Disappointed with Machine and Results - Help?

So I've been struggling with CPAP for close to 2 years now I think. Gave up many times. Recommitted to it because my quality of life is getting worse. Especially my memory. So for the last month Ive almost worn my mask every night (resmed profit nasal pillows) They're the only ones I can fall asleep with, which is a problem unto its own because Im a mouth breather. So I decided to log the little bit of time I have the mask on in Sleepy Head. Just downloaded it and found out my Resmed Escape Auto doesn't log anything important on the SD card. This is pretty frustrating. So I scrolled through the little screen on the machine and it said my (average?)pressure is 7.0 and my AHI is 7.2 while Sleepy Head says my average time with the mask on is 1.33 hours. Im guessing this is bad? I dont know when I rip the mask off either. I dont know what to do here. Someone steer me in the right direction before I throw this machine and my pile of masks out the window.

Hi, there are others that will be able to offer you more help than I can but they are going to want more information on what machine you use, the model number as there are many different ResMed Escape Models. Using the pillows and being a mouth breather can be difficult. I wear a nasal mask at times so I try to keep my tongue up under my front teeth which helps keep the mouth breathing to a minimum so not as many leaks. You do need to wear the mask every time you sleep.

Your pressure may not be sufficient but hang in there for someone who knows more about that who can offer you more help but don't give up. I keep trying. Maybe your insurance company can purchase you a newer updated machine.

I think the machine they're using is pretty clear- the Resmed S9 Escape Auto? Unfortunately, as you've mentioned, this doesn't record useful information. I'm wondering how long you've had this machine? It may be worth looking into whether insurance will buy a new, better, one yet. Otherwise, if you're truly committed to this, Craigslist, and many users here, often have good deals on quality machines at reasonable out of pocket prices. There's also Secondwind CPAP, and many places have been having good deals on the S9 for Her, which is a fully data capable machine.

You say the nasal pillow mask is the only one you can use, but you're a mouth breather. What other ones have you tried? It took me 6 masks before I found one I liked. Many people find the hybrid style masks, such as the Liberty Mirage or the Amara View easier to tolerate than a traditional full face mask, while still covering the mouth.

Thank you both for your replies. After my rant on here yesterday I did some more reading on my stupid machine and found out it most likely has an inferior algorithm to adjust pressures. I went in and adjusted the pressure from 4-15 to 7-15. To my surprise I slept 3.1 hours last night with my mask on, the longest ever!! Also my AHI went down from 7.2 to 0.3! I'm pretty excited if you can't tell. Lol. My average pressure before this adjustment was 7.0. Last night my average pressure was 9.3! It's been the machine the whole time. What's annoying is my doctor has been looking at the data from the SD card this whole time and he's been saying everything looks good except my compliance. Wow, frustrating. I think I've been mouth breathing because I wasn't getting enough air through my nose.

If you have $99 to spare get a P10 mask - it'll blow your nose open.

Does your display show a green light for leaks? If you mouth breathe a lot it can go red.

You might want to try raising the minimum pressure by 1 a day to about 10-12 - and see if it feels better and lowers your AHI. It can't hurt you.

But job 1 is to get a data capable machine and learn how to read your numbers.

Good luck

Thanks for the reply. The display does show leak detection while it's happening, not sure how it logs it in its internal memory. I'm going to read the manual.