were to use your combo it would make my oral cavities very dry!

[Mecate13]

Zonker, not taking it wrong. Your comments are very helpful.