cpap settings nasal/mask/pillows

[madmax]

hi , ive been diagnosed with sleep apnea and last wed picked up a cpap titration machine for 1 week and i return again on wed to pick a permanent machine up, apparently it looks the same but i presume it does not record the data,anyway im trying the nasal pillows and not doing bad with them but this morning i woke up around 2am with 1 nostril feeling sore and runny( other nights have been fine)i released the strap abit as i think it might have been abit tight on the nostrils and causing this problem??
also checked setting on the machine and it is set to mask, not sure if they have just forgotten to change it to pillows or does it not really make any differance?

[DeepBreathing]

G'day madmax, welcome to Apnea Board.

The settings required for different types of mask vary by machine. Can you tell us the make and model of the machine you're using please? This will either be printed on the front of the machine somewhere, or else there will be a model number on a label at the back or underneath. If you have a humidifier, be sure not to turn the machine over without first removing the water tank!

[trish6hundred]

Hi madmax,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Hang in there for more answers to your question.
Much success to you with your CPAP therapy.

[robysue]

hi , ive been diagnosed with sleep apnea and last wed picked up a cpap titration machine for 1 week and i return again on wed to pick a permanent machine up, apparently it looks the same but i presume it does not record the data,

Now is the time to insist that your permanent machine record full efficacy data. Having the data available and not needing it is not a problem. Not having the data available and needing it is a HUGE problem. So insist that the permanent machine be identical to the loaner---including the fact that the permanent machine records full efficacy data.

anyway im trying the nasal pillows and not doing bad with them but this morning i woke up around 2am with 1 nostril feeling sore and runny( other nights have been fine)i released the strap abit as i think it might have been abit tight on the nostrils and causing this problem??

Yep. Sounds like you have the headgear a bit too tight. You did the right thing in loosening the strap enough to reduce the piggy-nose feeling.

also checked setting on the machine and it is set to mask, not sure if they have just forgotten to change it to pillows or does it not really make any differance?

Technically it makes a (small) difference. I'm assuming that you current (loaner) machine is a Resmed. The Resmed machines do use the mask setting (ffm, nasal mask, or nasal pillows mask) to compute the estimated excess leak rate numbers. But the variation in leak rates is not as great as we often assume it is. Still, since you found the setting, change it to match the mask you are using and don't worry about how accurate or inaccurate the previously recorded data is. The previously recorded data is accurate enough to figure out if the current pressure level is high enough to work and whether you've got the leaks under control.

[palerider]

The Resmed machines do use the mask setting (ffm, nasal mask, or nasal pillows mask) to compute the estimated excess leak rate numbers. But the variation in leak rates is not as great as we often assume it is. Still, since you found the setting, change it to match the mask you are using and don't worry about how accurate or inaccurate the previously recorded data is. The previously recorded data is accurate enough to figure out if the current pressure level is high enough to work and whether you've got the leaks under control.

while there may, or may not be any use of the mask settings for leak determination, (given the general similarity of vent rates with differing mask types, and the even greater variation of vent rates within the same mask type) setting the mask type DOES make a difference in pressure delivery.

full face masks, nasal masks and pillow masks have different, but similar according to type resistance values, ie, the resistance to airflow. the smaller the openings for the mask, the higher resistance.

the machine uses these resistance values to calculate the pressure compensation that it applies at the machine output, where the pressure is measured, to give you the proper pressure at the mask.

respironics appears to have copied this with the 'system one resistance' in their 60 series, but may have done a better job, by assigning different sizes of pillow masks different numbers, to better differentiate the resistance amounts.

also, it can affect other functions, such as the smartstart. the first time I tried a pillow mask, I forgot to change the settings from full face to pillows at first. when I took the mask off, I was disappointed that the machine didn't shut off automatically. after changing the mask type setting to pillows, the smartstart worked properly, with the machine shutting off a couple of seconds after I removed the mask.