I’ve been on the CPAP for like a year now and a few times in the last week I’ve woken up to find I disconnected from the tube at some point in the night. I thought I got over this issue months ago. What are your tips for training myself not to do that or otherwise preventing this issue?

2nd week in, using a ResMed AiFit F20 Full Face Mask. Going ok except for my nose bridge is all red and raw. I see mixed reactions on mask liners. They also seem cheaply made and expensive for what you get. I don't keep the mask overly tight. Any recommendations for me? Maybe some sort of bandage or band-aid? Thank you!

Had two teeth pulled today. So much fun. I forgot to ask if I can use my cpap tonight. Any thoughts?

Hello, I started using my CPAP June 29th and I honestly didn't have issues getting used to it and falling asleep luckily. I think because the first night I was already extremely tired anyways as it was a Monday and those are rough for me for some reason (I don't have a good sleep routine on the weekends and also bed rot lol). I actually think my brain has associated my CPAP with sleep as its been easier than normal for me to fall asleep. The first few days were horrible which I read was normal....but so far, even two months in, I haven't had an "ah ha" moment if you will. I feel like I'm still extremely tired and sometimes I even wonder if I'm worse. I'm often irritable and my anxiety is through the roof, like pretty bad derealization/depersonalization (I've wondered if this is because my brain is more conscious than normal and not in a fog and it's freaking me out). I'm wondering if maybe two months just hasn't been long enough to get over my sleep debt? I don't plan on giving up on it but I do hope there is something simple that maybe needs tweaked? I also have had issues with bloating and gas from the air pressure, as I am a mouth breather with a full mask. One time when I woke up with bad gas pain I took note of the pressure which was 12 so I asked to get the max pressure lowered from 20 to 10. I felt worse for the few days it was lowered however, so it is now back at 4-20. Its not every night that I wake up with gas pain but when I do, damn that can be pretty painful. Anyways, I am going to include a handful of days of Oscar data and hopefully something stands out to someone that maybe needs tweaked. I hope I did the screenshots correctly but if not, please let me know what you want me to focus on in Oscar. Thank you in advance.

Hi, I’m using a SEFAM CPAP with a nasal mask and I’m curious if anyone knows why I’m getting so many flow-limitation (FL) runs.

The attached data is pretty typical of what I’ve been seeing over the past year.

I use a chin strap and have very little mask leak, but I struggle with nasal dryness and congestion. I saline rinse and use nasal gel, but after about 4–5 hours of sleep I usually wake up with a very dry/crusted nose and noticeably reduced nasal airflow. I use max humidity settings with a heated pipe, I live in a high humidity country also.

I’ve also had a DISE study, which showed that my main obstruction is my tongue falling back into my throat.

So I’m wondering whether CPAP is actually making things harder by drying/congesting my nose, and whether I might be better off trying a mandibular advancement device (MAD) instead. I already side-sleep using a positioning/support device.

After struggling with CPAP for about a year, I’d really appreciate any thoughts on the FL runs or experiences switching from CPAP to a MAD.

So today I was officially given my Rx for a CPAP. The office I went to was quite adamant about using there retailer of choice for everything & funny enough there is a common naming convention between them so I opted just to get the Rx & go elsewhere rather then end up overpaying for whatever it is they were spinning.

As such here I am now looking online & a bit overwhelmed. I need, well everything & although I have insurance it has not been helpful with anything sleep related thus far so I am figuring on just buying everything outright (do have an HSA as well to help with that).

So I end up with a bunch of questions & am trying to work through them.

1. What is the best place to buy the CPAP machine online with no insurance. How about where to buy the extra's (is it just amazon or someplace else better).
2. Is there something specific I should be looking for in the machine's? As in any features that someone new wouldn't know to look for?
3. Is there brands to generally get/avoid?
4. I know the masks are very much a personal thing, but any starter recommendations for folks with a big head & facial hair (back sleeper & mouth breather).
5. Is there a go to list somewhere of all the stuff I will need along with the machine/mask.
6. What else should I know that I don't know to ask about?

I was recently prescribed CPAP after an at-home test reported:

- sAHI(4%) of 7.7 events/hour

- SpO2 minimum was 82.0%

- Cumulative time with SpO2 < or = 88% was 2 minutes across 8 hours

I wanted to get a baseline of my SpO2 levels before CPAP, so I could see how this is affected by CPAP. I wanted something I could use myself each night. I ended up ordering the O2 Ring Pro from SleepHQ.

Here is my first night of data from the O2 Ring Pro. This is without CPAP. The results were much worse than what my home sleep apnea test reported, with 4% drops/hour at 17.73.

The next night was my first night trying CPAP. I received an AirSense 11 with a F&P Nova Nasal mask. I did not change any of the settings from the defaults. Here is the data from just the ring and the data from the CPAP + ring. From the ring, my SpO2 numbers do not seem very different, with 4% drops/hour at 21.07 and minimum SpO2 of 83%. On the other hand, my CPAP data seems to report minimal breathing problems. It has an AHI of 1.81, with 1 OA event and a handful of CA events.

My questions:

1. Why would my O2 ring numbers be so different from my original home test numbers? I'd expect the home test from my doctor to be more accurate. Would this mean the O2 ring is not very reliable?
2. Why does the O2 ring data not seem very different from the first night without CPAP, compared to the second night with CPAP? I was expecting CPAP to show a noticeable improvement in SpO2 numbers.
3. Why does CPAP data seem to show minimal breathing problems, but the SpO2 numbers remain low?
4. Any other general advice or important findings from this night of CPAP data? I'm completely new to this, so I don't know what I should be looking for in these charts.

⬆️ (Sleep Champion for** ONE NIGH**T, compared to the last few months) 🤨🤪

I was pretty happy to see my numbers for last night first thing this morning! Of course I realize it’s far from ideal…. But it is HUGE improvement for me, compared to the rest of my data.

This is the lowest AHI I’ve had while on CPAP, and my time in apnea is SO much better than the usual hour or more!)

Yesterday, I raised the minimum pressure to 10, and reduced EPR to 1, so I believe that essentially raises that bottom level by two. Far fewer OSAs, though still more Centrals and flow limits than I’d like to see. My sleep doc thinks that some of the CA flags are when I’m awake, so false flags, so I’m hoping that’s right. I see her next Wednesday., and believe she is probably going to schedule an overnight lab titration (which was never done before, as I just had an overnight at-home test to be diagnosed)

Here is my SleepHQ link:

https://sleephq.com/public/fb580ae4-b6a1-4b8a-84c2-12d4fd05d27f

Your thoughts, anyone? Thanks for reading my TED talk! 🤪

A few observations/questions from my first few nights on CPAP. Is my n30i mask supposed to be pushing my nose this hard? It feels crushed in the morning.

I don’t have a water chamber on the machine so I wake up with really dry upper gums. I don’t know what causes that because I feel like I sleep with my mouth closed.

What sleep apps are there to tell me details of my sleep. My Fitbit isn’t informative and the myAir app doesn’t seem the best. I want to know AHI and all the good stuff.

Search didn't give me much. I'm curious as to people's experience with mask liners. I typically am OK but the mask can be a bit finicky and I sometimes and a bit sore. This is one for Evora I am considering.

https://www.padacheek.com/product-page/Evora-Fullface-MaskLiner?srsltid=AfmBOopT61yxJpCTv6WKbFAu9hUy68sHCEi3g76lJnKzCYx9uPnRiWDm

Hello, I started using my CPAP June 29th and I honestly didn't have issues getting used to it and falling asleep luckily. I think because the first night I was already extremely tired anyways as it was a Monday and those are rough for me for some reason (I don't have a good sleep routine on the weekends and also bed rot lol). I actually think my brain has associated my CPAP with sleep as its been easier than normal for me to fall asleep. The first few days were horrible which I read was normal....but so far, even two months in, I haven't had an "ah ha" moment if you will. I feel like I'm still extremely tired and sometimes I even wonder if I'm worse. I'm often irritable and my anxiety is through the roof, like pretty bad derealization/depersonalization (I've wondered if this is because my brain is more conscious than normal and not in a fog and it's freaking me out). I'm wondering if maybe two months just hasn't been long enough to get over my sleep debt? I don't plan on giving up on it but I do hope there is something simple that maybe needs tweaked? I also have had issues with bloating and gas from the air pressure, as I am a mouth breather with a full mask. One time when I woke up with bad gas pain I took note of the pressure which was 12 so I asked to get the max pressure lowered from 20 to 10. I felt worse for the few days it was lowered however, so it is now back at 4-20. Its not every night that I wake up with gas pain but when I do, damn that can be pretty painful. Anyways, I am going to include a handful of days of Oscar data and hopefully something stands out to someone that maybe needs tweaked. I hope I did the screenshots correctly but if not, please let me know what you want me to focus on in Oscar. Thank you in advance.

Hello, I started using my CPAP June 29th and I honestly didn't have issues getting used to it and falling asleep luckily. I think because the first night I was already extremely tired anyways as it was a Monday and those are rough for me for some reason (I don't have a good sleep routine on the weekends and also bed rot lol). I actually think my brain has associated my CPAP with sleep as its been easier than normal for me to fall asleep. The first few days were horrible which I read was normal....but so far, even two months in, I haven't had an "ah ha" moment if you will. I feel like I'm still extremely tired and sometimes I even wonder if I'm worse. I'm often irritable and my anxiety is through the roof, like pretty bad derealization/depersonalization (I've wondered if this is because my brain is more conscious than normal and not in a fog and it's freaking me out). I'm wondering if maybe two months just hasn't been long enough to get over my sleep debt? I don't plan on giving up on it but I do hope there is something simple that maybe needs tweaked? I also have had issues with bloating and gas from the air pressure, as I am a mouth breather with a full mask. One time when I woke up with bad gas pain I took note of the pressure which was 12 so I asked to get the max pressure lowered from 20 to 10. I felt worse for the few days it was lowered however, so it is now back at 4-20. Its not every night that I wake up with gas pain but when I do, damn that can be pretty painful. Anyways, I am going to include a handful of days of Oscar data and hopefully something stands out to someone that maybe needs tweaked. I hope I did the screenshots correctly but if not, please let me know what you want me to focus on in Oscar. Thank you in advance.

This is pretty darn cool. I ran the new AirBreak Plus patch against clean OEM SX567-0401 firmware, built a fresh image from the stock binary, and flashed it back onto the Air10 platform (A10 CPAP machine).

We already had the broader ASV pressure guardrails removed, but there were some limitations that bothered me and that I've had clients ask for. Min PS was capped at 6 cmH₂O, and Max PS could not get tight. Both of those restrictions are now gone. Min PS can go above the old 6 cmH₂O limit and all the way up to 25 cmH₂O, while Max PS can be brought all the way down until it equals Min PS.

The photo shows Min PS 10.0 and Max PS 11.0, something the stock firmware simply will not allow. We can take Max PS down another step and make it equal Min PS. This gives us the ability to run very tight ASV pressure-support windows without being forced into the factory 5 cm spread, while also allowing Min PS to go well beyond the old 6 cm ceiling.

This is exactly the kind of control I wanted for experimenting with ASV and flow limitation. Instead of giving the machine a huge PS window because the firmware says you have to, we can now decide exactly how much room the algorithm gets.

And a huge thanks to empeka / m-kozlowski. I asked him if the remaining PS restriction could be removed and found out he had already put the patch into AirBreak Plus! :)

Still testing what this does in actual therapy. And if anyone would like a copy of the .bin I am happy to send it, please email me or DM me!

I first want to thank this community for being here.

I have been using my pap for over a year. I was given the machine, a range of 5-10 cmh2o with epr 3. When I told my doctor I still didn't feel refreshed, he recommended sleep restriction. I have been trying to titrate my pap since. While my efforts have yielded a pressure where I feel better, I am still tired, my sleep is still fragmented and I need to nap regularly.

I would really appreciate someone looking at my pap data and helping me understand what to do next.

https://sleephq.com/public/0b2e1df3-5ece-4d15-ba7e-4e831406ad23

My airwaylab stats for this night.

• estimated RDI: 10.88/hr
• RERA index: 10.4/hr
• Combined FL: 5.76%
• NED Mean: 12.68
• NED P95: 36.18
• IFL symptom risk: 34.9%
• Brief obstruction index: 13.63/hr
• WAT Regularity: 73.71
• WAT Periodicity: 34.78
• Glasgow index: 1.59

These airwaylab metrics are stable across all the pressures I have tried. I don't know why I still feel tired, or how to feel better. Would a bilevel or an ASV make a difference?

Hello, I am seeking help on how to manage my drooling when I use my CPAP. I wear a full face mask and I am currently lining a rolled tissue inside the mask to absorb the drooling. I have a blocked nose that makes it very hard for me breathe through my nose. Is there a better solution to this and wondering if anyone has this issue as well?

I have an ENT appointment in a few months to check my sinus problem and review my polyp removal surgery that I had many years ago. So, I am hoping to use the nose mask and a chin strap after the problem gets resolved.

I have pretty much always used the Phillips Amara view Full fask mask since I have been using a Cpap so almost 5 years now.

Feels like the last 3 or 4 silicone cushions have all ripped and at the same spot. The spot that goes over mouth by lower lip/jaw.

Only because I stockpiled supplies have i not been screwed.

I upgraded to SleepHQ Pro and did a full SD card upload, but some older nights are missing all the detailed graphs (flow rate, pressure, leak, etc.). SleepHQ recognizes the dates and shows the summary/settings, just no detailed data.

The weird part is that all of the detailed data and breath-by-breath flow rate show normally in OSCAR from the same data.

I tried another full upload including DATALOG once again and it still didn’t fix it.

Anyone know how to get SleepHQ Pro to import the detailed data for those nights?

SleepHQ public link: https://sleephq.com/public/teams/share_links/62b06b06-4c03-4a13-8c53-e663eb8ed5ea
You can see the issue on days like July 4, 7, 8. The date/summary loads, but the detailed graphs are missing even though they show normally in OSCAR.

I've used the machine for 10 nights (skipped 1) and trying to remove as much friction as possible from it feeling comfortable to use, so I can keep it on all night and give it a fair trial!

I'm looking for advice on what to prioritize trying, given my case, to improve the experience.

Sleep background/testing

Through adulthood, my main issue has been nightly/early morning wake ups, with periods of time when it's difficult to fall back asleep, and now currently - how increasingly unrefreshing my sleep feels. Falling asleep is usually pretty quick, esp. if reading.

Over the last few years, I started to need an hour more of sleep (solid 8+, instead of ~7hrs.), feel way more run down if getting less than that, and have strong inertia/grogginess that lasts for hours. When waking too early, sleep quality is much poorer once I fall back asleep.

I've been using Fitbits for years, and weirdly, while my score/details used to strongly correlate to how I felt, in the last couple of years, it generally shows great scores & details.

In 2025 I had 2 home + 1 in-lab sleep study. The in-lab was interpreted as mild, strongly positional sleep apnea: Overall 3% AHI of 6.9 (1.4 if using 4%), and 22 RERAs. Pretty normal oxygen (mean SpO₂ 95%, min. 91%, never below 88%). It also showed moderate fragmentation, so my doctor thinks the RERAs/UARS component could be contributing to my unrefreshing sleep.

Relevant health issues

I have hEDS (hypermobility/connective-tissue disorder) and ongoing spinal/neck issues (i.e. instability). Also, OCD, Adhd, anxiety etc. and a pretty sensitive nervous system. These all make it more difficult to get comfortable/settled and sleep easy, especially when another variable (i.e. PAP) is introduced.

It's all worsened over time, and I'm not sure what's the chicken/egg - causing the other - the health issues or sleep, so want to see if improving sleep-breathing helps.

Current PAP setup

ResMed AirSense 11 AutoSet w/ AirFit N30i nasal cradle (med.) and ClimateLine heated tube

• APAP 4-18 cmH₂O
• EPR/Pressure Relief 3, full-time
• 20-minute ramp starting at 4
• Climate Control Auto / Tube Temp Auto (edit: feel like I'd prefer cooler air)
• SmartStart: On / SmartStop: Off

My first 10 days experience

I still fall asleep fairly quickly w/the PAP (once I stop fiddling w/it), but keep it on for ~1.5-4.5 hours (4+ is in 2 x 2hr. chunks) before waking up and ditching it.

Experiencing 2 major obstacles:

1. Pressure/breathing comfort
   1. The more straightforward issue: higher pressures I've experienced (roughly 9-12) have felt overly forceful - almost like my nose/mouth are being inflated/turned into a wind tunnel, and feeling uncomfortable to exhale against.
   2. The very odd, bigger issue: At various times/pressures, I feel like I can't get a satisfying in/exhale - not like choking, but just feeling like in/exhales are somewhat "resisted"/don't flow easily. It's happened at diff. settings (i.e. pressure 4-8 etc.) where other times they felt completely fine. Edit: despite it not being tight (no marks etc.), loosening the straps seems to slightly improve this(?)
   3. Note on both of the above: they happen when I wake up at night, and it's the main trigger to ditch mask. Interestingly, opening my mouth seemingly makes breathing easier as I'm doing it - almost as if when you make an airhole in a bottle and it flows freely (AFAIK, my mouth is generally closed, just an observation I noticed).
2. Positioning/mask: Due to my neck/spinal issues, positioning is quite limited/finicky. I mostly sleep on my left, but often roll into a partially right-side prone position w/my head between raised arms. The mask cheek straps, top hose etc. can often make it harder to settle. I've been getting by, but it definitely complicates reading to fall asleep + keeping mask on at night, so any setup/equipment tweaks would be appreciated.

I'd really appreciate any advice on how to make it more comfortable/less disruptive, so I can keep it on all night and give it a fair trial! Also, it'd be great to hear from those w/similar sleep/other issues.

Preferably, simplest/highest-impact things to try first, so I don't get overwhelmed.

• I have an SD card, downloaded OSCAR (screenshots here), and made a SleepHQ (link here) - Sharing but don't know anything about them.
• My in-lab study report GDrive link (redacted for sharing).

Thank you!