Turkey Calls: 4.5 months and back to dragging @$$

Thanks, Popi. I guess I should have put it differently in that I wonder how much of what I say is to anyone's benefit. But you proved me wrong on that, too. And that means something to me. Really.

I also learned that I can take off the cushion on my Activa LT and only wash IT in the evenings when I get home from work and then it's dry by bedtime. Weekly, the whole mask gets a cleaning (unless I'm not feeling well, then it's daily).

I hate getting the headgear wet.

BTW, I think I'll stop posting my stats.

By all means, keep posting your stats. There are new users out there who are struggling to stay compliant, and seeing what's possible will hopefully motivate them enough to stick with their regiment.

Now, if your heavy, keep us up to date on any weight loss you might experience. I'm 6' and 235lbs...I need some motivation in that area as well.

5'8" - 240#. And it's lunchtime.

My problem is the Pepsi. I got an Iced Tea maker at home I'm using but need to use more. 3qt pitcher. Plenty of green tea. Strong. No sweetener or lemon.

I'm such a dork. The "loss of pressure" is because I'd put the mask on, use the "mask fit" test on the machine and fall asleep before it was done. The pressure increases to beyond my script pressure in the mask fit test...

So, while it WAS losing pressure, it was not losing it beyond my script.

Again, I'm such a dork.

9.2 hours last night. 0.9 AHI and 2.4l/m leak.

The leak and AHI are getting worse. Yes, still way within tolerable limits. Still 100% compliant. A full tank of water lately (it's been more humid here recently) has been lasting me 4-5 nights.

Received a PM from someone commenting that I was quiet lately. Just enjoying the weekend with my wife and kids and research paper (sadly more of the research paper than time with my wife and kids). Yes, it was nice to get the "check-in" PM, too. Thank you.

Roman Hokie wrote:9.2 hours last night. 0.9 AHI and 2.4l/m leak.

The leak and AHI are getting worse. Yes, still way within tolerable limits. Still 100% compliant. A full tank of water lately (it's been more humid here recently) has been lasting me 4-5 nights.

Received a PM from someone commenting that I was quiet lately. Just enjoying the weekend with my wife and kids and research paper (sadly more of the research paper than time with my wife and kids). Yes, it was nice to get the "check-in" PM, too. Thank you.

If you ever need someone to proofread, I am around. As long as the subject matter doesn't bore me.

Thanks, Jaylee. My problem isn't papers. This is my 5th class and I've not gotten less than a 98 on any of them. I love grading rubrics...

I'll end up with an A as long as I get at least a 70 on my paper. I was nervous about the class cuz I had 2 80's, an 85, a 95 and 2 90's on quizzes. All of those brought my average down. The 2 hundreds helped.

Also, a friend of mine has been a professional counselor and life coach for several years. He's been my proofer. My paper's topic is "Premarital Counseling Trends, Developments, and Contemporary Issues." 11 pages (double spaced) of content.

That would bore a lot of people, but it excites me to no end.

I'm on Nasonex and Zyrtec as well. I usually take it about 5-6pm. Later tonight at 9:30. One nostril is closed.

Darn. Can someone delete the Spam ad?

Roman Hokie wrote:Darn. Can someone delete the Spam ad?

Done.

Roman, like you, I have congestion issues and have to use the nasal sprays to breathe at times. I have considered (and rejected) the turbinate reduction, but am looking at it again. I agree with the comment that it is usually the people who have had a bad experience who post on the 'net... you don't hear so many of the more positive stories. There ARE some people on the board who have had positive experience with that surgery, but I am not sure if their surgeries were more recent or not.

You mentioned that your AHI and leaks were edging upwards. Do keep in mind that we all have 'off' nights, caused by any number of things that affect our sleep. How you feel is more important than a slight increase in numbers. If the trend continues, of course it bears looking into; but the numbers you've been posting over the last month have been excellent. What is your take on how you feel after a month of therapy? Some people experience a near-miraculous improvement after a night or two on the hose, for others (I'm one) it takes weeks or even months. Considering that I was untreated for probably 20 years of increasing OSA, I had huge sleep debt to pay off.

And when you can get your next mask, do consider a nasal pillow interface. Leaks will be a problem with face fur, and I find the nasal pillows get around that problem nicely. (My sleep doc's final comment was, "Oh, and lose the beard. You can't get effective therapy with it." Sorry, ain't gonna happen. And I am getting good therapy, measured both by how I feel and my numbers.)

Good luck!

The only way I'll lose the beard, Bookbear, is if I successfully get rid of my multiple chin. It's camouflage.

Thanks for removing the spam ad.

Over 93 here today in central NY.

I just find it odd (AHI 0.3 last night, though) that the leak rate is a consistant 2.4 l/m for the past several nights. Could that be as low as it goes on the S9? (other than 0)

Roman Hokie wrote:The only way I'll lose the beard, Bookbear, is if I successfully get rid of my multiple chin. It's camouflage.

Goatee here. I keep remembering an episode of "All In The Family" when Meathead shaves his mustache and the entire rest of the show is about how much fatter his face looked...and it really did. My clean-shaven face is about 40lbs away.

Full beard. Tho, it's only the "stache" that seems to get in the way of the seal. Another night of about 0.5AHI and 2.4l/m leak. Got to be the smallest that the machine will measure... The only value lower that I've seen is 0.0.

Am I feeling any more well-rested? Not sure yet. I think so.

On a different note, I referenced OSA in a class discussion on professional ethics of a counselor. I discussed it with regard to Self-Care being the counselor's responsibility to maintain an engaged and positive session with the client. Can't have a client thinking that I'm bored the whole time (yawning), right?

That's just weird. My LCD readout says 2.4l/m but ResScan says 0.0 leak.

6 hours and 58 minutes. 0.0 AHI and 0.0 leak. Statistically perfect. Let's see how I feel the rest of the day.

Roman, this may be completely wrong (and keep in mind I have an S8, not a newer 9), but here goes: Every mask has a built-in leak to allow it to flush the CO2 you exhale from the mask. This is necessary to avoid rebreathing the CO2. This is typically called the 'vent flow rate' and is listed somewhere in the material the mask manufacturer provides. The ResMed machines have a setting in the clinicians menu for mask type, listing various ResMed masks. Correct setting of that parameter allows the machine to compensate accurately for the specific vent flow rate in calculating reported leaks. Is it possible that that setting is either not made, or incorrectly made? Alternately, is is possible that the machine is reporting the (expected) leak rate of your mask, and the graphs are showing 'no leaks', since the leak measured matches the expected leak rate for your mask (i.e. that you have no leak beyond the expected vent flow rate for your mask)?

Just a thought.

Thanks, Bookbear. Yeah, the S9 is set to "Nasal" for "Mask Type" and (if I understand what others have said) it automatically takes into account (nets out) the mask flow rate when calculating the leak rate. No idea why the LCD was saying 2.4, but now it says 0. Which is what is was supposed to say.

In other news, I'm finding more energy (overall) and tolerance for some of the ignorant folks I work with. When I was sleep-deprived, their ineptitude at statistics would have put me in a tailspin. Now, I'm just laughing behind their backs.

Outliers, means, and standard deviations. How hard can that be?