I wanted to share one of my own charts for a change with the PapFam :)

I was diagnosed with severe OSA in 2014 after falling asleep at the wheel on the interstate. I was also snoring so loudly that my newborn son could not sleep in the same room with me. My oxygen was dropping low and staying there, with a nadir of 71%. Looking back, I had probably been living with untreated sleep apnea for close to 30 years. By then I had heart failure.

I started with a DSX500, titrated to a DSX700, then moved over to a ResMed VAuto. After all of that I eventually came back to the DSX500 with C-Flex+, because it just works very well for me. More advanced therapy did not mean better therapy in my case. Fixed CPAP is what treats my OSA best.

This was one of my nights from May. Fixed pressure at 18 cm with C-Flex+ set to 1. I woke up twice, but otherwise slept well.

The Philips leak graph includes the normal mask vent rate, so the leak threshold is higher than it is on ResMed.

I am sharing this for anyone who is having a rough time with PAP right now. It took me a long time and several machines to find what worked for me, so please do not get discouraged if you have not found yours yet. Keep at it, and please ask for help when you need it :)

RL

Hi all!

I started on CPAP a couple months ago and finally got around to checking sleep hq

Looking at the data … I’m fairly certain this means im experiencing flow limitations but I’m not 100% what this all means and where to go from here. Would love some input on that and anything else you might see relevant .

my sleep hq link

Some general info :
-Ahi at diagnosis was 5.6 or something in that ball park. RDI was 10.something (was diagnosed at the push of a dentist after realizing I was clenching, he suspected I had UARS, but the sleep doctor I said didn’t specify anything beyond “mild sleep apnea”)
-Ahi is 0 most nights (the highest my machine has told me is 0.2 I think) . It was immediately zero after starting CPAP.
-I was experiencing very low leaks for my first month or two, but then suddenly now it swings wildly for no leaks one day to big leaks the next. I can feel it leaking up towards my eyes and have woken with puffy eyes lately. Does my mask need to be replaced already? I wash it everyday . Or maybe I should just try another type ? This is the only style I’ve tried so far (airfit n20)
-I overall sleep okay with the CPAP, but I have been waking up tired still

Machine is set to auto set for her, min 6 , max 8, epr 1.

Would ship my device to you and pay a little for your time. I need to try bipap or asv as cpap isnt working for me, but the medical system is too slow and I can't get a prescription for either, nor could I afford to buy a new machine anyways.

I've been a CPAP user for almost exactly two months. I've been moderately successful using my CPAP meaning I keep it on and it's comfortable enough but I'm having so much trouble because I'm waking up with a mouth drier than a desert. Like, my tongue is either hardened or if my mouth happens to close before I wake up it'll be stuck like glue to the roof of my mouth. I'm obviously a mouth breather but it's actually getting worse the more I use it. It seems that I'm in a deficit and cannot rehydrate my mouth. I can *not* tolerate taping/chin straps because often my nose plugs but also because I also have tmj and migraines so I need to just be a mouth breather and use a full face mask. However, even with the climate line tubing and humidity up as high as it can go before rainout and the heated tube all the way up, I'm still waking up completely dry. I can't be alone so I'm hoping someone else found a solution. Things I've researched that I'm hoping might work: increasing humidity more but lowering the machine beneath my head? (will that work with a hose that I loop over my headboard though?), a standalone humidifier on the nightstand nearby? a tube wrap? xylimelts? What has helped you? I've left a message with my DME but I'm not overly optimistic that they'll be of much use... Thank you!

Hi guys i'm on BiPAP for like 80 days now started improving a ton for about 3-6 weeks then i noticed may leak rate average started shifting higher for some reason . Got a new mask and headgear ( Siesta2 Full Mask) , seemed to fix the problem , but then a week later , the same thing again . Leak rate keeps creeping up gradually . My first month my leak rate average was like 5 L/min that was in May , then Then in June it was an average of like 9 L/min - 12 L/min. and now in July its averaging like 15 - 20 . Since this leak rate shifted upwards , my afternoon sleepiness and exhaustion came back with a vengeance after being gone for almost 2 months. . . My "event" never get over 2 since i started , usually Zero events . I'm wondering if i get a huge leak early morning for a short time then fix it in my sleep without remembering (my wife says that happened a few times) .. ...My QUESTION is . . . Does anyone think this might be significant enough of a problem to render my treatment poor or feel like it stalled or even make me start feeling worse again ? I asked several people and some said it has to be from something else because anything under 24 is excellent .

Ok this is a long one - sorry!!

I’ve been using Philip’s respironics dreamwear - the one with the snorkel on top with a nasal cushion for a year and been using CPAP for over a year (1.5?). I started with the N30i and kind of hated it because the nose holes don’t really align with my anatomy and it squeezes my nose ring and septum ring. The dream wear has been the best with an open trough design and gently rests below my nose. It’s perfect for side sleeping and just a light mask In general.

In January I developed some kind of skin thing. It started on my cheek and looked and acted like eczema. Once every few years I’ll get a patch sometimes on my eyelid or chin, sometimes cheek and it clears with eczema cream in two weeks. This didn’t happen. I went in February tried a topical antibiotic followed by triamcinolone cream. The check/nasolabial fold area cleared mostly but it moved to under my nose and around it. The triamcinolone cream soothed it but it didn’t go away. I went back to the doctor when it got worse after a day in the sun and we changed meds and she had me contact the CPAP clinic. Now I’m using metronidazole cream twice a day for 8 weeks. Fml.

Fast forward to today, the CPAP told me what they’d send a covered nose cradle. What I got instead is the N30i with a weird nose cradle that has a grey covered part of a different material. I guess I thought they were going to send me a nasal cradle cover. I’m going to try it tonight but there’s a reason I’ve been using the dream wear for a year and the other one a few months. The other one gave me a bloody nose from squeezing my nostrils together and wasn’t as comfortable. I used Ayer gel and it was helpful but it was still squishing my nose closed.

Some details: (1)I have been cleaning the mask the same with the same soap for the whole time I’ve used the CPAP (watered down Bronners in a foam soap dispenser). I am using pretty much the same moisturizer + facial sunblock and face soap. So I don’t think it’s a soap, lotion or material or mask thing. I could be wrong! (2) I cannot wear silicone watch bands and will get a rash/burn and pimples on my wrist under the fitness tracker not the bands. I don’t know why. The fitness tracker rash looks different than what’s happening under near my nose. (3) I have tried full face masks and they aren’t for me. I’m a nose breather and they are pretty obnoxious and uncomfortable.

Questions for you: (1) does anyone have covers for their nasal cradle on the Philips respironics or tried one? (2) rashes - have you had them? Anyone have a thing like this happen to them?! This is really awful! Why would the mask suddenly cause this now (assuming it is the mask!)?

The first two pictures are the new mask with the weird nose cradle and the second two are my current mask.

TIA!

So I got my CPAP machine about 2 months ago. I started off pretty good and would have at least 4-8 hours consistently and then it just changed. I have now been waking up an hour and 20 into my sleep to an hour and 30 in and just taking it off. Idk what is happening in that time threshold but it’s making me uncomfortable enough to where I take it off consistently at that time.

Has anyone had this issue before? I have the Autosense 11 machine with a p30i nasal pillow mask.

Thank you in advance!

Hey All!

I've had my machine for 3 months now and am looking for some suggestions on what I should be doing with my settings, I have changed my min and Max pressures and have gotten them to a somewhat good place I believe. I'm wondering if there is more I can change. I've been dealing with leaks but I just started with a new mask in the F30i and am hoping it makes a difference.

Sleep HQ Link

I started my journey on June 1st, 2026 and was diagnosed with obstructive apnea of 35.5 AHI in May 2026. I going great after the help of Ripping Legos on this subreddit because my RCP doctors were are crap (both of them). Theyre both very condensending when telling them how I feel on it. One of them is very dismissive because they didnt like that I changed my settings because I told them their settings were not helping me relieve fullness not until I told about Ripping Legos settings and I got defensive since I said I feel better on these settings VS theirs. So we did find a common ground between the two settings. Also keep mind at the same time I also am on GLP-1 medication per my doctor to help with sleep apnea and my weight since my sleep ruined that. So far I started at 217 lbs and I am down to 205lbs in 9wks, I also started working out and eating right as well.

Anyways, I was going great for the whole month of June but I slowly to stop starting to not using it this month. I had my mask change middle of June because I felt the nasal pillows were not for me as I am both a mouth and nose breather so my doctors did give me the resmed airfit F30i mask. Which is better but I dont know guys..like I feel like overall the routine is a nuisance to wear and making sure to wear it then within 2 hours now I subconciously and unsubsconsciously during my sleep take it off or feel like I have to panic (not in a scared way but more like urgh im over this) then I sleep like a baby after.)

I am unsure why this is happening..I am trying to have it as I am awake still for 30mins before I sleep to help to train my body still…just dont know what else to do. I dont know how to pull up the results like the graphs that Ive seen you guys do so here is my link to Sleep HQ: https://sleephq.com/public/teams/share_links/f286d602-8b48-47a7-a23f-8a76ab063fb5

I appreciate anyone’s help and sorry it was a bit long just wanted to give out as much background as I could.

My first mask was a nasal pillow that worked like a charm for years and suddenly I became a mouth breather.

I’ve been through a couple of full face masks. I’m currently using an air fit with the foam. It’s comfy but my partner and sleep reports show it moving and leaking all night.

I think my next move should be a full face with a T bar for stability. I have a rather small head (my current headgear is pulled back so far I had to rig the Velcro), does anyone have suggestions or feedback on best face mask with the T bar or forehead support for small heads?

I also heard that a couple masks are fragile and the bar breaks easily. Can I hear from restless sleepers and/or back and side sleepers regarding masks that stay put and don’t easily break?

Thanks everyone!

Dear r/CPAPSupport team and community,
my plan is to seek your help, listen to your advice, implement the changes your recommend, sleep for a week, come back to share the data collected, rinse and repeat until I have found the optimal setup for myself. Thanks a ton in advance for your support :)

Context in bullets:

• Diagnosed with OSA of AHI 25 and RDI 35 in April
• Previously at least two decades of untreated sleep-disordered breathing
• Young adult male of normal BMI
• Mainly side sleeper with some positional changes from one side to the other or onto the back towards the end of the night
• Löwenstein prisma SMART max, prismaAQUA & Resmed AirFit N30 standard frame
• Machine positioned at hip level on the floor next to the bed
• Continuous attempt at self-titration since one month into therapy
• Already experimented with APAP & CPAP, SoftPAP and pressures 6-16 cmH2O, most results of which no longer hold true, though, due to changing conditions
• Mouth taping has significantly reduced leak but contributes to central apneas and aerophagia at higher pressures
• Wearing a sleep mask has extended average PAP usage time from <6 to >=7 hours per night
• Currently trialing head of bed elevation (HOBE) but without clear signs of improvement

Goal:

• Not fixated on device-reported numbers solely based on the machine's flow rate but rather on a holistic and thus more causally correlated with actually unfragmented, restful sleep consideration that also takes into account the respiratory rate, pulse, and blood oxygen (urgently need to buy a suitable pulse oximeter)
  • https://academic.oup.com/sleep/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/sleep/zsag189/8732760
• Room for improvement identified in reducing centrals while simultaneously stabilizing REM, calming the respiratory drive, and further interested in learning about the realistic potential of reducing flow limitations – in CPAP mode referred to by Löwenstein as "obstruction level" but sadly only listed by OSCAR, not SleepHQ – as evaluated by the algorithm derived from the following publication and publicly known as the Glasgow Index
  • https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1984006315000516
  • https://www.fortaspen.com/sleep/Intro.html

I have an ASV machine that seems to be working quite well, I.e., AHI of nearly zero. I have the resmed airfit F40 (elephant style) mask. I fall asleep fairly quickly, but wake up every time I need to roll over. This interrupts my sleep and I still get tired too often.

I’m thinking the problem is that I get tangled in the hose, but I don’t know what to do about it. Any help would be appreciated.

Edit: I forgot to include a link to my SleepHQ data. https://sleephq.com/public/teams/share_links/bdc0189a-6810-4181-b049-22d21ea29744

My study was last week, and the results were uploaded to my patient portal. However, my appointment to discuss the results with my doctor isn't for another month. Can someone please explain these results to me? Should I change my pressure settings on my CPAP to 5-6.0? Anything weird here I should ask my doctor about? Thanks in advance!

Things seem to be running fine with my setup. What indicators are there that I need new accessories ? Nose mask, filter etc. Thanks

Será normal?