ASV Problems - Help

[ignorantone]

I recently started ASV Bi-Level, Resmed. My mask is Quattro. When I go into shallow breathing, a big puff of air shoots into my make and wakes me up and blows out the top of the mask. I am so frustrated. My DME talks to me in a condescending manner and is rude. I really have no other DME's in my small town to go to. Tearful in Arizona

[Sir NoddinOff]

Your ASV subject line and your product description at the bottom are in conflict. Somewhat confusing, however if you indeed do have an ASV machine then that's what ASV is designed to do when you miss a breath. It ramps up fast, usually over 15cmH20 in in less than a second. I'm a little surprised your sleep doctor and DME didn't vet you on this feature before handing you the machine. Granted it is an extreme feeling to have air blasting into your lungs, but like I said, that's what it's designed to do. I kind of suspect you really have a BiLevel machine, however no big deal, your doctor may want to tweak your settings to provide more comfort for you... give him/her a call. Good luck and let us know how it goes. viewtopic/t87523/Anyone-compare-S9-auto ... chine.html

[SneakerPumpernicle]

DME will often refer to my machine as bilevel aswell instead of straight asv or adapt or another name, honestly I think they just don't care exactly what you have. I have the s9 vpap asv also. When your breath is shallow or stopped it will compensate by the rush of pressure to get you going again. The same thing that happens to you happened to me at first also and confused and annoyed me.
The best advice I can give is keep your humidifier slightly less then you might want when you go to bed because if it gets moist in the quatro it will let air out easier and make a plgpgrgrplgrg noise and feeling on the high pressure. the second bit is, put the mask on , turn the s9 on, and literally hold your breath for 5 seconds, you will get the rush of air and will see how tight you actually need the mask to be to avoid leaks on the highest ipap. You'll find that you have to make it tighter than you have it, but it's worth it when you sleep better.

[JohnBFisher]

In addition to the suggestions already made, you might want to look into mask liners. Your insurance won't pay for them, but they make a huge difference with ASV therapy. You can either make them on your own (using some cloth and scissors) or you can purchase them at one of the following sites:

http://padacheek.com/PAC_Maskliners.html
http://www.remzzzs.com/
http://quietusliners.com/

What's happening is that when you stop breathing (or breathe very shallowly) the ASV unit increases the pressure to try to sustain your respiration. That is it acts rather like a ventilator and helps you breathe. It breaks a cycle of no/shallow breathing.

Also, it takes time to adjust to ASV therapy. It can take several weeks to a few (three) months. Some people take to it right away. Others take a few weeks and a few people take a few months. But you will adjust to it.

[SeekSleep]

I just went from almost 4 months on a Bipap to switching to an ASV machine last week. Even the Bipap at 11/16 would sometimes have leaks shooting air into my eyes with my Resmed Quattro full face mask. With the ASV, it's just as you described. I tried the mask liners, and they kept it from blowing into my eyes, but they bothered me somewhat in other ways. I found making a mask for just for the bridge of my nose and the sides out of bulk sheets of moleskin helps and I actually scrub most of the self adhesive off and use them like a mask liner for approximately a week before I need a new one.

I ordered in a nasal soft cpap cushion which I received today so tonight I'll see if that makes anything better.

Good luck. In my case the ASV makes me feel better, and is doing wonders for my AHI numbers. Once I work out the falling asleep air blast issue, and see if I can eliminate the rough look of where I'm trashing the bridge of my nose I'll have it made.

[Papit]

I recently started ASV Bi-Level, Resmed. My mask is Quattro. When I go into shallow breathing, a big puff of air shoots into my make and wakes me up and blows out the top of the mask. I am so frustrated. My DME talks to me in a condescending manner and is rude. I really have no other DME's in my small town to go to. Tearful in Arizona

I had the same occasional eye blowing experiences when I experimented with a FFM for a couple nights with my ASV. A good alternative to try is a nasal pillows mask like the Swift FX to avoid eyes being blown.