Finally got my numbers down to a decent range

[kjarels]

I reduced my pressure to 13 and the EPR to 1 and taped my mouth shut with tape. I am using the Activa nasal mask and have nasal congestion as well. My numbers for the AHI's were in the 8's most of the time but the last two nights they have been below 5. The night before was 3.8 and last night was 2.8. However the leak was .58 which I thought was kind of high. Not sure what the leak rate for the Activa using the ResMed Elite 8 is.

[Wulfman]

It's in here.....but you'll have to do the calculations to get LPS for the ResMed machine at whatever your pressure is.

http://www.internetage.com/cpapinfo/leak-rates-1.html

Den

[billbolton]

I reduced my pressure to 13 and the EPR to 1
(snip)
Not sure what the leak rate for the Activa using the ResMed Elite 8 is.

You can find the bias flow rate of the Activa mask in the Exhaust Vent Pressure / Flow Characteristics graph in the Activa manual, right under the TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS major heading.

At 13cm it is ~0.36L/minute.

If you have the mask type on your S8 set to "ACTIVA", the leak rate you see on the flow generator Efficacy display is the leak rate in excess of the mask bias rate.... in other words it is your true leakage above normal operational flow!

Cheers,

Bill

[Knightfall]

Kenny,

I am a nightly Activa user, and also use the S8 Elite. What Bill has stated is accurate in that as long as you have the mask type set to Activa (not a bad idea to check to make sure it is set to this), the leakage you are seeing is above normal. In other words, if you would have a perfect seal and no mouth leakage, you would be reading 0.0 l/s.

The leak rate of 0.58 l/s is high; if you have your leak alert enabled, it alarms at 0.70 l/s (for a leak that lasts at least 20 seconds). I would try to get that leakage down. Have you ever tried the mask fit feature of the Elite, which will give you and idea of how good a seal you are getting from your Activa?

Also, I have adopted the practice of using Polident strips with a chin-strap; this combination has my leakage consistently under 0.1 l/s, and I have "scored" a couple of perfect 0.0 l/s. I did try taping, but it just wasn't for me. Just a suggestion for another method to try to get the leakage down.

The AHI at 2.8 is pretty sweet. My last 5 days ranged between 0.2 and 2.4 for AHI. If you address the leakage issue, I think your AHI should drop. Best of luck, Ken

PS If you need help with mask fit feature, feel free to post back.

[Flying_Norseman]

Sounds like some of the mystery leakage I was getting. I still don't know why people obsess over a leak that is a little high. From what I have been told, the machine compensates for it. I can understand if the leakage was really high all the time, but not if it is still within reasonable limits.