Are these leaks okay?

[bettyryan]

Hello everyone, and before I ask a question, I just want to say thank you for all the help you give!

I've attached a screenshot, you can see I have a lot of leaks as Im using nasal mask and learning to keep my mouth shut . Even with all the leaks I am able to keep the mask on all night and have a good flow rate.  I've been using CPAP since March and struggled with flow of between 0.1 and 0.2 and all other masks hurt the back of my head and with others, I still had to get up a couple of times a night to use that bathroom.

With nasal, and even though all the leaks, I am not having to get up during the night, i wake up several times but get back to sleep quickly so just wanted an opinion to see if you all think it is okay to keep going the way I'm going even though I have near constant leaks.

Thanks
Bet

[CPAPfriend]

There is no clinical threshold of significance for leaks, but beyond the red dotted line, the machine's ability is compromised. Also, keep in mind that for many patients too much leak will fragment their sleep, and so it becomes this confounding variable when trying to narrow in on what might be playing a part in bad sleep. Moreover, leak will influence the shape of the flowrate, so it might not be as good as you think. Over time in this field, I have changed my opinion on leak and now consider it to be a top priority. That said, there's no need to panic, and if you're happy with the quality of your sleep, I would say don't worry too much about it. Volatile and high rate leak are what should be avoided above all; consistent low leak is less problematic.

[Deborah K.]

Your leaks are not high enough to interfere with your therapy. Unless they are waking you or disrupting your sleep, I would not worry about them.

[Phaleronic]

Hello bettyryan

Leak rate spikes are an issue with arousals and microarousals and you have many, and since you're using a nasal setup you're likely opening your mouth during sleep, so you please need to tape your lips shut or use a chin strap. You can also move to full face (I had to do this). I'd also turn EPR down to 1, as with such a low pressure @ 7cm with EPR on fulltime Resmed is dropping pressure to 4cm min, as EPR is designed only to lower expiration pressure-it does not add pressure to inspiration (per Resmed white papers)-this is a massive issue with folks taking their masks off-as they feel suffocation during sleep (inappropriate pressure).