Mask leaks with Phillips Dreamwear Nasal Mask

tristan722 · Post by **tristan722** » Thu Jul 28, 2022 9:44 am

Hello All,
I am new to posting on this forum, but not new to learning so much about my cpap therapy from it. I have recently purchased the ResMed Airsense 10 and I am loving it. I am coming from a Phillips System One machine on 4-20 with a full face mask, to the Resmed on a set pressure, with a nasal mask thanks to LankyLefty27 on Youtube. He has been an amazing help at trying to help me find the best pressure settings for me, since we all know the industry standard is 4-20 and doctors don't care to change it. The biggest problem I am having now is mouth leaks. I am taping my mouth, I have my humidity set to 2 and I am also using breathe right strips. I am not experiencing any nasal discomfort or congestion, just the leak rate. It is all over the place. I do use Oscar, so I can attach pictures if anyone thinks those may be more helpful. I am just looking for any help. I have gotten this new machine, but am still tired throughout the day

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Thu Jul 28, 2022 10:06 am

If you are taping your mouth shut and the tape isn't coming loose and you are still seeing more leaks than you want then the only other culprit is mask movement.
I had this happen to me when I tried this particular mask.
It just slid around more and caused leaks.

In my case my problem was the size of the frame. It was just too big and even when I tried the small frame it still moved around more than I likes (but less than the medium frame).

Did your mask package come with the fleece side wraps? Sometimes using those wraps can snug things up a bit.

So if your tape isn't coming loose then your leaks aren't mouth breathing leaks and you need to probably do more adjusting on the headgear/frame or even get a different size frame.

tristan722 · Post by **tristan722** » Thu Jul 28, 2022 1:08 pm

Thanks so much for this information. I will give the small frame a try, as well as the strap covers for the side.

tristan722 · Post by **tristan722** » Thu Jul 28, 2022 5:57 pm

So after looking at my Oscar data from last night, since I am finally home from work, I only had one leak all night, but was still EXHAUSTED all day!!! Any other ideas?

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Thu Jul 28, 2022 6:02 pm

This is where you get our usual speech.

1....share the image/screen shot from the report from last night so we can see what you are seeing just in case something stands out screaming "fix me and you will feel better".

and a bunch of nosy questions
2. How many hours of sleep are you getting?
3. Are those hours fragmented with multiple wake ups? How many do you remember?
4. Do you take any medications of any kind (even OTC) and if you do what are they?
5. Any other physical or mental health conditions that could be affecting sleep quality or how you feel during the day?
6. Do you drink alcohol within 2 hours of bedtime?
7. What are your specific symptoms that you have that you wished to didn't?
8. Did that one leak wake you up last night? Do leaks normally wake you up?

tristan722 · Post by **tristan722** » Thu Jul 28, 2022 6:19 pm

This is my sleep data from last night. To answer the questions, I usually get 7-8 hours of sleep, I do toss and turn a lot in my sleep, I do not take any medication, I do have anxiety, I don't drink, and the symptoms I have are extreme fatigue, trouble concentrating, terrible memory and brain fog.

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Thu Jul 28, 2022 6:33 pm

Are you experiencing much, if any, nasal congestion.
Your report is unremarkable except the activity on the flow limitation graph...sometimes FL activity can be blamed on nasal congestion but if you aren't having nasal congestion the airway flow limitations could be a factor in poor sleep in general.

Do you remember what your AHI was from your diagnostic sleep study? Was it a home study or done in a sleep lab setting?

How did you come up with the fixed cpap mode at 10 cm pressure?

Why do you toss and turn a lot?
If you remember doing it a lot that means your sleep is fragmented a lot and that means your sleep quality is in the toilet. Most likely not getting the amounts needed in each sleep stage for the restorative powers of sleep to work their magic. Likely not getting enough deep sleep or REM.

tristan722 · Post by **tristan722** » Thu Jul 28, 2022 7:04 pm

I don't really suffer with nasal congestion. My AHI for my at home sleep test was 43. I got to 15 cm of water pressure from a consultation with a sleep tech. Im not really sure why I toss and turn a lot, i just always have

My biggest struggle has always been still being tired. IDK maybe I'm just broken

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Thu Jul 28, 2022 7:11 pm

So your sleep tech just looked at you and said you needed 15 cm cpap fixed????
You didn't have a sleep study done in a lab with the mask and machine to find out the pressure that you need???

How about adding in some EPR Exhale Pressure Relief and see if we can reduce the FLs a bit and see if that changes anything in how you feel.

Turn on EPR....set it to 3...set it to full time and see how it goes.
Do you know how to do that?
If you don't it's explained in the manual here
https://www.respshop.com/manuals/ResMed ... %20her.pdf

tristan722 · Post by **tristan722** » Mon Aug 22, 2022 2:49 pm

Sorry it took so long to reply. My computer has been out of commission. So what I did was an online Oscar review with this guy from YouTube. The Lanky Lefty. His name is Jason. He said he is a doctor, so I guess I trust his judgment lol. He told me to move up to 16, but he said don't use EPR. I don't know what to do. I am still exhausted from his suggestions.

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Mon Aug 22, 2022 4:22 pm

tristan722 wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 22, 2022 2:49 pm
Sorry it took so long to reply. My computer has been out of commission. So what I did was an online Oscar review with this guy from YouTube. The Lanky Lefty. His name is Jason. He said he is a doctor, so I guess I trust his judgment lol. He told me to move up to 16, but he said don't use EPR. I don't know what to do. I am still exhausted from his suggestions.

LankyLefty/Jason isn’t a doctor but he is a sleep tech and works for a doctor. He does not like EPR so he never advises it’s use.

Perhaps you misunderstood what he said about being a doctor. I know him. Nice guy but not a doctor and he has some opinions about things and what to do or not do that I. Totally disagree with.

Your choice as to what you want to do.

zonker · Post by **zonker** » Mon Aug 22, 2022 4:39 pm

tristan722 wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 22, 2022 2:49 pm
He told me to move up to 16, but he said don't use EPR. I don't know what to do. I am still exhausted from his suggestions.

umm, maybe not do as he suggested?

sorry, not being a smartass. just saying that you could try epr and see if it works for you.

good luck!

latskogkatt · Post by **latskogkatt** » Tue Aug 23, 2022 4:17 am

Pugsy wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 22, 2022 4:22 pm
He does not like EPR so he never advises it’s use.

Isn't that considered bad practice to tell patients not to use something because of a personal dislike for it?

I've watched several of his videos, and now I can't help wondering... does he always make it clear when something is his opinion vs what's considered standard practices?

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Tue Aug 23, 2022 8:37 am

latskogkatt wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 23, 2022 4:17 am

Pugsy wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 22, 2022 4:22 pm
He does not like EPR so he never advises it’s use.
Isn't that considered bad practice to tell patients not to use something because of a personal dislike for it?

I've watched several of his videos, and now I can't help wondering... does he always make it clear when something is his opinion vs what's considered standard practices?

No, I don’t think he makes it clear why he has the opinions that he has.
But there is no law that I am aware of that says anyone just HAS to offer both sides to an opinion.

Even among doctors there are always different opinions about pretty much everything.
Doctors don’t walk on water either. What they might say isn’t the gospel and they aren’t always right either.

tristan722 · Post by **tristan722** » Wed Aug 24, 2022 1:22 pm

Thanks Pugsy for clearing that up, I thought he was a doctor. That is my slip up. I was taking what he was saying as coming from a doctor. Now I'm a little frustrated that I spent $200 talking to him. Oh well, you live and you learn. I will definitely give EPR a try.

Mask leaks with Phillips Dreamwear Nasal Mask

Mask leaks with Phillips Dreamwear Nasal Mask

Re: Mask leaks with Phillips Dreamwear Nasal Mask

Re: Mask leaks with Phillips Dreamwear Nasal Mask

Re: Mask leaks with Phillips Dreamwear Nasal Mask

Re: Mask leaks with Phillips Dreamwear Nasal Mask

Re: Mask leaks with Phillips Dreamwear Nasal Mask

Re: Mask leaks with Phillips Dreamwear Nasal Mask

Re: Mask leaks with Phillips Dreamwear Nasal Mask

Re: Mask leaks with Phillips Dreamwear Nasal Mask

Re: Mask leaks with Phillips Dreamwear Nasal Mask

Re: Mask leaks with Phillips Dreamwear Nasal Mask

Re: Mask leaks with Phillips Dreamwear Nasal Mask

Re: Mask leaks with Phillips Dreamwear Nasal Mask

Re: Mask leaks with Phillips Dreamwear Nasal Mask

Re: Mask leaks with Phillips Dreamwear Nasal Mask