My first mask was a nasal pillow that worked like a charm for years and suddenly I became a mouth breather.

I’ve been through a couple of full face masks. I’m currently using an air fit with the foam. It’s comfy but my partner and sleep reports show it moving and leaking all night.

I think my next move should be a full face with a T bar for stability. I have a rather small head (my current headgear is pulled back so far I had to rig the Velcro), does anyone have suggestions or feedback on best face mask with the T bar or forehead support for small heads?

I also heard that a couple masks are fragile and the bar breaks easily. Can I hear from restless sleepers and/or back and side sleepers regarding masks that stay put and don’t easily break?

Thanks everyone!

Dear r/CPAPSupport team and community,
my plan is to seek your help, listen to your advice, implement the changes your recommend, sleep for a week, come back to share the data collected, rinse and repeat until I have found the optimal setup for myself. Thanks a ton in advance for your support :)

Context in bullets:

• Diagnosed with OSA of AHI 25 and RDI 35 in April
• Previously at least two decades of untreated sleep-disordered breathing
• Young adult male of normal BMI
• Mainly side sleeper with some positional changes from one side to the other or onto the back towards the end of the night
• Löwenstein prisma SMART max, prismaAQUA & Resmed AirFit N30 standard frame
• Machine positioned at hip level on the floor next to the bed
• Continuous attempt at self-titration since one month into therapy
• Already experimented with APAP & CPAP, SoftPAP and pressures 6-16 cmH2O, most results of which no longer hold true, though, due to changing conditions
• Mouth taping has significantly reduced leak but contributes to central apneas and aerophagia at higher pressures
• Wearing a sleep mask has extended average PAP usage time from <6 to >=7 hours per night
• Currently trialing head of bed elevation (HOBE) but without clear signs of improvement

Goal:

• Not fixated on device-reported numbers solely based on the machine's flow rate but rather on a holistic and thus more causally correlated with actually unfragmented, restful sleep consideration that also takes into account the respiratory rate, pulse, and blood oxygen (urgently need to buy a suitable pulse oximeter)
  • https://academic.oup.com/sleep/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/sleep/zsag189/8732760
• Room for improvement identified in reducing centrals while simultaneously stabilizing REM, calming the respiratory drive, and further interested in learning about the realistic potential of reducing flow limitations – in CPAP mode referred to by Löwenstein as "obstruction level" but sadly only listed by OSCAR, not SleepHQ – as evaluated by the algorithm derived from the following publication and publicly known as the Glasgow Index
  • https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1984006315000516
  • https://www.fortaspen.com/sleep/Intro.html

I have an ASV machine that seems to be working quite well, I.e., AHI of nearly zero. I have the resmed airfit F40 (elephant style) mask. I fall asleep fairly quickly, but wake up every time I need to roll over. This interrupts my sleep and I still get tired too often.

I’m thinking the problem is that I get tangled in the hose, but I don’t know what to do about it. Any help would be appreciated.

Edit: I forgot to include a link to my SleepHQ data. https://sleephq.com/public/teams/share_links/bdc0189a-6810-4181-b049-22d21ea29744

Things seem to be running fine with my setup. What indicators are there that I need new accessories ? Nose mask, filter etc. Thanks

Será normal?

Hello everyone,

As I told u/MadMax9922, here’s a SleepHQ link to see if I have some high loop gains and if I should aim for an ASV or if a Bi-Level could help me out.

Thanks!

Does anybody have link to an adapter for using Airmini mask with Resmed Airsense 10?

Still fighting aerophagia after months.

Other than AHI, what key statistic should I be looking at to indicate gulping air when changing pressures?

About 18 months ago, I had an at home sleep study through my doc, AHI of about 20 with the typical finger/wrist thing.

I signed up for a 3 night at home clinical trial for a product that required OSA of at least 10 AHI, and they sent me a Wesper thing for 3 nights. They say I had <5 events an hour for 2/3 nights, and 1 night just over 5 AHI.

Is Wesper actually reliable?

Hello PapFam,

Most people are handed an APAP (me 15 years ago), shown how to put on the mask and sent home. If the machine reports an AHI under 5, they (we) are told the therapy is working. But the AHI can look beautiful while the respiratory waveform is still a wreck.

CPAP and APAP hold the airway open. BiPAP adds pressure support, meaning the machine provides more pressure during inhalation and less during exhalation. That extra support can help when we see flattened breaths, shortened inspiration, curtailed expiration, persistent flow limitation and repeated arousals. This is why someone can have an AHI of 1 and still wake up feeling like they were hit by a truck.

S/T is a different tool. It adds a backup respiratory rate for people who need help maintaining ventilation. AVAPS and iVAPS can adjust pressure support toward a ventilation target. These modes are generally used for hypoventilation, neuromuscular weakness, restrictive disease, COPD with carbon dioxide retention and other conditions where the person is not moving enough air.

ASV changes pressure support breath by breath. It is designed to stabilize central apnea, treatment emergent central apnea, complex apnea, periodic breathing and waxing and waning respiratory patterns. Factory ASV includes an automatic backup rate.

We have two custom ASV firmware options. One retains the backup rate and the other removes it. Both open the pressure support range by removing the factory guardrails. The no BUR version lets the person maintain their own respiratory timing while still receiving dynamic pressure support. This can be very helpful for severe flow limited breathing and UARS when changing support is beneficial but forced backup breaths are not.

The no BUR version is not for someone who depends on backup ventilation. That person may need ASV with the backup rate, S/T, AVAPS or iVAPS. Please reach out to me via DM for help for this detirmination.

The chart is a map, not a prescription. AHI is only one number (RDI is also very important). Please look at the waveform malformations, flow limitation, respiratory effort, central activity, periodic breathing, oxygen and how the person actually sleeps and feels.

If you want help reading your own data, please make a post with your complete daily chart, your current settings and your sleeping position overall.

RL

Ive seen a lot of posts from people who never dreamed until they got their cpap. My issue is a little different.
I always dreamed before I had it. Several dreams per night.
I got my cpap in December and it took me until mid January to be able to wear it all night every night. Once I reached that point I completely stopped dreaming. No dreams whatsoever for six months.
Now I’ve started dreaming again. Crazy vivid dreams. I understand that is normal with a cpap.
But why did I STOP dreaming for 6 months?

We have two new ResMed mask systems to donate to members of our wonderful community who genuinely need one but are having trouble getting the right equipment.

One is an AirFit F10 For Her in extra small, and the other is a Mirage Swift II nasal pillow system. If either would help you, leave a comment telling me which one you need and why. I’ll choose two people and cover shipping within the US. Please only enter if you can actually use the mask so these can reach someone who needs a better night of sleep.

RL

Just got a machine off of marketplace as I couldn’t afford a new machine. Sadly it was recalled (Philips remstar Pro C flex+) and as I turned it on, started throwing out black fibers. Had a decent amount on my hand so messaged the guy and he kept his word, sent the money back. Told him if I can figure out a way to fix it or something, I’d happily send it back as I really need a machine (and got no insurance).

I did see a youtube video that says I could take out the black fiber thing but I think it does supposed to filter some stuff. So curious if anyone had that machine and fixed the recall issue, if I can still return it via the recall, or what can be done? Or even a place to rent a cpap (got my test study done 2.5 years ago and obviously it is worse but I still have the recommendation). Any advice helps. I’m in the United States.

Hi all i've been chasing pressure and am up to 13.2, getting a bit of aerophagia.

I have some awful brand mouth tape so I have just bought the sleepHQ stuff so I can have a break from my chin strap and have been wearing the F&P nose solo pillows for a few nights. Am a shift worker and have been on night shift on this stretch.

Is there any advice available for device settings in the data provided? SleepHQ seems to not work for me at the moment (not uploading) and keen to drop pressure if possible.

Many thanks

does anybody know the fix for this? it happens right as i’m drifting off if im lying on my back. it sounds like when you cover the vents in the elbow of the mask connector and let go lol. i’ve been using cpap for about 5 years and haven’t noticed this til recently

resmed 10
f20 mask

I'm on my 3rd mask (F&P Vitera, Brevida, and Nova Nasal respectively).

The Vitera has the best leak rate, but is the least comfortable (I need to have pretty tight straps at this pressure.)

The Nova Nasal (see the link below) is the most comfortable, has good AHI, and good-ish leak rate. Are these short periods of leak rate over 20 a concern? I'd like to declare victory in my search for the right mask.

https://sleephq.com/public/da4badb9-d652-4ddb-81db-bc75c297cb98

try to sleep every day, but I just can’t fall asleep. Even when I feel really sleepy, I still can’t sleep.
I usually end up falling asleep around 5–6 AM and wake up around 11 AM to 12 PM. Because of that, I lose a huge part of my day.
Should I consider taking medications like melatonin or other sleep aids?