New user, need sleepyhead help....PLEASE!!!

Ok. So I cranked up mins to 10 and max 11. I had one AWESOME night/day and then one 'meh' night/day. Here are the screen grabs...One note, last night was the 'meh' night. AHI still very low but I noticed I was waking about every 2-3 hours...Not sure why. Additionally it looks like the leaks last night were more pronounced than the night before...Thoughts?

Great night:



Average night (low AHI but feeling only 'average' today):

My first suspect would be the leaks...while not massively high there's sure a lot of them and with the pressure stable we can't blame them on pressure increases.

Remember...anything (even small teeny tiny leaks or big leaks) that wakes us up is unwanted.

You have enough leaks going on here that there were probably a lot of arousals that you don't remember...add them in with the wake ups you do remember and your sleep quality last night was in the toilet...and my first suspect would be the leaks.

Pugsy wrote:My first suspect would be the leaks...while not massively high there's sure a lot of them and with the pressure stable we can't blame them on pressure increases.

Remember...anything (even small teeny tiny leaks or big leaks) that wakes us up is unwanted.

You have enough leaks going on here that there were probably a lot of arousals that you don't remember...add them in with the wake ups you do remember and your sleep quality last night was in the toilet...and my first suspect would be the leaks.

So frustrating. I guess I'll crank it down tonight!

Which mask...??

you never did put your equipment in your profile....

Was it really all that loose? Sometimes cranking it down is counter productive unless you know for sure you left it really loose.

SleepyMcgee,

You didn't post the flow rate data for the awesome night, but it would be very useful to see it and compare it to the flow rate data on the meh night. I also couldn't find any information about what mask you are using when I rather quickly skimmed through a few of the 6 pages of this thread.

Did you forget to put the SD card back in the machine before the awesome night?

As for what we can see:

Leaks are more problematic on the meh night AND there is a lot of "raggedness" in the flow rate data. What I mean by that is there are a lot of sharp peaks/dips (large inhalations/exhalations) relative to the main band where most of the data is. That kind of raggedness in the flow rate data can indicate a lot of wakes, min-wakes/arousals, restlessness, and long periods of bouncing back and forth between sleep and wake. It is possible that the leaks were bothering you enough to make the night more restless than the previous one.

Also it would help us help you resolve the leak issue if we knew what mask you are using. Can you fill in your equipment by clicking on the user control panel in the upper left corner of the cpaptalk.com page? Click on "Profile" and then select "Edit Equipment" That will make your equipment show up at the end of every post and that will cut down on the number of times someone like me asks: What mask are you using?

As Pugsy mentioned before, we can't always reproduce a random "awesome" night. But we'd like to get to where we're feeling better (actually much better) with the CPAP than without it. And you're not yet there in terms of how you are feeling.

In response to Pugsy's comments about leaks you write:

So frustrating. I guess I'll crank it down tonight!

If you mean that you will tighten the mask up substantially, you need to understand that over tightening the mask does not usually fix the leak problem, can make the leaks worse, and can increase the discomfort.

First re-read the fitting instructions for your mask. It may help to find a video that shows how to fit the mask. Fit the mask after you are lying down, and preferably at full pressure---i.e. when the machine is actually on.

Pugsy wrote:Which mask...??

you never did put your equipment in your profile....

Was it really all that loose? Sometimes cranking it down is counter productive unless you know for sure you left it really loose.

Respironics dreamwear under the nose. It's really not loose...same as the night before. Not sure why so many leaks last night


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

SleepyMcgee wrote:

Pugsy wrote:Which mask...??

you never did put your equipment in your profile....

Was it really all that loose? Sometimes cranking it down is counter productive unless you know for sure you left it really loose.

Respironics dreamwear under the nose. It's really not loose...same as the night before. Not sure why so many leaks last night

That's the one where the air enters the mask at the top of your head and goes down tubes on either side to reach the nose?

What's your preferred sleep position?

Also, do you have all sizes of the cushion that fit over your nose? Which size are you using?

I have used that mask. It's real easy to not have it quite snug enough to stay put.
In this situation a little "cranking" down probably is worth trying. I had to have it fairly snug and took several nights to get it just right.
It's hard to adjust because it takes a combination of the back strap and the frame placement to acquire the seal.
Since the previous night the leaks were well controlled I wouldn't suggest changing size of the cushion...we know this size will work. It's not like it never worked.
I would start with the back strap tension if it were me. Don't make it were it hurts or is uncomfortable...just a wee bit snugger.

robysue wrote:Also, do you have all sizes of the cushion that fit over your nose? Which size are you using?

Yes, over the head. I have tried all 3 sizes and the one I am using (medium I think) is the one that fits the best (and it's the one that the measuring sheet indicates would fit me best as well.

I would prefer to sleep on my back but I do my best to sleep on my side.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Pugsy wrote:I have used that mask. It's real easy to not have it quite snug enough to stay put.
In this situation a little "cranking" down probably is worth trying. I had to have it fairly snug and took several nights to get it just right.
It's hard to adjust because it takes a combination of the back strap and the frame placement to acquire the seal.
Since the previous night the leaks were well controlled I wouldn't suggest changing size of the cushion...we know this size will work. It's not like it never worked.
I would start with the back strap tension if it were me. Don't make it were it hurts or is uncomfortable...just a wee bit snugger.

Yep. will do.

If past precedent is any indicator, tonight's AHI should increase materially over the past two nights...Lets hope I'm wrong!

Here's a long skinny limb to go out on...
Maybe the higher AHI night following a poor sleep quality "bleh" night is because you slept poorly one night and the next night you sleep deeper/sounder to "catch up" because you tired and the deeper sleep increases the chances of having more apnea events.
We don't have many "real" apnea events when we sleep poorly. You gotta be asleep first for them to happen.

Like I said...a long skinny limb...possible maybe reason why you see that pattern.

Pugsy wrote:Here's a long skinny limb to go out on...
Maybe the higher AHI night following a poor sleep quality "bleh" night is because you slept poorly one night and the next night you sleep deeper/sounder to "catch up" because you tired and the deeper sleep increases the chances of having more apnea events.
We don't have many "real" apnea events when we sleep poorly. You gotta be asleep first for them to happen.

Like I said...a long skinny limb...possible maybe reason why you see that pattern.

could be...In thinking about this I recall waking up with a dry mouth throughout the night last night...Wondering if those leaks are from my mouth...Its the first nigth I've had a dry mouth..Maybe due to the higher pressure??

Dunno if the higher pressure is a factor or not in the dry mouth or leaks for that matter. Too soon really to accurately determine any pattern to look at.

My first suspect would be mask movement and here's why...if that was all mouth breathing your mouth would most likely be worse than the Sahara Desert this morning and you wouldn't be just wondering about mouth breathing.
Your first complaint here would be about the mouth and it wasn't.

It doesn't take much mouth breathing to dry out the mouth and you may well have had some going on but all that leak...mask movement would be my first suspect if it was my report that looked like that.
I had one similar to yours when my P10 headgear finally got stretched out so much I couldn't shrink it back and it was simply too loose.

With the DreamWear I especially suspect mask movement...when it works it works great but it is real easy to get into a situation where it moves a lot and it doesn't take much movement for that cradle cushion under the nostrils to break the seal.

Question.it doesn't seem like I am experiencing any obstructive apnea's. If that's the case, I'm wondering if I should just try sleeping on my back which is what my preference would be anyway. I'm thinking that maybe some nights I'm so focused on not sleeping on my back that I end up psyching myself out and waking up to check myself. Are hypopneas impacted by back sleeping?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk