This past week I decided to sleep without the chinstrap figuring I had learned to not mouth breathe. It is easier to mask up and more comfortable. Been a good news – bad news change. The good news is that I am getting to sleep sooner and having fewer major wake-ups 1-3 vs 3-4 most nights. And though it looks like leak rates increased a little – they are still pretty reasonable.
The bad news is that on 3 of 5 nights since I stopped using the chinstrap I’ve been getting big clusters of centrals/clear airways at least once a night. On good nights without the chinstrap I’ve been feeling better during the day, on the nights with clusters not quite so good (residual headaches and tiredness). Other settings (pressure) haven't changed.
Have other folks experienced an increase in CA’s or other events when transitioning off of a chin-strap. Could something else be going on?
Current plan is to stay off the chinstrap 3-4 more days to see if this subsides and if not go back to the chinstrap to see if it corrects this.
Some examples from the last few days with a closer look at one of the clusters
