Need help with Innomed Hybrid Mask

[Mirrasi]

Okay so just got my hybrid in the mail. First, THANK YOU!!! This thing feels miles better than the Amara full face mask! I am getting some light leaks on the nasal pillows but I haven't really played much. But so far, wow! I think I will try to sleep with this machine for once.

BUT...I need help with the hose. I'm sure this is something silly, but the hose is just falling right off it. The Amara loaner they leant me from the docs has a slimmer clear tube after the elbow with a white plastic bit over the top and it fit inside the tube. The hybrid has a fatter clear tube and I don't see any other part that goes over it. When I connect it to the tube, it falls out really easy. Am I missing a piece or something? Is it suppose to screw or click in some way? Did the Amara mask stretch it out or what am I missing?

Sorry for the total newbie question but I've never really put these together before.

[DreamStalker]

It's been many years since I had a hybrid mask but the rubber end of the hose should fit snug over the clear plastic end of the elbow of your hybrid mask as I recall.

[chunkyfrog]

Mine has one of these that fits inside the elbow, and then inside the end of the hose.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/hose-c ... -cpap.html
Without the swivel connector, the elbow is one piece, plus the silicone flipper valve.

[Mirrasi]

Yep, I have the swivel. But the rubber hose on it slips off easily. Guess the Amara stretched it out. It's not too bad though. I could rubber band it or something

[chunkyfrog]

I think those rubber ends do stretch out a bit.
If you still have trouble, wrap a bit of teflon pipe tape around the fitting on the mask,
then twist the hose on over the tape. Use enough tape to make it fit nice and tight.

[Mirrasi]

Okay, a few questions. I noticed this with the Amara too.

So I tried going to sleep. RIght after I fell asleep, I'm not sure how long it was 5-20 minutes, I woke up in a panic again. It feels like the second I fall asleep it happens. I will have to try looking at the data...does that tell you how long it took to fall asleep?
Anyway, the pressure had shot up to 11.9 (it's max is set at 12 for now since I never made it through titration), and I woke up freaking out. I'm not sure if the mask leaked and woke me up or just the pressure itself. I was too groggy to tell. But now on both masks, it just seems like I can't stay asleep as soon as the pressure goes up. My questions....

1. How quickly does it take for the pressure to rise up like that? While I was awake, it hovered at 7.1, the next thing I know I am scrambling awake with it at 11.9

2. Why does it not drop back down quickly? I tried to calm myself down and not rip the mask off. I don't know if it HAD been leaking but I pushed it tight and tried to make myself breath calmly, but the pressure was barely dropping. I started getting dizzy so just stopped it. I would have thought once awake and not having an episode it would drop immediately?

3. Any tips for mentally dealing with this? As usual, I always feel like I am not getting enough oxygen with it on (even at 7.1 while awake). The air flow feels fine, it just feels like a lack of oxygen which makes me want to yawn. I think this is just mental because if I read I can eventually take my mind off of it. But this panicky sensation I feel when I wake up seems beyond my control. I don't know if I have an episode and the air wakes me up when it forces me open, if it leaks, or what it is. It's exactly what I did in the titration only that was worse because I hadn't expected to have an anxiety/panic attack.

Lastly, let me say this, I am not prone to panic/anxiety issues and I am really determined to make this work. I've never had one until falling asleep with the machine on. Even tonight...it was annoying trying to go to sleep and feeling like I didn't have enough air. But I mostly kept my mind off it. I was very calm and laying there. The next thing I know...BAM!


ETA: I am really bummed to see the pressure go that high as well. I've lose 40 pounds (my halfway point) so thought maybe it would ease up some. Especially since my husband says I stopped snoring. Could it be possible that the mask leaked and so the pressure went up? I'm guessing not since it was 7.1 and then the next thing I know it's 11.9 and I'm getting dizzy.



At least the mask feels better! That's something, right?

[Eureka]

Glad you are trying the Hybrid. I think it is a good mask.
From my unprofessional viewpoint -- I notice anytime I increase the pressure. I would suggest that you change from auto to cpap. Maybe the changing pressure is causing the problem. This way, you can adapt to one pressure. Then if needed you can increase it later.
I feel for you -- this is a journey -- often beset with bumps and curves. Stick with it. Know that most of us on the forum have also gone through "trials" in learning how to live with new way of life. But it's worth it.
BTW Many who use the Hybrid use the "tights" around the pillows to secure them during the night. I had some trouble with leaks starting well into the night. The band around the nose seems to correct that.

[Pugsy]

Could it be possible that the mask leaked and so the pressure went up? I'm guessing not since it was 7.1 and then the next thing I know it's 11.9 and I'm getting dizzy.

It is possible but with these new machines the old way of chasing leaks with lots of pressure is much less likely to happen.
I have had some massive leaks show up on my machine and the pressure doesn't go up...in fact it goes down during some large leak times.

I don't know what may be going on with you. Sounds like it could be multiple stuff. How about starting at the beginning and use the software to evaluate what there is to evaluate on the software? Gotta start somewhere trying to figure out what might be going on.

Oh, one other thing........if the pressure increases wake you up or disturb sleep...how about not allowing the increases or use cpap mode instead???? Start with lower pressure and just see how things go...work up to higher pressure if the software reports point to a need.

[chunkyfrog]

I've found that if pressure wakes me up, I can turn the machine off and then restart the ramp.
After a couple times, it didn't happen any more.
Straight cpap mode may be easier for you, since the pressure is constant,
and changing pressure is more likely to awaken some of us than steady pressure.

[Mirrasi]

Thank you all. I never thought about putting it in CPAP mode! Tomorrow after work I will try figuring out how to look at the data. I think keeping it on one setting is a good idea.

I'm still in shock to see the 11.9 figure. If I've lost half the weight I need to and I'm not snoring anymore, how the heck does my pressure go so high? (I will admit my headaches in the mornign are still horrible, if not worse lately). The sleep study I had done is a couple years old and I was mild on my sides and moderate on my back. Most of my problem was hypopneas. I still don't truely understand what that means other than it's a partial blockage. But that number was somewhat high I believe. The doc set the range from 6-12 and said he though that would be more than enough. So to see that 11.9 is a shock. I hope it was just a leak or something.

But so far, every time I try to sleep with a machine it's the same thing. In the titration, I was out less than 20 minutes he said. I am guessing they upped the pressure (it was a straight CPAP) and I woke up flailing, LOL. Then at home with the Amara mask, I tightened it up a LOT because it was too big. That stopped the leaks and I fell asleep. I again bolted up in what felt like 30 seconds of sleep. And now the hybrid mask feels great! (Though I think I may need the panty hose trick) But again, I fall asleep and almost immediately wake up once the pressure rises. *sigh*

At least you guys understand!

[Mirrasi]

BTW, if I set it to a pressure of say...8....to help with that feeling like I am not getting enough oxygen. Could that hurt me? What if by some miracle (dreaming here) I am not actually having episodes now that I've lost some wait. What if the mask just leaked. I.e. if I set it to a constant 8, could it hurt me?

[Pugsy]

.to help with that feeling like I am not getting enough oxygen. Could that hurt me? What if by some miracle (dreaming here) I am not actually having episodes now that I've lost some wait. What if the mask just leaked. I.e. if I set it to a constant 8, could it hurt me?

the worst thing that might happen with 8 cm straight cpap pressure might be if that amount of pressure wasn't sufficient to stop the obstructive events. Some pressure is better than no pressure though....better than not using the machine for sure.

Get the software and get yourself educated and quit guessing what might be going on. Understanding the software is not difficult at all. It would answer the leak question too.

It's possible that the higher pressures are related to flow limitations and not full blown apnea events. It's possible that your apnea events are minimal but flow limitations are driving pressures up and the pressure changes are disrupting your sleep and creating more of a problem than just letting the flow limitations happen.

It's possible that any number of things can be going on but we have no idea what might be happening until we can see the software reports.
Don't know about posting images of reports? See this thread.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=81072&p=737779#p737779

[Mirrasi]

Okay thanks. I will try and get that sorted tomorrow. Not sure how long I was out, but we shall see!

[DiverCTHunter]

The mini-hose on the Mirage Liberty does the same thing. Temperature seems to affect it the most, so when it's actually warm, I just connect the main hose directly to the elbow. Of course, there's always the handyman's secret weapon

[Mirrasi]

Okay I got the info but I really don't understand any of it. From what I can tell, I was out exactly 30 minutes? I don't see listed where the pressure was at 11.9 and I don't understand the leak part. I know 30 minutes isn't anything but maybe you all can make sense of it.

Also, I have no idea how to upload the info easy. I just Photoshopped all the parts together, lol. I saw a thread somewhere that showed how to take a pic of everything all at once but can't find it. Also, if you have any recommendations on learning how to read the info that would be great. Let me know what you see. Thanks!