Still having problems

My problems still persist. Got my machine last week and have been little to no success. I wrote before about my nose getting stopped up. It was suggested to not use humidity and another suggested to increase it. Also that the mask could be pinching my nose. I have found out it is the mask. Some nights I can get it on so my nose doesn't stop up that much and other nights it clogs up to the point I have to breath through my mouth, which I don't like. On these nights I end up taking the mask off. Couple mornings mask was on the floor when I woke up.
But I don't know if machine working the way it should. I now have the humidity set at 4 and in the morning it doesn't look like any of the water has been used. Also the ramp is set at 30 min. I used to fall asleep withing 10 min. but since using the mask I am still awake after the 30 min. I do not notice any difference in the amount of air coming through the mask. Seems to be the same all the time. I thought there was supposed to be an increase after the 30 min.
Is something not working right or is it me?

What is your pressure setting supposed to be after the ramp period has ended? If your pressure setting is relatively low anyway it just may not seem to be much of a difference. We do get used to even really high pressures. That pressure of 12 cm which seems like hurricane force winds at the beginning of the night will seem like a gentle breeze after the body adjusts to it and it doesn't take all that long for the body to adjust.

Are you using the Climateline heated hose? If so , that may explain the lack of water usage. It won't need to use much water if your ambient humidity is fairly high....like has it been raining recently or where you live just has more humidity in the air in general.

If not using the Climateline hose what is your humidifier set at?

For the mask pressure causing your congestion issues....do what I did...get a nasal pillow mask so there is no pressure on my nose.
Need a full face mask because of mouth breathing issues...get the Hybrid mask which uses nasal pillows and an oral interface.
https://www.cpap.com/cpap-masks/hybrid-cpap-mask.php

Hello Pugsy,

The pressure after ramp is supposed to be 12. First night it seemed the pressure came on full force right away. I had trouble breathing out.That night I lasted all of 30 min. Nose stopped up and hard to breath.
Second night did manage to fall asleep but morning mask on floor.
Since then then air has been coming out more like a gentle breeze not forcefully and seems to stay that way.
The humidifier is set at 4. I do not have a heated hose.
The weather here was beautiful for a few days, low humidity but last 3 have been humid. The central air is on so it is nice in here.
I called the supplier and told them about my nose getting clogged up but they insisted it wasn't from the mask. Told me to get a decongestant. But when I take mask off nose opens up.
I was wondering what would happen if I didn't fill the humidifier all the way since it doesn't seem to be working but in the event it did and water was used what would happen. Don't want to burn anything up but at same time seems a waste to be filling humidifier every night.

If the pressure on the nose from the mask is causing the nose to clog up...a decongestant won't help. I have been there and done that. If you take the mask off and the nose opens up in about 5 minutes (mine only took about 2 minutes) then it's the pressure on the turbinates that's the issue.

How come a full face mask? Do you normally have problems breathing through your nose even during the day so that you are forced to mouth breathe?
The nasal congestion from mask pressure is totally eliminated by taking the pressure off the nose. Now if the congestion is from something else then that's a totally different story.
Have you even tried a nasal pillow mask?

You don't have to fill the water chamber full each night but you also don't have to empty it daily....I know you were probably told something else but it won't grow a gazillion bugs in it if you let it go a few nights. I might dump mine and wash it once a month if it's lucky. Unless you are someone who really has a germaphobe problem or someone with some sort of auto immune system disorder...daily dumping and cleaning isn't needed.

It also won't really hurt anything if the water gets used up but the plastic will heat up and stink to high heaven if there's no water in the tank. Been there and done that too. Nasty smell. Normally wakes me up in the middle of the night when I do it but on occasion I haven't. Dries out my nasal membranes when that happens and that causes congestion. So I try to remember to always have it full since I never know for sure how much water will be used.

Mew Mew wrote: I was wondering what would happen if I didn't fill the humidifier all the way since it doesn't seem to be working but in the event it did and water was used what would happen. Don't want to burn anything up but at same time seems a waste to be filling humidifier every night.

When I started on cpap this past February, I filled the humidifier all the way, and every morning when I woke up I noticed that humidifier had run completely dry... no idea how long it had been that way. In the spring, there was some water left, it was about half full.
All this summer it used hardly any water at all, and one gallon of distilled water lasted about 10 weeks. During the winter, a gallon would last only 7 or 8 days. So in the summer I don't fill it more than 1/3 or 1/2 full, depending on whether the weather is really rainy and/or humid, or if we're in a drought situation.

When the air is dry you will use more water because the machine is designed to give you more air if there's not enough humidity in the ambient air. So much depends on where you live and the time of year. Minnesota winters are harsh and the air is dry so more water is needed. If you live in a tropical rainforest, you might not ever need much water for the water tank.

In other words, you will not ruin the humidifier if it does run dry, and you can use your own judgment about how high the water level should.