BreatheHappily

Hi, I have a beginner's question about APAP. When the machine detects what it thinks is an apnea or CA, it raises the pressure. Does this pressure ever come down during the same night or does it stay that high until the morning? Sometimes I am half-awake after this happens and I wish it would reduce the pressure.

Thanks for this advice. It is very helpful. Yes, I have OSCAR and am trying to learn the ropes. I started with ResMed Air Sense 10 with APAP settings of 4 to 12, then asked the doctor/supplier to reduce the range to 4 to 10. Unfortunately, I cannot change the pressure settings myself, but I can alter, ramp, EPR, humidity etc. I need to try experimenting more during the day, and fixing leaks, when I work allows, and then try at night.

Thanks. I was wondering how the N30 nose piece (mask) feels compared to the P10.

Thanks. I found out the post was withheld because I posted urls before my account had been approved.

Hi,

I was originally given a full mask by one doctor on the grounds that I have a deviated septum that means the right side of my nose gets blocked easily. However, another doctor told me I should try the nasal type first.

I have only tried to use the full mask for one night but it started leaking and I woke at 3am with the ResMed AirSense 10 at level 12. I took the mask off and went back to sleep..

For that night, I had a CA score of 4.12/hour (the CA events coincided with high leak rates when I was semi-awake) and obstructive apnea of 3.12/hour.

Today, I tried two nasal masks for 20-mins or so each while lying on my bed during the day. I was semi-awake and stressed and nervous with various things going through my mind. I had 4 CA events in 15 mins and the CA score was 14.98. Afterwards (now), I feel bad, as though I have swallowed too much air. I managed to keep my mouth shut but I feel as though the machine is getting my breathing out of sync.

I should add the following:

My home apnea test which involved, an oximeter on my finger, bands on my waist and chest, and tubes in my nose, gave me a CA score of 2.0/hour, OA score of 12.2/hour, and hypopneas of 5.2/hour.

My PSG test in hospital was a complete disaster because I had a headache all night from resting my head with metal sensors on it against a tiny pillow full of plastic beads (no alternative pillows were available, and no painkiller was offered). I was semi-awake all night in moderate pain. The doctor confirmed I had only slept for 2-3 hours. I was told I had few apneas, but many hypopneas and 5.8 CA events per hour. I doubt this test was reliable because I just remember being half-conscious the entire night. It was probably the worst night of sleep I have had in my entire life.

Why the sudden jump in CA events during my admittedly brief tests of nasal masks?

Is the sharp increase in CA events due to my anxiety, or my deviated septum making it hard to breathe?

I swallowed a few times, coughed, probably hyperventilated, or did something unnatural with my breathing, and I think I stopped breathing while getting up to turn the machine off.

I also forgot to turn off pressure relief which I think I am better off without. I suspect the machine is too slow to adjust to my changes in breathing patterns when in EPR mode.

Any ideas?

Hi, has anyone tried both of these (I don't mean the ResMed Airfit N30i)? How do they compare?

Raquel, when you used the oximeter. Was it a hospital one? I bought an overnight oximeter that cost quite a bit but was very unreliable.

When you say headgear, am I right in thinking you mean the straps but none of the plastic/silicon part that fits on your nose?

As I understand it, the mask part of the F&P Brevida Air Pillow covers your nose, while the ResMed P10 rests on the outside rim of your nostrils, with prongs as you mentioned. If I went for a nasal mask, I might prefer the Brevida design of the nose piece, as shown in your photo above.

I wish I had more opportunity to try different masks. I currently live in Japan. I went to an ENT doctor who made me do an at-home test and then sent me the ResMed AirSense 10 Auto plus a full-face ResMed mask and F&P Eson 2 nasal to try. I then did a PSG overnight test at a larger hospital and was supposed to do a mask fitting there, but the technician/nurse just asked me what I had already and gave me the ResMed N20 mask, without letting me try on others.

I don't want to go back to the overnight hospital because they are not flexible as far as letting me try and choose my own mask. The ENT doctor is helpful but has no expertise on fitting masks and doesn't have them on hand to try out. However, I can call up the supplier directly and they will provide me with various masks, as long as I phone the ENT doctor and get his approval. This is all covered by the Japanese national health insurance system. However, I imagine I cannot keep asking the supplier for alternative masks indefinitely, so I think I will try what I have, then ask for one more from the supplier, and if that doesn't work, I will buy another one out of my own pocket.

Sorry if this post appears more than once on this page. I have tried posting twice but nothing appears. I had added links to ResMed and F&P pages. Perhaps that was the problem, so I removed them.

When you say headgear, am I right in thinking you mean the straps but none of the plastic/silicon part that fits on your nose?

Just trying to visualize things. As I understand it, the mask part of the F&P Brevida Air Pillow covers your nose, while the ResMed P10 rests on the outside rim of your nostrils, with prongs as you mentioned. If I went for a nasal mask, I might prefer the Brevida design of the nose piece, as shown in your photo above.

I wish I had more opportunity to try different masks. I currently live in Japan. I went to an ENT doctor who made me do an at-home test and then sent me the ResMed AirSense 10 Auto plus a full-face ResMed mask and F&P Eson 2 nasal to try. I then did a PSG overnight test at a larger hospital and was supposed to do a mask fitting there, but the technician/nurse just asked me what I had already and gave me the ResMed N20 mask, without letting me try on others.

I don't want to go back to the overnight hospital because they are not flexible as far as letting me try and choose my own mask. The ENT doctor is helpful but has no expertise on fitting masks and doesn't have them on hand to try out. However, I can call up the supplier directly and they will provide me with various masks, as long as I phone the ENT doctor and get his approval. This is all covered by the Japanese national health insurance system. However, I imagine I cannot keep asking the supplier for alternative masks indefinitely, so I think I will try what I have, then ask for one more from the supplier, and if that doesn't work, I will buy another one out of my own pocket.

Sorry if this is posted twice. I thought I had posted it but it didn't show after I hit "comment". Perhaps the system is vetting my URL links?

When you say headgear, am I right thinking you mean the straps but none of the plastic/silicon part that fits on your nose?

Just trying to visualize things. Based on the links below, the mask part of the F&P Brevida Air Pillow covers your nose, while the ResMed P10 rests on the outside rim of your nostrils, with prongs as you mentioned. If I went for a nasal mask, I might prefer the Brevida design of the nose piece, as shown in your photo above. https://www.fphcare.com/us/homecare/sleep-apnea/masks/brevida/ https://www.resmed.com/en-us/sleep-apnea/cpap-parts-support/sleep-apnea-full-products-list/cpap-masks/airfit-p10/

I wish I had more opportunity to try different masks. I currently live in Japan. I went to an ENT doctor who made me do an at-home test and then sent me the ResMed AirSense 10 Auto plus a full-face ResMed mask and F&P Eson 2 nasal to try. I then did a PSG overnight test at a larger hospital and was supposed to do a mask fitting there, but the technician/nurse just asked me what I had already and gave me the ResMed N20 mask, without letting me try on others.

I don't want to go back to the overnight hospital because they are not flexible as far as letting me try and choose my own mask. The ENT doctor is helpful but has no expertise on fitting masks and doesn't have them on hand to try out. However, I can call up the supplier directly and they will provide me with various masks, as long as I phone the ENT doctor and get his approval. This is all covered by the Japanese national health insurance system. However, I imagine I cannot keep asking the supplier for alternative masks indefinitely, so I think I will try what I have, then ask for one more from the supplier, and if that doesn't work, I will buy another one out of my own pocket.