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Greetings from Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. I recenetly have been diagnosed with severe OAS, 31 events per hour on the average, I am using a ResMed AutoSense AutoStart machine on loan from a respiratory compnay here in the Hat. My problem is that I have difficulty with tolerating the mask (F20) and the chinstrap. I am using a nose mask and I have to make sure my mouth is always close.
The ptoblem is that I wake up after 2+ hours and can not fall asleep again unless I take the mask and the chinstrap off. Even then, the next morning I feel I had been hit with a 2x4. I have been contemplating not yo use the CPAP machine, I seemed to be OK before I was diagnosed. So any help I can get from you guys on the board is greatly appreciated. I also attach the last OSCAR shot, and I need help with that as well, specifically I am referring to the setup of the machine. Thanks in advance fro your help.
Thanks for your help in advance.
MedHatter
Here is the shot of my OSCAR page from the night of the 9th of May:
Thank you for your graphs, which were well presented, giving us a good initial picture of your therapy and the difficulties you are having.
I see you are having a considerable number of central apneas. In your sleep study, did you have this issue also?
It also looks like these apnea events could be actually be positional apnea, as evidenced by tbe look of clustering.
You may wish to read through the above link which pretty well explains the issue. Two things also come to mind on this, sleeping on your back, and the thickness of your pillow pushing your head forward. Here is a demonstration - video - positional.
I understand your issues with mask and chin strap. You may want to read through the mask primer to get some tips.
Have you tried mouth taping instead of using a chin strap?
As regards settings, it's a bit early to do much until we understand about your central apneas. You could however increase your EPR setting to 3, you may be more comfortable.
1.I have not been told about my central apnea, but the person who evaluated my sleep study did not say much. 2.I will definitely take you suggestion and read more about positional apnea. 3.I always sleep on my side but I have a double pillow, which may cause positional apnea. Plan to eliminate one pillow and maybe migrate to a cervical collar. 4.Since I am a mouth breeder, I will migrate to a full face mask, such as the F20, and eliminate the chin strap. 5.Mouth taping doesn’t inspire me so that is off the table for me, but thanks for listing it as an option. 6.I agree, we need more time to understand what is going on for me. Thanks again for your suggestions, they are very helpful for me.
Since you have a leak rate problem and you are having problems tolerating the chin strap, you should be aware that traditional chin straps are not designed to actually work well or be comfortable. Traditional neoprene chin straps wrap around the tip of the chin and the top, back of the head, the problem being that the jaw joint (which is located just in front of the ear) is located along the line between those two points. This is illustrated in the drawing at the top of the More Info page of Supplier #37. Therefore, traditional chin straps force the jaw almost directly into the jaw joint, which is the least effective and most uncomfortable angle to be applying the force.
If you want to investigate chin straps further, I'd suggest you look into the Knightsbridge Dual Band, since that has straps which pass under the jaw and lift vertically to work with the natural rotation of the jaw. And the two straps (one elastic, one non-elastic) allow pressure to be minimized yet still effective, so it is pretty comfortable and hopefully you won't be ripping it off in the middle of the night.
(Please use the Supplier #37 link rather than a keyword search or otherwise you will most likely you will end up with a counterfeit. Hopefully, that will be rectified soon.)
05-10-2025, 09:58 PM (This post was last modified: 05-10-2025, 10:02 PM by MedHatter.)
RE: I am new to this board - Need help with OSCAR
Thanks, I will consider the mouthpirece but I am plannin to go full face mask. Thatwill solve my mouth-breathing issue.
LawreneShaw, thank for you post. My plan is to go full mask so I most likely will not need the chinstrap. In case I decide for some reason that I need a chinstrap, I will definitely consider your suggestion. Thanks a lot again.
Hi jdougc, thank for the suggestion. My plan is to go with full mask, so most likely I will not need a mouthpiece. In anycase I'll keep it in my toolbox just in case I will need it. Thanks again!
Not trying to hijack this thread but what is that contraption? Does it slide into the mouth, with the teeth holding it down? Does it go over the outer lips?
I've tried everything and my lips always keeps coming apart at 4AM, every, single, morning.
(05-10-2025, 09:58 PM)MedHatter Wrote: Thanks, I will consider the mouthpirece but I am plannin to go full face mask. Thatwill solve my mouth-breathing issue.
LawreneShaw, thank for you post. My plan is to go full mask so I most likely will not need the chinstrap. In case I decide for some reason that I need a chinstrap, I will definitely consider your suggestion. Thanks a lot again.
Just my 2 cents but sleeping with my Airfit F40 full face hybrid mask doesn't solve my mouth opening issues. Even with this mask, my mouth will open at 4AM each morning, but instead of venting out into the ether (if I wear my Dreamwear nasal cushion mask), it vents back into the mask itself.
So yes, this solves the pressure drop issue by venting the air back into the closed loop mask system, it does not solve the issue with dry mouth. With the high pressure air pouring out of your mask, through your teeth, it starts to dry out your tongue and lips, even with humidification on. Is it still easier on you than just a nasal mask pouring out the pressurized air? Of course, but it's no slam dunk.
So yes, a full face mask will definitely help, it isn't totally without it's issues.
