[Equipment] I think my ResMed Airsense 10 machine is faulty – Can any one please help .

[BangkokBoy]

 

I am using a ResMed Airsense 10 Autoset machine with a heated hose and its developed a recent problem .


The problem is this …


When I put on a face mask and start the machine , for a start every thing is working well . But after about 2 hours time period the air pressure flowing into the face mask starts to instantly increase in high pressure to a point where the mask starts to fill up with air like a balloon and then the mask starts to leak due to the massive increase in air pressure , this increase in air pressure becomes unbearable and I have to remove the mask . 

I still have the same above problem even if I change the mask to another mask type . I have used the following masks ….

ResMed AirFit F20
Phillips DreamWear
ResMed AirFit P30i nasal 


ResMed machine current settings …..

Ramp Time – Auto
Climate Ctrl – Auto
Temp Tube – 20C
Pressure Relief – On
SmartStart – On
Mask – Full face
Mode – AutoSet
Max Pressure – 15
Min Pressure – 7
Response – Standard
EPR- On
EPR Type – Full Time
EPR Level – 2
AB Filter – No
Essentials – Plus

 

On first putting a mask on I adjusted the mask and made sure that there were no apparent leaks .
  
I sleep on my side and make sure the masks are clean along with replacing the ResMed air filter .


The thing I can’t understand is that this same problem occurs every night even if I wear a different style of mask and it happens at about the same 2 hour time period. 


Ive recently been trying to find the best maximum and minimum pressure , so Ive been adjusting a few settings on the ResMed machine and I’m now wondering if this problem shown above is being some how caused by a recently changed machine setting , or could the problem be that the ResMed machine has actually developed a fault . 

Ive attached an Oscar report 



Any help in tracking down why this problem is occurring would be very helpful and appreciated 


Thanks

[gainerfull]

It looks like you're having obstructive events and the machine is trying to compensate for them by increasing pressure but when the pressure increases it blows the seals on your masks. Have you tried tightening the headgear to get a good seal? Another thing that works well for me is washing my face and mask before bedtime each night. It seems like your cpap is working just fine - are you new to therapy? I'd recommend turning off the ramp feature when you get a chance.

[Kingsway]

 I had a similar problem with my  'new'  A10 Autoset - I also thought it might be faulty. 

But it was the apparently the relatively poor fit of my (Full Face) mask when I moved during sleep that was causing small leaks.

Once I changed mask to something that seemed to fit me better,   the 'problem' immediately resolved itself.

[snorin2]

as an experiment, you could try running it on cpap  mode for a night---perhaps something like 8 or 10 cm's.

I would guess your problem is all about the auto feature you have set up. --and the machine is going to your max---15 cm's for some reason

[Kingsway]

I had exactly the same problem with my 'new' A10 Autoset.   But it turned out to be mask leakage due to a mask that was not the best fitting  for me - and positional problems too.

Once I changed to a mask that fitted my face better, the 'problem'  resolved itself.

[Dog Slobber]

Your AirSense appears to be responding exactly as it should. It increases pressure because of Obstructive Apneas, Hypopneas, Flow Limits and Snores.

When we see the abrupt pressure increases, and then look down, we do see a reason for the pressure increase. What's not (completely) visible on your graphic is the snore graph, though that's likely the snore trace at the bottom with the tip of some snoring breaking through, that may also be responsible for some of the increases.

Consider posting the complete snore graph in future posts.

Some things to consider trying:

• Lower your maximum pressure. Say 12 or so. Normally I don't like lowering maximum pressure, instead allowing the machine to go where it needs to go. But there are are circumstances where limiting it should take precedent (aerophagia, CPAP tolerance, leaks,..) 
  
• Consider a different mask that is less prone to leaking (the P30i might be a better choice)
  
• Adjust pressure in your sleeping position at higher pressures. 
  
• Consider increasing your minimum pressure. This might seem counter intuitive, if pressure is disturbing my sleep and and causing leaks how will increasing it help. Often increasing the minimum pressure can keep OAs, Hs, FLs and Snores at bay and prevent them completely reducing the need for abrupt pressure increases.
  

Of course, when making changes post graphs to keep an eye on things, and as you build up tolerance to pressure and address leaks, we may be able to reduce the max pressure limitation.

[Sleeprider]

This is a mask fit issue, but feel free to set maximum pressure to 10 or 11 instead of 15 cm.

[BangkokBoy]

It looks like you're having obstructive events and the machine is trying to compensate for them by increasing pressure but when the pressure increases it blows the seals on your masks. Have you tried tightening the headgear to get a good seal? Another thing that works well for me is washing my face and mask before bedtime each night. It seems like your cpap is working just fine - are you new to therapy? I'd recommend turning off the ramp feature when you get a chance.

Hi and thanks for your comment.

Ive watched many youtube videos on how to correctly fit the masks I own , and I have been washing and cleaning the masks on a daily basis . This finding just the right mask tension seems to be a bit of a lottery every night .

---

 I had a similar problem with my  'new'  A10 Autoset - I also thought it might be faulty. 

But it was the apparently the relatively poor fit of my (Full Face) mask when I moved during sleep that was causing small leaks.

Once I changed mask to something that seemed to fit me better,   the 'problem' immediately resolved itself.

Hi and thanks for your comment 

So far Ive tried 3 mask types 

ResMed AirFit F20
Phillips DreamWear
ResMed AirFit P30i nasal 

and Ive just ordered an AirTouch F20 foam cusion to try in my AirFit F20 mask. 

It seems a bit strange that even after I thought that I had found the correct mask tension on the above masks , the problem still occurred .

---

as an experiment, you could try running it on cpap  mode for a night---perhaps something like 8 or 10 cm's.

I would guess your problem is all about the auto feature you have set up. --and the machine is going to your max---15 cm's for some reason

Hi and thanks for your comment 


I had not thought of trying the CPAP mode , thats some thing I’m going to try .

[BangkokBoy]

Your AirSense appears to be responding exactly as it should. It increases pressure because of Obstructive Apneas, Hypopneas, Flow Limits and Snores.

When we see the abrupt pressure increases, and then look down, we do see a reason for the pressure increase. What's not (completely) visible on your graphic is the snore graph, though that's likely the snore trace at the bottom with the tip of some snoring breaking through, that may also be responsible for some of the increases.

Consider posting the complete snore graph in future posts.

Some things to consider trying:

• Lower your maximum pressure. Say 12 or so. Normally I don't like lowering maximum pressure, instead allowing the machine to go where it needs to go. But there are are circumstances where limiting it should take precedent (aerophagia, CPAP tolerance, leaks,..) 
  
• Consider a different mask that is less prone to leaking (the P30i might be a better choice)
  
• Adjust pressure in your sleeping position at higher pressures. 
  
• Consider increasing your minimum pressure. This might seem counter intuitive, if pressure is disturbing my sleep and and causing leaks how will increasing it help. Often increasing the minimum pressure can keep OAs, Hs, FLs and Snores at bay and prevent them completely reducing the need for abrupt pressure increases.
  

Of course, when making changes post graphs to keep an eye on things, and as you build up tolerance to pressure and address leaks, we may be able to reduce the max pressure limitation.

 


Hi and thanks for your comment - Last night ( 12th of June ) I adjusted some of the ResMed machines settings as shown below 

Ramp Time – Off
Climate Ctrl – Auto
Temp Tube – 20C
Pressure Relief – On
SmartStart – On
Mask – Full face
Mode – AutoSet
Max Pressure – 10
Min Pressure – 8
Response – Standard
EPR- On
EPR Type – Full Time
EPR Level – 2
AB Filter – No
Essentials – Plus

The mask I wore was  a DreamWear ( Size Medium ) 

The mask had been washed and cleaned prior to putting it on.

I am clean shaven and don’t have a beard.

I slept only on my side .

And Ive attached 2 Oscar screen shots ( second screen shot showing snore information ) 

One the Oscar report it shows a pressure increase starting just after the 1:40 time period and that increase in pressure continues until I took the mask off ( due to the mask inflating and becoming annoying ) . 

The increase in pressure seems to only occur after I have been wearing any mask type for a couple of hours . 

in the past when I tried the P30i nasal , when the increase in air pressure occurred , I started to have a choking feeling .

I’m not going to give up , and with the kind help of forum members here I hope to track down this reoccurring problem and finally be able to wear a mask for longer than a few hours . Any Thoughts , suggestions or recommendations very welcome.

 

---

This is a mask fit issue, but feel free to set maximum pressure to 10 or 11 instead of 15 cm.

Thanks for your comment

I'm still wondering if the problem is a mask fit issue , even when I get the same problem while wearing 3 different mask types.

[BangkokBoy]

Well last night ( 13 June ) as suggested I set the Resmed 10 machine to the CPAP mode with a pressure of 8 .

Towards the 00:40 time period I felt the mask ( DreamWear ) start to leak , but this time I felt no instant increase in air pressure as on my previous nights …...

[  air pressure flowing into the face mask starts to instantly increase in high pressure to a point where the mask starts to fill up with air like a balloon ]


So comparing this Oscar report with previous night Oscar reports , it seems that the overall problem could be due to an incorrectly fitted mask that was leaking air.

Could I be on the right track - Any thoughts please.