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I've been using my CPAP machine (ResMed AirSense 11) for almost a year now. Initially, I felt like it was working better, but I never really felt super rested, even though I thought it was working at the time. Over the last few months, though, I’ve noticed a decline in my sleep quality. Nothing has changed with my setup, but I no longer feel rested when I wake up. The dry mouth issue is something that's only started recently; it wasn’t happening before. One of the issues I’m dealing with is waking up several times in the middle of the night with a dry mouth. I’ve tried adjusting the humidity settings on my machine, but it doesn’t seem to help. I also tried taping my mouth to prevent it, but that didn’t work either. Before I consider switching to a full-face mask, I was hoping someone could take a look at my OSCAR data and see if any adjustments to my settings might improve my situation. I also tried turning off the EPR (Expiratory Pressure Relief) and setting it to 0, but I haven’t noticed much of a difference. I have a deviated septum, so I often experience nasal congestion, which may cause me to switch from breathing through my nose to my mouth during the night. However, I’m not sure if that’s the main issue. If this is the issue, I’m curious as to why I didn’t experience these problems or the lack of rest when I first started treatment. Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated!
Quite a bit of your deep or Rem sleep is interupted by events, contributing to your fatigue. Your leak rate is really huge, compromising your therapy. The leaks for the most part are not spikes, but horizontal, usually indicating mouth leaks. You could use a soft cervical collar and Kinesiology tape, regular original cotton elastic athletic tape.
[attachment=76761]
Are you a side sleeper?
Can you change the Y-axis of the Flow rate graph from default to override and change the values to minimum -65 and maximum 65? Right click on the right side of the graph to get that menu. That would show more detail.
[attachment=76762]
You definitely have some leaks going on that’s probably pretty disturbing. Oscar says you have 14.5 % of
Your leaks are over the red line and you have a lot more that are under the red line. So getting those leaks under control will definitely help.
03-16-2025, 05:12 PM (This post was last modified: 03-16-2025, 05:13 PM by amfar33.)
RE: No Longer Feel Good with CPAP
(03-16-2025, 04:10 PM)jdougc Wrote: Quite a bit of your deep or Rem sleep is interupted by events, contributing to your fatigue. Your leak rate is really huge, compromising your therapy. The leaks for the most part are not spikes, but horizontal, usually indicating mouth leaks. You could use a soft cervical collar and Kinesiology tape, regular original cotton elastic athletic tape.
Are you a side sleeper?
Can you change the Y-axis of the Flow rate graph from default to override and change the values to minimum -65 and maximum 65? Right click on the right side of the graph to get that menu. That would show more detail.
I tried NextCare strong hold 3M tape and that did not work. I'm a side sleeper but I've also noticed that when I wake up with a dry mouth, it usually happens after I flip over during sleep and end up on my back. I typically start the night sleeping on my side, but it seems like I turn over at some point, which causes me to start mouth breathing.
I changed the Y-Axis as you mentioned and attached it.
(03-16-2025, 04:13 PM)Nightynite Wrote: You definitely have some leaks going on that’s probably pretty disturbing. Oscar says you have 14.5 % of
Your leaks are over the red line and you have a lot more that are under the red line. So getting those leaks under control will definitely help.
How can I get those leaks under control? My mask is tight and there is no leak from the my nose piece. I guess the only way to get these leaks under control is to get a full face mask?
03-16-2025, 05:28 PM (This post was last modified: 03-16-2025, 05:34 PM by jdougc. Edited 1 time in total.)
RE: No Longer Feel Good with CPAP
You could use a soft cervical collar and Kinesiology tape, regular original cotton elastic athletic tape from Amazon, very cheap. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJ248CVZ?ref...tle_3&th=1
Hide the snore chart and show insp time and resp rate. Uncheck snore and AHI charts in the bottom right
(03-16-2025, 05:28 PM)jdougc Wrote: You could use a soft cervical collar and Kinesiology tape, regular original cotton elastic athletic tape from Amazon, very cheap. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJ248CVZ?ref...tle_3&th=1
Hide the snore chart and show insp time and resp rate. Uncheck snore and AHI charts in the bottom right
Thank you, I will give those a try. Attached is the requested chart. Does it indicate anything that might suggest I should adjust my settings?
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Yes to Dave’s post. These mask aren’t designed to be tightened down until the leaks stop. Most are manufactured with flexible silicon and that gives them the ability to expand under pressure and make contact with your skin and seal. This is why many people have a box full of mask that didn’t work. This is probably the most troublesome part of therapy. Read the mask primer on the wiki page. It can make the difference and shorten the learning curve on successful therapy.
