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Leaky question
#1
Leaky question
Just got new S9 & new mask N10. On the ResScan Summary Graph my leak numbers for the past few days are:
Max 95th Median
Day 1: 49.20, 44.40, 2.40
Day 2: 44.40, 33.60, 9.60
Day 3: 57.60, 43.20, 15.60
Day 4: 73.20, 64.40, 14.40

I don't understand what these numbers mean.
How bad the are leaks cause I'm not noticing many.
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#2
RE: Leaky question
(11-15-2014, 11:19 AM)mikeb77 Wrote: Just got new S9 & new mask N10. On the ResScan Summary Graph my leak numbers for the past few days are:
Max 95th Median
Day 1: 49.20, 44.40, 2.40
Day 2: 44.40, 33.60, 9.60
Day 3: 57.60, 43.20, 15.60
Day 4: 73.20, 64.40, 14.40

I don't understand what these numbers mean.
How bad the are leaks cause I'm not noticing many.
------------------
I have the same machine and those are considered high leak ratees at least to me. For example my leak rates are usually 0-4. I make sure my face is clean and I push the mask around my face that usually works for me. You might want to try a different mask, my favorite is blue gel nasel it is also one of the less expensive masks.

My insurance just bought me a S10 machine and my leak rates are like 16-18. This machine also had other problems and is being replaced.

Boy did I sleep good last night going back to my old machine.

Best of luck to you. Sleep-well
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#3
RE: Leaky question
Your leak rates are too high. Possibly the leakage is occurring through your mouth, so that's a place to start. You might need a chinstrap to help you avoid that.
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#4
RE: Leaky question
Trying to edge him closer to the dark side?? Laugh-a-lot

I do agree with R_G that it looks like it might well be mouth leakage and if the chin strap fixes it, that would be good.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

Admin Note:
PaytonA passed away in September 2017
Click HERE to read his Memorial Thread

~ Rest in Peace ~
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#5
RE: Leaky question
(11-15-2014, 11:19 AM)mikeb77 Wrote: Just got new S9 & new mask N10. On the ResScan Summary Graph my leak numbers for the past few days are:
Max 95th Median
Day 1: 49.20, 44.40, 2.40
Day 2: 44.40, 33.60, 9.60
Day 3: 57.60, 43.20, 15.60
Day 4: 73.20, 64.40, 14.40

I don't understand what these numbers mean.
How bad the are leaks cause I'm not noticing many.

Hi Mike. Welcome to the forum. Look at the on-screen display each morning to see if you're getting the smiley face. The frowning face indicates that you are leaking too much.

Let's look at the numbers for Day 1. Your maximum leak rate is 49.20 liters per minute. 95% of the time your leak rate is below 44.40, and 50% of the time it's below 2.40.

The maximum leak rate for which the machine can still deliver effective therapy is 20 L/min, so we would like to see it below that for at least 95% of the time. If it's below that for 70% of the time I think that's what gets you the smiley face.

So I would say that your numbers don't look too bad, but they could be better.

Contact your equipment provider and ask for a chin strap. Do you ever wake up with air hissing out of your mouth?

Another thing you can do is use SleepyHead or ResScan to look at your leak rates on the computer. It's more meaningful to look at a leak graph because you can see at a glance when and for how long you're in periods of large leak.

Basically the problem with large leaks is that the machine can no longer maintain the pressure needed to keep your airway from collapsing, so it's just as if you have no CPAP machine.
Sleepster

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#6
RE: Leaky question
Hi mikeb77,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
As everyone has said so far, your leaks are too high. You might try a chinstrap with your mask to see if that will help.
Hang in there for more responses to your post.
Much success with your CPAP therapy.
trish6hundred
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#7
RE: Leaky question
Hello and welcome

First congrats on your first few days, I can tell you my leak rates were way above yours when first started some 4 years ago and most important with even with high leaks, I slept much better than before PAP
Don't worry, will get better with practice night after night and trialling different masks ... keep at it
If you,re in US, you can return the mask within 30 days and try another one until you find one that you really like. Its not uncommon to go through at least half dozen of different masks to find the right mask, fit well and correct size

95th percentile means, leak was at or below this number for 95% pf the time, ideally, we like it to be at 24 or below but not the end of the world as we know it, if happen to go over which can happen to the best of us





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#8
RE: Leaky question
(11-15-2014, 11:19 AM)mikeb77 Wrote: Just got new S9 & new mask N10. On the ResScan Summary Graph my leak numbers for the past few days are:
Max 95th Median
Day 1: 49.20, 44.40, 2.40
Day 2: 44.40, 33.60, 9.60
Day 3: 57.60, 43.20, 15.60
Day 4: 73.20, 64.40, 14.40

I don't understand what these numbers mean.
How bad the are leaks cause I'm not noticing many.

Hi mikeb77, welcome to the forum!

I think Large Leak (referring to unintentional Leak which is large) is officially 42 Liter/minute, but the machine can still deliver the full pressure while some pretty bad leaking is occurring.

Look at the data using ResScan or SleepyHead, and if the Mask Pressure is still 15 (which is the CPAP pressure shown in your profile) then the machine is still delivering effective therapy, even if the unintentional Leak is 40 or 50 Liter/minute. But at high unintentional Leak, the other data will be inaccurate, such as Flow (Flow is the rate of airflow into and out from our airway, being inhaled and exhaled), and all the data which are derived from the Flow will also be quite inaccurate, like the Tidal Volume or Minute Ventilation, and detection of Flow Limitation will be unreliable.

If the unintentional Leak is worse than 30 L/m then the machine will not even try to differentiate Central Apnea versus Obstructive Apnea; it will simply flag all such apneas as being of Unknown Apnea (UA) type.

It looks like you are using fixed-pressure CPAP therapy mode. If, instead, you were using a machine which is auto-adjusting like the AutoSet, it would be a lot more important to keep unintentional Leak below 24 L/m. If you manage to do that for at least 70% of the night then the green Mr Happy Face will appear on the screen in the morning if you look at the sleep report on the machine.


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#9
RE: Leaky question
First of all I want to thank all of you for your responses. Next I want to let you all know that I'm a CPAP user for over 9 years now. My old CPAP would only tell the usage. After I got this new one and it uses the SD card I searched for software to read it, that's how I found this forum and software. Thanks so much. I went back to my provider and got a smaller version of the same mask. It's amazing what this machine can tell about your sleep. Will let you know in a few days if this mask works. Once again, thanks for your support.
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