Hi, @jakedduck1 - I know that @jimhd has mentioned using a BIPAP machine, so he may have some insights for you on your cousin using a BIPAP setting of 7 and what that setting may do.

@jakedduck1
I used a CPAP for around 15 years, and bought a loaner unit from the supply store for travel. I got tired of packing and unpacking my machine.

But a year or two ago my sleep doctor had me do a sleep study, and from what they saw they changed me to a BIPAP. CPAP means constant air pressure. The BIPAP only puts out pressure on my inhale. The setting I have is 12. I think that indicates the pressure.

AHI? I suppose that means the number of apneic events per hour. With the BIPAP, I almost always have numbers below 1.

I used a full face mask for years, and had ongoing issues with leaking. Not very nice for my wife. My machine is ResMed, and now I use nasal pillows. Of course, because I move around at night, my mask gets pushed out of place, but the air leakage is much quieter with the nasal pillows. I imagine that having a beard made it impossible to maintain a seal with the full face mask.

I've been a mouth breather all of my life until the ENT doctor corrected my deviated septum. I had never been able to breathe through my left nostril, and my right one wasn't the best, either. WOW! After surgery I could breathe through my nose! It was a great feeling.

Anyway, because I was a mouth breather for 50 years, my brain still is programed that way. So I wear a chin strap, which is semi effective. To prevent me from opening my mouth completely, I'd have to tighten the strap so tight that it would be painful.

As I age, I find that I must become more adaptable. I've heard about people being set in their ways, but that's not the way to live comfortably in an aging body.

So now I have only one machine, but since we moved 13 years ago, going to a doctor or Walmart or Costco is no longer a 3 hour drive (each way). We had to spend the night in a motel at least once a month, and it was nice to have a machine packed and ready to go.

It's about time to do what I've been writing about. I'm glad you guys are doing well with your sleep.

Jim

@jakedduck1 -- I'm pretty sure the setting of 7 is the air pressure setting prescribed by the doctor for the sleep apnea. My sleep medicine doctor prescribed a setting of 8 to 18 but it normally never gets above 12 during the night for me.