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.