Pokey49 - Therapy Thread

[jdougc]

Pokey, all of my comfortable mask leak as I sleep on my side.
I can minimize the leaks of the pillow type the best, but you can't wear them, sorry to hear that.
I got the Bleep Eclipse, nothing goes into the nose, at no cost to me.
You can get you DR to right a script for the Bleep Eclipse kit, saying all of the reason none of the masks work for you.
Your DME should accept the script and medicare should pay for it.
I have not had to buy new nose wear yet, the "Halos" cost $18 for 16 nights.
I think Insurance, in my case Medicare would cover it also.
Good luck!

[Pokey49]

Didn’t know you can do machine/mask pressure test. How’s that work. 

So you set your min pressure to 10? What’s your max??my doctor set my presto 9-20 but I think 8 is better. I get your point about a higher pressure demand blowing your mask. Makes sense. I have no idea if I’m having high demands. A lot I don’t know yet

[super7pilot]

Pokey. To do a mask fit test. Go to the clinical settings menu first and make sure the machine is set to the style of mask you wish to test. Exit the clinical area and on the main screen you will see a grey + button at the bottom. Push this and you will see the "Mask Fit" press this and another screen will pop up that says "exit" and "start" BEFORE you touch the start button. Put on your mask then hit start.
And air will blow at a rising rate till it maxes out with quite a bit of force. During this you can fiddle with your mask straps. When you are done just hit exit. Even if you had a bit of a leak in the mask fit. Remember that the test is at max pressure. So before you take the mask off. Just hit the start button like you are hitting the rack and see if everything seals at YOUR pressure.

I just did this today with all those masks I got. Out of the N20, F20 air touch, F30i, N30. The one that worked is the N20. The hollow frame masks are just too loud for me.

[ejbpesca]

I am Min 10.6 Max 15.  My machines have always been set to 8-20 by the DMEs which is wrong for me.  8-20 is what my DMEs set all APAP machines to for the treatment of severe apnea.

Look on your My Options menu for the Mask Fit Test.  Run it and see if your mask stays sealed.  If not adjust the mask until it will seal.  If you cannot maintain a seal at 20 where the fit test will go, you have the same problem I do...leaks at that pressure. And for me they are not just leaks, over 15 about blows the mask off my face.

Your AS 11 may have a different name for Mask Fit test than my AS 10 but it should be easy to find by scrolling.

[jdougc]

Pokey,
Here is the  test.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3ftGxWNg3mw

[Pokey49]

Hi I’m at an impasse. Every mask I try has leak issues or is very uncomfortable   As I’ve discussed here I often feel starved for air during therapy no matter the pressure settings it seems. My machine was set by my sleep medicine doc this week to 9-10. EPR 3. With my N30i last night after so many breaths I’d feel short of breath causing me to take deep breath. It would be ok for several breaths and then I’d be short of breath again. The cycle kept repeating until the point I couldn’t take it anymore and yank the mask off. I’ve tried pressure settings (8-12EPR2) without much success either recently.  I don’t understand why I’m having so much trouble now. My first 20 days went really well and I felt the positive results. I’ve not had a successful or even semi successful night for at least 5 nights now only getting a few hours sleep. I didn’t sleep enough last night for getting a useful OSCAR report.  I do think therapy is necessary to improve my sleep health based my initial experience but I’m exhausted, frustrated and not sure what to try next.

[jdougc]

Pokey, can you try sitting and reading or listening to relaxing music. Use that last settings that worked well for you.
Obviously your wakefull breathing will be heavier than your sleep breathing, but you can see how the N30i feels and see how the leaks are.
Engineers and techies tend to overthink things, so try relaxing.
If you are starved for air, turn your minimum up and try again, make sure that your ramp pressure is the same as your minimum or turn ramp off.
Good luck and let us know if you can do this and how you feel.

[SarcasticDave94]

I know you feel a bit overwhelmed, but I have to ask. Are you setting your machine to what you feel comfortable for or only getting the doctor to set them? You should set these yourself for yourself.

[Pokey49]

I’m rethinking the pillow mask. This morning I decided to rest /relax in bed and put on my P10 and give it another feel. This morning it doesn’t seem to hurt my left nostril like the first time I used it for whatever reason. . It’s much less intrusive and more comfortable than the F30i or F40. And my breathing seems more natural & relaxed. I’m not having the SOB episodes with it like the F30 & 40. I did adjust my pressure a tic to z8-20 EPR still at 4. Also it seems if it does leak the air is not blown into my face or eye but outward laterally. I’m just not crazy about the air line coming out the front making it to easy to dislodge the mask/pillow in one’s sleep. I think ResMed makes one with the airline connecting at the top of your head. I’m going to give the pillow another chance.

[jdougc]

Remember the lanolin.
Maybe the hose tugs were hard on your nostril.
I saw a video where uncle nicko pinned the hose to his shirt . Some type of small clip with Velcro on the hose.
I try to grab my hose when I roll over.
Good luck .