Do I have to used distilled water? newbee questions

Day 3.. I have used my cpap for 3 nights now and I am getting a few things figured out.. (probably due to the increased oxygen, I have a brain again!!! ) and feeling better daily.. more energy, no headaches, not nearly as tired..
But I do have a few questions..

My DME supplier told me it wasn't real important to use distilled water in my humidifier.. True or False? I live in the woods and have an artesian well as my water source. GREAT water for drinking. But is it okay to used it in my humidifier..

There is a readout on my machine that says leak.. 87L/min the first night and 85 the next and 72 last night.. not sure what all this means, but it seems to be getting better.. any ideas here?? I read somewhere on this site that it should be less than 50?

My AHI was 67.3 when tested. Last night it was 3.7 YEA! Even I can see improvement there! But, what are central apneas? When tested I had 3.3 hr. and mixed .4 hr. Is there any way to record different types of apneas? Is it even necessary? My oxygen level fell to lowest of 73% during testing, is there anything on my machine that measures this?

There is a memory card in my machine, but nowhere can I find any instructions to download this to my computer. I read that I am to take this to my Dr.. Can I track my own progress on my own computer? I am not very computer savvy.. but willing to give it a try.

I use the nasal mask temporarily until nasal pillow mask arrives. It was ordered a week ago, so should arrive soon. Each morning I have red marks, puffiness, and soreness at the site of my nasal mask. These go away after a couple of hours, but still annoying.. Anything I can change here?

I know I have a lot of questions.. but, this seems to be the very best place to ask them and get real answers..

Thank you from a newbee..
Marla

water - the reason for distilled is mostly the mineral deposits that some water leaves behind, it also reduces somewhat the cleaning involved. I use tap water, hauling home gallons of water on the bus when it is -30c and the sidewalks are icy just wasn't cutting it.

O2 - the machine doesn't measure it. You need a recording oxymeter for that.

Software - Look up the member Uncle Bob and follow the links in his signature. All you may need is a smart card reader which you can get for $15 if you computer is older and doesn't have one.

Centrals - someone else will come by an talk about those.

You may want to start reading the light bulb above.

Welcome to the forum.

There is easily obtainable software for use with your machine's SD card. Available in Uncle Bob's signature here.
If your computer has a SD slot then nothing else is needed. No SD slot and you will need an adapter/reader for the SD slot to plug into USB port on your computer. Cheap generic will work. $10 at Walmart or less.
memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=38643

Tutorial on how to use the software here
http://montfordhouse.com/cpap/resscan_tutorial/

You do not have to use distilled water. The reason we suggest using it is that the minerals found in regular drinking water will over time stick to the plastic humidifier tank and cause clouding or discoloration. How long it takes depends on how often you clean the tank and the mineral content of your water. Even a cloudy tank can be made look like new with a bit of vinegar in water, rice hulls to act like an abrasive or even Polident cleanser tablets. If you dump the humidifier each day and let it dry out during the day and refill at night the mineral build up will be minimal.

I use distilled water because where I live we have a lot of iron and limestone in our well water. I am lazy and don't like to do much cleaning. So I use distilled water. If I am out of distilled water I don't panic. I just use tap water.

Humidifier and equipment cleaning regiments will vary from the person who cleans things every day to those of use who don't see the need. Me? I am very lax about it. It all boils down to whatever you want to do about it.

You are using a ResMed S9 AutoSet? ResMed subtracts the mask intentional/vent rate before reporting the leak so what you see is all unwanted leak. ResMed says any prolonged leak above 24 L/min will/can impact therapy and even data reporting because the sensors won't work right. So your reported leaks are way out of line unless you forgot a decimal point in your typing of Leak seen on your machine. So look carefully to see if there is a decimal point in there.

These machines do not gather any oxygen data. What you would need for checking to see of O2 is acceptable would be an overnight pulse Oximeter that has software to show what happens with O2 each night. Some members here do use them and can tell you more about them.

Yes you should use distilled water. Here's a link to a person on this site. In his signatute field is a download for ResScan software and the clinical manuel. memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=38643.

Sounds like you are adjusting well Marla.
I wouldn't worry about the leaks right away. Give yourself some time to adjust.
You are probably used to mineral deposits so the distilled water is up to you.
Here is the link to the tutorial on the ResScan software in Uncle Bob's signature. http://montfordhouse.com/cpap/resscan_tutorial/
You've got a great machine. If you google your mask and select videos you will probably find a fitting guide and tips that will help. Too tight is the biggest problem with a new mask. The pillow masks are the favorite for those of us lucky enough to be able to use them.
Welcome to our world.

Thank you for the great info.

I have downloaded ResScan and guide; my computer is ready for my memory card.. I have a lots to get through and play with..
The tutorial is great! Hope my brain is up to it!
I really appreciate having someone / someplace to go to answer my questions..

Marla

I used tap water for years, but use distilled water these days. Aside from mineral deposits, there is a very remote chance that something dangerous lurks in the tap water (or well water). There was a man killed by a brain-eating amoeba contracted while using a sinus rinse with tap water... Also, perhaps the best reason, distilled water has very little in it for microbes to eat (in theory, nothing); therefore, it's safer for people like me who seldom wash their hoses and tanks, as the ever-present microbes that get sucked into the Cpap system will be unable to multiply significantly.

Of course, if getting the distilled water were difficult (for me, it's not), I would probably use tap water (or boiled/filtered tap water).

No, you were born with free will, feel free to break every rule you can, if you can afford to pay the price for breaking rules. Our choices all have a payback. Jim

I use faucet water b/c in my place it's cleaned by the city.

My advice is, if you are going to use well water, do a weekly cleaning of the humidifier chamber, followed by a soak in warm water & white vinegar. Vinegar will help with mineral deposits and some bacteria.
I confess -- I do not clean weekly, so I use only distilled water.
Welcome to the club.

If your current humidifier gets messed up from tap water, then the DME gets to sell you another one.

avi123 wrote:I use faucet water b/c in my place it's cleaned by the city.

The guy with the Neti Pot killed by that brain-eating amoeba thought so, too. If you Google the subject and do some research, you'll also find that, contrary to the picture painted by authorities, that type of amoeba is very common--in water, soil, just about everywhere.

http://www.king5.com/health/Brain-infec ... 37093.html

I use my refrigerator refrigerator water filter and it works just fine.

I appreciate the feedback. Bought bottled water today.. difficult enough to get used to all this without worrying about critters digging around in my head!

Ditto to what the others have said above.

Your machine can store up to 7 nights of very detailed data on your SD card, but you might have to alter the settings on your machine to make it actually record that data. (I had to change the settings on mine.)

The instructions for doing so are in the clinician's manual.

Welcome to the club.