Leaking like a sieve...

[kingskid]

Well, I finally got set up, and with the equipment I wanted, on Sept. 2. The machine is working fine, but I think I need to do something about the mask. It is an AirFit P10 Pillows for Her and works fine, but my mouth is evidently opening during the night. I get a very dry mouth, but more importantly, the air leak seems really high to me at 10L/min. Need to research this, but does anyone know if air leaks interfere with therapy? Seems like it would. I will download the SD card into my other computer and see if I can bring up some charts for you to look at. Guess it takes awhile to interpret them, but they aren't making a lot of sense to me yet. Any input would be appreciated--thanks!

[justMongo]

10 LPM leak is within the machine's ability to maintain pressure. Still, you should be able to do better at leak rate.
Leaks will interfere with therapy when the blower cannot maintain pressure. That threshold is 24 LPM.

For those who use nasal pillows or a nasal mask; and leak because the mouth opens, a chin strap is usually added to apply a gentle bias toward closure.

BTW -- I love your quote by Moshe Dayan.

[49er]

Well, I finally got set up, and with the equipment I wanted, on Sept. 2. The machine is working fine, but I think I need to do something about the mask. It is an AirFit P10 Pillows for Her and works fine, but my mouth is evidently opening during the night. I get a very dry mouth, but more importantly, the air leak seems really high to me at 10L/min. Need to research this, but does anyone know if air leaks interfere with therapy? Seems like it would. I will download the SD card into my other computer and see if I can bring up some charts for you to look at. Guess it takes awhile to interpret them, but they aren't making a lot of sense to me yet. Any input would be appreciated--thanks!

Hi Kingkid,

The question is other than the dry mouth, how do you feel when waking up since a leak level of 10L/Min is well within the acceptable range? If you feel fine, I would try addressing the dry mouth with orajel or biotene before going to bed because adding a chip strap may lead to more discomfort that you don't really need.

[kingskid]

Thanks justMongo and 49er for your comments/suggestions. Well, I feel better already knowing I am within leak limits....yes, I've considered a chin strap, but because I have a TMJ issue in my jaw, was not sure if it would put undue pressure on it. Will chat with my DME rep and see what he recommends. (BTW, after 3 mos. of chasing down a Medicare DME provider, I think this is a good one.) JustMongo: I happended upon that Moshe Dayan quote by serendipity and really like it because (1) my admiration for Moshe, and (2) my passion for freedom!

[kingskid]

BTW, 49er, I slept better "without" CPAP therapy, felt energetic and ready to go in the AM. Now since I am still adjusting to CPAP, I don't sleep as well or as deep (but am not holding my breath like I was), but my husband is sleeping better! The AirSense 10 is quieter than I used to be...

[PaulaO2]

If you are using SleepyHead (which you should), down on the bottom bar, near the left, will be a drop down menu for "Flags". Make sure that "LL" is selected. That is for Large Leaks. It will show up in grey for any leak over what your machine can handle.

On the right, in the drop down menu labeled "Graphs", make sure that "Leak Rate" is selected.

Find the Leak Rate graph. Right click on the name of the graph and select "Dotted Lines" (last one). Make sure "leak rate upper threshold" is selected. This will put a red dotted line across the graph where your machine's threshold is. Any leak above that line is considered "unintentional". This way you can tell at a glance just how far over that line the leak is.

If a leak goes up then forms a kind of rough but flat mountain top, it is probably a mouth leak. If it is jagged and sporadic, it is a mask leak. Usually that is how it goes.

[kingskid]

Thanks, PaulaO2. I copied your info and will check SleepyHead with it. My "pie" graph shows different color percentages each night and last night it was mostly RERA, so need to see if I can interpret the graphs correctly to know what is really going on. (I'm on straight 7cm but insisted on the A10 Autoset for Her in case things change.)