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Have you noticed that the Airsense 10 has both the EPR prescription settings, and another setting the user can control called Pressure Relief. It's kind of funny that they give you access to shutting off the prescription...? Because, that's what Pressure Relief does, it shuts off the EPR. I believe my DME told me it was okay to turn that off, as well as the Ramp, "when I felt comfortable with using the machine". With all my experimentation and Sleepyhead software, I started seeing my respirations get high about the time I was having AHI events. So, I turned Pressure Relief back on, and my AHI's went from the 1.x per hour to 0.11 last night, that is I had 1 event last night.
I did kind of feel a gassy, not good feeling when I dropped my low pressure to 8.6, and it went away at 8.8. Finally, I just raised it back to 9, and then turned Pressure Relief back on, and last night I barely felt the machine breathing at all. And, I feel good, and awake, and my blood pressure improved this morning. At 8.6-8.8, my blood pressure was not really improving.
I started with a nose mask on an Airsense 10 when I started my official usage. Originally, on a CPAP machine tried when I was at the hospital, I had no trouble not breathing through my mouth, but with the APAP, or Automatic CPAP, the pressure starts out low, and I'm asleep when the high pressure starts, and my mouth would drop open. I tried using a headband to prevent this, but it didn't really work. I'm now using an AirFit F10 full face mask, and though I had to shave to get the best fit I'm very happy with the change. Harder to fit right than the nose mask, but the results are spectacular.
On the humidifier, the Airsense 10 it is kind of a joke, one setting my sinus is dry, and the next I'm getting rain out and my sinus is still dry. You need a heated hose to keep all the moisture from condensing on the hose walls. When I used the Phillips Respironics at the hospital, with humidifier and heated hose I believe, I awoke in the morning with a clear sinus and the inside of my nose felt wet.
I check my progress thru the ResMed site, but it's pretty hard to decipher. It was really only valuable when I couldn't solve my leak problem, but the F10 mask was the answer to that. For me, the ResMed site is mostlly useless as I regularly sleep past noon. Apparently, ResMed doesn't believe people ever do that, and a couple hours of the previous days readings are tacked on to the next, thus confusing the results. Sleepyhead s/w allows me to actually see each session completely.
I had a nasal mask that was too small, it took a month, but they wear down/out, and it was still uncomfortable but it started fitting a bit better. Now, I'm on a full face to solve problems and get on the treatment that afib makes needful. I don't know about the nasal pillows. When my full face does that, I just reseat it and the leaks stop. The headgear seems to be able to be moved from the front or back from sleeping movement. Perhaps tightening slightly would help?
All they ever seem to adjust at the DME is the lower straps. Adjust the mask to your face by adjusting all the straps, if you haven't tried that yet. Tightening and adjusting all 4 straps, for me at least, is helping to keep the mask more secure and need less "reseating". Good luck!
I imported the Sleepyhead software before I changed my machine. Since I regularly sleep past noon, the Resmed myAir splits my sessions to the wrong days. Sleepyhead allows me to see the real sleep session. It is interesting though to look at the wrong one. Like today in my last hour I had an AHI of 3.5, along with lots of leaks at the end there. Total sleep period(9.4 hrs) AHI of 2.23 according to Sleepyhead. That last hour of sleep will be added to the results the Resmed site calls tomorrows sleep session.
But it is interesting. I woke up with my heart pounding, and bad blood pressure readings... And, seemingly it was all in that last hour.
EDIT: Ha ha! I found 1/2 of my nighttime bp meds on a table! I had set them down when I searched for the other med that I had just gotten at the drug store. So, that's the reason for the bad blood pressure yesterday. Todays waking pressure is showing the apap is working fine - 136/85 and a heart rate of 55. That's the rate I used to be before the Afib onset in April. The bp is kind of new, I've never been able to stay at this level unless I was exercising. In fact, my meds may begin taking my readings too low and will need to be changed. Time to see the Doc.
Well, answering to the humidity problems if anyone is still listening. I have an Airsense 10, with an Airfit F10 mask. Trying to control the humidity with the Airsense 10 is futile. When I set the humidity to 6 (I think) the inside of the hose would rain on me in the morning, and the tank would be near empty, but I would still have dry clogged sinus. So, I added the heated hose. This is the key, forget trying to use the Airsense 10 humidifier, all the humidity evaporates back to water on the cool tubing. With the heated hose the humidity actually makes it to the mask. Now with the full face F10, my sinus is not all clogged and dried out. I do get dry mouth when I open my mouth and start breathing through it, but then that happens in normal sleep without a mask. With the mask, if I close my mouth and breathe through my nose again, I have the correct humidity again.
My back was hurt the day I picked up the machine. So 4 days later, when I found myself about to trash the cpap because I couldn't breathe, I realized I couldn't. I have atrial fibrillation in addition to high blood pressure and many thing that I hope this will clear up. I couldn't have driven to the DME and gotten it adjusted, besides the fact I am not impressed by the supposed doctor who will not make a move without statistics. Because of that last bit, I believed she would deny me if I did ask her to change the prescription as she would have no data to look at. So, being a pretty good technician myself I decided to see if I could change it myself. I have learned how to position my F10 mask so that it doesn't leak and tickle my face. The funniest thing is that last night I realized my not being able to sleep the last couple of nights, was because I had overslept the previous night. I simply wasn't tired. So, I got up after 7 hours today, feeling well rested. Hopefully, that will cause me to be tired at the time I want to go to sleep;) My waking blood pressure today is close to the range the doctor would like 141/81 pulse 65. Usually what happens is that my blood pressure rises while I'm sleeping then drops back during the day, minimally it's 158/106 in the morning, not using cpap. To wake up with this reading is great. I've been trying to analyze the charts, but I know it's far too soon. Dropping back to the prescribed 5-15 when I started the full face cause me to feel bad again as well seeming to cause me to go into an afib incedent for 3 days, with my pulse in the high 70's. Now, I've been on the 9-17 after 7 days at the same pressure. In my examination of the charts, the setting of 15 touches the peaks of some of the charts, and 17 is well above them, leading me to think that 16 might be ok and possibly the prescription setting of 15 might be ok. But, I don't know the whats and whereits of what the charts mean, and the idea of it all. So, I need a get an intelligent sleep doctor. I will give this one another chance, but I'm going to see my regular doctor first and prepare her to provide me a prescription and also to find a new sleep specialist if that chance doesn't work out well. But now, I will have lots of data to show her.
I am beginning to feel comfortable with the mask on, with the mask changes it's been 30+ days in a row. This morning I had to remind myself that I actually had it on and to take it off before I got up. Another little bit is that I have also slept the last two nights through without waking, but that might be the new prostate meds... lol!
My experience was that my Dr. set the low pressure way too low at 5. The first night on the machine I slept almost 11 hours, then had to sleep 6 to get over the machine. I had been on a real cpap at the hostpital for one night and it was great! I slept for 7 1/2 hours and felt great. I told my Sleep Dr. this and said I had been fine with the high pressure and asked her not to set it too low as I'm a big guy 280 lbs. Seems all she could do is read some script. She gave me 5-15. My prescribed machine is an apap, the Airsense 10. With the low pressure at 5, it felt like I was trying to breathe thru a straw! I tried for 4 days, but felt horrible. I reset my low pressure and ended up where most recommendations were on the forum entries I looked at 9. Now, after 2 days at 9-17 I'm feeling better. I had to switch to a full face 5 days ago to stop the leaks. I assume the leaks screw up the results, so I'm looking forward to better results.
