Leak Rate -- what does it mean?

[ClearStonePrez]

Sleep Rider again thanks for your input. 11 hours and much better results I look forward to your thoughts - I finally remembered to put my chip back in the Resmed.  Here are the screen shots.

[jaswilliams]

Your graphs look great to me congrats on the longer sleep

[Sleeprider]

Other than some brief leaks, we see very stable respiration, pressure and very good AHI results in these charts. Pressure varies within 2-cm, except you appear to have a brief ramp set, and the leaks are mostly focused after you reach therapy pressure. The lower pressure looks much better than when your minimum was 15. I don't know what else you could do to improve this. Great!

[ClearStonePrez]

I agree - the only thing really bothering me now is raw nostrils in the morning.

[Sleepster]

Is it reasonable to correlate leak rate spikes and falls with the number of times I wake up and have to drink water?  I am waking 2-3 times per hour and the spike and falls in leak rate roughly verify that.

Your leak rate graph shows definite signs of mouth-leaking. And you are doing a lot of mouth-leaking, more than any graph I can recall seeing. These leaks are definitely capable of waking you up and it's no surprise that you're thirsty as all that mouth-leaking can dry out your mouth.

I agree that you should try a full face mask. If not, at least try a chin strap or a soft cervical collar. They keep your mouth closed enough so that hopefully the leak (which occurs when the seal between the back of your tongue and the roof of your mouth fails) won't occur. But a full face mask works better because it pressurizes the air in your mouth, too, so that it doesn't matter if that seal breaks. The pressure is the same on both sides.

[subyroo]

Is it reasonable to correlate leak rate spikes and falls with the number of times I wake up and have to drink water?  I am waking 2-3 times per hour and the spike and falls in leak rate roughly verify that.

Your leak rate graph shows definite signs of mouth-leaking. And you are doing a lot of mouth-leaking, more than any graph I can recall seeing. These leaks are definitely capable of waking you up and it's no surprise that you're thirsty as all that mouth-leaking can dry out your mouth.

I agree that you should try a full face mask. If not, at least try a chin strap or a soft cervical collar. They keep your mouth closed enough so that hopefully the leak (which occurs when the seal between the back of your tongue and the roof of your mouth fails) won't occur. But a full face mask works better because it pressurizes the air in your mouth, too, so that it doesn't matter if that seal breaks. The pressure is the same on both sides.

Have a look at the "Woozle", I made my own variant from looking at Woozie38's pattern, it works like a charm at stopping mouth breathing.

[jaswilliams]

I agree - the only thing really bothering me now is raw nostrils in the morning.

For the sore nostrils find some lansinoh often found in the nursing mothers section of your pharmacy a small dab can help ease the soreness

[ClearStonePrez]

Thanks, I tried Vasoline and it is helping alot. Not sure how it interacts with the silicon pillow.

[Sleepster]

Thanks, I tried Vasoline and it is helping alot. Not sure how it interacts with the silicon pillow.

That's why Lansinoh balm is recommended. It doesn't interact with the silicone.

[Parisien]

It was some time ago that I started this thread, so I hope I'm following the correct procedure in continuing my concern about excessive large leak rates. I'm averaging about 20% of the night above the large leak threshold.

In addition to the sleep apnea, I've also been diagnosed as having REM sleep behaviour disorder, meaning that I physically act out my dreams during the REM sleep phases. This can involve sitting up, gesticulating, shouting, and sometimes falling out of bed!

I'm starting to wonder whether these movements could be dislodging my mask and causing some of the leaks.

My question is: is there any way in the OSCAR charts to identify when the REM sleep phases are taking place, so that I could see whether there is a correlation with the large leaks?