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Leak City. What is going on?
#1
Leak City. What is going on?
So I've been using for my CPAP for 800~ days and it's worked so well. However I've not felt as rested in the mornings the last couple of weeks so I had a look in Oscar.
The last months has had an increase in leaks. I havn't changed anything in my setup so I'm very confused as to why this is happening and where to start with troubleshooting.
Would gladly appriciate some input regarding my issue
Kind regards Djungelbobo


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#2
RE: Leak City. What is going on?
These appear to be mouth leaks. The pattern indicates it with either long flat elevated leaks or ones with rounded pattern. You have both. This will suggest a need to use a chin strap to keep the jaw closed or taping the lips shut. If neither are successful or not desired, then a full face mask would be needed.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#3
RE: Leak City. What is going on?
I presume that the leaks are with your Airfit F20 mask which is a full face mask, so your mouth opening should not affect leak rates.
It looks like you are not wearing the mask correctly, like you are not tightening it enough to create an effective "seal" against your skin.
Tighten up and lock and load tonight and let us know how it goes.
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#4
RE: Leak City. What is going on?
Thanks for your replies. I am currently using a jaw strap to prevent my mouth from opening.
Earlier when I've recognized excessive leaking I would usually get a new mask which would fix it but this time around I've had no success with that.
I've also messed around with the tighntness with the mask but that hasn't helped yet.
I will do some further calibrations for this night and get back.
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#5
RE: Leak City. What is going on?
I didn't note the use of the F20 Full face at first, but I've used it myself in the past. It isn't the easiest to get sealed consistently. And with the pattern of leaking, it's possible the cushion could be worn or distorted.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#6
RE: Leak City. What is going on?
The F20 cushion is very thin as it crosses the nose. That can stretch and leak after a while.
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#7
RE: Leak City. What is going on?
You seem to have checked the obvious, so how about the less obvious? Check your hose carefully to see if there might be a leak in it when bent one way or another. Similarly, check the elbow and it's fit to the hose, event the gasket on the humidifier tank (though that is usually quite noisy if there is a problem with the gasket). If you have a spare hose, elbow, and humidifier tank, see if using your spares makes any difference.

Have you had any recent changes in your physical health that might have increased your apneas?
Useful links
Download OSCAR (current version is 1.5.1)
Best way to organize charts
How to attach charts to your post

Apnea Board Monitors are members who help oversee the smooth functioning of the Board. They are also members of the Advisory Committee which helps shape Apnea Board's rules & policies. Membership in the Advisory Members group does not imply medical expertise or qualification for advising Sleep Apnea patients concerning their treatment.
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#8
RE: Leak City. What is going on?
Thanks for ya'lls comments!

I did tighten the F20 mask, tighten my chin-strap and trimmed my beard around the areas of the mask. Unfortunately as you can see in the attached picture I had a lot of leaks again.
I've inspected the hose, humidifier and the elbow and did not find anything there..
I'm going to order a new mask, hose, elbow and humidifier to see if that changes anything.
The mask is only 2 months old and I usually have to switch it out every 6 months because of leaks when the structure of it gives up Tongue

I've not experienced any physical changes in my health lately, nor psychologically.

I'm thinking about buying a cushion for this mask to improve the seal - is there anyone who had any experience with this and could recommend me one?
I was just now looking at the AirTouch Cushion with memory foam which looks interesting!


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#9
RE: Leak City. What is going on?
Your leak rate has improved greatly. Median leak rate before was 24 lpm, now you are down to 7 lpm.

It's not surprising that the only time you see a large leak is when your pressure increased greatly.

What leak rate were seeing before leaks started increasing?
Useful links
Download OSCAR (current version is 1.5.1)
Best way to organize charts
How to attach charts to your post

Apnea Board Monitors are members who help oversee the smooth functioning of the Board. They are also members of the Advisory Committee which helps shape Apnea Board's rules & policies. Membership in the Advisory Members group does not imply medical expertise or qualification for advising Sleep Apnea patients concerning their treatment.
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#10
RE: Leak City. What is going on?
Yes, you're right. It went down by a lot. What got me to think that they still were on the same level was the myAIR statistics which alerts me when my leaks are above 24 l/m.
However for example back in june my large leaks, 95% leak and median leaks were a lot lower. See attached screenshots.
I ordered a new mask just to see if that will have an impact(the airtouch f20 with memory foam).


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