Am I right about my data?

I figured out how to get to the data on my machine.
Here's what I found...
Week
Leak .46 L/s
AHI 4.6
AI .3
HI 4.1

Day
Leak .74 L/s
AHI 5.5
AI .2
HI 5.3

My cpap setting is 6-14.

I think my leaks are too high and the rest of the data is meaningless. Sometimes I get a lot of whistling from the pillow (leak?). And I probably wake up with a dry mouth 2 or 3 times a night.

I don't have a chin strap. Is that where you'd start?

It could be some mouth leaking. Do you sleep on your back?
I do mostly, but sometimes I wake up and I've turned to my side. There's usually more leaking then.
I'm fortunate that I don't mouth breathe, and I've averaged out at a leak rate of .12 per week.
I have the EPR set at 1, and do not have the Smartstart on. But I've held my AHI at around 2.
Keep trying. You'll get there. Good luck
Jay

Sounds like it could be mouth leaking. Here's a nice catalogue of posts on taping, chinstraps, etc, from RG.... Links to: Mouth leaks - Air Leaks - Tape - DIY Guard

Some people find that a chinstrap alone is not enough to stop the mouth leaking, some people have success with the taping alone, and some use both. A FFM is also an option.

Yeah, you're probably right. About the leak rate - do you take your mask off before turning the machine off by any chance? It seems to me that a few times of that in the course of the night could give an artificially inflated leak rate. I've read that some people leave it running when they go to the bathroom. If I'm wrong about that affecting the numbers, I hope someone will correct me.

If you're hearing whistling, that's probably a leak, unless you're hearing the vent. Is this pretty much all the time or just occasionally? If it's from your pillows and often, your pillows may need repositioned or a different size pillows.

Until you can do otherwise, rig yourself a homemade chin strap from whatever you have available. The biggest problem I had with my homemade ones was that they would slide either up or down on my head and pop loose. I solved that by: Take two women's cotton, slightly stretchy headbands and place them one inside the other (stacked). Then I put a strong stitch opposite each other to hold them together and serve as a swivel point on each side. Then put the stacked headbands under your chin with the stitches at either side by the temples. Stretch the headband(s) up over your forehead and position on top of head. It should be snug enough to hold your chin firmly in place. Then separate the two top sections and slide one layer down the back of the head, and it should remain snugly in place. If it is too loose, either stitch a tuck somewhere or place velcro across the top for adjusting. I still sometimes use the denture strips to help keep the lips together.

Check your leak rate after assuring you're not mouth breathing and see if it helps.

Kathy

Thanks for the help.

Before cpap, I slept on my stomach or my side. Since cpap, I mostly sleep on my back as I can't get my mask to not leak on my stomach. And am more likely to have some leaking when I sleep on my side.

The chin strap directions are good. I think I can get that rigged up.

I need to talk with my DME and see what else they can do for me.

You are doing fine by the numbers.

Leak is reported by the machine in Liters per Second, yours is .46 L/s for L/m or Liters per Minute to compare your rate to the charts
that come with your mask, you have to multiply that machine data by 60 seconds.

So yours is:

.46 L/s X 60=27.6 Liters per Minute, at 14 cm pressure using any mask that is great.

You don't have a leak problem and your other numbers look great so I would do NOTHING but use it.

Note: you show you are using a S8 Elite II with a pressure of 6 to 14, I assume that is 14 cm pressure with a Ramp pressure of 6 cm?

I still wouldn't change anything.

My understanding is to know if the Resmed leak number is acceptable, you have to know what mask is put in the menu.

The machine reports the excess over that mask's leak rate so in this case there is an excess leak of 27 - 28 L/min being reported. That is probably NOT good.

Snoredog wrote:
Note: you show you are using a S8 Elite II with a pressure of 6 to 14, I assume that is 14 cm pressure with a Ramp pressure of 6 cm?

Yes, it starts at 6 and ramps to 14.

I think Jules is right. It's been my understanding that with a ResMed machine, a leak rate that is over 0.4 l/s is very bad leak.

I fashioned a chin strap per Kathy's instructions. It's great being a girl - I had stretchy headbands laying around.

Last night my leak was 0.0 L/s

I slept great.

THANKS!

well done!