AHI 97.....newbie needs help

Bill44133 wrote: The biggest issue will be to control leaks from the mask.
Liners work wonders.

Yes, leaks are a big issue at high pressure. Remzzz liners help quite a bit, but at a buck a piece for what is essentially a stamped out bit of t-shirt material they're pretty expensive. Some people find it not too difficult to make their own similar liners. Also, I generally use one for one night, then flip it over for the next night so I get two nights out of each one.

Personally, I'm finding the new airfit mask seems to seal pretty well at high pressure without too much discomfort on the bridge of my nose. I'm not needing Remzzzs with this mask. Switching to a bipap, so the air being exhaled doesn't run into such a high pressure attempting to come in and make a pressure peak, also seems to help.

Aside from that, dry mouth is a problem to deal with. Make sure you have a good heated humidifier on your unit. Employing a humidifier in your bedroom will also help--or even better, a whole house humidifier.

Has he had a titration? Or is the doctor just guessing? AHI and pressure needed are not a standard equation. You can have a high ahi and only need low pressure. Or have a low ahi and need higher pressure.

And lots of people do okay with higher pressure. It will take some practice and adjustment. May need to work up to it. But it can be done. There are people with pressures over 20. Mine is a range of 11-17. Within a couple days, I would sometimes think it was off because I could not feel it. And I have spikes past 15, sometimes up to 17, and I rarely wake up or notice it.

Welcome. Sorry you had to join us.

Read the Useful Links in my signature line at the bottom of this post. In particular, you need to be sure to get a good, fully data capable CPAP machine.

You may need to take an active role in managing your own therapy. Apnea is a very real thing. CPAP is the gold standard of treatment. Unfortunately, the medical mafia is pretty bad at helping us fix our problems. There's lots of help here, though.

If he can't nose breathe, there are full face masks that go around the mouth and nose. There's also an oral mouth only mask,but it's a bit hard to live with.

Get your machine, learn to use SleepyHead to read your data, and take an active role in your treatment. Lots of people here can help with your problems.

Thank you all so much! I know I've come to the right place. I hope to get his machine on Monday and I've already learned alot here. However, I'm sure I'll have questions. We also go back to the ENT on Monday to see about the nose issues. Again, thank you!