leakage vs. comfort

Last night was night 5 of using my CPAP.

I initially began with XS pillows (recommended by my DME) and had leakage reported the next morning. Based on advice I read here, I increased to S pillows. My leakage completely went away upon doing this.

Then I went and got a darn pimple right on the edge of my nostril. The S pillows were making me very uncomfortable and kept waking me up. Last night, I switched back to XS and got 8.4 leakage (the highest I've seen on my machine in the morning.) AHI was 0.8 (had been 0.2 and 0.3 with the S pillows.)

SO - do you think it is better for me to suck it up and go with the S to keep the leakage and AHI down or is it okay to go with the XS and have the leakage/slightly higher AHI/better sleep until my nose is on the mend?

ladyhen wrote: SO - do you think it is better for me to suck it up and go with the S to keep the leakage and AHI down or is it okay to go with the XS and have the leakage/slightly higher AHI/better sleep until my nose is on the mend?

The ultimate goal is better sleep. Sore nose can sure mess with sleep.
The slightly higher leak rate and very minor change in AHI (it will vary anyway) are not huge. The machine can compensate for quite a bit of leak.
Use what gives you the best night of sleep and let your nose heal before going back to the other size. The sore nose will heal quicker that way and you will be more comfortable. Your OSA will be treated adequately with either.

Your nose will get used to the mask but it may take a while, everyone gets a sore spot or two to start with.
A lot of people find lanolin cream (Nipple cream or similar) helps.
Alternate between different masks, but ultimately aim for the mask with the lowest leak.

i used the XS pillows last night and still had the leakage, of course. My AHI was up a bit today (double of what it was the night before) and I'm feeling like I'm dragging. I've been putting Carmex (lip stuff) on my nose and it is almost healed, so I'm going back to the smalls tonight.

Thank you!