Stumped (updated with new sleepy head data)

[sleepwiggler]

Here's a few questions as I still learning. I will post data from Sleepyhead later I just don't have the time this morning.
1. Last Saturday my CPAP cut off in the middle of the once, no power outage, flicker(that I know of). My mask was still in position.
2.Last night the CPAP shut off twice both once again same as above. I am not sure what is going on here.

The machine is a little over two years old. I would tell you the total hours on the machine but stupid me forgot to lock the last time I used sleepy head. Either way I am at 100% compliance with an average of 8 hours of usage.

So question 3 according to sleepy head over the past 30 days my leak rate has doubled or a little more than doubled. I have switched mask but that has been for about a week. I think I have that worked out, so here is my question:
My hinged lid on my humidifier is no longer hinged the tabs that keep the top from coming off have broken off. I always make sure the top is closed but could this be contributing to the increase in leaks as I this has happened in the past 30 days?

I am so lost with this stuff because even on the nights that the CPAP says my fit was good I am still so exhausted. I go to the sleep doctor on the 28th and I am going to ask for another sleep study along with discussing my meds. One way or another something has to give with dreams (earlier post), RLS, Apnea and tiredness. I have not waken up refreshed in almost 10 years and it's taking it's toll.

Any way any information on the above questions would be great.

[Julie]

Your humidifier lid has no bearing on Cpap leaks, but you should replace it in any case as even a minor jostle of the machine could send water into the 'engine' and wreck it.

You could post SH graphs, etc. here so we can see what's going on and possibly advise you... because without some idea of what's what it's hard to do that. What are your pressures set at?

[AlabamaAl]

I don't know about your machine, but if the lid on the PR system one did not fit properly it would definitely effect the leak rate. A rubber seal is between the lid and tank...

[JDS74]

The S9 Autoset has a smart start feature the turns the machine off when it determines that the patient is no longer connected. A large enough leak may be enough to trigger this mechanism. When the patient (you) begins to breathe again, the machine starts again. If the humidifier lid is not positively connected, it could be the source of the leak.
Perhaps this is what is happening to you.

Did you check the humidifier lid when the machine stopped?

[sleepwiggler]

Your humidifier lid has no bearing on Cpap leaks, but you should replace it in any case as even a minor jostle of the machine could send water into the 'engine' and wreck it.

You could post SH graphs, etc. here so we can see what's going on and possibly advise you... because without some idea of what's what it's hard to do that. What are your pressures set at?

I plan to replace it funds are a little tight right now. I know they are not that expensive. I will post graphs after work. I have to figure out how to do that.

[sleepwiggler]

The S9 Autoset has a smart start feature the turns the machine off when it determines that the patient is no longer connected. A large enough leak may be enough to trigger this mechanism. When the patient (you) begins to breathe again, the machine starts again. If the humidifier lid is not positively connected, it could be the source of the leak.
Perhaps this is what is happening to you.

Did you check the humidifier lid when the machine stopped?

The first time it happened last night I though maybe I had just stopped breathing so I took some deep breaths and everything was good. The second time I guess it was for a longer period of time because I woke up gasping and jumped out of bed. I took the mask off and checked everything. After putting the mask back on I ensured the lid was closed and then I felt all around the lid when it started to ensure there were no leaks. I also ran my fingers along my mask slowly as I do every night to check for any leaks. So either is a leak I cannot find or I am stopping breathing for it to shut off.

Well obviously there is a leak I cannot find. So I guess another question is how do i find it. I know there seems to be a lot of air coming out of the exhalation port on the mask, not sure if that is normal but my old mask type did the same.

[JDS74]

I don't think the S9 can tell the difference between a leak at the mask and a leak around the humidifier so your humidifier top is a likely culprit in the problem. Have you tried taping the back of the lid to keep it nice and snug?
Its possible that your breathing (a longish obstructive event) is causing the S9 to increase the pressure during the night and the lid, which seals well enough at a lower pressure, has a leak at a higher pressure??? Do you have the ramp function enabled?

The data from SleepyHead will help identify the issues of pressure and leaks.

[Julie]

The 'exhaust port' is the CO2 vent and must remain uncovered all night to do its job - you don't want to rebreathe the CO2 that needs to vent.

[sleepwiggler]

I don't think the S9 can tell the difference between a leak at the mask and a leak around the humidifier so your humidifier top is a likely culprit in the problem. Have you tried taping the back of the lid to keep it nice and snug?
Its possible that your breathing (a longish obstructive event) is causing the S9 to increase the pressure during the night and the lid, which seals well enough at a lower pressure, has a leak at a higher pressure??? Do you have the ramp function enabled?

The data from SleepyHead will help identify the issues of pressure and leaks.

Will try the tape for now and this evening I will post sleepy head data

[sleepwiggler]

The 'exhaust port' is the CO2 vent and must remain uncovered all night to do its job - you don't want to rebreathe the CO2 that needs to vent.

Thanks I completely understand the concept just wondering how much airflow should be coming out of there

[Pugsy]

I have a suspicion that the broken lid is the culprit.
Can you take it back to your supplier and check on either a new lid (I guess it depends on where the break is) or just a new humidifier?
You could turn off SmartStart and just manually start and stop the machine. That would eliminate the machine sensing a big leak (if that is what is happening here) and just shutting itself off. That would be a short term fix IMHO but doable until finances get better.

If money is tight and DME won't/can't help you get either the lid fixed or get you a new humidifier at reasonable cost there is secondwindcpap.com and I think they have S9 humidifiers for under $100.
If that cost is still too much right now...check me me as I think I might have a spare humidifier for the S9...I don't remember for sure. I would need to do some digging around in my box of spare stuff to make sure.

Let me know if you want me to look to see if I have one.

The airflow from the vent holes in the mask...it depends on the pressure used but it can feel like it is a significant wind. Just feel around at the vent hole area and make sure that the vent holes are the only place you feel air exiting the mask.

[sleepwiggler]

I have a suspicion that the broken lid is the culprit.
Can you take it back to your supplier and check on either a new lid (I guess it depends on where the break is) or just a new humidifier?
You could turn off SmartStart and just manually start and stop the machine. That would eliminate the machine sensing a big leak (if that is what is happening here) and just shutting itself off. That would be a short term fix IMHO but doable until finances get better.

If money is tight and DME won't/can't help you get either the lid fixed or get you a new humidifier at reasonable cost there is secondwindcpap.com and I think they have S9 humidifiers for under $100.
If that cost is still too much right now...check me me as I think I might have a spare humidifier for the S9...I don't remember for sure. I would need to do some digging around in my box of spare stuff to make sure.

Let me know if you want me to look to see if I have one.

The airflow from the vent holes in the mask...it depends on the pressure used but it can feel like it is a significant wind. Just feel around at the vent hole area and make sure that the vent holes are the only place you feel air exiting the mask.

The break is at the back there are small tabs that hold the lid on/open when you open the h5I to fill the tub. So I do not think it can be repaired. Right now even 100 is a bit much as I just returned from another vacation. I took my wife and son on a trip to the mountains over the weekend and spent a little more than I should but I told my wife that this vacation season was all about him since he felt a little out with the new grand daughters.

[Pugsy]

Try turning SmartStart off first. If it is the lid causing the big leak and the machine thus thinking you are no longer attached to it the machine will at least not turn itself off.
If it does turn itself off again then you know it isn't the lid/leak that is the issue but instead the issue is in the blower.

I would tape the lid closed if it were me so that there's no chance of it jostling loose...if that's the problem you don't want a loss of therapy pressure happening even if the machine doesn't turn itself off.

If you determine over the next few days that the broken lid is the culprit and want to replace the humidifier....get back with me privately. I am getting a new S9 today and I might be able to part with my old humidifier dirt cheap without the water chamber as you already have one and mine has over 7K hours on the chamber and I am not the most diligent person when it comes to cleaning . Nothing is broken on my old humidifier...still working great.
Find out for sure that your problem is the humidifier lid though.

[sleepwiggler]

Try turning SmartStart off first. If it is the lid causing the big leak and the machine thus thinking you are no longer attached to it the machine will at least not turn itself off.
If it does turn itself off again then you know it isn't the lid/leak that is the issue but instead the issue is in the blower.

I would tape the lid closed if it were me so that there's no chance of it jostling loose...if that's the problem you don't want a loss of therapy pressure happening even if the machine doesn't turn itself off.

If you determine over the next few days that the broken lid is the culprit and want to replace the humidifier....get back with me privately. I am getting a new S9 today and I might be able to part with my old humidifier dirt cheap without the water chamber as you already have one and mine has over 7K hours on the chamber and I am not the most diligent person when it comes to cleaning . Nothing is broken on my old humidifier...still working great.
Find out for sure that your problem is the humidifier lid though.

Thanks do i turn the smart start off?

[Pugsy]

It's easy to turn smart start off...I don't know if your DME has made it available in the patient menu but for sure you can do it in the clinical setup menu area.
http://www.apneaboard.com/resmed-s9-cpap-setup
It's in the "Options" menu right under Sleep Quality.
You will have to manually push the button to start and stop the machine but unless you have machine beyond arms length it really isn't that big of a deal to start and stop manually.
With Smart Start off...if there is a massive leak the machine will still continue to blow...all this does is at least prevent the machine from turning itself off...if it is a big leak that is causing it to turn off.