Started w/ ComfortGel FFM, but had to stop / switch as I developed a large sore on the bridge of my nose that took 10days to heal. RT @ doctors office loaned me a nasal pillow (OptiFlex) and hybrid (can't remember). Did good on OptiFlex, but hose management was a little tricky, and I always developed leaks after a few hours of sleep that I couldn't seem to correct (I use a regular pillow and haven't tried a "PAP pillow" yet).
Purchased Resmed Swift LT - fits better than OptiFlex and 10x more comfy than FFM. Need to have barrel touching my upper lip, and pillows pointing almost straight up to get a good seal - and then slim hose isn't quiet long enough
to reach retainer on headgear when that's in "natural position". Tried rotating headgear further forward, but not much improvement. Was only getting ~3-4hrs average complaince per night.
Disconnect hose from retainer, and was able to keep the mask on *all night* (and only 2nd time w/ Swift LT). But when I reviewed my data this morning, my AHI for the night was 17.1 (OA 15, H 2.1). On OptiFlex, it was in the ~7.0. I remember that 2 nights ago, I had started mouth breathing a bit (the noise of high pressure air rushing thru from nose to mouth, until something closed it off, woke me). I'm guessing that last night I ended up mouth breathing frequently as well, and that's causing my spike in OAs.
I've got a chin strap on order (and a PAP pillow), but does it seem like I'm on the right track? Other ideas?
Some of the data I downloaded this morning (black sections on 1st graph and "0 data" on others are from machine that got flooded and it took me 2 weeks and $150 to get my DME to replace it "under warranty" - sigh).
