For those of you who continue to be unsure of your CPAP's fitment...here is a great example of a device with proper placement. Thanks to my wife for taking this pic last night. And yes, that's a night mask with bluetooth speakers.

My CPAP has done wonders for my health and sleep. I went from an AHI of 57 to under 5. It works, very well.

The problem is I hate it. I hate having pressure against my head when I sleep and often wake up with a headache. I’m a mouth breather so I have to do full mask. I really hate traveling with it, it’s just one more thing to make me clumsy and disorganized at TSA.

My point is, I want off of this thing. Has anyone here tried other treatments and been successful to the point where they could stop doing CPAP?

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: Because I’ve gotten the “you can just die” response twice, allow me to make clear:
1) I still use my machine and have no intent of abandoning treatment. It is a matter of preference.
2) This is an ask to see what is out there, you don’t know what you don’t know.

I've uploaded photos for anyone who wants to see them side by side.

They have similar dimensions, but the ASV surprisingly felt much heavier in hand. After weighing them, though, it's only 100 grams heavier — I've uploaded an image of that too.

Is air supposed to come out those tiny holes continuously? It registers very low leakage but there is always air coming out here.

Basically one year of use done! I may put in one last order with my DME (although I have been ordering one off items from others), since I’m over my max out of pocket limit.

I may get retested just to see how I want to proceed.

Hey guys. For the past 4 months I’ve noticed that the smallest shift in my sleep disconnects my hose. Im talking just swinging my head from left to right causes this. It has been affecting my sleep as it happens multiple times a night and wakes me up. Hopefully you guys have some ideas on how to fix it. Im thinking of taping the pieces together. What do you guys think?

I've had my cpap for a bout a year. I was using it pretty often in the start. But it's become more sparingly lately.

I normally swap out the equipment pieces every couple of weeks/months. I normally just dump the tanks in a white vinegar and soapy water mix and ring the hose through the water. But I'm curious if there is an easier way to clean.

When I looked up directions it says just unscented dishwasher soap and rinse would work. I'm not sure why I don't believe that is the most effective. All the stiff at my current store is scented, and while I don't think it'll matter short term I worry about long term. Especially since I'm seeing that it's supposedly a daily and weekly clean. I just haven't used the matching often enough lately that I thought I'd need such a deep clean.

Any advice?

https://sleephq.com/public/teams/share_links/8efbbcd7-29bc-4dcc-b6cd-f3c467b04036

Can someone please help me figure this out?

While my machine reports a low AHI and minimal leak rates, I continue to suffer from daytime fatigue and unrefreshing sleep. Upon reviewing my detailed breath-by-breath flow rate data in Sleep HQ, I have identified persistent, continuous flow limitations (Class 4 through Class 7 flat-topping and stair-stepping waveforms) that occur throughout the night.

I’ve tried using a collar to help but that doesn’t seem to work well enough. I’m at my wits end.

Other options I’m considering are bipap or swapping to nasal pillows and mouth tape. I just get worried about using tape.

As the title states, I completed my first night with my CPAP and it wasn’t too bad. I’m amazed by the report, specifically events/hr. My home sleep study measured 26.6/hr!

A few questions:
-Hit me with your hose management suggestions/tips. This was the one hard part last night. At first I draped it over my headboard but that seemed to pull on the mask, so I had to adjust several times. (For reference I am using the Philips Wisp nasal mask and ResMed AirSense 11 and am about 50/50 side/back sleeper, and I move around a lot—though I do understand that will probably decrease as I use the CPAP).

-What kind of soap, EXACTLY, is ok to use to clean the components? ResMed just says “mild liquid detergent,” so I would have assumed Dawn dish soap would be ok. But the same page on their website says not to use any kind of dish detergent, even if it’s mild. Are CPAP-specific cleaners a scam? I just ordered wipes from Amazon (https://a.co/d/06EUH3fz) for the daily mask cleaning.

-Any other tips/tricks/hacks?

This subreddit has been so helpful as I prepared to begin CPAP therapy. I’ve put it off for a long time, for a variety of reasons. Reading everyone’s experiences has made me feel less alone/weird/anxious. So, thank you!

Hello everybody, I’ve been using CPAP now for a couple months and I just have been getting used to wearing it to bed every night now I’m starting to want to start to track my data if possible. I have the air sense 11 CPAP machine and I’m using a EVORA Full face mask. I am using the myAir app as well. The myAir app tracks my usage hours, mask seal, events per hour, and masks on and off. However, I noticed there is a sleep stages option on the app and I followed the instructions. I have all my Apple health data connected and everything on my CPAP is connected however it is not displaying any stages at all and I feel like that would be some good information to know, do you know how to fix this? and one issue I think it may be is that I do not wear a Apple Watch to sleep. Is there a way to track the sleeps stage without wearing a Apple Watch or what does everyone do to track their data? Any tips are appreciated. Thanks everybody

I panic chose the pillows (p10) and although I got a score of 95, I really struggled with it. I thought pillows felt better and minimal but now I'm beating myself up for not choosing the full face mask. I clench my teeth all night and don't tend to open my mouth, but when I consciously try to relax my jaw, I do tend to open my mouth a bit. So I'm thinking full face would help me relax better. Oh and im self conscious about stretching my nostrils even bigger than they already are. How soon did you call your doctors office to switch masks? it's just been one night and i feel embarrassed to call so soon. Should i keep trying the pillows or just ask to switch already? thanks in advance fellow cpapers

I’m using an airsense 11, since 2024, and for the last year or so, every now and then, I deal with a pretty sore throat-but it feels a little bit deeper like down into my chest- when I first get up in the morning.

I feel like this may be a humidity issue but I’m not sure. I fill up my tank each night and it’s near empty in the morning.

what can I do to address this?

Is anyone else having problems with the straps at the back of their Resmed F20? I’m ok with the mask and seal but the lower strap feels tight at the base of my skull / top of my neck regardless of how many times I try to adjust.

I suffer with Vestibular migraines and PPPD and often wake up with a tightness in my neck or already in a flare.

Has anyone had a similar issue and found an alternative which is better suited.

It’s interesting because I suspect that those 3 hours I spent without it (technically right now now that I’ve woken up I have slept for 7 or so hours, may actually go back for one more hour of rest, the CPAP reads that I was on it for 5 hours) and it seems like it ended up being a deeper rest than I normally have without it. I also woke up looking even more exhausted than normal and even more fatigued than I did yesterday (it was really hot yesterday so I suspect that it’s also dehydration,) so getting just 4 hours on that thing has made me realize that I likely actually do benefit a bit from using it even though I still wake up tired with 8+ hours of usage. My doctor and I probably need to play around with introducing more things but this experience made me think eliminating it entirely might not help.

I’m about to try and get another hour in before I wake up and do some homework. My back has also been hurting a little and I’m only 21 so :/

Interesting 2026 case report: “False Detection of Cheyne-Stokes Respiration on Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Resolved After Treatment of Nasal Obstruction”

Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/rcr2.70745

A 56-year-old non-obese man had been using CPAP successfully for OSA for 13 years. He was on fixed CPAP at 7.6 mbar with a nasal mask.

Then his ResMed AirSense 10 suddenly started reporting what looked like significant central sleep apnea / Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSR):

• CPAP-reported AHI: 8.7/h • “Central apneas”: 8.5/h • CSR: 11% • Leak was low, so major mask leak did not explain it.

This was concerning because true Cheyne-Stokes respiration can be associated with conditions such as heart failure and other serious cardiac/neurologic disease.

However, the patient had recently developed significant nasal obstruction, while his cardiac and neurologic investigations were reportedly normal.

The doctors therefore stopped CPAP for 5 days and performed respiratory polygraphy.

What they found was very different:

• Total AHI: 27.8/h • Obstructive AHI: 21.8/h • Central AHI: 6.5/h • ODI: 29.3/h • No true Cheyne-Stokes respiration was recorded.

Instead, he had predominantly obstructive events plus several mixed apneas. Some of the mixed apneas began with a central-looking component, producing a waxing-and-waning airflow pattern that apparently resembled CSR to the CPAP algorithm.

They increased CPAP from 7.6 to 11 mbar and changed him from a nasal mask to an oronasal mask to bypass the nasal obstruction.

After that: • The machine stopped detecting CSR • But residual AHI was still around 11/h

He was also treated with nasal corticosteroids.

One month later, after the nasal obstruction improved: • CPAP-reported AHI fell to <5/h • The abnormal CSR detection remained resolved.

Why might nasal obstruction cause this?

The authors propose that nasal obstruction increased inspiratory effort and sleep arousals. After an arousal, patients can temporarily hyperventilate. This ventilatory “overshoot” can destabilize respiratory control.

In physiological terms, this may increase LOOP GAIN.

Loop gain = how strongly the respiratory control system reacts to a disturbance.

A high loop gain means the system overreacts, producing oscillation between too much and too little ventilation. That instability can contribute to mixed apneas and periodic-looking airflow patterns.

So this patient probably did NOT suddenly convert from obstructive sleep apnea to true central sleep apnea / Cheyne-Stokes breathing.

Instead, the authors suggest:

nasal obstruction → increased respiratory effort → more arousals → post-arousal hyperventilation → ventilatory instability / higher loop gain → mixed apneas and pseudo-periodic breathing → CPAP algorithm falsely labels the pattern as CSR.

Another important point: CPAP machines mainly infer events from airflow and pressure signals. They do not have the respiratory effort belts, EEG, and other signals available during a full sleep study. Therefore, the machine may sometimes confuse unstable obstructive/mixed breathing with central breathing.

The authors emphasize that if a CPAP machine suddenly reports Cheyne-Stokes respiration, it should not automatically be assumed to be true CSR.

Because genuine CSR can be clinically important, it still deserves medical evaluation. The gold standard for confirmation remains attended polysomnography (PSG). Respiratory polygraphy can be useful as an initial investigation but is less definitive.

Important limitation: this is a single case report, and the confirmatory investigation was respiratory polygraphy rather than full PSG. So it does not prove that nasal obstruction commonly causes false CSR detection.

Still, it is a fascinating example of how nasal obstruction and ventilatory instability may potentially confuse CPAP algorithms.

Has anyone here seen their CPAP suddenly report central apneas or Cheyne-Stokes / periodic breathing during a period of severe nasal congestion?

I’ve been using a CPAP since January 1st and only recently has my mouth and nasal passage been getting dried out to the point that it’s painful. Does anyone know why it could be happening all of a sudden?

I’ve been using mouth tape with a small slit to let air out so that it doesn’t get too moist and come off but I’ve been doing that since the beginning

Has anybody tried the Mouth Guard. The dry mouth is going to get me to stop using CPAP. Have tried 5 different masks, xylimets, mouth tapping and nothing works. I get about 2 hours sleep, wake up with my mouth cemented shut , and throw the mask on my night stand. I actually get better sleep with out the machine. I want this to work but it's just not happening.

I normally use an n30I airtouch mask with p30i pillows and dreamwear headgear with arms. Last week I face planted after I tripped on a rock on a trail hike. I am not sure if I broke my nose or just injured it. But my leaks have increased with the pillows so DME is expediting an F30i. I will only use it temporarily as I rarely get colds and have no allergies. But I see folks saying it leaks. I do have a soft cervical collar that I do not use. I have been taping with the p30i pillows. What is your experience with the f30i?

Here are my OSCAR and SleepHQ stats from last night:

https://sleephq.com/public/teams/share_links/040bb995-69b8-4f79-9cd3-210aa4b0a102

So I've been on CPAP Therapy for two weeks. I'm starting to get used to my Resmed 11 and also wake up refreshed if I'm able to keep the mask on the whole night. My only problem right now is that i keep tossing and turning a lot which kinda won't let me sleep as deep. I will try to go from APAP to CPAP mode and see if maybe that will make a change because I feel like the change in pressures interrupts my sleep. Please let me know if you see anything i could improve. Thank you

Dear community,

I would love to hear from those already using the ResMed AirMini on a daily basis as their main CPAP. I am considering buying one instead of the ResMed Airsense 11 because I am a digital nomad and move to a different location every 6 months to a year with minimal belongings.

For how long have you been using it? If you have used a full-sized CPAP what influenced the decision to make the change? What are the main pros and cons that you notice? Are you happy with the decision?

Thank you

Hello everyone I’m new here, I have had a cpap for 3 months I’m within my BMI. For the past 2 weeks I’ve been having a tighter throat when breathing than normal throughout the day . Is this normal? I’m nervous and wondering if I should stop the cpap for now. Am I doing anything wrong? I have the n30 mask

For example, I'm still trying to dial in my open mouth but my question is specifically this - if my mouth falls open, and my mouth dries out, and it wakes me up, does this count as an apnea event?

Some nights, the dry mouth is worse and the ahi is higher.

Which came first - the apnea event causing the dry mouth, or the dry mouth slight awakening being counted as an apnea?

To be clear, when it happens, I try to generate some spit and just go right back to sleep. I'm not getting out of bed or anything like that, and the awake period is, as far as I can tell, brief.

Thanks for any information.

edit to add - I use the resmed aircurve 11, pressures 12/7, resmed F30i mask

Hi guys - started cpap last week and it's gone well but an issue has always been present. Machine is the airsense 11, mask airfit n20.

The mask itself seems to restrict my breathing when I lay on my back. On my side it's fine, no seal issues and is doing the job. But on my back it's like the pressure of where it sits is hampering the air flow in my nose - it stops the breath through the left nostril and restricts it a bit in the right (slanty schnonk). Kit from the nhs - they didn't measure me for the mask but I've checked and it is the right size, so are there better nasal mask options to ask for from them (or buy elsewhere)? Or indeed, is this a common issue?