Can certain masks ruin my machine readings?

Weird question, I know but last night was the first night I slept on a solid setting in months. I have the machine set to 12.5 after my own experimentation with 10 to 14.5 and MAYBE finally getting a mask that works with me NORMALLY which is this F&P Simplus full face mask.

I didn't sleep well because I was nervous about the new settings, but at the end of the day I didn't sleep horribly either, however my sleep was interrupted enough where I can't tell in one day whether the therapy was good or not. The machine readout says my AHI was like .5 all night but I'm wondering if it's accurate or that this mask could be causing the readings to be in error.

I don't know why I think that, I think I'm just paranoid after having bad treatment for so long. Is that even a possibility?

The reason I ask is now I've used up all my Auto-Trials on this machine and it is now permanently stuck off of apap mode. I'm trying to figure out if I should buy one of these machines off of Craigslist until my Medicaid decides that it's OK for me to get another machine.

OR if I should just chill for a few nights and see how this 12.5 works out.

I just have this belief in my head that I have some sort of breathing that changes over night and that the auto-pap is better for me, though since all my sleep doctors so far suck I have nothing to confirm our deny that.

However I just overcame a recent bout of insomnia related to not knowing if this machine was working for me and a long time of bad therapy so I'm basically trying too set my mind at ease with the best therapy possible.

Thoughts? Please and thanks in advance.

Is your machine a Respironics PR System One Pro CPAP model 460?
The 460 part is important. We might be able to get you more apap trial nights if it is. Are long past having to prove to DME and your insurance that you are using the machine as required?
I know of something to try to reset the machine to get you another 30 nights of apap...but it involves erasing all your past therapy data from the machine and isn't something you want to do if DME is still watching your hours of use.

Jimmycrackhorn wrote: The machine readout says my AHI was like .5 all night but I'm wondering if it's accurate or that this mask could be causing the readings to be in error.

The only way the mask affects things is if there is a big, big leak involved with using the mask the big leak is extremely prolonged.
If leaks exceed 35 or 40 L/min for half the night...then the AHI for that half of the night could maybe be flawed and falsely low because the machine was clueless.
Otherwise if the leaks weren't very bad for very long...that AHI is accurate.

In honesty...I would suggest doing the "chilling" and see what happens after a few nights. I think if you can somehow reduce or remove the worrying that you will be able to sleep better and hopefully feel better.
I have always said that the mind is a powerful drug...and just like any drug it can do both good and bad things.
When our mind runs rampant worrying about stuff all the time...it's doing bad things.
I do understand it is hard to fix...but it is fixable.

I might have already done that reset feature a while back.

I tried it again only a few nights ago and nothing happened. I'm still at zero. And yes it is a 460.

But unless you have another super secret way to reset it is stuck on zero.
....

Yes the worry is fixable which how I eventually got to sleep last night.

I had an Ativan in my hand and was like, "No. You can do this." And went to sleep.

But the sleep was choppy.

If I can convince myself that the therapy is OK, I'll sleep great. That I know.

I'll try again tonight. If the machine says that I'm .5 ahi that HAS to be good if you're correct about the accuracy. I just have to convince my brain of that and start noticing good sleep every night, which yes, is partially up to me to balance into.
Thanks

Resetting the therapy data will also allow for more apap trial days.
It used to be that the reset could be done up to 5 times...so essentially nearly 6 months of apap trial.
If you have done the reset several times and you go to the screen where the modes are offered and you don't get anymore apap trial modes as a choice then you have used up all the resets for those. Nothing can be done once they are totally used up.

Should you maybe try to get an apap from craigslist? Well...it's always nice to have a spare but sometimes not possible due to financial reasons. Is it critical...no. You can probably do very well with fixed pressures. I normally do better with auto adjusting pressures because my pressure needs change quite a bit in REM sleep but I am currently using a fixed pressure machine and doing quite well with it.
Yeah, I have to use a little bit more pressure all night to cover REM but it's doable and not causing any problems.
So people can use fixed even when auto adjusting is probably a little more ideal. It's not the end of the world to be stuck with a fixed pressure machine....might not be "ideal" but far from the end of the world.

Given your state of mind....take the ativan or cut it in half and take it or alternate nights taking it...just for a short period of time while your brain learns that the machine really can do a good job if you just let it.
There's a time and place for such meds and I have a feeling that you may in that time or place right now.

Pugsy wrote:you don't get anymore apap trial modes as a choice then you have used up all the resets for those. Nothing can be done once they are totally used up.

To come up with that, it took a really evil, Respironics marketing genius.

"You can have a few tastes of APAP, but then we are cutting you off."

Yes, due to excessive leaks, some here are blessed with the knowledge from the makers that their machines can make up for all but the worse leaks. I subcribe to the few that think leaks supress the machines ability to correctly measure your data, the manufacturer doesn't care as long as compliance is measured. We the patients are to dumb to need good data. Jim

ChicagoGranny wrote:

Pugsy wrote:you don't get anymore apap trial modes as a choice then you have used up all the resets for those. Nothing can be done once they are totally used up.

To come up with that, it took a really evil, Respironics marketing genius.

"You can have a few tastes of APAP, but then we are cutting you off."

Exactly.

I'm like, "what kind of A-Hole came up with that?"

Probably the same A-Hole that classified a regular CPAP and an APAP into the same category under my Medicaid so that switching from one to the other is a giant pain in the butt since they are trying to tell the Medical Supplier they are the same thing so I don't need a new machine.

Soooo I bought a new machine off Craigslist. A dreamstation autopap.

I tried it to nights ago but kept thinking I was getting Aerophagia from it so I switched to my CPAP and slept a few hours at 12.5 setting.

At about 5 hours of sleep I woke up and felt weird in the head so I switched machines and finished the night with the autopap. Woke up and did a little meditation and actually felt good most of the day.

Last night I tried the new machine the entire night on my 10 to 14.5 setting and woke up today feeling like I haven't slept and have been tired and crappy feeling all day.

What the heck!?

I thought these machines were supposed to run the same settings and pressures!

The funny thing is that my AHI on 12.5 is like .5

On the 10 to 14.5 auto my 90% is at 12 and my nightly AHI was .7

So what the heck is going on?

How in the heck can it be that close but I feel like a WORLD of difference?

Also how come with the same settings I was using with Auto-trial on my Autopap I felt WAY MORE horrible, especially considering that the readings are good?

Can it be that I'm a mouth breather and I think when I fall asleep breathing with my mouth that I feel better than when I fall asleep with nose breathing?

That's why I switched to a FF mask in the first place. Ugh.
THIS needs to start being way simpler than this. I'm going to go with the 12.5 again tonight and switch machines later if I need to.

I've read people mention it could be low blood pressure from when the mask is on our I could be hyperventilating in my sleep with the mask on...

I don't know. I'm sure if I kept reading I'd find 100 different things it *could* be.

I honestly just want to come on here and write, "Hey guys. Everything is awesome now."

Any thoughts?

I seem to get arousals from APAP mode and get lower AHI and feel better on a fixed pressure CPAP. You may just need time to adjust to sleeping through the pressure changes.