What can cause a PRS1 Auto to malfunction without warning?

Use the image tag - it's doesn't download the picture or store it on cpaptalk.com. When people view the thread, their browsers pull the image in from the image server and display it right in the message. It will resize the picture to fit on the page and people can click on it to go to the image hosting site to see the full size if they want or need to. The images I post are 1920x1200 and don't cause a problem. You can look at some of my previous posts if you want to see how it looks.

yaconsult wrote:Use the image tag - it's doesn't download the picture or store it on cpaptalk.com. When people view the thread, their browsers pull the image in from the image server and display it right in the message. It will resize the picture to fit on the page and people can click on it to go to the image hosting site to see the full size if they want or need to. The images I post are 1920x1200 and don't cause a problem. You can look at some of my previous posts if you want to see how it looks.

Cool, it was the image size I was concerned with. Let me check it out...

Nice, the size came out perfect and ... wait, hey look! I'm cured! Only the third day and I'm cured!!! I'm cured!!!



Lest anyone take me serious, I was just kidding about the cure. The undersized Quattro mask did a good job sealing but it had to be positioned perfectly. The improvised chin strap was a big help to stay in place so it will work until the parts come in for the Simplus, then I am going to start looking for an affordable nasal mask to see if that works for me.

Thank you so much for the help. This is a very supportive forum!

Cheers,
Paul

mralaska wrote: Thanks! I used a link because I was too lazy to downsize them. If I embed them with the IMG box will this board make a thumb?

see here: https://sleep.tnet.com/reference/tips/imgur

Paul, the results look a lot better at a minimum pressure of 6.0. Try not to make other changes for a while and let this stabilize before judging you're cured. I think there is still room to move your pressure up, but dealing with leaks will be the most important thing you can do for your comfort.

As you can see, your median and 95% pressure moved up significantly from when you had the minimum pressure at 4.0 cm. What this means is that your machine was never properly responsive to apnea precursors when set to a minimum pressure of 4.0. With your median pressure now approaching 9.5 and the 95% pressure at 11.60, we are beginning to see where your "real" therapeutic pressure needs to be. I anticipate that if we can control the leaks and the current pressure profile continues to show this trend, you will eventually need a minimum pressure of 9.0 or more. No need to make those changes now, but this will also let your technician see more realistic values. Whether he acts on it or now, appears to be questionable based on your last appointment.

Best of Luck!

Tom

palerider wrote:

mralaska wrote: Thanks! I used a link because I was too lazy to downsize them. If I embed them with the IMG box will this board make a thumb?

see here: https://sleep.tnet.com/reference/tips/imgur

Cool! I had seen that link before but got sidetracked and missed the fact you can embed a linked thumbnail. I am going to try that next time. Thanks!

Sleeprider wrote:Paul, the results look a lot better at a minimum pressure of 6.0. Try not to make other changes for a while and let this stabilize before judging you're cured. I think there is still room to move your pressure up, but dealing with leaks will be the most important thing you can do for your comfort.

As you can see, your median and 95% pressure moved up significantly from when you had the minimum pressure at 4.0 cm. What this means is that your machine was never properly responsive to apnea precursors when set to a minimum pressure of 4.0. With your median pressure now approaching 9.5 and the 95% pressure at 11.60, we are beginning to see where your "real" therapeutic pressure needs to be. I anticipate that if we can control the leaks and the current pressure profile continues to show this trend, you will eventually need a minimum pressure of 9.0 or more. No need to make those changes now, but this will also let your technician see more realistic values. Whether he acts on it or now, appears to be questionable based on your last appointment.

Best of Luck!

Tom

Thanks. I had no actual illusions about being cured but I tend to over-celebrate. As long as I am within acceptable parameters I have no intention of changing anything before the mask parts arrive and I gain confidence the leaks are plugged. I can be very patient making changes as long as I feel good, and lately I feel as good as I look. Maybe even better!

Thank you for your interpretation. I had wondered why the third day floated higher and your explanation makes total sense. If my minimum pressure ever starts getting higher than eight I may wish to kick in flex for comfort which I assume might have an affect as well. I anticipate many tweaks before it is all over, just as I anticipate it never to really be over.

I cannot recall what I mentioned about an appointment as my last appointment was indeed disappointing but it was a very long time ago and if they had CPAP machines nobody had told my doctor. I do not currently have any professional help and unfortunately that is not an option for me at this time. The sleep tech I mentioned was authoring a blog that stated they start at at the full range 4-20 in the lab to get started and in response to a question suggested the requester start there also if they are trying to do it without professional help. I would be totally on my own and making guesses if not for the internet, so I consider and look into everything I read (as much as possible anyway). Even if some advice makes less sense than others I am better off for it.

This forum rocks! Thanks again!
Paul

mralaska wrote:

palerider wrote:

mralaska wrote: Thanks! I used a link because I was too lazy to downsize them. If I embed them with the IMG box will this board make a thumb?

see here: https://sleep.tnet.com/reference/tips/imgur

Cool! I had seen that link before but got sidetracked and missed the fact you can embed a linked thumbnail. I am going to try that next time. Thanks!

you can also, (if you want) go back and edit your previous posts and update them to look prettier

palerider wrote:

mralaska wrote:

palerider wrote:

mralaska wrote: Thanks! I used a link because I was too lazy to downsize them. If I embed them with the IMG box will this board make a thumb?

see here: https://sleep.tnet.com/reference/tips/imgur

Cool! I had seen that link before but got sidetracked and missed the fact you can embed a linked thumbnail. I am going to try that next time. Thanks!

you can also, (if you want) go back and edit your previous posts and update them to look prettier

It was before learning the imgur method but I went back and fixed the pictures soon after the subject came up.

I suppose, however, somebody who lacks impeccable taste and sophisticated style might debate how much prettier each post got:

mralaska wrote:

Nick Danger wrote:Bwexler's comment is very important. If your mask repair replaced the vent with a piece of hose, then you could be in deep trouble if you keep using it. The vent is there to get the carbon dioxide out.

Nothing significant was blocked. I will post a picture below of my modifications. The eye glasses were purchased at a discount store for $1 then specially modified to wear them with a FFM. The chin strap started out life as a top strap for a cheap LED headlamp but it makes a better chin strap. The tubing fit snug on the hose with the help of half a hose barb and some electrical tape to seal the deal. The I.D. of the hose barb is slightly larger than the i.d. of the elbow entrance:

mralaska wrote: I suppose, however, somebody who lacks impeccable taste and sophisticated style might debate how much prettier each post got:.....

well, certainly easier to see

oh, and it looks like the temporary fixing you did was great.... since the vent is up at the top of the mask.

For the sake of closure I was hoping to resolve this question once solved. At this point I feel the problem is solved but I am afraid the question will remain open.

I first went back to the (too) Small Mirage Quattro which I had to literally seal the mask against my lower lip. I was almost able to use it as a nose mask but it pushed a bit too high on my nose plus my lower lip seals a lot better than my mustache. I was able to sleep along with some leak periods that were much worse than what had been when the pressure malfunctioned but it performed fine. Later I scored a (too) Large Mirage Quattro which I had to remove and replace with the small in the middle of the night because it kept blowing in my eyes. I really like the Mirage Quattro (almost as much as the Simplus) and will continue to monitor yard sales looking for a Medium (I seem to be in between sizes even though the template indicates I am a large). Total leak rates, sometimes over 100, were often much higher than what the machine had failed at so I had pretty much ruled out leakage as the cause.

Finally day before yesterday the cushion arrived to change the size of the Simplus from Large to Medium. I seem to be in between sizes on this mask also but by holding my lips just right I was able to obtain a seal with no more than a gentle tug on the adjustment straps. The swivel I ordered had not arrived and in light of the leak rates the machine has survived subsequent to the failure I was blaming the modifications I had made to the Simplus mask. Just to prove it I wore the modified mask for a short nap in which the mask held its seal perfectly for an hour and the machine ran right up to pressure and floated right at normal pressures, which kind of ruled out the mask modification as the cause.

Deciding the problem must have been the result of the combination of moderately high leak along with the mask modification attenuating the signal somehow I decided to try a night with the modified Simplus and see how it went. The results surprised me. Still wearing the mask gently snugged I apparently did not hold my lips just right very long and ended up with a leak rate of similar magnitude as the night it had failed me, yet the machine responded properly to events to the point of running the pressure up almost to 16 which is higher than normal all with the same modification in place.

Last night used the modified Simplus mask again because it has shown the most promise. I tightened the straps more than I felt was snug and had my very first virtually leak free night. I am still anxious for the swivel I ordered to arrive and until I does I do not yet fully trust the readings which are reasonable compared to previous nights but might have drifted a little. I tweaked up the min pressure a little but hoping for a week with a factory approved setup with minimal leaks to see how things trend then. Unless Simplus starts making half sizes I am stuck with over-tightening and hope smushing the silicone does not shorten its life too much. At $25.00 per pop I am hoping to make the changing of the cushion an annual event. I could not find a smiley for "wishful thinking".