[Merged thread]Have tried 4 different nasal and/or nasal pillow masks. All leak crazy.

[ChinaMan]

I used Bleep mask last night, with mouth taped––there was no mouth leak. When the session started, the Total Leaks was 22; but 8hr54Min later when I woke up, the Total Leaks was over 28. So why did the Total Leaks gradually increase? Does that indicate unintended/unwanted leaks occurred but not shown in the OSCAR as unintended/unwanted leaks?

[jaswilliams]

The dream station leak graph includes mask intentional leaks through the vent there is no mask leak to worry about.

[ChinaMan]

The dream station leak graph includes mask intentional leaks through the vent there is no mask leak to worry about.

I understand but the pressure was mostly constant––13, why the Total Leaks increased over the night? Wasn't the Total Leaks supposed to be constant in normal circumstances when pressure didn't change?

[PaulaO2]

mask leak?

[Gideon]

Your leaks are insignificant. They were likely caused by your changing position and relaxing your facial muscles. Again these are normal.

[ChinaMan]

Your leaks are insignificant.  They were likely caused by your changing position and relaxing your facial muscles.  Again these are normal.

The Leak Rate––as opposed to Total Leaks––was 0 throughout the night. Does that mean there was 0 unwanted/unintended leak? I am confused why the Total Leaks gradually increased over the night.

Or maybe the machine mistakenly combine wanted and unwanted leaks into Total Leaks?

[ChinaMan]

And my morning fasting CARBON DIOXIDE was high: 31 mmol/L; which indicates excessive CO2 in the blood about an hour after morning wake up.

[ChinaMan]

Blood CO2 level is a little high: 31 mmol/L. CPAP has consistently been showing AHI at or below 2. What's wrong? Also, I am borderline prediabetic in terms of A1c and fasting glucose ––right at the cutoff between normal and prediabetic. Also, I am not overweight.

[DeepBreathing]

G'day Chinaman.

I've merged your two threads into one as the material in both overlapped. In general it's best to keep all your stuff together in a single thread so there is a record of questions and advice so that members can easily trace your progress. This will result in better advice overall.

[ChinaMan]

My pressure is 13-13.5. Have tried Dreamwear Nasal, Dreamwear Nasal Pillow, Wisp Nasal, and Bleep mask. They all leak.

Bleep mask is the most comfortable, but it also leak every night. Any suggestion for nasal mask that won't leak?

Hi ChinaMan, 

One of the best ways to lower leak problems is to lower pressure.  

I remember your screenshots showing those high pressures.  I know you have put a lot of pain, time and work to get the therapy right.  

I have been thinking about our chat.  Maybe the ResMed algorithims are a better fit for your needs. 

If your still not happy with the DreamStation and if you need high pressure to knock out the OAs cause the Dreamstation APAP will does raise pressure very fast in the face of a flow limitation then it might be worth it to try an Autoset or VAuto (given the higher pressures you have been running).  

I see Supplier #2 and Supplier #33 mentioned a lot.  Others may have more recommendations
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...plier-List  

I have seen ResMed Autosets and VAutos on Craigslist for $200-500.

WillSleep

I lowered the pressure by 1.5, and the leaks appeared to have stopped; but the Total Leaks gradually increased over the course of the whole night, so I am not sure whether there was leak or not. BTW, do you have any idea why my blood CO2 level was high: 31 mmol/L? Also I think I felt better with high pressure, but higher pressure came with leaks, so there is trade-off. With the lower pressure, there was less wakeups due to leaks but feel not refreshed when wake up in the morning.