Need help please! High events per hour

[Hydrangea]

I have struggled to get silicone FFMs to not leak on me throughout the night. So I switched to the AirTouch F20 (with the memory foam), and no more leaking!

[Arnold111]

We continue to see clusters of obstructive and mixed apnea that suggest positional apnea.  The events are not related to pressure, and I doubt that increasing pressure will make much difference. Your results have evolved over the course of this thread from AHI near 20 with more obstructive content to lower AHI, but still a high level of sleep disruption and apnea.  I have no idea what to suggest other than you must get the positional issues and leaks under control before we can ever hope to optimize settings.

Sleeprider, thank you very much for your above comments. I did some research on the meaning of "positional apnea". It seems that I should not be sleeping on my back, but rather on my side? I tried this last night and the problem is my mask leaks. Also, my partner says that while on my side, my breathing seemed to be labored at times - I seemed to be struggling to get air. I was wearing a nasal mask, as the silicone on my Airfit20 tore. I am wearing a cervical collar, and am waiting for a Dr Dakota collar to arrive. Last nights numbers were 10.42. 

You said I "must get the positional issues and leaks under control"....

What do you suggest I must do to get these two items under control? 

Thank you very much again!

[JoeyWallaby]

Why does your mask leak when you sleep on your side?

[Arnold111]

Hydrangea, thank you for your perfectly timed comment! The silicone part of my Airfit 20 mask tore yesterday, so I plan to replace it with an Airtouch F20 memory foam cushion as you suggested!

[Arnold111]

Joey, thank you for your question! Two reasons: 

1). I think that the hose might be tugging slightly on the mask (I have it suspended above the headboard, but I will rework this and give it more free-play) and 2). My pillow may be contributing to causing slight pressure and shifting the mask on my face ever to slightly, but enough to cause it to leak. I am aware that when sleeping on my side, I wake up and can hear air leaking out of the mask - not an exhale air leak. As a result I constantly have to re-position the mask on my face - move it up a little, down a little, a little to the side, even though it's snugged down pretty tightly on my face. 

This is a good bottom line, basic question - has certainly got me thinking....

[JoeyWallaby]

You can buy pillows that won't push on the mask.

[Arnold111]

Thank you - gonna look into that now!