Leaks at higher pressure

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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Bons
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Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2010 9:27 am

Leaks at higher pressure

Post by Bons » Mon Oct 04, 2010 4:48 am

I'm still on home titration with no parameters on the BiPAP. My 90% inhalation pressure is 12.2 after 12 days. About six hours into sleep, seems to be when I'm in REM, the pressure goes to around 14 and my mask leaks like crazy around my mouth. Not enough to trigger the large leak alarm, but enough that it rattles and makes noise and I figure there's no point going back to sleep with it leaking like that, and restarting the machine to make it go back to 4 isn't therapeutic. Making sure my mouth is closed doesn't help; trying to move it down below my chin better just cuts my nose. Trying to tighten the lower straps doesn't seem to do much either. I'm thinking it's got something to do with the large difference in pressure, since it starts out at 4cm when I go to bed. At this point, since my 90% is 12.2, would it make sense to set the machine so that the minimum pressure was 9 or somewhere around there? I don't have the software yet because I don't know if I'll be staying on the BiPap or moving to ASV in two weeks.

cflame1
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Joined: Sat Mar 11, 2006 6:55 am
Location: expat Canadian in Kentucky

Re: Leaks at higher pressure

Post by cflame1 » Mon Oct 04, 2010 5:16 am

try setting it to 14/14 (BPAP) while you're awake... get the mask to fit properly, tighten what needs to be tightened, etc.

then reset the machine to whatever the settings were prior.

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bdp522
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Joined: Tue Jun 27, 2006 5:13 pm

Re: Leaks at higher pressure

Post by bdp522 » Mon Oct 04, 2010 5:24 am

As cflame1 said, adjust the mask while awake at the higher pressure. You also need to try it laying down in your normal sleep position.

Brenda

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