Leaks

I am using a Resmed Aircurve 10s, running 17/11 pressure. Sleepyhead shows major leaks all night long, normally more than 50%. If my understanding is correct then the machine is not able to compensate for that much leakage and so my AHI shows as .5 or less since the machine does not even see them due to the leakage. I do have a full beard and moustache and may be a mouth breather as well not sure about that. I have tried 4 mask all with the same result. A full nose and mouth mask ( forgot the brand..leaks severely around the seal, a resmed mouth and nose pillow mask, some leakage arond the seal but still shows highest leakage, a lightweight nose pillow mask which does not appear to have any leaks but the machine says it does and lastly a breeze nose pillow system which appears to leak the least at around 50% , the other are all greater leakage.

I am seeing my Pulmonologist today and will discuss it butthere has to be a real solution. I'l looking to try the Optilife Nasal Pillow with chinstrap or possible even the newer oracle HC452 oral mask. Hoping to find something that works

I would try on FF masks - while lying down as your face changes a lot then - until you find one that suits, and be careful to not overtighten them trying to stop leaks - that can often create new smaller ones, plus the cushion needs to inflate to work. FFMs are hard to fit for some people, but often work better if you side sleep vs back sleep, and there are special bed pillows with cut outs to accommodate them on your sides. Cpap.com charges a small fee to try on masks for 30 days if your local dealers don't have a reasonable selection.

In terms of accuracy of the data provided by the machine in the face of large leaks, how far into large leak you might be going is really important.
You get a large leak flag if you hit 25 L/min but these machines don't totally go into the toilet with just 1 L/min over the 24 L/min line in the sand. Instead they get less accurate the further you go above 24 L/min.

You need to look at the leak graphs themselves and not just leak numbers to see just how far over 24 L/min you went. These machines really lose accuracy over 35 L/min.
From my own personal experience accuracy wasn't really impacted until I hit 30 L/min. Between 30 to 35 L/min things started getting a bit iffy with a lot of UAs being flagged which means the machine senses something but doesn't know what to call it. Over 35 L/min and the machine quite flagging UAs so I assume the machine couldn't sense anything.

Facial hair does present some extra challenges for mask seal but guys do get it worked out.
The nasal pillow mask is easier to get a good seal since there's minimal facial hair involved.
There are better nasal pillow masks out there than the Optilife though....if you are thinking of trying a nasal pillow mask I would suggest look at what I currently use (see link in my profile) or the ResMed Swift FX or the Respironics Go Life. The headgear on the Optilife isn't the simplest of headgears and that chin strap thing on it isn't designed to really support the chin like a real chin strap. It won't hold the mouth closed if that is what you were thinking about.

My pressures are higher than yours and nasal pillows can be used at higher pressures.
Now if you can't breathe through your nose ...that's going to be a problem but if you normally can breathe through your nose there's no reason that a person can't be successful with a nasal pillow mask.
If you mouth breathe a little..cross that bridge if you come to it but I bet that even with mouth breathing somewhat that your time in large leak is going to improve over what you are having now.

A mirror might be useful in judging whether a mask cushion is properly inflated.
Look for creases--there need to be none; as leaks occur along the tunnels made by a crease.

Note that our wonderful sponsor, cpap.com, has free return insurance on the most popular nasal pillow mask on their site and on this forum - the Resmed AirFit 10. With this mask, facial hair won't matter and you should be able to get a good seal.

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Return insurance makes sense if you are trying out new masks, new sizes of your current mask or if you simply want the option of returning the mask for a refund.