The Daily Blowdown

Hey Talon...I don't remember what your other mask was, but if it was a nasal mask, did you remember to change the mask type on the S9 to full face? Hybrids need the "full face" option for it to properly account for vent/leak rates.

I loved my Hybrid and still use it when I'm congested and can't breathe through my nose.

Weezy

Definitely, I changed it to Full Face before starting the fitting. I'm guessing that's why the much higher leak rate was not marked as OK this AM.

3/27/2011

AHI 3.6

Woke up fuzzy again, but concentration during the day is slowly getting better. I'm thinking that the apnea wasn't the only thing keeping me from being a morning person.
Meanwhile, the hybrid mask is amazingly comfortable. Not only does it feel better on my face, but I notice the CPAP pressure a great deal less. This morning I could swear I was going to get up and see Mr. Unhappy Face under "Mask Fit," but instead I saw Mr. Smiley. I might try the nasal mask again in future, but it will be a non-gel variety. There's still lingering pressure dermatitis under my nose from the gel pad =(

Last week was pretty light for me, and I was therefore able to have some flexibility on wake-up times. This week will be pretty rigid, so we shall see how that goes. I believe I am used to the mask enough that I won't have to get up and fiddle with it several times a night (last 2 nights I had 2 or less wake-up episodes).

3/28/2011

AHI 3.7
Night 7

Pressure irritation under my nose from the gel mask is still there, but looks to be very slowly getting better. Meanwhile the hybrid continues to work out well. Not a bad night at all, I think I woke up twice, but I can't be sure on one of those. Also got to see my first week in ResScan yesterday. Very revealing, as I can clearly see where things are going right, and where clusters of OSA events are happening. Mine are clustered at the beginning and end of the night - it seems.

Things I learned:
Washing the hose/mask/etc does take quite a bit of time. I think I spent a total of about 1.5 hours all told. This will get better as I get used to it, of course
The CPAP works well for getting the last of the water out of the hose after you let it air dry for an hour or so
I prefer pillow-type masks over gel-type masks

Mike
What are you doing that takes an hour and a half every morning? You only need to wash the pillows and mask cushion daily, takes less than a minute. The hose needs to be washed once a month or some never, the water chamber once a week if you are using distilled water, the headgear once a week. I do my headgear and comfy straps and water chamber every Sunday morning, the hose maybe once a month or two. The machine I wipe down with an unscented baby wipe every few days or so. Do search on cleaning and you will get a thousand different answers, some never clean anything ......but 1.5 hours ridiculous.
Cheers
Nan

Hi Nan:

That was for cleaning everything. Hose, mask (all parts), humidifier tank, etc. Just washing the mask takes just a few minutes.

3/29/2011

AHI 6.9

URGH! Well, mother nature has sent billions of little pollen minions to come kick my ass. Allergies have returned!
Lousy night's sleep, and a doubling of my AHI of the past week. Ah well, started the antihistamines again, so with luck it'll be a short issue.

What I learned:
My insurance company only works directly with one DME in my area. I can, however, go "out of network" and get at least a good chunk back if I buy on my own, so I'm counting my blessings. Also, as it appears that the DME in question (Apria) gave me a rather good CPAP right out of the gate, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Both of those stink. I'm a bit surprised that an insurance company has only a single DME in your area - that really stinks!

Well, they have one "in-netowrk" DME. I'm free to use any other as well, but they won't reimburse nearly as much if I do.

Yeah, it sucks to not have options, but you've got a good machine so that's the biggest hurdle out of the way. If you've found a mask that works, that's the next hardest part. You can get regular mask and hose replacements from the DME according to your insurer's replacement schedule. Anything else you can shop around for and get the best price possible for out of pocket expenses. I bought an additional mask from cpap.com and just bought another off of cpapauction.com. Bought the software online too and a couple of other "comfort" features (hose cover, aromatherapy, etc.) as well. The big expense is the machine and if you're set on that, the rest is manageable.

Indeed, I'm going to pick up accessories from CPAP.com (already got a couple) and just eat the higher copay on those. Apria doesn't seem to do the Hybrid masks, so that'll be one thing I just get at the lower reimbursement.

3/30
AHI 4.0

Better night last night, still a little stuffy - and will remain so until June thanks to all this "nature" stuff. I say we get rid of all of it.

What I learned:
Holding the dial/button and the settings button on an S9 for 3 seconds unlocks all the settings for you.
I prefer EPR off, the switching pressure levels were just a bit distracting to me.

.

Bodhi wrote:Your AHI drop of 3 points is something to note. Do you attribute that to turning off EPR? Was everything else about the same, such as leak rate?

It was the HEPA filters I turned on. My allergies are starting for the season, which is what caused the spike in AHI.

3/31

AHI 2.7
Leak 61 !?!?!

Not a great night, kept waking up but falling back to sleep quickly (within 10 min or so). This isn't an abnormal pattern for me, as my insomnia has acted like this before. The low AHI leads me to think that it was just the insomnia and not the OSA causing the wakeups last night.

Now, on to the leak rate. I have no idea why it spiked, but my AHI dropped to its lowest point yet. Should I be worried about the leak rate when my AHI continues to drop? Are leaks a bigger problem than just making therapy less effective?