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New Full Face Mask- Flow and Pressure Rise
#1
New Full Face Mask- Flow and Pressure Rise
I was diagnosed with mild OA 6 months ago. Given the unit with a fixed pressure of 8, no EPR and a N30i nasal mask. Saw Dr. and they say everything is great...Your AHI is under 5.  Well as time goes by, I continued to have the same issues just about every night. Leaks, high FL, etc. I have changed my sleeping position, pressure and turned on EPR. I have changed to 3 different nasal masks, mouth taped, etc. to try to find one that was comfortable and reduced leaks, all with no avail.. Flow limits were pretty good and AHI was in the 2's and 3's.  Fast forward to today. I decided to go with a AirTouch F20 full face mask, since I do occasionally mouth breath. Woke up feeling good, inserted in my SD card and was quite surprised to see the FL spike to .45 and my pressure hovering at 20 for most of the night. I really want to get my therapy dialed in and get these issues under control. I'd appreciate any assistance you could provide.

I have screen shots of last night and a few nights ago with a nasal mask for comparison.

Thanks for your time.

       
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#2
RE: New Full Face Mask- Flow and Pressure Rise
Your flow limits are very high. Flow limits are apnea just like the O and H events... They cause pressure rise in the resmed machines. You can try to help limit them by raising the EPR to 3 but that is all the higher your machine can go. There is the VAUTO that you can buy that increases the EPR (which is called PS on VAUTO) much more than 3. But give EPR 3 a shot for a night or two and post again. Some more experienced advice will follow from a couple members.
Apnea (80-100%) 10 seconds, Hypopnea (50-80%) 10 seconds, Flow Limits (0-50%) not timed  Cervical Collar - Dealing w DME - Chart Organizing
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#3
RE: New Full Face Mask- Flow and Pressure Rise
Thanks... I'll switch to EPR 3 and give it a few nights.
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#4
RE: New Full Face Mask- Flow and Pressure Rise
Last night was a little better. Woke up in the early morning because of the high pressure and the Flow is still higher than when I used my nasal mask.
My Quest to stop the leaks has brought on other issues...Grrrrr...

Chart Attached


Attached Files Thumbnail(s)
   
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#5
RE: New Full Face Mask- Flow and Pressure Rise
You may also consider to switch response to "soft".
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#6
RE: New Full Face Mask- Flow and Pressure Rise
You can st your max lower so it will not run away. I would suggest max 15. See if that helps and if not continue to go down on the max until you have a consistent rise in the AHI without grouped H or O events which would show potential apnea
Apnea (80-100%) 10 seconds, Hypopnea (50-80%) 10 seconds, Flow Limits (0-50%) not timed  Cervical Collar - Dealing w DME - Chart Organizing
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#7
RE: New Full Face Mask- Flow and Pressure Rise
Thanks... I'll give that a rip. Much appreciated.
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#8
RE: New Full Face Mask- Flow and Pressure Rise
Update.... Was on Vacation for a week Flows are still high. The first 2 Screenshots are while on Vacation and the last 1 are from being back at home. I was a little stuffy last night and my wife said I was on my back most of the night which is more than likely why it was a horrible night... (Chin Tucking) 

Anyway  - Looking back through my 3 months of data, I had a good nights with flows @ .02. I was on a fixed pressure of 11.6 with an EPR of 2. Im wondering if I should start my pressure there and change my max to 14 with EPR of 3. As a note, I was on a nasal mask then but my leaks were super high. 

It appears my switch to a full face mask helped with the leaks but has created another monster of issues with flow limits. Any insight, help or suggestions would be appreciated.

           
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#9
RE: New Full Face Mask- Flow and Pressure Rise
Last Nights Data with the change to 11.4 - 14 and EPR 2

   
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