If you have the ability, I would turn down the pressure as far as you can for it to be effective. I know I needed a higher pressure with my full face mask than my nasal mask.

Thankfully my range was huge and I haven't hit the lower limit with the nasal mask but I'll definitely keep an eye on it, thanks.

What full mask do you use? The f30i leaked like crazy on me, couldn't do it. Could have been wrong fit or something.

Philip J Fry said:

---

If you have the ability, I would turn down the pressure as far as you can for it to be effective. I know I needed a higher pressure with my full face mask than my nasal mask.

---

This is exactly what I do. Too much pressure causes leaks and air going into my stomach. I am just shooting for an AHI of 1.0 to 1.5 with the lowest max pressure that will achieve that and as I have lost weight I keep lowering it more.

I tried all sorts of full masks. None of them worked for various reasons . I realized at one point that all of my issues were from mouth breathing…or believing that I needed to mouth breath. Nasal mask solves that. Philip's Dreamwear has been a game changer for me

Interesting. So when you switched to nasal pillows you just kinda stoped mouth breathing? Or did you get a chinstrap/tape?

Nvm I see you talked about in the thread

Have any of you tried this yet?

https://bongorx.com/

I know of someone that has a milder case that said they sleep better with this than with their CPAP.

I am thinking of trying it out when I lose another 10 to 15 pounds as a way to transition away from the CPAP.

A month in and almost all of the events triggered are clear airway. Anyone else have this? A bit concerning?

Someone recommended lowering the pressure and turning EPR off for several days to experiment.


I'm still getting settled in on which mask. Nasal mask seems most comfortable and allows better sleep.

AgsMyDude said:

---

A month in and almost all of the events triggered are clear airway. Anyone else have this? A bit concerning?

Someone recommended lowering the pressure and turning EPR off for several days to experiment.


I'm still getting settled in on which mask. Nasal mask seems most comfortable and allows better sleep.

---

That can be a side effect of using CPAP. Those can go away on their own. The machines aren't great for detecting central sleep apneas (what they are trying to say they are measuring). If you persist with over maybe 5 per hour after a few months, probably going into the sleep lab and doing a formal titration study would be a good idea.

Kool said:

---

AgsMyDude said:

---

A month in and almost all of the events triggered are clear airway. Anyone else have this? A bit concerning?

Someone recommended lowering the pressure and turning EPR off for several days to experiment.


I'm still getting settled in on which mask. Nasal mask seems most comfortable and allows better sleep.

---

That can be a side effect of using CPAP. Those can go away on their own. The machines aren't great for detecting central sleep apneas (what they are trying to say they are measuring). If you persist with over maybe 5 per hour after a few months, probably going into the sleep lab and doing a formal titration study would be a good idea.

---

Thanks for the reply. I had my follow-up today, and that's basically what they said. I'll follow up in a month, and we'll talk about a potential titration then.

Would that detect things like CA or Cheyne-Stokes respirations more accurately than the CPAP machine?

100%.
Sounds as if you're dealing with someone who knows what they're doing.

That's awesome, losing weight is really difficult but there are SO many problems it can solve. I was just listening to a Sleep Medicine Podcast over the weekend, the presenter was saying that there is increasing evidence that there is a hypothalamic "set point" for weight in that your body tends to naturally set you to carry the highest weight you have ever attained.

I would definitely repeat a sleep test once you have lost all the weight you plan to lose and be able to maintain. One caveat, which was discussed in the presentation - if you lost the weight because you were put on Tirzepatide due to obesity plus obstructive sleep apnea, the author expressed concerns that the insurance company might take away their coverage of Tirzepatide if you no longer have apnea. Food for thought, pun intended.

Otherwise, congrats on the weight loss.

This motivates me! I need to lose about 25-30 lbs and try and get off of my cpap.

Well I ended up having to stop after 65 nights, or at least take a break. I tried everything possible but couldn't get the aero****ia to stop. I'd wake up with my stomach painfully full of air multiple nights a week. And hiccups a lot

Then my acid reflux flared up really bad, even on Pepcid twice a day which I'd be on for years.

I have a hiatal hernia but I'd been symptom free for 3 years, until 5 weeks into CPAP use. GI is pretty concerned and on Omeprazole as well. Things are starting to calm down but might wind up needing another endoscopy

I can't say for sure that it caused the reflux flare but the timing is a coincidence. Going to try and let things settle before trying CPAP again.

If it just doesn't work out I may have to go with a MAD. My AHI was 13.6 so not severe.

I've been following this thread for a while now and finally pulled the trigger on a home sleep test last week. To my surprise, my sleep apnea was characterized as moderate, not severe, which is what anyone who has ever seen and heard me sleeping would have guessed.
Yesterday I received an AirSense 11 with P30i nasal pillow mask, and after a quick setup, I put it on and turned the machine on for about an hour before turning out the lights. It took a little fiddling with the mask placement on my nose, trying different-sized pillows, machine pressure settings, and ultimately loosening the straps much more than I would have initially thought possible, but I got it comfortable, and breathing through it quickly became very natural. When I turned off the lights, I was out in probably 10-15 minutes and slept for 5 hours straight before waking up to use the restroom, then right back out for another 2.5 hours.

This morning, the machine reported a sleep score of 96 with 2.9 events/hr (sleep test was at 18.4), and I definitely felt like I slept really well, which hasn't been common recently. I know it's just one night, but so far I'm a fan and just wanted people to know that it's not always some long drawn out process to sleep hooked up to one of these.

One question I do have for people using the nasal pillow masks, do you use any kind of moisturizer in the tip of your nose where the pillows sit? I wasn't dried out at all, but just felt a little irritation this morning.

I have the same setup as you. I don't use any moisturizer.
I need to kick mine up. I had 9 per hour last night.

Bumping this thread to the top...lots of good info. I am 5 days into using a Resmed AirSense 11 APAP with an F&P Solo Nasal mask. Seems to be working well so far...not life changing yet but not quite as annoying as I had expected and the wife is happy with no snoring...

I may do a longer write up with my experiences in case it might help someone later but, for now, a question: What do folks who have a nasal mask or nasal pillow mask do when they have seasonal allergies and/or a cold such that they can't breathe normally through their nose?

Last night was the first time I was a little stuffy (allergies?) and I had to take the mask off for a few hours until it cleared.

dgb99 said:

---

Bumping this thread to the top...lots of good info. I am 5 days into using a Resmed AirSense 11 APAP with an F&P Solo Nasal mask. Seems to be working well so far...not life changing yet but not quite as annoying as I had expected and the wife is happy with no snoring...

I may do a longer write up with my experiences in case it might help someone later but, for now, a question: What do folks who have a nasal mask or nasal pillow mask do when they have seasonal allergies and/or a cold such that they can't breathe normally through their nose?

Last night was the first time I was a little stuffy (allergies?) and I had to take the mask off for a few hours until it cleared.

---

Mostly I just struggle and don't get as good of sleep. I will sometimes have luck doing a sinus rinse before bed and clearing my nose that way and the CPAP seems to help keep it that way. If I can't get things clear at least temporarily then I struggle.

Use some OTC Astepro before bedtime

I usually like a nice saline spray and blow the nose really good to clean out then a spray of Flonase every night.

Thanks for the suggestions/experiences! I have never had much luck using nasal spray to clear up a stuffy nose but it looks like Astepro is pretty different than Afrin. Afrin-type sprays seem to irritate the heck out of my nose/throat.

I'll give Astepro a shot!

After about 3 nights of use, Afrin will rebound and make you worse. Flonase is good, but really requires daily use so you can add that in the morning. Astelin (and Astepro) have a more immediate effect without the rebound of Afrin. Doing both is fine as well, as long as you don't have a septal perforation or glaucoma (nasal steroid contraindications)

This may have already been discussed here but I recently found a channel on youtube called CPAP Reviews and they also own an app called SleepHQ. I have struggled with CPAP use for 10 years at this point and I have gotten more good advice from this Australian's youtube channel and this app only using the free stuff so far than I have gotten anywhere else in all my time using a CPAP.

I bought an SD card ($16) and a card reader ($10) that I can connect to my phone this week and you can upload your data from the CPAP into their app and it helps you figure out the ideal settings for your CPAP.

As I have said here before I am in the process of trying to get to my ideal weight hoping to end my need for CPAP therapy but I still have mild OSA as of today so there is no guarantee that I ever completely get rid if it so I want to make it as helpful as it possibly can be for me. If you are struggling check that chanbel out.

I will sometimes use a little touch of chapstick, that helps me

I have ResMed 11 with the full face mask. The pressure, when it ramps up, is too much and breaks the seal and I get corresponding blasts of air right into both eyes. I already have enough trouble falling asleep with something on my face, but there is no sleeping with blasts of air into the eyes.

I asked my lab tech if she could adjust the pressure down and she told me that the machine is preset with a prescription set by my doc. I know she can adjust it because she did it during the fitting. Have any of you adjusted your own pressure down?

How about the V Com device? Anyone on here tried that with success? Any particular brand or does the one off Amazon work?

I have had the machine for 3 weeks now, have never been able to keep it on all night. Last night was the worst. Only able to keep it on for 29 minutes due to high pressure shooting into my eyes.

Help me please.

Have you tried different masks? Seal is very important. Have you tried purely a nasal mask or nasal pillows instead of the full face mask?
As far as I know, there is only one V-com device, but sometimes people put more than one device in line with their CPAP. If you are really getting to high pressures, and it's not purely a fit issue, perhaps you can have an honest discussion with the prescribing doctor that you understand you are being under-treated if he or she lowers the prescribed pressure, but you are willing to take on that risk and that something is better than nothing. Unfortunately, prescribing something "sub therapeutic" is hard for physicians to do because of the scourge of trial lawyers making people wary of such.
If high pressures continue to be a problem, perhaps a BiPAP trial might help, although technically BiPAP is really for people with lung disease or even central apnea, it can be useful with intolerance of high pressures.

All I can say is that a lot of these problems are caused by sleeping with your mouth instead of your nose. Force yourself to learn how to use a nasal mask and a lot of these issues go away

Sorrell Booke said:

---

I have ResMed 11 with the full face mask. The pressure, when it ramps up, is too much and breaks the seal and I get corresponding blasts of air right into both eyes. I already have enough trouble falling asleep with something on my face, but there is no sleeping with blasts of air into the eyes.

I asked my lab tech if she could adjust the pressure down and she told me that the machine is preset with a prescription set by my doc. I know she can adjust it because she did it during the fitting. Have any of you adjusted your own pressure down?

How about the V Com device? Anyone on here tried that with success? Any particular brand or does the one off Amazon work?

I have had the machine for 3 weeks now, have never been able to keep it on all night. Last night was the worst. Only able to keep it on for 29 minutes due to high pressure shooting into my eyes.

Help me please.

---

I didn't start getting good sleep with one until I started experimenting with different settings myself which you can access by pressing the left and right buttons at the same time for 5 seconds or so. I mentioned this a few posts up but consider looking up CPAP Reviews and watching some of their content and downloading their app and getting an SD card and card reader for your phone. You can pull detailed data from your cpap into the app and then upload it to chatgpt and get advice.

I also second the idea of using something like a nasal pillow with your cpap. I am a mouth breather too but I use snore tape and a chin strap and breathe through my nose all night. If you switch to this setup you can get chatgpt to help you find the best range for your cpap. The idea is to get the most quality sleep you can get each night, not necessarily the lowest AHI possible. What I mean by that is you'd probably be better off with 2 events per hour if you were sleeping all night than to have a much higher setting that keeps your airway always open and wakes you up 15 times a night with leaks.

The CPAP reviews guy says people typically get better sleep with a smaller range of pressure. That might be 8 to 12 or 11 to 15 as opposed to a range of 7 to 20. After working with Dr Chatgpt I found that my best sleep is 7.4 to 9.2. This keeps going down as I lose more weight.

I use a nose mask, not a full face mask and I've found that when it starts to leak and hit my eyes, I have to tighten the headgear. It appears to me that, as time goes on, the headgear loosens up or stretches. Evenly tightening it usually helps more often than not for me.

Also, the nose piece itself tends to lose its shape and rigidity after a few months and I usually have to replace it.

This whole process can be very frustrating, but keep at it.

This probably won't help since you have a face mask, but I wear an eye mask with my nasal mask in case the seal gets lose at night, so any air won't get in my eyes.

Well, the V Com device arrives today. I will try it tonight and see how it goes. If if doesn't help, I might try to reduce the pressure on the device. The problems started last night at about 13. I was fine and was actually able to sleep some. I checked before I closed my eyes and it was at 5 and rising. When the seal blew and fired air into my eyes, I checked and it read 13.5. In my fitting for the mask, the nurse tested the seal at 12 and it seemed to do fine.
Let's see how the V Com device works tonight.

AgsMyDude said:

---

Well I ended up having to stop after 65 nights, or at least take a break. I tried everything possible but couldn't get the aero****ia to stop. I'd wake up with my stomach painfully full of air multiple nights a week. And hiccups a lot

Then my acid reflux flared up really bad, even on Pepcid twice a day which I'd be on for years.

I have a hiatal hernia but I'd been symptom free for 3 years, until 5 weeks into CPAP use. GI is pretty concerned and on Omeprazole as well. Things are starting to calm down but might wind up needing another endoscopy

I can't say for sure that it caused the reflux flare but the timing is a coincidence. Going to try and let things settle before trying CPAP again.

If it just doesn't work out I may have to go with a MAD. My AHI was 13.6 so not severe.

---

Reflux is still giving me problems so I haven't continued my CPAP therapy since June. GI is concerned so endoscopy on Tuesday.

Not entirely sure there is a correlation but I was fine for years on meds and then 6 weeks after starting CPAP it got horrible. And reflux was one thing on top of the really bad aero****ia. Waking up routinely at 4am with my stomach painfully filled with air hurt so bad.


Anyone had luck with a MAD? My AHi was 13.6

I have a lot of patients who do really well with MAD and a few who don't. A few come to mind that had AHI mid teens and retested with MAD and are mid to low single digit.

If I remember right , the sentiment on this thread skews toward the negative on them on this thread with a few posters describing some joint pain and bite changes. I'd say statistically this is still the minority. But they do work. They're not perfect But neither is a cpap.