CPAP Screen Info

I found out how to check my leak and AHI numbers on my Respicare M Series Pro and I did....now I have no idea what this info means and I was wondering if someone out there could tell me.

Leak: 43.1 L/min for both the 7 and 30 day average

AHI: 7 day average was 2.1
30 day average was 2.4

Are these numbers good....what do they mean...help! I'm still a newbie when it comes to my CPAP. Thanks!

Aaron

Any AHI under 5 is considered normal. Many of us like our AHI lower(as low as we can get it). As for the leak, each mask has an exhaust vent and will have a little chart with it that shows the exhaust leak rate. The higher the pressure the higher the exhaust rate. For example; your mask at a pressure of 8 will have a leak rate of 23.4, at a pressure of 10 the leak will be 25.5. Any leak over the exhaust rate is what you need to be concerned about. You want your leak rate and the exhaust rate to be as close as possible, leaks will ruin your treatment. The machine will compensate for small leaks but not for big ones.So check to see your exhaust rate and work to get the leaks fixed.

Brenda

How do I know what my mask will automatically leak at? My pressure is 15 and I am using the Respironics Comfort Gel

A comfort gel at 15 is 31.4 leak rate.
If you scroll to the top and click on the yellow light bulb, then click on expand all, towards the bottom under the mask heading is a mask leak rate chart
while there, click aroud and read some, the people that have been here a long time have answered a lot of my questions there.

Check out this chart... http://www.internetage.com/cpapinfo/leak-rates-1.html

A Resprionics Comfort Gel (nasal) mask @ 15cm has an exhaust rate of 31.4, so if you're reading 43.1 on your LCD, your actual leak rate is almost 12 l/min. I would say that you'd want to do something about that. I'm new to this, so I'll let someone else offer advice on how to solve it. I suppose the first thing that'll be asked is whether or not you're mouth-breathing. Do you wake up with a dry mouth? Any air that comes out your mouth isn't going down your throat.

Hope that helps.

Mike