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Leak fixed (mouth breather for sure)
#1
Leak fixed (mouth breather for sure)
with full mask leak rate 1 (was 28) AHI 7
5 hours sleep
sleeping on left side best, working on sleeping on right side
sleeping on back seems not to be working.
Mask seems too tight. Kind of afraid to loosen it and kill stats

I was told by board member the only real way to fix mouth breather
was with full mask. They were spot on. Never doubted the expertise
of the board. Just needed patience. Tough when you are tired and
cranky.

Still very tired will start stats after 1 week of full mask.

Will work on weight again (start juicing soon). Gotta get to the
magic 200 LBS.

ANY COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED

History and machine
resmed autoset h5i s9 series
positive airway pressure device
with humidifier
Elite model
switch to full mask
pressure set at 13.8
overweight 237 (was 262 dieting) age 63.5
scored 40 ahi test in hospital so severe apnea
sleep 4 hours and wake up then can not get back to sleep
#2
RE: Leak fixed (mouth breather for sure)
I resisted getting a full face mask because I thought it was too bulky or would feel suffocating. I wish I had tried one sooner. It's so much easier for me. I had the worst time keeping my mouth closed with the nasal. I do wish I could use pillows because they are more dainty and unobtrusive, but w/ the FFM, it's nice not to worry about mouth leak, even if it doesn't look very cute.
#3
RE: Leak fixed (mouth breather for sure)
You are making progress jxyzobrien, it is the same for all of us at the start, so keep working on it one step at a time.

Side sleeping is best, sleeping on your back is likely to increase apnea and snoring.

If you are a GORD [reflux] sufferer like me, sleeping on your left side helps reduce the reflux disrupting your sleep, something to do with the way our insides are designed and how all the plumbing lays when we are horizontal.

I'm not a fan of 'fad diets' to deal with weight issues.

When I was 15 kilograms above what I should have been, I went over to the idea of having my main meals dished up on a lunch plate rather than a dinner plate.
The lunch plate holds a smaller amount, thus reducing my portion size of each meal, while still looking like a proper meal on a plate.

It got my weight back down closer to what it should be.. though I need to start watching it as it is sneaking back up recently since I lost my job. Sad

I like the idea of the 5/2 'diet'.... some years ago I came up with the idea of a 6/1 diet plan that helped me control the weight again [should have modified it and marketed the idea Oh-jeez ]

Basically the 5/2 theory is to eat 'normally' for five days of the week, and not eat for two days of the week, just drink water/fluids.

The idea is that it reduces the total food portions consumed over the period of a week compared to eating seven days a week.

I'm going to start this week by not eating on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I need to drop 5kg to 7kg at the moment.

Don't get too disheartened when you have the odd nights of large leaks or high AHI numbers, we all have ups and downs, the average over 3 months to a year is what to be looking at [my personal opinion only, and for my driving licence compliance it is only the annual average my specialist and the driving licence authority are interested in]

Sleep-well
Ock.
#4
Pressure suggestion
Summary below. basically i sleep 4 hours with 0 leak rate and ahi 12-14
and then i can not get back to sleep.

So i am going to increase pressure to 15 FROM 13.8. PLEASE COMMENT
I RELEASE NO SLEEPY STATS BUT I APPRECIATE YOUR KNOWLEDGE

resmed autoset h5i s9 series
positive airway pressure device
with humidifier
Elite model
full mask
pressure set at 13.8
overweight 233 (was 262 dieting) age 63.5
scored 40 ahi test in hospital so severe apnea
sleep 4 hours and wake up then can not get back to sleep
leak rate now zero
#5
RE: Pressure suggestion
The pressure of 13.8 is a little out of the normal. How did you derive at that unusual pressure setting? No leaks is commendable. Something is going on to have that high a pressure and still having that high of AHI. A small increase in the pressure may help a bit but I think that there is some other issues that is causing the high AHI as well as the insomnia after only 4 hours of sleep. Weight loss is good, but you didn't say how much overweight you are. Possibly some stress, subconscious or lifestyle events are causing the high AHI and poor sleep.
Yesterday is history; Tomorrow is a mystery; Today is a gift; Thats why its called "The Present".  
#6
RE: Pressure suggestion
(10-01-2016, 07:18 PM)jxyzobrien Wrote: resmed autoset h5i s9 series
positive airway pressure device
with humidifier
Elite model

1. Do you have the ResMed S9 Elite fixed pressure CPAP or the ResMed S9 AutoSet auto-titrating APAP?
2. You may want to consult your physician to check any contraindications for increasing the pressure.
3. You might want to increase your pressure slowly and incrementally and see if there are changes in the numbers and how you feel.
4. You may wish to download and install #Sleepyhead and use it to fine tune your analysis.

5. If you have the "autoset" version, you could up your pressure and note the 95% reading over a few weeks to determine optimum pressure ranges.

6. Since you appear to be sleeping only four hours, are you exploring other issues that might be keeping you from a restful night?

I am sure others will weigh in with their thoughts. Meanwhile, best of luck.
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius
#7
RE: Pressure suggestion
The original question regards pressure.
On must know the composition of event types to comment on pressure.
In general, obstructive events call for more pressure. Central (Clear Airway) events may be exacerbated by an increase in pressure.

Since you have decided to: "I am going to increase pressure to 15 FROM 13.8."
Smaller steps are warranted. You choose; but I would not jump up by 1.2 cm-water.
Admin Note:
JustMongo passed away in August 2017
Click HERE to read his Memorial Thread

~ Rest in Peace ~
#8
RE: Pressure suggestion
thanks for replying. weight 233 (i will be down to 200 in the next 4-5 months)

Originally they had the hospital test at pressure of 12. I have encountered some minor breathing issues since.

I had real problems with that pressure setting. I woke with the full mask
like i was being waterboarded.

Doctor changed it to 14. Now set at 13.8. So no real breathing problems with
that setting.

Like you say there may well be other issues. I am going to increase
pressure first and see if that helps.

I need a week of test results to really have a decent amount of data
to look at.

I noticed during the hospital test the air pressure seemed much higher.
#9
RE: Pressure suggestion
(10-01-2016, 07:18 PM)jxyzobrien Wrote: Summary below. basically i sleep 4 hours with 0 leak rate and ahi 12-14
and then i can not get back to sleep.

So i am going to increase pressure to 15 FROM 13.8. PLEASE COMMENT
I RELEASE NO SLEEPY STATS BUT I APPRECIATE YOUR KNOWLEDGE

resmed autoset h5i s9 series
positive airway pressure device
with humidifier
Elite model
full mask
pressure set at 13.8
overweight 233 (was 262 dieting) age 63.5
scored 40 ahi test in hospital so severe apnea
sleep 4 hours and wake up then can not get back to sleep
leak rate now zero

Ever since you joined this forum at the end of March, you have asked some version of this same question or talked about your mask leaks. We have advised you multiple times to download #sleepyhead and at least tell us the breakdown of events. If you're good enough to change your pressure, you should sure be smart enough to download the software so any changes actually made sense and had an objective.

Until you take steps to help yourself by providing basic information like the model of your machine, and either post some data or provide information from the machine display, there is nothing that can or should be done to advise you.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

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#10
RE: Pressure suggestion
Not enough data yet to even download
Software down loaded
have to get cardreader adapter

Resmed s9 elite
positive airway pressure device with humidifier
full mask , pressure at 13.8

Please be respectful of others. Your post is not one that shows any
respect or empathy at all. You do not want have to respond to my posts
unless you have something positive to contribute.


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