My story and some questions

[HeadlongFlight]

Hello, hose heads! I sheepishly joined your ranks a couple of days before Thanksgiving.

Back story: I'm 46. My wife was nagging me to get a physical this past summer, which I did, and she insisted that I tell my doctor that she hears me quit breathing while I'm sleeping, and nasty snoring. Definitely prone to the classic afternoon drowsiness, and certainly was never eager to jump out of bed. Having a clearer head would be nice, too.

Saw sleep doctor in August, sleep study in September. Diagnosed with moderate OSA, AHI 25. Titration study last month, AHI 1.9. I'm now equipped with a ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet, set with a 7-12 cmH20 APAP range, and ResMed P10 nose pillows.

Questions:

In comparing my two sleep studies (one with and one without CPAP), I was surprised by some things.

Left: diagnostic sleep study with no CPAP; Right: titration study with CPAP

total sleep time minutes: 347, 278
sleep efficiency: 74%, 67%
REM duration minutes: 78, 55
REM % total sleep time: 22%, 20%

Respiratory arousals: 24 count, index 3.1; 1 count, 0.1 index
Spontaneous arousals: 51 count, 6.5 index; 65 count, 9.7 index
Total arousals: 75 count, 9.6 index; 66 count 9.9 index

AHI: 144 count, 24.9 index; 9 count, 1.9 index
RERA: 9 count, 1.6 index; 0 count, 0 index
RDI: 153 count, 26.4 index; 9 count, 1.9 index

I wouldn't have expected to get a higher percentage of REM sleep (22% vs. 20%) on a night with 120 apneas than one with 6. Is this normal? I thought an apnea patient would have this horrible shortfall of REM sleep.

If I get up in the night to visit the bathroom, I press the top button on my machine. I press it again when I come back to bed a couple minutes later. I've been getting "charged" for 2-3 mask removals per night in the report I see the next day on ResMed's myAir web site. I don't necessarily get up that many times per night. It's odd. I have never awakened to find my mask off, nor am I fighting with dislodging it on the pillow, etc.

SleepyHead is pretty cool. But you guys already knew that. Disappointed with the grossly basic data that myAir displays, compared to what the machine gathers on the SD card. Yay, SleepyHead!

How many people dump their water reservoir each morning vs. just refilling it as needed, and maybe rinsing or washing it out periodically?

I rinse out my mask's leader hose and wash the pillow piece with plain hand soap, but I haven't formally dunked the mask, headgear, or main heated hose into a vinegar solution yet. Plan to tomorrow. It still sounds odd to dunk something with heating wires in it. Any cleaning issues to be aware of? My DME guy suggested a 45-minute vinegar solution soak (4:1 ratio, I think?) followed by a brief soapy water rinse to get any vinegar smell out.

Big tender and almost painful spot just inside my left nostril, medial side. Got some Lansinoh. Seems to be helping. Using during the day, not during CPAP time. Was going to use petroleum jelly until I saw that was a no-no.

I am paranoid about the inevitable double-nostril blockage head cold situation, and the misery that would probably cause, and therefore have an Amara View on the way from an online vendor. Separate from what I'm doing for mask and supplies via my insurance with my local DME. Even under normal circumstances, I tend to have one nostril or the other a bit blocked.

[Heart Jumping]

How many people dump their water reservoir each morning vs. just refilling it as needed, and maybe rinsing or washing it out periodically?

I have a very large end table and I literally have a gallon of distilled water sitting on the side of it, if it needs water I fill it up as I'm getting into bed, right over whatever water is left. I clean the holder 2 or 3 times a week. YMMV, some people are much more concerned about this than others.

[OkyDoky]

One thing you need to avoid is getting water in the electrical connection end. I don't wash often but when I do I just hold the connection out of the water and swish baby shampoo water back and forth then rinse. Cleaning preferences really boil down to what you are comfortable with.

[brightcrow]

One thing you need to avoid is getting water in the electrical connection end. I don't wash often but when I do I just hold the connection out of the water and swish baby shampoo water back and forth then rinse. Cleaning preferences really boil down to what you are comfortable with.

Now I'm concerned. Can anyone elaborate or explain? The manuals from Resmed say nothing about vinegar soaks, but as instructed by the folks who provided my equipment, I have been weekly soaking my entire ClimateLineAir heated tube, along with my mask, nasal pillows, and humidifier cup in a large plastic basin containing warm water with a cup of vinegar added, for 30 minutes. Then I rinse and air dry. I always wondered about the hose end that connects to the machine, but they never said anything about that and it seems to work fine even after a couple of months. I assumed it must be protected from moisture since that occurs inside the tube in normal use.

[OkyDoky]

One thing you need to avoid is getting water in the electrical connection end. I don't wash often but when I do I just hold the connection out of the water and swish baby shampoo water back and forth then rinse. Cleaning preferences really boil down to what you are comfortable with.

Now I'm concerned. Can anyone elaborate or explain? The manuals from Resmed say nothing about vinegar soaks, but as instructed by the folks who provided my equipment, I have been weekly soaking my entire ClimateLineAir heated tube, along with my mask, nasal pillows, and humidifier cup in a large plastic basin containing warm water with a cup of vinegar added, for 30 minutes. Then I rinse and air dry. I always wondered about the hose end that connects to the machine, but they never said anything about that and it seems to work fine even after a couple of months. I assumed it must be protected from moisture since that occurs inside the tube in normal use.

I know I read that some where but I just looked at the Climateline user instructions and it didn't say anything about that. You are probably right. I was just trying to protect the connections.

[OkyDoky]

One thing you need to avoid is getting water in the electrical connection end. I don't wash often but when I do I just hold the connection out of the water and swish baby shampoo water back and forth then rinse. Cleaning preferences really boil down to what you are comfortable with.

Now I'm concerned. Can anyone elaborate or explain? The manuals from Resmed say nothing about vinegar soaks, but as instructed by the folks who provided my equipment, I have been weekly soaking my entire ClimateLineAir heated tube, along with my mask, nasal pillows, and humidifier cup in a large plastic basin containing warm water with a cup of vinegar added, for 30 minutes. Then I rinse and air dry. I always wondered about the hose end that connects to the machine, but they never said anything about that and it seems to work fine even after a couple of months. I assumed it must be protected from moisture since that occurs inside the tube in normal use.

I know I read that some where but I just looked at the Climateline user instructions and it didn't say anything about that. You are probably right. I was just trying to protect the connections.

I found out where I got that idea. I had a Respironics heated tube and they caution you on keeping the connection end dry but Resmed does not. Personally I think it would be a good thing to do. I don't use the vinegar soak but some do.
Here is what Respironics says.
Cleaning Instructions: Heated Tubing
Clean the heated tubing before first use and weekly. Heated Tubing is single patient multi-use.
1. Disconnect the heated tubing from the heated humidifier. Refer to the “Disconnecting the Optional Heated
Tubing” section earlier in this manual.
2. Gently wash the heated tubing in a solution of warm water and a mild detergent.
CAUTION: Avoid submerging the Humidifier Connector End of the heated tubing in water.
Note: If the Humidifier Connector End of the tubing does get wet during the cleaning process, be sure to
thoroughly rinse all soap residue from the connector and air dry before the next use.
3. Rinse thoroughly and allow to air dry. Make sure the tubing is dry before use.
4. Inspect the heated tubing for damage or wear (cracking, crazing, tears, punctures, etc.). Discard and replace if

[QueSera]

I'm new here, too - I got my machine 12/30/15. I didn't clean or soak anything at all before using it, nobody told me to. I set it up the way the DME guy showed me and started using it. I haven't cleaned the heated hose yet, I'm wondering if I soak it, will it be ready to use by bedtime? And the headgear - why would I wash that ever? They'll send me a new mask set every so often, and I wash my hair every morning. It just seems that would never be dry in time.

Lots and lots of good information here. Thanks, all.

[palerider]

The manuals from Resmed say nothing about vinegar soaks, but as instructed by the folks who provided my equipment, I have been weekly soaking my entire ClimateLineAir heated tube, along with my mask, nasal pillows, and humidifier cup in a large plastic basin containing warm water with a cup of vinegar added, for 30 minutes

fact: soaking your hose and stuff in vinegar will NOT turn it into sauerkraut, or kimchee...

follow the mfgrs recommendation.

[Mudrock63]

I wash my humidifier reservoir, mask, and hose in warm water and original Dawn roughly once a week. Unless I had a drooly night. Then it is more often for the mask. It is not a heated hose, but it would make sense to keep the connection dry if you can. I have never washed the head gear and it seems to be holding up clean and fine.

Everyone's sleep cycle varies a little bit. I wouldn't get too wrapped around the axle about how much REM you got during sleep studies. I believe once your machine settings are correct for you, your body will get what it needs.