mask setting with dreamwear

[eeshwa]

Hi there! Newbie here and so far, feeling better since starting CPAP tx in January. Love the generosity of folks on this board and am learning so much! 

Question:  I have the AirSense 10 AutoSet for Her and I'm using the Dreamwear mask (med. frame, small nasal pillow). I really like the hose at the top of my head. When I used the mask with nasal pillow, my nose was terribly irritated. I have no irritation with this mask. 

My auto setting is 5 - 15. I'm experiencing leaking when I turn on my sides and I want to make sure I am optimizing my treatment. My husband can hear it (not just the outflow). I've ordered a small frame and hope this helps, but I was wondering about the mask settings on the machine. I've been using "pillow" setting. What exactly happens when I change mask settings? Would I get more air if I set it to nasal or face? 

I don't have software for detailed reports yet. My machine didn't come with a sim card and the DME discouraged me from getting it. I will follow-up on this though... I'm going by the Myair reports and that is telling me I'm having 5-6 episodes per hour with no mask leaks. 

Thanks for any feedback!

[C0mbe]

Hey, and welcome to Apnea Board! That's great that you are getting used to treatment.  Mask fitting is the most difficult part of any PAP therapy, and with a little effort you can find the right combination for you.  You should also check out Bonjours guide to Mask Fitting on the wiki.  It's a great place for mask info.  

As for the dreamwear - You should actually be using the nasal setting!  It's technically a nasal mask.

Lastly, regarding the lack of air:  a lot of folks find that a starting setting of 5 is too low and the feel air starved.   I personally didn't stop feeling that way until I was at 7.  I also do not sue the ramp because it gives me the same starved feeling.

You should get a SD and download sleepyhead.  Your dme doesn't want you having access to your data because you need to rely on them and the doctor. Any SD card will do, although I don't think you need to go higher than 16GB. Place it into the machine and it will format it for use.

[eeshwa]

Thanks SOOOO much! That makes sense! I guess I need to call my doc and ask her to call the DME to up my setting from 5 to 7. Seems so ridiculous to have a middle man for a machine that sits on my nightstand. UGH.

[C0mbe]

Thanks SOOOO much! That makes sense! I guess I need to call my doc and ask her to call the DME to up my setting from 5 to 7. Seems so ridiculous to have a middle man for a machine that sits on my nightstand. UGH.

You don't need to do that.  They will probably say no if it doesn't match your description.  You should request your device clinician manual from this page, and change it yourself!  Coles Notes:  hold down the circular button and the home button to enter the clinician menu.  

You should also really post some sleepyhead data!  It will really help people on the board help you dial in your therapy.

[eeshwa]

Thanks, COmbe, I just got the SD card in and will start to collect data. Post in a week or so. I'm going to try to reset on my own.

[thomashowe]

I started on APAP 4 Feb using a DreamStation and Dreamwear mask medium frame/small pillow. I experienced  a large number of leaks. So I changed to the medium pillow (fit test was on the boarder) with no improvement. The next change was to a large frame/small pillow. This improved the leakage and the AHI. One problem I have is that SH shows excessive leakage where as DreamMapper gives me a 100% on the mask fit?

[Marillion]

You got some great replies above already.  If you want to make changes to the settings you can.  But I would encourage you to do some research first as to what all the settings do.  Just do a search here on the forum.  Reading about what all the settings do are critical to finding out what works for you.  I've found relying on others to get it done can get pretty frustrating sometimes...

To get into the clinical settings just hold down the home button and your rotary dial at the same time for a few seconds.  You can then adjust the minimum and maximum air pressure as well as a host of other adjustments, including changing your report view to a more detailed one on the machine when you finish using it.

As to the Dreamwear mask, it never did work for me.  I experienced many leaks with it when turning to the side no matter what I did.  I ended up switching to an Airfit P10, which worked MUCH better for me.  I would recommend you try it out.

[C0mbe]

Thanks, COmbe, I just got the SD card in and will start to collect data. Post in a week or so. I'm going to try to reset on my own.

YVW!  That's great.  It's incredibly empowering to be in control of the effectiveness of your therapy.  Let us know if you have any trouble changing the settings, or if you have any more questions.

[Hydrangea]

I agree that the DreamWear requires the right size(s), to make it fit well. But I sure do love the mask!

You'll be so much happier with your therapy once you see your data in SleepyHead and get advice from here on how to tweak your settings to optimize your therapy.

[trish6hundred]

Hi eeshwa,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
I wish you good luck with your CPAP therapy.
You came to the right place for guidance on getting your therapy optimized to better meet your needs, hang in there for more responses to your post.