Respironics ComfortGel Nasal Mask and high numbers????

reducha · Post by **reducha** » Fri May 16, 2008 11:51 pm

In my never ending task for a good nights sleep, i have bought another mask. This one is the respironics comfort gel nasal mask with headgear. After two nights useage, my readings on my cpap machine( resmed s8 vantage) arre off the charts. Previously,i was using the res.mend ultra mirage 2 full face, and my numbers generally ffloated around,leak: .22,ahi: 4 ai: .8 and hi: 4..the last two nights with the comfort gel has produced similar results of leak: 1.22 ahi:33 ai: 1 and hi: 33
Another thing, i was running my UM2 at press.16.4 but on the comfort gel,,it felt like there was no pressure in the mask at all,,even though i could feel the exhalation port expelling air.As anyone using a FF mask knows,,you can feel the pressure around your face,,,yet,,i didn't feel that pressure feeling inside this nasal mask. I thought maybe i should crank the pressure up some,,so i increased the pressure to 17.4 and it still didn't feel much different in the "feeling" of increased pressure inside the mask.
I did as i always do, to tape my mouth,and that stayed on all night,,and i altered the cpap machines mask settings to accomadate a nasal mask setting.

Any ideas on this and these freakish high numbers???? thanks everyone!

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Sat May 17, 2008 12:03 am

my guess:

you need to select the mask type from the Resmed menu to "Standard" when using a non Resmed interface.

you are possibly mouth breathing during sleep which is the cause of high leak seen.

With a AI=4, you may need to increase your pressure to get that lower.

reducha · Post by **reducha** » Sat May 17, 2008 3:06 am

Actually, the first night was "standard" on the mask menu, because of the ridiculously high numbers, i switched it to the setting for nasal masks.
And as it says in the post"I did as i always do, to tape my mouth,and that stayed on all night,

Bearded_One · Post by **Bearded_One** » Sat May 17, 2008 7:04 am

There is no need to change the pressure when going from FF to nasal mask. I would crank the pressure back to what you had been using and see what your AHI is. You could be inducing centrals.

From what I have seen, the Resmed leak rate number seem to be useless unless you are using a Resmed mask. I would ignore the leak rate for now.

bap40 · Post by **bap40** » Sat May 17, 2008 8:11 am

The comfort gel has the ability to be boiled and heated to create a customized fit. You might want to try that. Also with mine after a month or so of use, it squishes out of original shape and then I boil mine to have it return to original shape and works again. Hope this helps.

reducha · Post by **reducha** » Sat May 17, 2008 9:36 am

Yeaaa,, but those ahi and hi readings of thirty three are freakishly high!!!

Bearded_One · Post by **Bearded_One** » Sat May 17, 2008 12:38 pm

What is the measured leak rate? The ComfortGel has a leak rate of about 35 LPM at 17 cmh2o.

jrfoster · Post by **jrfoster** » Sat May 17, 2008 5:00 pm

For some reason when I use the comfort gel my AHI shoots up also.

When I go back to the profile lite mask they drop considerably. I have tried this over and over again and the comfort gel (even though more comfortable to me) gives me higher readings. Go figure!

Jeff

Bearded_One · Post by **Bearded_One** » Sat May 17, 2008 8:27 pm

I use a ComfortGel and the last time I checked my numbers, which was about two weeks ago, my AHI was 2.2 averaged over three nights.

reducha · Post by **reducha** » Sat May 17, 2008 8:44 pm

I"m just assuming that i must increase the pressure to bring my ahi and hi numbers down.Doesn't that make sense?

Bearded_One · Post by **Bearded_One** » Sat May 17, 2008 9:06 pm

Higher pressure can induce centrals, the answer to high AHI is not always to increase pressure. You should not change pressure when you change masks.

Your AHI was low at a given pressure with your old mask. You increased your pressure and changed masks; it appears that one of those changes caused your AHI to increase. There iis no way to know which change caused your problem.

You should not change more than one variable at a time. Either go back to the old mask or go back to the old pressure and then check the effects of the change.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun May 18, 2008 11:35 am

Those two days i did the trial with the new mask and increased pressure,was only a weekend trial,seeing as it didn't work out the way i was hoping it would. I don't like messing with my health,on working days, so i retained the higher pressure and went back to my UM2 FULL FACE for the workng week. Everything went back to normal. The main reason i'm trying new masks, is because my resmed um2 is just too bulky,,as i toss and turn constantly. With the comfort gel,it was smaller,less obtrusive. I was able to turn on my side easily and it never made the mask push to one side. I'll have to wait for another weekend to try again.

reducha · Post by **reducha** » Sun May 18, 2008 11:38 am

Ooops! i forgot to sign in before posting my last reply,,,me bad!! So that is my reply in the one above. thanks! Tim

ou812 · Post by **ou812** » Mon May 19, 2008 9:57 am

I just ordered a jel mask ...I have a very high psi of 25 i hope it will stayed sealed..... most of the mask i have tried won't

Mask

Additional Comments: SPO7500 recording pulse oximeter, resmed ultra-mirage full face mask