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Confusing night last night
#1
Confusing night last night
Last night I was sleeping just fine with my trusty nasal mask and chin strap. But around 4:30 I woke up with mega pain in the area between my right chin and ear. This has happened before and I have concluded it is a result of the chin strap being too tight then sleeping on my right side. I doesn't happen when I sleep on my back. But if the strap is not tight enough, my mouth can defeat it and I get a big air leak.

Anyhow, I removed all the gear and rubbed the ouchy place. It did calm down a lot.

I decided that if I couldn't sleep with the stupid chin strap, my mouth would just have to get over it. It didn't.

I spent the rest of the night waking up to a wind tunnel coming from my mouth, little fountains of air squirting in my eye, and so forth.

This morning I thought when I looked at my stats, they would be all over the place regarding leakage, perhaps ahi events, and so forth. But according to the stats, the machine was quite content with the sleeping arrangements. Leak was no worse than ever, actually zero with a few spikes on and off from 4:30 on. No ahi events at all in the 4:30 on time frame. Everything was great! Mask pressure was sitting around 6 instead of its normal 15, but that's the only thing.

I don't understand why. It seems to me the stats should have been super goofy. I'm thinking the machine must have been monitoring someone else last night, not me. But the only other people around were some of the kitty cat persuasion.

How come my machine didn't just post "reject" for the night?
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#2
RE: Confusing night last night
(01-26-2014, 06:12 PM)retired_guy Wrote: Last night I was sleeping just fine with my trusty nasal mask and chin strap. But around 4:30 I woke up with mega pain in the area between my right chin and ear. This has happened before and I have concluded it is a result of the chin strap being too tight then sleeping on my right side. I doesn't happen when I sleep on my back. But if the strap is not tight enough, my mouth can defeat it and I get a big air leak.

Anyhow, I removed all the gear and rubbed the ouchy place. It did calm down a lot.

I decided that if I couldn't sleep with the stupid chin strap, my mouth would just have to get over it. It didn't.

I spent the rest of the night waking up to a wind tunnel coming from my mouth, little fountains of air squirting in my eye, and so forth.

This morning I thought when I looked at my stats, they would be all over the place regarding leakage, perhaps ahi events, and so forth. But according to the stats, the machine was quite content with the sleeping arrangements. Leak was no worse than ever, actually zero with a few spikes on and off from 4:30 on. No ahi events at all in the 4:30 on time frame. Everything was great! Mask pressure was sitting around 6 instead of its normal 15, but that's the only thing.

I don't understand why. It seems to me the stats should have been super goofy. I'm thinking the machine must have been monitoring someone else last night, not me. But the only other people around were some of the kitty cat persuasion.

How come my machine didn't just post "reject" for the night?

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#3
RE: Confusing night last night
Are you using H5i humidifier and a climateline? Also,would recommend setting your humidity to "manual" where you can control the hot plate setting displayed as a water droplet (set at 4-6), and the climateline setting displayed as a thermometer with small droplet (set at 86 degrees). This way you can maximize your humidity and prevent airway inflammation due to dryness. You may not need a chinstrap. Did you have much water left in your chamber, and did you have a dry airway?
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#4
RE: Confusing night last night
(01-26-2014, 06:23 PM)RT/APAPuser Wrote: Are you using H5i humidifier and a climateline? Also,would recommend setting your humidity to "manual" where you can control the hot plate setting displayed as a water droplet (set at 4-6), and the climateline setting displayed as a thermometer with small droplet (set at 86 degrees). This way you can maximize your humidity and prevent airway inflammation due to dryness. You may not need a chinstrap. Did you have much water left in your chamber, and did you have a dry airway?

Thanks RT. I use the humidifier, but I don't have the "climateline." I have the humidity set to 4.5. There is not much water remaining in the reservoir in the morning.

I have always been a "mouthbreather" (that sounds so dirty....) It's only been since I have started with the CPAP that I found I could sleep without breathing through my mouth. But then only when the thing is pretty strongly glued shut.
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#5
RE: Confusing night last night
Hi retired_guy! Have you tried a full face mask?

I'm a mouth breather too. When I had my second (titration) study, I learned quickly to not fight nature and opted to switch to a FFM mask (used a nasal mask in the first study) especially once they ramped up the pressures to the levels I need. That leaf blower force wind tunnel out the mouth was not a fun experience.

I'm using the Quattro Air currently, looks hideous, but it gets the job done -- quite comfortable too.
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#6
RE: Confusing night last night
I struggled with nasal mask for two years before I switched to a full-face mask. I was leaking though my mouth all night prior to switching. I have tried them all, but I continue to go back the ResMed Full-Face Quattro. I have both the Medium and Large. At 250 lbs, the shape of my face, the large seemed to fit my checks and chin better. The top tended to slide up my nose past the bridge to a point where is could not slide anymore - even with my eye sockets. I had minimal leakage around the eyes, but my eyes did dry out from the air flow coming from the leak. The Medium fits well - but I have to really strap that thing on - very tight. I have "Morning Marks" on face for a least two hours following a nights sleep. The tighter I got the mask, the less it leaked. I have been wearing this mask for almost three years, same way every night. I have upgraded to the ResMed S9 with the 5Hi, and Climate Line hose. I ordered both the slimline and the large diameter hose. The slimline weighs a little less and the can handle the pressure beyond 20 so I use it as my standard hose.

I have also bought the ResMed Quattro Fx, and the New Quattro Air - but I have put them in the bedside drawer and went back to the Quattro - Full Face. I run the unit as an Apap starting at 10 - and set the max at 20. I use the software, found on this site, to monitor my activity.

My ending advice, don't give up. I have used this thing for over five years, and can count on one hand the nights I did not have it. It has changed my life for the better. Best Wishes.
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#7
RE: Confusing night last night
(02-05-2014, 12:15 PM)MSJ2640 Wrote: I struggled with nasal mask for two years before I switched to a full-face mask. I was leaking though my mouth all night prior to switching. I have tried them all, but I continue to go back the ResMed Full-Face Quattro. I have both the Medium and Large. At 250 lbs, the shape of my face, the large seemed to fit my checks and chin better. The top tended to slide up my nose past the bridge to a point where is could not slide anymore - even with my eye sockets. I had minimal leakage around the eyes, but my eyes did dry out from the air flow coming from the leak. The Medium fits well - but I have to really strap that thing on - very tight. I have "Morning Marks" on face for a least two hours following a nights sleep. The tighter I got the mask, the less it leaked. I have been wearing this mask for almost three years, same way every night. I have upgraded to the ResMed S9 with the 5Hi, and Climate Line hose. I ordered both the slimline and the large diameter hose. The slimline weighs a little less and the can handle the pressure beyond 20 so I use it as my standard hose.

I have also bought the ResMed Quattro Fx, and the New Quattro Air - but I have put them in the bedside drawer and went back to the Quattro - Full Face. I run the unit as an Apap starting at 10 - and set the max at 20. I use the software, found on this site, to monitor my activity.

My ending advice, don't give up. I have used this thing for over five years, and can count on one hand the nights I did not have it. It has changed my life for the better. Best Wishes.

Thanks MSJ. No, I won't be giving up. I woke up this morning around 7:30, all warm and cozy, and just enjoyed laying their with my friendly machine poking air into me. It's really nice.

I went to the nasal pillows for awhile, but now I'm back with my nasal mask. When set properly, the mask and I are one........ I love it. Unfortunately sometimes it gets cranky. Like last night when it kept creeping down my face until it could try to fill up my mouth from the outside. I think the air coming in from the outside when reaching the air coming in from the inside could create a little tornado sort of thing going on in one's mouth. In any case I did not enjoy the night.

But as I said, the morning was nice.

I am thinking about trying a full face mask, and I appreciate your descriptions. I have an appointment at the sleep clinic next week so I'll see what they think. Since I really really try to breath from my mouth, I'm thinking I would still have to use a chin strap.

Now there's a whole other subject! I have had as much trouble with the silly chin strap as anything else. But we'll get to that another day.
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#8
RE: Confusing night last night
When the sleep clinic gave me my CPAP two weeks ago (I didn't have any choice, I had to take what they gave me), I opted for the nasal pillows, but I was convinced that I sleep with my mouth open. I have been told so by my mother, (I don't have a bed partner). Lo and behold I discovered that the vacuum created by having air circulated through my nose forces my mouth to remain shut. Whenever I attempt to open my mouth with the nasal pillows in place, I feel the vacuum and it prompts my mouth to want to shut. Maybe this is the purpose of nasal pillows and nasal masks in general and maybe it just doesn't work for some people, but it did for me.
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#9
RE: Confusing night last night
I don't know how to explain the data when you looked at it. Maybe you were just sensitive to the chin strap and air blowing, etc. last night but it wasn't as bad as it felt to you.

Or it was the aliens at work again

I am curious as to what chin strap you are using.
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#10
RE: Confusing night last night
(01-14-2015, 10:33 AM)novatom Wrote: When the sleep clinic gave me my CPAP two weeks ago (I didn't have any choice, I had to take what they gave me), I opted for the nasal pillows, but I was convinced that I sleep with my mouth open. I have been told so by my mother, (I don't have a bed partner). Lo and behold I discovered that the vacuum created by having air circulated through my nose forces my mouth to remain shut. Whenever I attempt to open my mouth with the nasal pillows in place, I feel the vacuum and it prompts my mouth to want to shut. Maybe this is the purpose of nasal pillows and nasal masks in general and maybe it just doesn't work for some people, but it did for me.

(01-14-2015, 11:22 AM)me50 Wrote: I don't know how to explain the data when you looked at it. Maybe you were just sensitive to the chin strap and air blowing, etc. last night but it wasn't as bad as it felt to you.

Or it was the aliens at work again

I am curious as to what chin strap you are using.

I love ancient history.... Thanks Nova for finding this old post of mine from when I was a newbie. It's cool to read that and have the perspective of where I was to where I am in using the therapy.

I migrated to the P10 pillows system shortly after this posting and have never looked back. I kept a ffm around in case I had a bad cold or something and could not breath through the pillows. But when I did have a bad cold I found the pillows mask worked amazingly well to help keep my sinuses open all night, and that helped mitigate the cold so it didn't last as long, or was as bad as they usually have been.

I continued to tweak my settings until I got to where I thought things were "just right." Yet occasionally I still will have a crummy night for no apparent reason. But that's just to remind me of why I'm doing what I'm doing. Now on therapy I normally only see an event once or twice in 3 or 4 nights of use. I'm getting used to that goofy "happy face," but it still freaks me out some.

ME, in reply to your question about the chinstrap? I tried a bunch of them. I don't like any of them. But it was suggested by Jimzzzzzzzzzzz I try the Puresom Ultra chinstrap made by Carefusion and I find for me it works the best. Much less confining than the others, and no stupid gland pain in between my chin and my ear. Recently my supplier sent me a Resmed version of this chinstrap which I like, but maybe not quite as well as the other one.

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