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Re: Are you sure???

Posted by Barney Rubble on February 01, 2002 at 05:08:04:

In Reply to: Re: Are you sure??? posted by Shamrock on January 31, 2002 at 21:59:21:

Shamrock,

That is amazing! If I had those snore values I wouldn't get any sleep during the night. Do you actually get any sleep at night with all that snoring?

Your mask leakage is very high--too high for cpap to be very effective. I try to keep my mask leaks under 5 minutes/night. Most nights my mask leakage is under 1 minute. With the high number of minutes of mask leaks you're getting and since the AALT doesn't change pressure when a mask leak is occurring, you could be getting those high snore counts because of all the mask leaks(and therefore the AALT isn't responding to knock them out). I would try to significantly reduce those mask leaks first by changing mask strap pressure or even try different masks. You might want to check for leaks throughout your system setup. Take your mask off the hose and plug the end with a 1/2" PVC cap. Then set your low pressure limit to the highest pressure you need(i.e. 17). With the machine running with the highest pressure you need and the tubing plugged with a cap, you can listen for leaks along the system. You might be getting a major leak in one of your hoses or at the humidifier. If you have version 2.2 of the PC software for the AALT, you could hookup the AALT and run it in real-time mode and manually change the pressure as you check for leaks in the system. Maybe when the hose is moved into a certain position, a leak develops. In this mode, you'll also be able to see if the system is reporting high leaking when you are sure it's not coming from the mask. If everything tests out fine while your hooked up in real-time mode, you might be getting mask leaks because of tossing and turning during the night. I found out I was doing that and had to tighted my mask straps and change my bed pillow to a buckwheat hull type since my pillow was pushing my mask off my face just enough to cause a leak. Now I rarely have mask leaks even though I'm using a full-face mask and have had the AALT up to a pressure of 16.5 while recovering from throat surgeries. I've also found that the AALT is not affected by very small leaks(verified by hooking up a pressure gauge and watching the machine compensate as I shift my mask around on my face).

Note: I'm using an AutoAdjust LT(pressure range now at 9-13), HumidAire heated humidifier(set on 6.5) with insulated tubing & Mirage FF Series2 mask(size medium, standard cushion).

Let us know if you find out what's causing your mask leaks and how(hopefully) you got them reduced. I think your snores would be significantly reduced once these high mask leaks are eliminated.


Barney Rubble

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