What setting for Oral mask only

[Snorilla]

I have the Oracle HC452 Oral CPAP Mask and was wondering what would be the best selection to set my machine to. My options are:

Nasal
Nasal Ultra
Full Face
Pillows

This is my first night so this should be interesting. 

Also I just noticed, I can't change anything under the clinician's settings even though the lock is unlocked. Did the company lock me out of my own machine somehow? I wanted to start off with an ESR of 3. Can't make any changes. 

Thanks.

[Snorilla]

FYI, I am now able to make all changes as need be, but still don't know what is best option for mask type.

[Snorilla]

Well I think I am going with Full face as it seems like the best choice for a mouth breather. 

Anyway, just wanted to post my first test. I set the ESR to 3 and did a mask test. The air was blowing in and out so fast I couldn't breathe in rhythm and felt like I was going to hyperventilate. Completely nuts! I lowered the pressure down to 4 just to see if I could deal with that and man, it still felt like a wind tunnel was shooting down my throat. Then I read where someone said the ESR doesn't work at setting of 4, and must be a minimum of 5. I think I am going to take it off auto and just set it at 5 for my first night. I will do another test lying down to see if I can get in sync with the ESR set to 3. 
I thought these things had sensors and were supposed to know what tempo I breathe at. 

It did seem like it slowed down a bit after it finished with the mask test and went into treatment mode, so we'll see. I really hope I can do this, because right now it feels like the machine is being very obnoxious.

[PaytonA]

You have not said what pressure range the machine is set for. If left at the factory settings it is 4-20 and if this is the case when you do a mask fit test using the mask fit feature the machine will test you at 20 cm/H2O which is the highest pressure this machine will go to. When doing the mask fit test, I do not think that your machine will use the EPR until it goes into treatment mode. Using only a single pressure for the mask fit means that the machine has no need to sync with your breathing. It just blows a constant 20 whether you are inhaling or exhaling.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

[Snorilla]

You have not said what pressure range the machine is set for. If left at the factory settings it is 4-20 and if this is the case when you do a mask fit test using the mask fit feature the machine will test you at 20 cm/H2O which is the highest pressure this machine will go to. When doing the mask fit test, I do not think that your machine will use the EPR until it goes into treatment mode. Using only a single pressure for the mask fit means that the machine has no need to sync with your breathing. It just blows a constant 20 whether you are inhaling or exhaling.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

Hi Payton. 

Thanks for the info. That makes sense. Machine was at default, but I changed it from 4 to 12 when I did my first mask test, so I guess it blew at 12 which nearly knocked my socks off. As I got used to it breathing became easier, but for the first couple hours I still felt like it was inhaling too quickly for me. 

I am going to start a thread on my first night so hopefully people can share some helpful tips. 

Thanks again.

[Hydrangea]

Did the company lock me out of my own machine somehow? I wanted to start off with an ESR of 3. Can't make any changes.

Isn't that ridiculous? 

I got 2 machines at 2 different MREs, and both of them had me locked out of things that were ridiculous to lock a patient out of.  To not show me my AHI?  Really?  To not allow me to do a mask fit check? 

Craziness!

Good thing we can learn how to operate our own machines and unlock those things.

P.S.  Good luck with the breathing.  I'm sure you'll get the hang of it.

[Snorilla]

Did the company lock me out of my own machine somehow? I wanted to start off with an ESR of 3. Can't make any changes.

Isn't that ridiculous? 

I got 2 machines at 2 different MREs, and both of them had me locked out of things that were ridiculous to lock a patient out of.  To not show me my AHI?  Really?  To not allow me to do a mask fit check? 

Craziness!

Good thing we can learn how to operate our own machines and unlock those things.

P.S.  Good luck with the breathing.  I'm sure you'll get the hang of it.

In too many walks of life, the level of control some groups like to exert over other groups is astounding. 

Thanks for the well wishes. Last night I made peace with the breathing, so I thank God for that!

[Marillion]

I may be wrong with this...but regardless of what your treatment pressures are at, I always thought that the mask fitting test will use the highest machine setting possible. So even if you are at 4-12 on your settings if the machine goes up to 20, then that is what the mask test setting will test at. Hopefully the more experienced folks can confirm this.

But regardless, it sounds like you are well on your way so congrats! Keep it up.

[OpalRose]

The mask fit test starts at the highest pressure you have set on your machine and works down to the minimum pressure that is set.  
Example:  pressure range set at 6minimum and 12 maximum.  The test will start at 12 and wind down to 6.  

If your machine is at default settings of 4-20, then it will start at 20, which may blow you away.  

[Marillion]

The mask fit test starts at the highest pressure you have set on your machine and works down to the minimum pressure that is set.  
Example:  pressure range set at 6minimum and 12 maximum.  The test will start at 12 and wind down to 6.  

If your machine is at default settings of 4-20, then it will start at 20, which may blow you away.  

Interesting...whenever I do a mask fit test even though my settings are 8-14 it always seems that it is blowing at a super high rate, much higher than I felt even 14 would be at.  But I'll trust your level of experience compared to mine!