New mask (Sleepweaver), change in pressure

[komadori]

I want to post my unexpected experience over the last few months in case it helps others

I recently purchased a "SleepCube auto adjust plus" CPAP (from USA) to replace my British NHS fixed pressure machine and almost as an aside, also ordered a Sleepweaver mask.

My NHS fixed setting of 14 cmH2O with Mirage Quattro full-face mask had "sort-of" controlled my OSA, reducing my AHI from 59 untreated to within range of 15 - 20. Not being fully happy I had previously purchased a Chinese Oximeter (to measure what was happening) and more recently the Sleepcube to try to improve matters. The auto adjust gave a more comfortable feeling, but only a disappointingly small drop in AHI even with max range set up to 18 cmH2O, so after a few days I tried the sleep-weaver and was amazed.

Suddenly my AHI dropped dramatically varying from 7 down as low as 2 measured over several nights, also needing very much reduced pressures, the machine readings showing 95% & 90% pressures typically at 9 to 10 cm H2O.

I'm now sleeping with the auto range set to 8 min 12 max cm H2O, getting low (well sub 5) AHI readings every night ( measured by both the machine, and by the Oximeter), and more importantly I feel much more awake. I'm really not sure whether the change is purely from the Sleepweaver, or maybe due to the fact it is a nasal mask (all previous NHS masks were full face types). Plus of course the sleepweaver is a dream to wear, so light, with no plastic seals, and with pressures a trace above 8 cmH2O when I've endured 14 for a couple of years, so I'm a happy bunny, but I'm till making small trial adjustments.

I'm wondering whether I'm alone in getting such improved performance from a nasal mask, and I'm writing on the forum to encourage anyone else who has been told they need a full face mask, to keep an open mind. We're all different, I seem to have stumbled across my particular solution: good luck to others.

[dravidio]

Since I finally got complete compliance with my Sleepweaver - after struggling for more than two years and thinking I must only use full face masks - my AHI reading (I use the Sleepcube too) is down to 4 average over 90 days with my maximum pressures at a very low 7 to 7.5. I am delighted with that - but wonder if I need it at all now.

[Barely Awake]

I have almost the same T-shirt! After many years on CPAP it all started to come together just over a year ago with a Sleepweaver combined with a System One auto.

To make it last and keep it just so I wash it carefully every day and drip dry it (not wring it out), but other than the comfort I can't say I understand why the Sleepweaver works so well for me.

[acebass]

So has anyone who uses a nasal mask switched to sleepweaver and found it better?

[Fredxx]

The Sleepweaver isn't a magic cure for everyone. I tried it and didn't find it was as good for me as a normal nasal "hardshell" mask so I went back. I guess it just goes to prove we are all different

[Darren @ Intus]

The Sleepweaver isn't a magical cure for OSA this is true but it is one of the most effective nasal masks out there.

Sometimes just switching from a full face mask to a nasal mask is the anser for cutting down your AHI. Nasal masks are more effective at delivering the right pressure to you and keeping leaks under control. Full face masks although they permit the option to mouth breath are always going to have more leakage issues due to more surface area.

Although your right Fredxx, the Sleepweaver is not for everyone but for the vast majority it is a great choice with regards nasal masks.

Dravidio, even if your AHI is low and your pressure is quite low too, do not mistake that for meaning you no longer need CPAP. If you were to walk away from it now, your OSA would only come back.

[Barely Awake]

So has anyone who uses a nasal mask switched to sleepweaver and found it better?

Sorry, thought I had said, I was on another nasal mask and find Sleepweaver more comfortable, but the improvement and lowering of my AHI might purely be the combo with an auto machine.

[dravidio]

I don't wash my Sleepweaver at all on the principle it might make it fall to pieces. It's not as if I am lending it to other people....

Honestly my personal hygiene standards are good! My house is clean and tidy too.

[cwukPhilipsAuto]

Don't Wash / Can't Wash

Not washing your mask and tubing will leave you prone to respiritory infections. The masks are only supposed to last between 6-12 months anyway and be replaced after this time. If your mask was supplied in the UK by the NHS they will replace it if it does fall to bits.

[dravidio]

I have not had a respiratory infection for as long ago as I can remember - certainly not since starting CPAP so I am not worrying too much about it. I pay for my own mask - and when it falls apart or stops working (and I can check that with the sleep cube) I will replace it.

[komadori]

Interesting comments, but where's the science

Interesting to read comments that others have found nasal sleepweaver to give better results than a full face option, but what percentage of OSA sufferers would have the same results? There are dozens of masks out there and very little research to show which masks work for which people. Certainly in my area the NHS nurse practitioner tries to help, but mainly with a "give this one a try" attitude. There seems to be very little scientific medicine supporting her. Even insisting on a new finger oximeter test with each new mask trial would bring some science into what appears to be a haphazard lottery.

With many universities carrying out "research", isn't it time for some deeper investigation and scientific guidance, to help dispensers get it right quicker, for more of the time? I finally stumbled on a combination that "works for me" but shouldn't the providers be giving a better lead?

(apologies to those "good" clinics out there, that have a positive approach, but the number of unhappy newbies show that there are too many mistakes being made, sleep deprivation is a major problem for those who suffer, but sleep clinics seem to be the poor relations of the nhs).

[Tigers Fan]

And how are we to finance testing every mask on every patient? And what purpose would that serve? And how many would be like me and not want to play?

[komadori]

Reseach woukld save money and help users

Hi Tigers Fan

I think you are mis-reading what I am trying to say.

What is happening at present is the wasteful system, with trial and error on every patient. I have two masks in my drawer worn for two nights each. I hated them , but they must be right for someone, only my fifth try (over 3 years) has found the right answer for me.

Research could give dispensers a tool to aid them getting it right quicker. There must be some patterns, shape of face ? shape of nose ? Shape of some internal throat or nose organs. I don't know, and as far as I can see on the Forums neither does anyone else. Only by researchers following up on patients, making measurements, seeing what works on whom, looking at patterns, can treatment move forward. The CPAP industry seems to be driven too much by a few manufacturers driven by profits, with patients needs being a secondary consideration.

Why was I given a full face mask, and a friend of mine a nasal mask, there should be some science, but it isn't very visible. I now know the full face mask was not the best choice for me, but only after going through 3 or 4 different ones. I suspect what we each get is more related to the persuasiveness of a recent sales representative, rather than a reasoned judgement of what is most likely to work.

[Tigers Fan]

Think your idea through to its logical conclusion. Also, again, who will fund your pointless research?

The hang-up with the current NHS system is their refusal to sterilise and re-use try-it-and-see masks. Go to a fitting session with one of the big manufacturers and you can try all their masks - they have a full set in all the sizes, you try, do or don't like, the masks go in a dishwasher with sterilizing fluid and the next guy gets to use them. You find what best suits you that day.

There is no science to personal preference. Besides which, the NHS is more likely to dispense whatever they have in the cupboard or a particular nurse's idea of what is best than to suss out what may be best for you. How can anyone possibly know what is the best mask for a newbie?

Based on posts here, the average number of masks a user tries before settling is three or four - make that five in my case because the Quattro FX didn't exist while I used the first four.

[dravidio]

Why would the research be pointless Tiger? Who would fund it is a pertinent point. The point would be to try to find out what might be a useful set of guidelines in prescribing the best mask for an individual from the word go. Having spent hundreds of pounds on finally finding a mask that works for me it might have saved me money. It would possibly save the NHS money in getting it right. Fitting sessions are all very well - but they are not the same as sleeping with the mask on.

"There is no science to personal preference" Of course there is. It's just finding it out. The problem with closed mind people is they usually have their mouths open.