New to the forums

[pdbabb66]

Hello, fellow CPAPiers!

I'm new to both the apneaboard forum and CPAP therapy.

Background: My GF works for a sleep doc and she complained of my snoring for quite a while. I went to my dentist and he fitted me with an oral appliance. It worked well for a while, but ultimately, my snoring continued. GF did a sleep study and found that I was having over 20 events per hour, with each event lasting up to, or longer than, 1 minute.

Fast forward to January of this year. Having already done the sleep study, I purchased a new ResMed 9 Autoset with humidifier, along with a ResMed Quattro Air full face mask, size small. My total AHI numbers went from 8-9 the first week, down to 3.3 or so after that.

I recently went to Vegas for a few days with my buddies and shared a room with another CPAP user. He uses the same mask but medium size. I tried his on and found that it fit better than my small mask. (a bit more comfortable) I decided to purchase a medium mask and give it a shot. My AHI numbers have not been as low as with the other mask, and on occasion, quite a bit higher.

I realize the standard answer will be, "hey, just go with the old mask," but the other has a better fit. Question: Should I give it more time, or go back to the other mask. (It's only been a couple of weeks)

Thank you in advance for your responses.

Paul

[trish6hundred]

Hi pdbabb66,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
You may need to try several different masks and even different types of masks 'till you find what works for you.
Hang in there for more answers to your questions and much success to you as you start your CPAP journey.

[Sleeprider]

Stick with what makes you feel best. Sometimes the lowest number is not the best sleep. Can you compare the leak rate of the two masks? You can get that data if you're using sleepyhead. If it's comparable, you might just adjust to the larger mask. If leaks are greater in one mask or the other, that may be a source for error in the AHI comparison. There are a lot of masks out on the market, and finding the right one for you can be the hardest part of therapy.

[pdbabb66]

Thank you for the quick responses. I feel better with the smaller mask, but the tightness of the mask seems to be too tight. I have marks on my face for about 30 minutes after I wake up every morning.

[Sleeprider]

You might try loosening the mask or using liners to reduce the marks. Mask liners are pretty good for people with FFM and mask discomfort, They may also make the difference in your medium size mask and give you a better fit there as they would take up a small amount of space. Give them a try.

Disclaimer: I am a nasal pillow user, and always have been. By far more comfortable if you can avoid the mouth breathing.

[quiescence at last]

I do FFM. Situation on FFM is that there is a lot of couped up air volume, you can deduce the larger mask has more volume. the amount of total trapped volume does have some effect on AHI, amount of pressure you feel on your face, the amount the mask moves toward and away from your face during pressure swings (inhale vs exhale pressure when in A flex or EPR). many of the added effects impact your sleep quality.

AHI at some pressure setting is usually somewhat higher between nasal mask and full face mask, more difference between pillows and full face mask. This has been talked about throughout the forum as a good reason to go to pillows, usually mentioning that AHI control is possible at a lower pressure band.

So what can be reason for going to a larger size FFM? If you are using CPAP you might actually be more comfortable with the larger mask. If your EPR is above 1, I would guess you'll be more interrupted, distracted, or aroused due to larger fluctuations and mask motion.

QAL

[pdbabb66]

QAL,

My EPR setting is 3. I purchased the larger mask because it felt better on my face. Should I set my EPR down to 2, or possibly 1?

[eseedhouse]

My EPR setting is 3. I purchased the larger mask because it felt better on my face. Should I set my EPR down to 2, or possibly 1?

No reason not to try lowering it and if you don't like that you can put it back up. I prefer the 3 level myself, but then I'm not you...

[quiescence at last]

yep. a drop in EPR would be a good test. For me, the bouncing around was disruptive. either of the following helped and both were really good.

1) reducing the EPR, and/or 2) inserting a thin cloth liner between mask and face.

1 reduced the bouncing, and 2 reduced the amount I felt it.

QAL

[pdbabb66]

Thanks, guys. I dropped my EPR to 2 last night, loosened my lower straps just a bit, and set off on my nightly sleep journey. My AHI last night was 4.8, which is the lowest it's been with the larger mask. I'm hoping that the number drops just a little bit more, but under 5 is still good.

Thanks for all the help!

Paul