new to the forum, been using CPAP since 2006

[Bryman31]

hello all, its a beautiful sunny day here in Colorado. i hope you all are well.

ive been on a CPAP since 2006. im on a setting of 9 with my last sleep study being done this past Feb. as of now im on a brand new Dreamstation, which i like so far, but i feel its not as good as my M series (which i purchased outright and have been using from 2008 to just now since i got my Dreamstation) that little M just kicks but andmay very well outlast me LOL. maybe im oldschool but my M series just plain works great, and its simple.


anyway some questions for you all,,,

1. i do NOT use the humidifier. AT ALL. used it the first few weeks of therapy in the beginning..........but hated the hot air feeling. so i have not used it since. so the question is.....how many others DO NOT use their humidifiers, and how does using it or NOT using it impact the therapy?

2. strangely enough ive never suffered through a power outage. so the thought of a battery backup never even dawned on me. until this summer. we have had 4. 3 of which were night time @ about 6-9 hours each. as im sure you all can attest its darn near impossible to sleep without that mask in hahaha. so this question is.........what do you all use for backup? im seriously considering a GoalZero yeti 400. ive ready without humidifier people are getting 3-4 nights use on a full charge. we go on road trips a lot and it seems like this would help PLUS my kids are little and when i was their age i was "camping" in the back yard with my dad in our tent.........id love to be able to do that with my kids.

for now thats all my questions........im positive ill have more and hopefully i can get to help others out while im here.

thank you!

[Julie]

Hi, never use humidifier and get stuffed up if I do, but I live near the ocean so it's not an issue to not use it... but Colorado? I would think you'd use it a lot there!

Have you tried turning down or off the heat feature - most will let you do that.

Are you happy with results on plain Cpap? Ever considered an Apap? Do you use any software to track what goes on overnight?

I never get power outs either, so can't really speak to that, though there's a ton of stuff on the forum about it... use the search box to access, or just read down a few notes as there's always someone asking about it.

[Wulfman...]

hello all, its a beautiful sunny day here in Colorado. i hope you all are well.

ive been on a CPAP since 2006. im on a setting of 9 with my last sleep study being done this past Feb. as of now im on a brand new Dreamstation, which i like so far, but i feel its not as good as my M series (which i purchased outright and have been using from 2008 to just now since i got my Dreamstation) that little M just kicks but andmay very well outlast me LOL. maybe im oldschool but my M series just plain works great, and its simple.


anyway some questions for you all,,,

1. i do NOT use the humidifier. AT ALL. used it the first few weeks of therapy in the beginning..........but hated the hot air feeling. so i have not used it since. so the question is.....how many others DO NOT use their humidifiers, and how does using it or NOT using it impact the therapy?

2. strangely enough ive never suffered through a power outage. so the thought of a battery backup never even dawned on me. until this summer. we have had 4. 3 of which were night time @ about 6-9 hours each. as im sure you all can attest its darn near impossible to sleep without that mask in hahaha. so this question is.........what do you all use for backup? im seriously considering a GoalZero yeti 400. ive ready without humidifier people are getting 3-4 nights use on a full charge. we go on road trips a lot and it seems like this would help PLUS my kids are little and when i was their age i was "camping" in the back yard with my dad in our tent.........id love to be able to do that with my kids.

for now thats all my questions........im positive ill have more and hopefully i can get to help others out while im here.

thank you!

#1. There's one other option you apparently haven't tried......"passover" humidification......water in the tank but no heat. I've been using that method since I started in 2005. I found out I didn't like the warm air either, so I made sure there was no way of accidentally turning it on and that has worked out well for me.

#2. I've had pretty stable power here, too, but a couple of years ago, I decided to pick up a couple of spare battery backup UPS devices at the local Walmart (some of mine were getting pretty old). One was an APC and the other was a CyberPower. I believe I got both for a total of about $80 or so. I needed another UPS on one of my computers, so the APC went on that and the Cyberpower went on my nightstand for my CPAP. I really don't care about running my CPAP for any length of time with a power outage, I was mainly looking at something to buffer the power in the rare event of a power loss......long enough till I could get up and investigate the situation. I quit camping many years ago.......too many grizzly bears in this area.


Den

.

[Bryman31]

my new dreamstation is an APAP. its set from 9 to 20. i dont mind it and when sleeping have no idea if its fluctuating or not. as for software, only the software that came with the machine is whats being used. do you install other software on it?

we have mild humidity here, and i do see that my dreamstation has the heat off feature, but i figured turning off the heat was a waste since the heat with the water made the humitidy, with the heat off will there be the humidity? i guess i could try it..... couldnt hurt. never had the option with my M machine.

[Wulfman...]

my new dreamstation is an APAP. its set from 9 to 20. i dont mind it and when sleeping have no idea if its fluctuating or not. as for software, only the software that came with the machine is whats being used. do you install other software on it?

we have mild humidity here, and i do see that my dreamstation has the heat off feature, but i figured turning off the heat was a waste since the heat with the water made the humitidy, with the heat off will there be the humidity? i guess i could try it..... couldnt hurt. never had the option with my M machine.

Yes. It depends on the relative humidity in your area and especially in your bedroom. My water level drops anywhere from an eighth to a quarter of an inch in my tank per night. I live in the NW corner of Wyoming, not far from Yellowstone Park.


Den

.

[Julie]

Most here use Sleepyhead (free) as it's easier than Encore and works with Macs too, plus gives lots of info you never knew you needed ... see the first 'tutorial' top of the main pg or do a forum search.

[palerider]

so the question is.....how many others DO NOT use their humidifiers, and how does using it or NOT using it impact the therapy?

the only time I use humidity is when I've got a head or chest cold, then the extra moisture seems to help loosen the crap, much like a steamy shower..

as to therapy, humidity is pretty much a comfort thing, some people want more humidity in the air they're breathing, though I've never figured out why... since they don't have it during the day. I suppose some peoples sinuses are just more demanding, and want things 'just so', either too much, or too little humidity leave them dealing with sinus problems.

so, the answer is, do whatever makes you comfortable, humidity wise.

[chunkyfrog]

I use humidity and the heated hose-year round.
I used to have horribly dry, itchy nasal passages, and now it's all better now.
I have a home distiller to "make" my water, so it's really cheap.

[Omne]

so the question is.....how many others DO NOT use their humidifiers, and how does using it or NOT using it impact the therapy?

the only time I use humidity is when I've got a head or chest cold, then the extra moisture seems to help loosen the crap, much like a steamy shower..

as to therapy, humidity is pretty much a comfort thing, some people want more humidity in the air they're breathing, though I've never figured out why... since they don't have it during the day. I suppose some peoples sinuses are just more demanding, and want things 'just so', either too much, or too little humidity leave them dealing with sinus problems.

so, the answer is, do whatever makes you comfortable, humidity wise.

There's one difference about humidity when you are sleeping or awake- if you're sleeping you can't drink something if your throat dries out. The other day I forgot to fill the humidifier before I went to sleep. The next morning my throat was dry and my lips were stuck to my teeth, literally. I think everyone differs as far as producing saliva, kind of like dry eye.

[palerider]

There's one difference about humidity when you are sleeping or awake- if you're sleeping you can't drink something if your throat dries out. The other day I forgot to fill the humidifier before I went to sleep. The next morning my throat was dry and my lips were stuck to my teeth, literally. I think everyone differs as far as producing saliva, kind of like dry eye.

but, even high humidifier settings won't save you if you're doing a lot of mouth breathing... but, like I said, to each their own.