Self Diagnosing need help reading and using machine

You only have to post *one* chart per night, unless asked to post more.

palerider wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 14, 2020 12:29 pm

You only have to post *one* chart per night, unless asked to post more.

oh!

good catch.

So I can't post more than one night? Kinda thought I could sleep two nights then just post charts.

DDWills95 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 14, 2020 1:46 pm

So I can't post more than one night? Kinda thought I could sleep two nights then just post charts.

Go back and read what I said.

palerider wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 14, 2020 2:36 pm

DDWills95 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 14, 2020 1:46 pm

So I can't post more than one night? Kinda thought I could sleep two nights then just post charts.

Go back and read what I said.

Understand now. Didn't think it was a issue. Thank you

DDWills95 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 14, 2020 2:41 pm

palerider wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 14, 2020 2:36 pm

DDWills95 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 14, 2020 1:46 pm

So I can't post more than one night? Kinda thought I could sleep two nights then just post charts.

Go back and read what I said.

Understand now. Didn't think it was a issue. Thank you

Posting multiple screenshots for each night of almost the same thing just uses up more of your time, (and that of anybody trying to help you).

DDWills95 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 14, 2020 1:46 pm

So I can't post more than one night? Kinda thought I could sleep two nights then just post charts.

yes, yes you can. i've only been able to post three at one time, but i've seen others who have posted more.

but, take a look back at your post of wednesday's chart. you posted one complete night, then two partials. pr means you just need to post the full night's chart. if he (or anyone) needs to see more, they'll let you know.

oh! also, i skipped past your pie chart question. when doing a screenshot, the latest version of oscar automatically removes it.

anyway, post away when you get some new charts gathered up.

eta: my funky *ssed internet left me trying to post this while you and pr got it figured out.

oh, well.....

Wondering if I need to be worried about the AHI from last night. I slept 4-5 hours. Did not sleep too good. Husband bought me a chin strap. Not sure if it helped any.

You don't need to be worried about your AHI.

An AHI of about 2 is about the threshold many start to become are satisfied with. Anything under 5 and most doctors tell you your cured.

Remember, you still are new at this at using CPAP for many is not simply stick the mask on and use. We need to learn to adjust, fit out masks get used to sleeping.

While other graphs suggested mouth leaks. I'm not sure last nights did. At about 12:50 last night you turned your machine on your leak rate jumped up to about 20L/M. This would happen under two conditions.

• You instantly fell asleep and opened your mouth.
• You mask wasn't fitting

I think a poorly fitting mask is more likely.

Dog Slobber wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 15, 2020 7:29 am

I think a poorly fitting mask is more likely.

I am wondering if the machine isn't having a problem with the expected vent rate for this mask. Look at the baseline leak. It never goes to 0.0. It starts out high and then just goes higher and maybe it really isn't that much of a large leak but because it crosses the 24 L/min line it gets flagged.

I have seen this happen a few other times with the machines and how they report leaks. They just don't ever get down to 0.0 like we would at least expect at the beginning of the night when we know for sure the mask isn't leaking....or else there is a hole in the hose or something like that.

I would be trying a different mask if at all possible if it were me.

Do leaks really matter? I think I have a full face mask I could try.

DDWills95 wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 15, 2020 8:20 am

Do leaks really matter? I think I have a full face mask I could try.

Depends how much.

If it's not waking you up, bothering you or sufficiently high to create unreliable detection and determination of Apnea type.

Ensure hose, mask, tank, are all seated correctly and hole free. Try a xylimelt for the dry mouth. Ask partner to keep an eye out for leaks, noises, mouth breathing when they're awake and your asleep. And just keep at it.

Leaks matter if they wake you up often or they are so deep into large leak territory they might miss flagging apnea events.
From my own personal experience...the machine will still flag stuff up to around 35 L/min excess leak so that's the main reason we worry about large leaks. Is the leak bad enough that the machine doesn't know to flag something. So it's more of a we want to make sure that the nice low AHI is real and not low because the leaks were so bad the machine didn't know about them.
So if the worse it goes to was say 30 L/min...the AHI is probably accurate.

Your baseline leak numbers are off....which means that probably your real excess leak flagged is probably off as well. So I am not so sure that your large leak is really a large leak. When you first put the mask on and turn the machine on and are awake and know full well there is no leak the baseline should be at or very close to 0.0. Yours isn't. It starts out high and goes up from there and that's not normal.
So either the mask is leaking a lot right from the start...or there is a hole in the hose....or something in the circuit is not right....your machine doesn't like this mask's expected vent rate and it's flagging the vent rate as excess leak.

Actually if you are sleeping soundly and feeling good....I wouldn't worry about the leaks. It's not a pretty leak line but if it is simply the machine having a problem with your mask's expected vent rate...don't worry about it. It just has a different baseline and makes it harder to evaluate. I know you are new to cpap therapy and doing this all on your own but the baseline is just totally off. Now there is no way to know for sure why it is off but you might do some awake experiments and see if you can ever get a baseline leak more close to 0.0.

Look at this report below. See the leak line base is 0.0 and then there are a few other leaks and one big leak.
Look at the baseline on your leak report....it starts out quite high and only goes up. This makes me wonder if your machine is playing nice with your mask. I have seen this sort of thing before myself. It's a mask venting thing and we just have to mentally alter our thinking about the baseline. But then I have years of experience and I know if the water chamber is inserted properly and not causing a leak and I know to listen or check for holes in the hose and stuff like that to rule out a circuit seal issue.

So again...if sleeping good and feeling good then I would shrug my shoulders and mentally adjust my baseline and realize that my machine doesn't like my mask's vent rate and move on. .....all that assuming I have ruled out a hole in the hose or something like that as a potential cause for the excess leak.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 15, 2020 8:03 am

Dog Slobber wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 15, 2020 7:29 am

I think a poorly fitting mask is more likely.

I am wondering if the machine isn't having a problem with the expected vent rate for this mask. Look at the baseline leak. It never goes to 0.0. It starts out high and then just goes higher and maybe it really isn't that much of a large leak but because it crosses the 24 L/min line it gets flagged.

I have seen this happen a few other times with the machines and how they report leaks. They just don't ever get down to 0.0 like we would at least expect at the beginning of the night when we know for sure the mask isn't leaking....or else there is a hole in the hose or something like that.

I would be trying a different mask if at all possible if it were me.

Yes.

My P10, before I switched to the P30i did that. It never reported a leak less than about 6 L/M. I knew there was no leak as I was wide a wake when it started and no leaking occurred.

I didn't worry about it because I was well under 24L/M.

When I gave the Respironics DreamWear Nasal mask (the under the nose cushion) a try I consistently saw a 5 L/min baseline leak and I knew with certainty that the mask wasn't leaking and there was no hole in the hose, etc.
I think sometimes the ResMed machines just don't figure the excess leak optimally with some masks and there isn't a real excess leak but the machine thinks there is.

I know you are DIYing things. Someone just sent me a box of donated masks....give me a bit of time and let me see if something in there might be worth your trying it. I know these masks are expensive and the person who sent the stuff to me wanted to pass them along to someone just like you. The nasal mask you are trying to use....it's old school and there are much better masks out there.
I just don't know if I have one of the good ones or not but I will look and let you know.