Some Advice for 2 Week Newbie

[SJ-Paddler]

Hi Everyone:

New to the forum, and CPAP, so please forgive me if I ask something already asked before. I did do a bit of searching earlier.

I had a couple questions for you more experienced guys out there.

I just got a ResMed Airsense Auto with Full Face Vitera mask they really pushed on me since my original AHI was 47.2. I have a Eson 2 on order to arrive on Friday to test for some reasons I will list below.

I appreciate any advice offered. Thank you.

1) Red / Burn skin on face - In an effort to get leaks to 0 on "MyAir" I gradually tightened mask. I got to near zero but when woke up face was marked with lines and very sore to the touch. I have been backing off and keeping leaks to under five but face is still sore. Shaving and washing face before bed seems to help. Is this something that goes away or your skin just gets used to?

2) Feeling of Ear Infection Awake / Fine Sleeping - I got daytime pain in Left Ear / Back Jaw / Under Jaw which feels like an ear infection but I am pretty sure I am fine. No congestion or issues clearing ears. Thought this may be an issue with the face mask pushing my jaw back while sleeping. Is this just growing pains and something that normally goes away?

3) I was told pressures above 10 too high for Nasal - I wanted a Nasal mask but was told with AHI of 47.2 that was too high and pressure above 10cm would be too high for Nasal mask. I seemd to have a 95% range of 12.5 cm. Is that close enough for most people here to use a nasal mask?

4) What is the AHI you need to achieve? I am bouncing from 0.50 to 1.50 on average. I have no idea what would cause such wild swings from one night to another.

Some charts below in case it is helpful. (Left card out for a few days by mistake so you will see a data interruption.) Thanks again for advice and my apologizes if I need to be redirected to older posts.

Thanks.

Joe.

2-9-22 Daily.png

2-9-22 Overview.png

[Pugsy]

Short on time so will pick couple questions that can be answered quickly.

3) I was told pressures above 10 too high for Nasal - I wanted a Nasal mask but was told with AHI of 47.2 that was too high and pressure above 10cm would be too high for Nasal mask. I seemd to have a 95% range of 12.5 cm. Is that close enough for most people here to use a nasal mask?

Total BS. Get yourself a nasal mask if you want a nasal mask. My AHI during REM was over 50 during my sleep study and I use an auto adjusting machine and often see pressures pushing 18 cm.
I sleep right through it all. These nasal masks can all handle pressures up to 20 cm and some can handle up to 30 cm.

4) What is the AHI you need to achieve? I am bouncing from 0.50 to 1.50 on average. I have no idea what would cause such wild swings from one night to another.

Totally acceptable numbers as long as you are feeling decent and sleeping decent.
Numbers vary widely because we don't sleep the same each night...heck we don't sleep the same in one night.
Sleeping position can cause dramatic changes as well as sleep stages...like it's common for OSA to be worse in REM stage sleep and some nights we might get more REM than other nights.
My AHI last night 1.26 and the night before it was 0.34....a few nights ago the AHI was well over 2.0.
Expect it to vary...because it will.

[Pugsy]

What nasal mask were you interested in? I just got a box of gently used donated masks that I need to find a new home for.
If used doesn't freak you out...I might have what you need. FREE except maybe a little postage reimbursement...this mailing out of stuff gets expensive and adds up.
BTW....all these "used" masks look brand spanking new to me. If used...used minimally and all a person has to do is wash in hot soapy water and rinse.

That stuff you were told about you can't use a nasal mask with pressures over 10...what a load of crap. I know people using nasal cushions or nasal pillows at pressures over 20 cm and quite successfully.
The only reason to use a full face mask other than you just want to...is if you can't keep your mouth shut for large parts of the night no matter how much you try.

As far as the leaks go....the report you posted....I would kill for a leak graph that good...was it a night where the mask was more comfortable or cranked down like a vise grip???

For marks on the face...obviously lessening the vise grip but also mask liners might help with that.
Check out padacheek.com
https://www.padacheek.com/mask-liners-full-face
Karen (owner and a forum member and cpap user) has a lot of great products I bet you never thought of.

And yes...mask strap placement can sure aggravate TMJ issues. Look where they lay on your face.

[Julie]

If a mask leaks either in a particular position or all the time, the answer is to find a better mask for you, not to crank it so tight and maybe prevent the silicone from inflating properly... you can get all kinds of aches and marks etc. otherwise.

[randye80]

Total crap advice you got.

My AHI was 90 and I consistently get 0-2 using only a nasal pillow mask.

[zonker]

Hi Everyone:

welcome to the zoo!

1) Red / Burn skin on face - In an effort to get leaks to 0 on "MyAir" I gradually tightened mask. I got to near zero but when woke up face was marked with lines and very sore to the touch. I have been backing off and keeping leaks to under five but face is still sore. Shaving and washing face before bed seems to help. Is this something that goes away or your skin just gets used to?

i know that it seems like you want to ratchet the mask down, but you don't, as julie says. i would suggest to go to youtube and search out mask fitting videos. be sure to put the name of your mask in the search field.

2) Feeling of Ear Infection Awake / Fine Sleeping - I got daytime pain in Left Ear / Back Jaw / Under Jaw which feels like an ear infection but I am pretty sure I am fine. No congestion or issues clearing ears. Thought this may be an issue with the face mask pushing my jaw back while sleeping. Is this just growing pains and something that normally goes away?

i think once you quit tightening down the mask so much, this will go away.

3) I was told pressures above 10 too high for Nasal - I wanted a Nasal mask but was told with AHI of 47.2 that was too high and pressure above 10cm would be too high for Nasal mask. I seemd to have a 95% range of 12.5 cm. Is that close enough for most people here to use a nasal mask?

rubbish. i use a nasal pillow mask and my pressure is a minimum 18.4 and a maximum if 25. no problems using it at that pressure.

4) What is the AHI you need to achieve? I am bouncing from 0.50 to 1.50 on average. I have no idea what would cause such wild swings from one night to another.

you want to achieve an ahi that will allow you to sleep through the night and wake up refreshed. that particular ahi is subjective. some sleep doctors think an ahi of 5 is the target. if my ahi was that high, i wouldn't consider myself treated. right now, it's better for you to get used to the process and not be concerned about chasing specific numbers.

Some charts below in case it is helpful. (Left card out for a few days by mistake so you will see a data interruption.) Thanks again for advice and my apologizes if I need to be redirected to older posts.

no your fine. just give some more charts as they are captured. no biggie.

to me, it looks like you're off to a grand start, numbers wise. there are changes to be made but i think it best that you get that mask fitted out properly. the therapy does you no good if part of what you're doing is damaging yourself.

most importantly, how do you feel? are you sleeping soundly? this is always important in sleep apnea treatment. it's a very important barometer of how your doing. so when you post a new chart, tell us how that night's sleep went.

good luck!

[SJ-Paddler]

What nasal mask were you interested in? I just got a box of gently used donated masks that I need to find a new home for.
If used doesn't freak you out...I might have what you need. FREE except maybe a little postage reimbursement...this mailing out of stuff gets expensive and adds up.
BTW....all these "used" masks look brand spanking new to me. If used...used minimally and all a person has to do is wash in hot soapy water and rinse.

That stuff you were told about you can't use a nasal mask with pressures over 10...what a load of crap. I know people using nasal cushions or nasal pillows at pressures over 20 cm and quite successfully.
The only reason to use a full face mask other than you just want to...is if you can't keep your mouth shut for large parts of the night no matter how much you try.

As far as the leaks go....the report you posted....I would kill for a leak graph that good...was it a night where the mask was more comfortable or cranked down like a vise grip???

Thanks Pugsy. I have the F&P Eson2 on order to get here Friday to try out. If it works out for me I will let you know.

As for leakage, that was one of the bad nights. For two good nights I got leakage down to 0 L/min or at least it rounded down to 0. (Granted at the expense of my face.) Yesterday was 2 L/min.

I have to tell you they REALLY push you into full face masks for beginners. "I can't TELL you what mask to choose but for someone like you it really needs to be a Full Face mask style." I mean hey I am new to all of this, who am I to question the expert.

[SJ-Paddler]

most importantly, how do you feel? are you sleeping soundly? this is always important in sleep apnea treatment. it's a very important barometer of how your doing. so when you post a new chart, tell us how that night's sleep went.

good luck!

That is the weirdest thing. I had AHI of 47.2 but I felt I slept fine. No issues at all EXCEPT my snoring was so loud I had to sleep in another room with my door shut and my wife could still hear with her door shut. She had to buy a sound machine on top of that just to sleep through the night.

Now I am moved back into the bedroom which is the biggest success for me. The CPAP is currently pushing 9-14 cm of air so it is sensing something is wrong and fixing it. I probably sleep better, I wake up less, sleep longer, but nothing really huge I noticed. Doctor is insisting this is extending my life though.

[Pugsy]

That was a "bad" night...OMG if I had that good of a leak line I would be doing a happy dance all over town and putting up a billboard.

First...trying to get 0.0 leak...unrealistic expectation...your machine can easily handle leaks up to 24 L/min and even beyond a bit.
Second...as long as leaks...big or little... aren't disturbing your sleep...don't worry about them unless they are really big and really prolonged. Your machine can compensate for quite a bit....let it do its job.

No mask should ever cause pain, abrasions or skin blisters...very minor red mark might be okay if no discomfort is associated with it and it goes away quickly in the morning.

Actually most of these masks need to inflate to seal well and when we crank them down so tight it hurts...actually that can make keeping the seal more difficult because they can't inflate like they need to.

Hopefully the ESON will suit you better but if it doesn't....let me know.

[zonker]

Now I am moved back into the bedroom which is the biggest success for me. The CPAP is currently pushing 9-14 cm of air so it is sensing something is wrong and fixing it. I probably sleep better, I wake up less, sleep longer, but nothing really huge I noticed. Doctor is insisting this is extending my life though.

happy wife, happy life.


you won't notice a sudden onrush of "i feel FANTASTIC!". it will come upon you gradually.

and the doc is right.

i'm going to fade into the background now as pugsy has chimed in. she is the best we have. please follow her advice and you won't go wrong.