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+--- Thread: Advice on leaks please. (/Thread-Advice-on-leaks-please)
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Advice on leaks please. - Gabby - 03-11-2015
I am wondering what leak rate you all go by. I know '24' is the golden number to try and stay well under but my main question is, when you are checking your leak figure do you go by the 95% number or the medium number?
Also what is the average that most of you have for your leaks nightly please?
I would just like to check that my leaks are within the ball park.
Thank you.
RE: Advice on leaks please. - herbm - 03-11-2015
I expect my 95% number to be well below 24 (for Resmed machines).
I want 95% (or more) of the night to be within the limit -- actually well below the limit.
With a P10 (which I know you were using a while back), I expect almost no leaks and will not tolerate any perceptible air movement on my face nor whistling sounds (nor buzzing in my nose from a flapping pillow edge.)
Doing that it is uncommon for me to have 95% anywhere near the limits. Remember a max leak could be just because you dislodged you mask or remove it without shutting off the machine.
RE: Advice on leaks please. - PaytonA - 03-11-2015
My "median" number for leaks is almost always 0. I like for my 95% leak number to be below 10 and it is 0 fairly often. I do not worry about the max number unless it is up towards 50 and even then if it is only 1 or 2 spikes, I don't worry about it. I also do not tolerate perceptible leaks (leaks that I can feel or hear).
No scientific basis for what I like to see on my leak rate statistics, just my own personal feelings about my own therapy. I do not judge others leak statistics by the same criteria. I think that if your 95% leak rate is under 24 (for Resmed) and stays that way your leaks are good to go.
Best Regards,
PaytonA
RE: Advice on leaks please. - retired_guy - 03-11-2015
One of the nice features of the new Sleepyhead release is we can see exactly when over-limit leaks occur on the "Event Flags" graph (shown as gray (grey) lines coded "LL.") Looking at that you might see that your leaks on a particular night rose to an unacceptable level at a specific few minute period of time. So that being the case you can see that for 7.99999 hours you were fine, but for that little point in time something goofy happened, and you can easily ignore it.
It's when the "LL" gets so bad that you can visually see how it could be impacting a majority of your sleep that you should be concerned.
RE: Advice on leaks please. - Mr. Van Winkle - 03-11-2015
I never really look at that too closely , but on Sleepyhead my 90% leak rate for the last 30 days has been 7.2 , Is that good or bad ?
I know I don't care for leaks blowing in my eye's or face for that matter.
RE: Advice on leaks please. - AshSF - 03-11-2015
With nasal pillows, I expect to see a flat leak rate of 0L/min. On the P10, my last 30 days, Av/90%/LL have been 0.20/1.00/0.00%. Most nights my max=min=0L/min.
That is why P10 is an amazing mask. I don't even need to adjust it too much. And I am an active side sleeper.
With a FFM, I saw some leaks. And about once a month, a large leak flag for 10% of the night.
RE: Advice on leaks please. - Gabby - 03-11-2015
Thank you everyone for your replies.
I go by the ResMed 24 guide and have been going by my 95% reading rather than my 'median'(sorry about that(. Mostly because I was told on this forum early on that was the reading to follow.
Also Payton I do not tolerate leaks I can feel or hear, they drive me crazy.
You are right Herb when you say I don't know what happens when I turn when I am asleep.
I am suspecting most of mine are mouth leaks even though I wear a chinstrap.
The leaks start as soon as I put the mask on until I take it off, no let up.
Anyway, my leaks on an average are between 8-10, bad nights can creep up to 12-14.
I'm having a very good night if I get a 6, whacko.
I used to be frantic about these numbers but recently I have learned to relax a bit, figuring well they are half of the given 24.
I am very jealous of you all having 0's.
Other than my leaks my AHI's are very acceptable mostly 2 and below.
Cheers again for your answers.
RE: Advice on leaks please. - trailrider - 03-11-2015
Gabby, what does your Autosense display say about the leak rate? smiley green or red frown? Mine has a green face and lists the rate at 6 or 7 litres/min. Is this what yours says is 24 or 12?
RE: Advice on leaks please. - Sleepster - 03-11-2015
The smiley face, low median leak rate, and low 95th percentile leak rate numbers are important. If they indicate you have a problem, then it's a problem that needs to be addressed. But if they are low, that's not good enough. You have to look at the leak rate graph. If you see periods of time where it's elevated then that's a problem that needs to be addressed, too.
Even if the leak rate is not above 24 it might be high enough to interfere with the quality of your sleep.
If using a nasal mask, try a different mask or a chin strap, or both. If that doesn't work try full face masks. Get a mask that doesn't leak. The only thing more important is compliance.
RE: Advice on leaks please. - Seabird - 03-11-2015
That's amazing. When I use the P10 I get more like 14/26/15%.
(03-11-2015, 04:50 PM)AshSF Wrote: With nasal pillows, I expect to see a flat leak rate of 0L/min. On the P10, my last 30 days, Av/90%/LL have been 0.20/1.00/0.00%. Most nights my max=min=0L/min.
That is why P10 is an amazing mask. I don't even need to adjust it too much. And I am an active side sleeper.
With a FFM, I saw some leaks. And about once a month, a large leak flag for 10% of the night.