Mask success..Pugsy!_8/9/15

Trying againI Could have closed the far right panel! Did remember to close the calendar!


Well I did it! How I wish I could find out what the unclassified stuff is. Sleep doc just does not know what to do with me. My numbers here are not good yet I do feel better today than yesterday when the numbers were lower and the leaks were higher! There is a branch of the Cleveland Clinic near me in Florida, but sleep studies are at another location all together...further south.

I was very congested even though I took a decongestant and it shows. I do feel more comfortable breathing using a BIPAP.

bdz wrote:Trying againI Could have closed the far right panel! Did remember to close the calendar!

Well I did it! How I wish I could find out what the unclassified stuff is.

if you use the view>take screenshot option off the menu, it does that for you. the right panel is a waste of space, in my opinion, it scrunches up the actual data.

unclassified apneas are scored when you have an apnea and your leaks are so high that the machine can't tell whether it's a central, or an obstructive.

you're having so many apneas likely becuase your pressure is too low. raise the max pressure to allow the machine to do more, it spent much of the night at max. the epap is what does the job of holding the airway open, and yours is only 11 max.

you spent 45% of the night over the max recommended leak amount (24lpm)

bdz wrote:Sleep doc just does not know what to do with me. My numbers here are not good

well, it looks pretty simple a this point. based on last night. more pressure, control leaks.

don't make a new thread each night, continue the previous one, that way it's not a pain in the arse to look back at the history.

Gotcha, will do. Thanks for your patience and input

bdz wrote:Gotcha, will do. Thanks for your patience and input

you can also do things like right clicking on the vertical scales of the charts and autoscale them, or manually set them, like, with your pressure instead of 0-25, you could set it 5-20 and it'd be more easy to see what's happening with pressure, all the whitespace above and below flattens out the lines and makes it harder to see that you're bumping up against the max pressure for most of the night.

you might need to look into mask liners to help with the leaks.... they won't prevent leaks, but can make them more manageable and less disturbing.

OK... had to do a few things. Did try the nasal mask (comfort gel) which fits its name, very comfortable, but...major sinus issues in am. Did not feel the leak at all. Also very tired in am for whatever reason. Got out my Hans Rudolph, did some major gerry rigging and WOW.. Now if I could make it do that all night I would have it made! Screenshot below: It was a long process to get typing on image. Just making use of programs I have left from teaching. Also a challenge to see if I could do it.

Crossing my fingers for you that whatever you did to the Hans Rudolph will hold tonight.

Congrats on adding the typing to the image...I do good to add a manual primitive circle and haven't been able to figure out how to add text. Good job.

Thank you MrStein...just got an Anew Sleepweaver mask and after a week of trial and error I finally found a mask that does not care about leak levels. My leak rates are outrageous, but my AHI results are outstanding! Think I have the mask set up just right. Amazing feeling as it is also a most comfortable mask. The main important point is that my sinuses are not complaining. I have found many a comfortable mask...but had horrendous reactions by my finicky sinuses.

bdz wrote: My leak rates are outrageous, but my AHI results are outstanding!

Your AHI is so low because the leaks are so bad that the machine can't really tell what is or is not going on.
You are so deep into large leak territory that the data you see is very likely totally inaccurate due to the machine's sensors not being able to do their job because of the massive leak.

Pugsy wrote:

bdz wrote: My leak rates are outrageous, but my AHI results are outstanding!

Your AHI is so low because the leaks are so bad that the machine can't really tell what is or is not going on.
You are so deep into large leak territory that the data you see is very likely totally inaccurate due to the machine's sensors not being able to do their job because of the massive leak.

Could be, Pugsy, but during the week I have been using this new mask others have seen a gradual increase in my energy level. It was only today that I noted it also...in my step, mental alertness, thinking and comprehension etc. I have put in a question to Circadience concerning this. In the meantime...

bdz wrote:In the meantime...

In the meantime just be aware that the nice low AHI COULD be from not having any apnea events OR it COULD be that the machine simply didn't know what was happening because of the leak rate.

If you are sleeping better in general that COULD account for feeling better. Just sleeping a little better because of not waking up with a gazillion mask fiddling issues could account for feeling better despite even a high AHI.

I hate to rain on your parade but we simply have no way to know how accurate that AHI is with this amount of leak present. I don't expect perfection and in fact probably let more big leak slide than others as long as it isn't so bad for so long that the entire night's overall therapy effectiveness is in jeopardy but with this much leak...even I can't let it slide without cautioning you as to the accuracy of the machine when faced with this much leak.

Lots of factors involved...like how bad was your AHI to start with.
We monitor leaks also so we can measure the accuracy of the data we are given.
Over 35 L/min leak and these ResMed machine's really have a problem sensing and recording and identifying events. You are way over that line in the sand for the bulk of the night....now is the AHI nice and low because nothing happened or because the machine was clueless?

I spoke with Circadience and it was stressed...do not over tighten. This is way out the opposite from all I have done in the many years of CPAPing. I just had to try as my sinuses are happy...did you see that word, HAPPY!! Come on Imgur...finish that upload! It took a bit of testing (aka naps) to get the ‘feel’ of it. Then several times at the last minute I would have some bright idea that just made a mess of my whole night.... Doing great till the middle, then so so till the end...Progress

get your leaks under control and you'd be doing great.

OK...this is it...I have to find a way to succeed with what I have called my ‘monster’ mask. With the help of JDS74 I think it is happening.

I am finding that by bypassing my sinuses all the dizziness, balance issues as well as poor focus are becoming a thing of the past. I am totally surprised at how my sinuses had taken over my life. Now to keep going forward and becoming who I really am...minus the sinus issues. It is so good to feel alive again.

After just one week of using this mask, I have earned some money writing, just one post, but it felt damn good. I mowed half our overgrown front yard. Yes, my house is a cluttered mess...but now I feel that it is possible to clear it up as my mind can function!

I am figuring out why it failed before and how to really move forward with it again. As anyone who has tried the Oracle, it is a definite challenge. For some it is our only option. Again...JDS74, thank you for your help

Wow! What an improvement on the leaks! Good job - keep it up! It looks like you've gotten it dialed in. Just keep an eye on it to make sure that the leaks remain under control. Congratulations!