Snoring after starting CPAP- not sure what to do

[fringel]

Hi all-

Sorry for the newbie question, but I am a newbie. I have a PR 950 with EPAP 8-12, IPAP 15-22 and PSMin 7, PS Max 10. I just recently switched from a nasal mask to the Aloha Nasal pillows and love the Aloha. However, since I switched my wife has started complaining that, for the first time since I started using CPAP, that she has noticed me snoring from time to time. I have reviewed my data in sleepyhead 9.03 wih a VSnore of 2.26. Last night was not a great night. I reviewed the stats for the last 10 days and 6 of the days had a Vsnore of between 1.77 and 2.26, the other nights it was negligible (< 1.00). My leak rate is very low during the periods of snoring. I cannot tell exactly, but it seems to be around 2.00-3.00 ML/min--if that--most of the time it's zero, so that doesn't appear to be the problem. I find the leaks with the nasal pillows are much better than with the nasal mask (although the nasal mask was pretty good too).

I would post the data but I don't know how to do that.(If there is a post or tutorial for that, please let me know).

My principal question is whether a pressue adjustment would address the snoring issue? I thought the machine I have, the 950, would automatically adjust for an issue like this, but apparently that is not the case. I noticed that my 95% EPAP is 9.90 and 95% IPAP is 19.00, to the extent that is helpful. I am not sure whether a pressure adjustment is the issue or whether I should be looking elsewhere. Sleep doc is on vacation for another week, so I am on my own (not that she is a big help anyway).

Suggestions appreciated. Thanks.

Fred

[Pugsy]

How to insert images of your reports so we can see what you are seeing is discussed here.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=81072&p=737779#p737779

[fringel]

Hopefully this is correct.
If there is a way to get the entire page into an image, please let me know. I squeezed the image to try and get the relevant info into the post.

[fringel]

Here is the night prior to that one, if more data helps.

[Julie]

A little OT, but just for the record, pillows are considered to be a 'nasal' mask as would any other that does not also cover your mouth (except for e.g. the Hybrid) would be, and masks that do cover your mouth are called 'full face'.

[STL Mark]

I am not a wise enough person to provide advise on your questions.

If you have good insurance, I would show the reports to your sleep doctor and discuss some of the options with them. It may turn out that your present settings are not the optimum ones for you at this time.

[avi123]

Fred, may be you can borrow a full face mask and check if it stops the snoring.

I read somewhere that sometimes snoring can't be treated with CPAP, regardless of the air pressure.

Just for reference, I am wondering if it has to do with the kind of snoring that you have:

"There are two types of snoring and are distinguished, depending on
the localization of their origin. The first type of snoring,
"velar snoring", is produced by the vibration of all the
structures of the soft palate, i.e. the velum, the anterior
and posterior arches of the tonsils and the uvula. Velar
snoring results from a vibration of the soft palate cre
ated by the inspiratory flow of air both nasal and oral,
which makes the soft palate wave like a flag. The sound
intensity of these vibrations is accentuated by the open
ing of the buccal cavity which acts as a sound box.

The second type, i.e: pharyngeal snoring, is a sort of
rale, of rattle, and even horn whistling. It is caused by
the partial obstruction of the oropharyngeal isthmus by
the base of the tongue with, now and again, its total
occlusion by this tongue base becoming jammed against
the posterior wall of the pharynx, according to the laws
of fluid dynamics, thus causing cessation of breathing
(apnoea), which constitutes the sleep apnoea syndrome
(SAS). Here obstructive sleep apnoea is involved, as
opposed to central sleep apnoea, which has a cerebral
origin. It should be stated that the two types of snoring de
scribed above may easily be combined in the same indi
vidual."

[khauser]

ASV treatment is a tough one. Do you have data from the prior mask? Did it also show snoring? It's not that I doubt your spouse, but I wondered if some masks were better than others for snoring or if they just masked it better (no pun intended).

There are a few ASV members that might have treatment ideas ... give them a chance to reply. Good luck!