What is supposed to happen to the pressure when you wake up?

[SimbaLion]

Here's a sorta random question -- I'm waking up a couple times a night still, mostly due to dry mouth I think. But when I wake up, I notice my Airsense 10 sorta goes nuts on the pressure and keeps going up to the point where my mouth blows up like a balloon. I turn the machine off/on so it goes on auto-ramp again so that the pressure is low enough where i don't even know it's blowing unless I feel the vents for air coming out.

I'm breathing normally when I wake up, so shouldn't it LOWER the pressure? I'm super confused by this.


(Also, still dealing with a large number of "clear airway" events every night so my AHI is still ~30!)

[zoocrewphoto]

Here's a sorta random question -- I'm waking up a couple times a night still, mostly due to dry mouth I think. But when I wake up, I notice my Airsense 10 sorta goes nuts on the pressure and keeps going up to the point where my mouth blows up like a balloon. I turn the machine off/on so it goes on auto-ramp again so that the pressure is low enough where i don't even know it's blowing unless I feel the vents for air coming out.

I'm breathing normally when I wake up, so shouldn't it LOWER the pressure? I'm super confused by this.


(Also, still dealing with a large number of "clear airway" events every night so my AHI is still ~30!)

The machine doesn't know you are awake and only responds to your breathing. If your breathing settles down, it will reduce the pressure, but slowly. It is much faster to turn the machine off and back on. It also doesn't go up in a huge hurry, so it is probably already going up before you wake up, and perhaps wasn't successful in preventing events. You may be waking up due to the pressure, or due to untreated events.

If you would like to download the free sleepyhead software, you can post some graphs of a typical night. Then we can get an idea of what is happening and help make some adjustments to give you more success and comfort.

[BlackSpinner]

If the reason you wake up is because of an apnea event of some sorts it will try to keep increasing pressure until it feels that your breathing is "normal" Awake breathing is messy with people holding their breathe without being aware of it.

[Wulfman...]

Here's a sorta random question -- I'm waking up a couple times a night still, mostly due to dry mouth I think. But when I wake up, I notice my Airsense 10 sorta goes nuts on the pressure and keeps going up to the point where my mouth blows up like a balloon. I turn the machine off/on so it goes on auto-ramp again so that the pressure is low enough where i don't even know it's blowing unless I feel the vents for air coming out.

I'm breathing normally when I wake up, so shouldn't it LOWER the pressure? I'm super confused by this.


(Also, still dealing with a large number of "clear airway" events every night so my AHI is still ~30!)

The answers would probably be in the nightly data. So, if you're not using software to read it, you need to.

There are other options, too. Limit the upper pressure or switch to straight pressure (CPAP mode).


Den

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[Janknitz]

Here's a sorta random question -- I'm waking up a couple times a night still, mostly due to dry mouth I think. But when I wake up, I notice my Airsense 10 sorta goes nuts on the pressure and keeps going up to the point where my mouth blows up like a balloon. I turn the machine off/on so it goes on auto-ramp again so that the pressure is low enough where i don't even know it's blowing unless I feel the vents for air coming out.

Hmm, dry mouth may indicate you are mouth breathing when asleep and the problem with the air blowing up your mouth like a balloon is associated with poor tongue placement so you are not sealing off the mouth from the airway. The high pressures you are experiencing are consistent with mouth breathing. And it does take a long time for the machine to recognize that you are not having apneas and settle into a lower pressure.

Does your data indicate large leaks that may be mouth breathing? What may be happening if you don't seal off the mouth from the airway is that your mouth fills with air and your lips open to let out the pressure. The machine reads that as leaks, raises the pressure and that's what's waking you.

Try putting your tongue on the roof of your mouth, and then plug your nose with your hand. Open your mouth (keeping the tongue in place) and try to breathe in. If you can't, you have a good seal on the mouth. That's what you want to prevent the air from filling your mouth (some people cannot seal off the mouth, and that's a problem). So that's where your tongue must rest all night. If you think that's not happening, then practice all day. Whenever you are not eating or talking, that's where the tongue should be. That may solve the problem that is causing all the wake-ups.

[BlackSpinner]

Hmm, dry mouth may indicate you are mouth breathing when asleep and the problem with the air blowing up your mouth like a balloon is associated with poor tongue placement so you are not sealing off the mouth from the airway. .

He is showing a full face mask in his list so this shouldn't be a problem - though it might be causing discomfort and he could try a chin strap to reduce it.

[Wulfman...]

Hmm, dry mouth may indicate you are mouth breathing when asleep and the problem with the air blowing up your mouth like a balloon is associated with poor tongue placement so you are not sealing off the mouth from the airway. .

He is showing a full face mask in his list so this shouldn't be a problem - though it might be causing discomfort and he could try a chin strap to reduce it.

I saw the FFM in the profile, too. Mouth-breathing could also indicate too much humidity and/or the need to do nasal cleansing before bedtime.


Den

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[Goofproof]

Using a FF Mask doesn't mean you are using it correctly, it still could be leaking so much as to affect your treatment. That's why you need to use software, put the steering wheel on, and drive... Jim

You won't hit as many trees and mailboxes. The reason the pressure is lower when you restart your machine could be, you have the training wheels on the ground. (Ramp).....

[Janknitz]

Hmm, dry mouth may indicate you are mouth breathing when asleep and the problem with the air blowing up your mouth like a balloon is associated with poor tongue placement so you are not sealing off the mouth from the airway. .

He is showing a full face mask in his list so this shouldn't be a problem - though it might be causing discomfort and he could try a chin strap to reduce it.

Mouth breathing in a ff mask STILL causes dry mouth and they are incredibly leaky. So the two issues are still relevant, even if mouth breathing is not the cause of the leaks (though it still may be as a jaw that goes slack during sleep alters the fit of the ff mask causing leaks). So your suggestion of a chin strap is a good one.

[Julie]

FFMs are not "incredibly" leaky. Some may be leaky, some more so than some nasal masks, but the whole point of a FFM is to lessen leaks, whether or not they're mouth leaks, and very often a liner such as Padacheek(.com) will help.

[palerider]

perhaps the better phrase would be "harder to keep a good seal" since there's more area to seal, and thus more area for leaks to occur.

I don't have experience with a nasal mask, but my leak charts with the resmed p10 pillows are a lot flatter than with the resmed mirage quattro ffm.