Humidity and seal questions

[Duckbites]

First let me say I am a HAPPY hose head. Had real trouble staying awake starting Jan 2014. Got the sleep test in July and they changed to CPAP experiment at "midnight". With just 4 hours of "good" sleep I felt better than I had in literally 6 months. I knew I would never complain about wearing the mask. Now, I sleep the whole night through and I have NOT woken up sweat drenched (that was my major symptom) since I took the machine home. I feel rested and function through the day. If that (my daily abilities and wakefulness) is the real measure of success, then I must be doing something right.

I have less than 3 months experience. No answer is too low or too simple to me.

First a question about humidity. When I turn on a countertop humidifier, I can feel very moist air being put out into my kitchen. With the mask, I turn it to high/level 5 and I do not see any difference in the air being pushed through. If I turn it to just air pressure that air feels just as moist as level 5 or 2. I can tell something is happening because I have to refill the reservoir each night, but I cannot feel the humidity. What gives? Are my expectations too high?

Next question about humidity. When I use the humidifier, at any level (1-5) the tank is bone dry by 2 or 3 AM (I am in bed about 9-930PM) Same question, are my expectations too high?

Last question. This is about the face mask seal. How tight should the seal be? Are we talking suction cup tight? Or just tight enough to keep it on my head and face? I can feel and hear some leaks (only defined as air getting out of the mask) but it is not a rushing wind. Just looking for an objective standard.

[englandsf]

Welcome.

If you're using water the humidifier is almost certainly working - and too well!. If you can't feel the difference between 2 and 5 you're probably not very sensitive to humidity.

Using a FFM allows you to mouth breathe which uses way more water than nose breathing. Are you getting dry mouth? Have you tried nasal mask or pillows?

What pressure are you running at?

[Pugsy]

Which model are you using...the 550 or the 560 machine? There's a sticker on the bottom of the blower.

Even at the highest output you can't compare the humidifier settings to what you would feel with a counter top humidifier. It doesn't work that way at all. But you shouldn't be using all the water in 6 hours at a setting of 1. Really shouldn't be using all the water at a setting of 5 either.

Tell me the exact model number machine you are using ...there may be some other options available to you depending on which model machine. What you have chosen right now is the model 550 but you may have a 560 machine as it is the latest model.

[Duckbites]

This is my first mask. I have not tried nose pillows or anything else.

YES I get drymouth a lot with this mask. Dry like desert, NO exaggeration. Maybe 1 out of 3 nights I my mouth is entirely dry when I wake up. I never had that problem before I started wearing the mask.

I use a pressure of 11.

The model sticker says 560P.

[Pugsy]

The machine you have chosen in your profile is the 550 model PR S1 APAP.

The correct choice for your machine is this
PR System One 60 Series Auto CPAP machine.

Since you have a 60 series machine you have a machine that has a heated hose option that could potentially deliver more humidity.
Do you know if you have a heated hose already? The heated hose has a black end where it attaches to the humidifier.

The dry mouth is from mouth breathing most likely. You might be able to add more moisture to the air and it might help...stress the might part as some people's mouths simply dry out more than other people's and the humidifier can't keep up with the drying effects of mouth breathing.

Also....what is the leak rate showing? Large leaks will use up more water quickly.

Where do you live? Is the air generally very dry?

You have some options available depending on if you are using a heated hose already and the leak rate and your general ambient room humidity.

[palerider]

First a question about humidity. When I turn on a countertop humidifier, I can feel very moist air being put out into my kitchen. With the mask, I turn it to high/level 5 and I do not see any difference in the air being pushed through. .

look at the size of the humidifier on your counter, look at the size of the humidifier on the cpap.

your room humidifier is trying to humidify the whole room, it puts out a lot of humidity.

the cpap is trying to humidify your nose.

if it put out as much humidity as the one for your room, it would 1) have to have a much larger tank, and 2) it would drown you.

[cathyf]

One really simple suggestion is to take that countertop humidifier out of the kitchen and put it in your bedroom. If the air that the PAP is pulling in is more humid to begin with, then the humidifier on the machine won't have to work so hard.

[Paralel]

One really simple suggestion is to take that countertop humidifier out of the kitchen and put it in your bedroom. If the air that the PAP is pulling in is more humid to begin with, then the humidifier on the machine won't have to work so hard.

Yep. The realtive humidity settings of the xPAP uses a thermometer as well as a hygrometer to adjust relative humidity inside the hose going to the patient according to ambient temperature and humidity. If there is more water in the air around the xPAP it will have to use less of its own to meet the level of relative humidity you want as part of your treatment.

The air in your place must be ridiculously dry if your xPAP uses that much water by 2 AM. The water in that chamber, if filled to the maximum fill line, is meant to last a minimum of 8 hours under 'standard' atmospheric conditions. If your place is that dry I'm amazed you don't suffer from nosebleeds, etc... which is typically seen in people that live in very dry climates.

[Duckbites]

Yeah Utah is a rather DRY state. LOTS of people complain about physical dryness (Skin, Nosebleeds,Etc) It has only occasionally bothered me, but it is omnipresent. Good point.

No I do NOT have the heated tube.

Can I go back to my original post? This is about the face mask seal. How tight should the seal be? Are we talking suction cup tight? (OK I know I am exaggerating) Or just tight enough to keep it on my head and face? I can feel and hear some leaks (only defined as air getting out of the mask) but it is not a rushing wind. Just looking for an objective standard. My ears do pop when I put on the mask.

[palerider]

Yeah Utah is a rather DRY state. LOTS of people complain about physical dryness (Skin, Nosebleeds,Etc) It has only occasionally bothered me, but it is omnipresent. Good point.

No I do NOT have the heated tube.

Can I go back to my original post? This is about the face mask seal. How tight should the seal be? Are we talking suction cup tight? (OK I know I am exaggerating) Or just tight enough to keep it on my head and face? I can feel and hear some leaks (only defined as air getting out of the mask) but it is not a rushing wind. Just looking for an objective standard. My ears do pop when I put on the mask.

just barely tight enough, when the machine is on, to keep it from leaking, too tight and the cushion can't inflate and make a good seal, often making leaks worse.

[Gary_UT]

The normal recommendation is loose enough for the seals to inflate, but not overly tight. You want it just tight enough to prevent leaks.

I use the same mask. But my higher pressure requires that I tighten it pretty tight to keep it from leaking. It's not tight enough to cause red marks though.

As a fellow Utah resident I can attest to the dry air. My humidifier also runs out of water.

[Ogeo]

The air in your place must be ridiculously dry if your xPAP uses that much water by 2 AM. The water in that chamber, if filled to the maximum fill line, is meant to last a minimum of 8 hours under 'standard' atmospheric conditions. If your place is that dry I'm amazed you don't suffer from nosebleeds, etc... which is typically seen in people that live in very dry climates.

When I started 3 weeks ago, I was running out of water in the humidifier each night. I thought that was normal. I played around with the humidity and tube temp but it didn't make a difference. Thanks for posting this. I was having large leaks with my FFM. I have been using the nuance pro pillows for several nights now and I'm no longer having large leaks and my distilled water is still about half with both the machine & tube set at 2. I think I'll up the humidity while using the pillows, and see what the water level is. I've never thought about being in a dry climate as being part of it. Once you live in a certain climate, your body adjust to it and I don't notice it anymore. We usually keep some pots of water on the wood stove at night during the winter, but don't do anything in the summer. I might have to do something about that. Anyway, this was some good info.