Rainout Question

Mark83 · Post by **Mark83** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 9:06 pm

I have a question for the CPAP experts!

I have been on CPAP for a month now and I have been loving my Swift so far. I wanted to get an alternate mask so I could rotate every couple weeks. I took my Sleep Center up on their standing offer to try any masks that I wanted; to see if I liked them (free of charge!). If I like one I can either keep it and they will bill my insurance or I can return it and buy one from CPAP.com.

Here is my question. During my study they used a Somnoplus mask on me and I had no trouble sleeping with it (Very small, lightweight, and unbelieveably quiet). So I wanted to try it at home. On the first night I had pretty bad rainout after about 5 hours and had to remove the mask. I made NO changes to my pressure or humidifier setting (2). With the Swift I had NO rainout issues at all. The temperatures here have been pretty much the same also. Can a change to a nasal mask from a nasal pillow cause this rainout problem? Why would I have no rainout with the Swift?

Last night I turned the humidifier down to 1 and had much less of a rainout problem but it still woke me up. Turned the humidifier OFF and slept fine the rest of the night.

Any expertise would be appreciated!!

P.S. I have an Activa sitting here waiting for me to try also based on everyone's raves about it.

MARK

Sunflower · Post by **Sunflower** » Sat Dec 03, 2005 7:32 am

Hi Mark83...I also had some problems with rainout. I use the activa mask. Some nights I have no problems and other nights I have problems and I use the same mask everynight. I find that if it is damp outside, and I had my bedroom window open, and my room has gotten chilly then I have a problem. Lately, since it is colder outside and I now have my bedroom window closed I have had no problems at all. It has something to do with the temperature of the room you are sleeping in. If it's colder then your heated hose then you get rainout. A lot of people buy a heated hose.

mikemoran · Post by **mikemoran** » Sat Dec 03, 2005 9:24 am

Alot of it has to do with the surface area of the mask. A nasal pillow is blowing straight into your nose and rainout is less evident alot of the condensation will remain in the hose. However with a nasal mask you not only have condensation with the hose but also with the mask. The greater surface of that mask causes it to be cooler.

It may seem counter intuitive but I have found a higher setting with the nasal mask than the pillows actually reduces rainout. More hot air agaisnt the mask keeping it warmer is my theory. I also have the heated hose which has virtually eliminated Rain out.

Sunflower · Post by **Sunflower** » Sat Dec 03, 2005 9:36 am

Is this a serious answer I hear from Mike....I guess you are not all fun and games....LOL

mikemoran · Post by **mikemoran** » Sat Dec 03, 2005 9:55 am

every once in a while i feel the need to get in touch with my serious side LOL

Mark83 · Post by **Mark83** » Sat Dec 03, 2005 11:10 am

Thanks Sunflower and mikemoran. It makes sense about the surface area of the mask. Here is my experience the last two nights. I used the Somnoplus Thursday night and filled the humidifier as usual but kept it turned OFF. No rainout issues and I slept great.

Like I said in my original post I am playing musical masks trying to find an alternate for my Swift. So I tried the Activa last night and LOVED it. Quite a bit bigger than the Somno, but a great seal and very loose on the face. Slept on my back, sides, and stomach and never awoke for ANY leaks the whole night. I used the humidifier on '1' and had not even a trace of rainout when I woke in the morning. So the experimentation with the humidifier and rain out continues.

I have ordered a hose cover from ebay to try that first before I drop $89 on the heated one. It was like $8. Once I settle on an alternate mask then I will see how things go. The thing that surprised me was I had no problems sleeping when I had the humidifier turned off. I looked at my sleep study and they used 'cool humidification' on me. So maybe I dont really need heated humidification??

I will post my updates after I settle on an alternate mask.

Thanks again,

MARK

tammy · Post by **tammy** » Sat Dec 03, 2005 1:26 pm

Hi Mark,

I've had similar problems in the past with my swift mask and rainout. I still fill the humidifier, but I don't turn it ON. That seems to work for me. The heat makes me feel like I'm breathing in a sauna when the humidifer is on. I haven't been brave enough to try without the humidifier since it is SO dry here.

It sounds like you have a great sleep clinic/DME provider. I'm impressed that they let you try all this different equipment!

Tammy

Mark83 · Post by **Mark83** » Sat Dec 03, 2005 9:23 pm

Tammy,

Yes I do have an excellent Sleep Center and Staff. I completely bypassed the DME after reading the horror stories written on here. My insurance allowed me to buy direct from CPAP.com and they reimbursed me 100% and they even paid for the Encore Pro software!! That shocked me when I received the check from them and everything was covered except for the shipping. I figured that the Encore Pro would be on my dime! They coded it under 'supplies'.

My Sleep Center has been nothing short of exceptional. They laid out about a dozen masks for me and said take your pick. I love the Swift so far. I have tried the Comfort Lite, Comfort Gel, Somnoplus, and Activa so far. I feel very fortunate to have such a supportive staff there. Their philosophy is that a patient has to be happy with their mask, equipment, etc. so the patient will comply and receive the proper treatment instead of becoming frustrated and giving up.

I have to say that I have learned tons from reading on here as well. I don't post too often yet since I feel that I am still a 'rookie' but I read several times a day on here.

MARK

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