Nasal Pillows vs Under Nose Nasal Mask

[Rumple]

Hello all,

I've tried both pillows and the under nose nasal mask. The under nose nasal mask is more comfortable at night than the pillows. What I notice is that with the pillows, my apnea events per hour are usually 1 or less than one. With the under nose nasal mask my daily report says anywhere from 3-4 events per hour. Has anyone had a similar experience between these two? Any thoughts on why this might be?

There is a setting in the ResMed unit that I have to switch between the mask types. I have this set correctly when I go back and forth between the two types.

Thank you
John

[Pugsy]

So what is the event break down of the AHI into the 3 categories with the AHI of less than 1.0 and 3 to 4?
It's real important to know exactly what kind of apnea events seem to be increasing.

Do you sleep better/more soundly with one mask type over the other?

[Rumple]

Pugsy thank you for the reply.

Are these the 3 categories that you are referring to?
Last night when I was .8 events per hour with the nasal pillows:
AHI 2.4
Total AI 2.2
Central AI 1.4

[Pugsy]

The AI index is the apnea index and it consists of
1...central apnea index
2...obstructive apnea index

AHI is the Apnea index plus the hyponea index which isn't shown on the machine LCD screen but is shown in the detailed software reports.
Easier than mentally figuring it out.

If you AI index is 2.2 and your AHI is 2.4 then that means your hyponea index is 0.2.

If your AI index is 2.2 and your central index is 1.4 then that means the obstructive apnea index is 0.8

So your AHI is 2.4
and it's composed of
Hyponea index 0.2
Obstructive apnea index 0.8
Central apnea index 1.4

[Rumple]

Thank you for the reply.

You also ask, which mask I sleep more soundly with. It appears I do better with the nasal pillows. I assume the trick would be to compare the numbers and whichever is the lower values would be the mask I technically do better with?

Thanks
John

[realshelby]

AHI numbers are not a quality of sleep guarantee. You can have a low AHI score and not sleep well at all. For instance, if your mask leaks sometimes and blows air into your eyes or face just right and wakes you up, or the vent from it hits a pillow, blanket, or your arm....and wakes you up, then that mask isn't allowing as good of a nights sleep as one with slightly higher AHI that does not cause you to wake up. Sometimes when you get into a really deep sleep your AHI can be higher, but you are actually sleeping better.

[Okie bipap]

The main decision about which mask to use should be the one you sleep the best using. I have tried nasal pillows and nasal cushions in the past, but I can only sleep about 15 or 20 minutes before I start losing air through my mouth and wake up. I decided it was not worth the effort to learn to use that kind of mask since I sleep very well with the full face mask.

[Pugsy]

I would use the mask that lets me sleep the best and feel the best no matter what numbers I might get with it.
The slight difference you are seeing in the numbers...could just be normal nightly variables playing a major part.

If I had a choice between a mask that gave me AHI of 0.0....but maybe I didn't sleep so good or feel so good with it

or a mask that gave me an AHI of 2.0 but I slept great and felt great....I would take the 2.0 every day of the week.

Great numbers don't mean much if you sleep like crap and feel like crap.

[Rumple]

Thank you everyone for your replies. I’m very new to the CPAP world. All of your answers have been helpful in getting my head around this stuff.

Thanks
John