[split] Leaks and EPR

[flygirl91rdu]

I'm new so not sure if this is the right place for this. 
  After getting the red frowny face on my AirSense 10 since late March and trying a different mask and getting a chin strap, I was ready to change from my current DME to my ENT for help.
  My AHI levels weren't bad but "mask leaks" rate not good.
  On May 7 I called and talked to the man who has been working with me.  He looked at my numbers and reset my pressure ( I had changed it to a 9 on CPAP instead of Autoset) and then commented that my EPR was not on. 
--He said I wasn't supposed to change my pressure and I replied that a policeman was not coming to my house to arrest me for that and that I had done just fine on a 9.
  -Anyway he said I'm setting your EPR to a 3.  Lo, and behold, every night since then I have gotten the green happy face!  And my mask leaks are very minimal. 
 --SO, why did I have to go through that for 6 weeks when the EPR setting did the trick?   Needless mask exchange--I went by to my pillows--and needless chinstrap prescription--it's uncomfortable.

[Sleeprider]

Flygirl, welcome to the forum. It's usually better to start your own thread with a new question.

EPR works in mysterious ways, and one thing it does is to reduce flow limitation. This seems to improve mask leaks, but I don't know why. Sounds like the last setting change got you back on the right track. Be sure to download the free #Sleepyhead software. It can make your therapy a lot easier to understand and gives you much more information.

[Sleepster]

 --SO, why did I have to go through that for 6 weeks when the EPR setting did the trick?

Unfortunately that's typical of the level of care provided to most of us who suffer from this malady. The medical profession just doesn't seem to understand the issues we face. Which is why Apnea Board exists. We have to do it for ourselves when they won't do it for us.

Having good leak statistics is definitely better than having bad leak statistics, but good statistics alone do not necessarily indicate that all is well with leaks. You need to get SleepyHead or ResScan (the former is better) and look at your leak rate graph. If your leaks are good enough most of the time, you'll have okay statistics (that is, acceptable average leak rates and acceptable 90th percentile leak rates) but there may be times when your leak rate is too high. I like to see a leak rate graph that's smooth and low all night long. Brief periods of high leak rates, even though they don't last long enough or are not high enough to make the average leak rate unacceptably high, can still be ruining your night's sleep and make you fell less well than you otherwise might.

[gwc2795]

welcome to the forum flygirl. I am glad you are getting some relief.