50% leak rate

[sheepless]

anytime you sleep with mouth open,
assuming you're not using a full face mask, you will register a leak, but not necessarily a large one. we can have small or large leaks and leaks short or long in duration from mask and mouth.

[happydreams]

i just want to make sure, any time i sleep with mouth open oscar will report it as large leak?
attached are enlarged images

The machine will report a large leak.  OSCAR will show it.  

Think about it, how can your lungs get pressurized from your nose if your mouth is wide open?  The air will simply escape from your mouth.  Please note, I don't actually know yet if you open your mouth during the evening.  That's why I asked for a 3 minute span of your breathing.

Here's two possible ways to check for yourself about large leaks if you need more convincing.

1. Not sure if your machine can do this but you could try a mask fit check with and without your mouth open.  I have a full face mask, but if I introduce a large leak by sticking a finger under the seal my machine detects it right away.   
   
2. If you don't have a mask fit check on your machine, you could put your hand in front of your mouth (when your mask is on) when the machine is on and check for a breeze out of your mouth when you open your mouth?  
   

Don't be surprised if your mouth is open during the evening.  It happens with a lot of people, including me.  There are ways to minimize the issue.

[cpapnovice]

images

[happydreams]

images

According to staceyburke: "As I said in another post look at the normal leak chart - when you see a flat top breathing patterns that is either mouth breathing or air coming out of the mouth. If it is spiked top it is a mask leak."  

You can clearly see a very noticeable flattened top to your inspiration.  This is what stacey meant.  Most likely your mouth is open!  OSCAR is showing it as a large leak.  If you zoom into all the other LL (large leak) regions, it's very likely you will see the same flattened inspiration.

One way to fix this, without changing your mask, is to tape your mouth.  Don't worry, you will be able to open your mouth if you need to.  Someone soon will be able to tell you the right kind of tape.  I dont happen to know the name of it, but others do.  You can try this, at least for one night, to see if your leaks are mostly eliminated.  Perhaps you will even sleep a lot longer.  Longer term you need to decide if you want to continue taping, or learn the tongue trick, or get a full face mask.  Any of these solutions can work, you just need to find out which one will work best for you.

We all want to help out.  It's a journey for most of us.  Speaking only for myself, I'm not there yet, but I want to help others to be able to take their first steps.

[cpapnovice]

thank you.  Hopefully someone with post tape to get. I had F30i (full face mask) but i had leaks as well. What prevents someone from having mouth open with full face mask?

[Sleepster]

i just want to make sure, any time i sleep with mouth open oscar will report it as large leak?

When you wear a nasal mask, the back of your tongue must make a seal against the roof of your mouth. Otherwise the pressurized air will come hissing out of your mouth. When that happens your airway can collapse and it's as if you are not receiving any CPAP therapy at all. Any place where CPAP supplies are sold you can purchase a chin strap (chin restraint). This may solve the problem because it keeps your jaw from dropping too far. A soft cervical collar will do the same. Taping your mouth closed is not recommended because you could suffocate if you were to vomit.

The sure-fire way to solve the problem is to change to a full face mask. Full face masks, by the way, have anti-asphyxia valves, something that tape doesn't have! If you've been using a nasal mask for 6 months you should be adapted enough to be able to transition to a full face mask. That's what I had to do and it worked for me. I found that the mouth-leaking not only compromised the CPAP therapy, it probably also kept waking me up. All I know for sure is that when I switched to a full face mask I started feeling much better. And my leak rate graph and statistics with a nasal mask were nowhere near as bad as yours.

[staceyburke]

If you use a full face mask you can’t have a mouth leak it would have to be a mask leak which can still be a large leak.

A leak means you are losing pressure and if you have your mouth open with a full face mask you would still have the same pressure.

[DaveL]

Welcome to the forum!
I'm impressed with the machine you have chosen. I have the same machine. Mine is new. I have used the settings that people here suggested. When I bought the machine, I wanted an instant response. However, it took a little while for the benefits to show, and for me to start feeling better when I wake up.

I use a nasal mask and a chinstrap. The chinstrap is to keep my jaw closed. I'm using a Knightsbridge dual strap now. It works and doesn't mess up my hair. It's the best one I've used.

My quest is to improve sleep quality, and well-being. After all, if I have to use all this stuff, I want stuff that works for me.

I've done this a long time. 30 years or thereabout. I am grateful for the help here. I'm feeling much better when I'm awake.

I hope this helps...Participants here will help you a lot. Sleep well!

[happydreams]

Good to see some progress here.

Please note, I wasn't recommending duct tape! There are some tapes which have lighter adhesives which will help prevent casual leaks. These tapes will not prevent you from opening your mouth and are relatively safe.

I had issues with nasal masks, so I ended up using a full face mask. When I was going through this, the Knightsbridge chin strap wasn't available. Ordinary chin straps did not work for me. I may try the Knightsbridge in the future. As others have already noted, if you open your mouth with a full face mask, it doesn't matter, since both your mouth and nose are being pressurized.

What's important is to get the leaks under control. That way we can help you with getting the most effective therapy for your apnea. Keep on plugging away at it.

[cpapnovice]

thank you. i know you did not mean duck tape. i will try knightsbridge, and then back to full face mask. problem that even with f30i i had plenty of leaks