Should I buy a new H5i humidifier or?

[rosacer]

Hello people

It has been a very long time I haven't been around. I just noticed my machines are no more sold (S9 AutoSet are reference only now) . I have 2 of them.

I use the same machine all the time and the second one I use only when I travel, which now is very seldom. Both are S9s AutoSet. For a reason I don't understand, some times I wake up with the throat super dry almost coughing, I haven't change anything in the humidifier settings and here is summer time so no reason to have dryness problems.

Could somebody tell me if it has been problems with the H5i or the climate line hose? If that is the case I should maybe buy an humidifier before it is stil possible to get one.

The second machine although it has really not much hours, it seems to be unable to autostop when I take the mask off my face, the mask setting in the setup is correct but it doesn't stops automatically. Other than that, I have never experienced the dry throat problem when using the second machine.

I'm really out of track with the new machines. Could somebody tell me if there is a significant improvement in the new machines compared to my S9 AutoSet? I'm very satisfied with the S9s and vue their combined total amount of hours is not high I think it would be a waste of money to change them now if there isn't something really special with the new machines.

FYI, as some maybe could remember I tried to get rid of the CPAP after loosing a lot of weight. I had two sleep tests, Dr told I didn't need CPAP I was free to stop it or to continue using it. I noticed I was still feeling tired when not using it (my AHI was 5.1 at the sleep test). I have allergic rhinitis so I need humidity to help me breath at night, It was winter time so I told to myself I'll continued using the CPAP and I"ll stop on summer time. I tried to stop but I noticed I was not rested and things went worst after gaining back 20 lbs, yes only 20 lbs made me need to raise pressure from 7 to 9cmH2O. End of the story: I'm a real sleep apnea person, one day I will manage to lose the 20 lbs LOL and I'll see if pressure goes down again as it was the case when I started loosing weight. I need to tell that I'm not far from the normal BMI but still I'm not free. I was nice to travel without the machine once LOL.

Thanks for the answers

Rosie

[Julie]

Hi - nice to see you again!

First, the auto-off often stops working after a while but unless you have a problem turning it off by yourself, I wouldn't worry about it.

Second, everyone loves the S9s, and if yours are working properly, why change anything? Your local DME might not stock them any longer, but there are still many people buying new ones, or at least almost-new through e.g. Secondwindcpap.com and other places... it's supposed to be a very good machine.

Third - you didn't say which mask you use, and if it's only a nasal one vs full face, you might consider a full face one now as you're probably mouth breathing when asleep, accounting for the dryness. It can happen as you get older and parts of your body relax more than they used to, and sometimes even a little weight gain can make a difference even if you didn't need a FF mask in the past. There are so many out there, why not look at Cpap.com for ideas?

[LSAT]

I love the S9...I just purchased my third off Craigslist. I figure I now have my next 12 years covered.

[klv329]

To avoid dry mouth I always turn on the pre-heat to worm the water. Even though the ambient temperature is rarely below 80F, the pre-hest seems to help me.

You can test it by turning on the pre-heat and put your hand near the plate at the bottom of the humidifier.

I also have to use tape to keep my mouth shut, otherwise I get some serious dry mouth.

[palerider]

Hello people

hi! :waves:

I use the same machine all the time and the second one I use only when I travel, which now is very seldom. Both are S9s AutoSet. For a reason I don't understand, some times I wake up with the throat super dry almost coughing, I haven't change anything in the humidifier settings and here is summer time so no reason to have dryness problems.

the thing would be to note *exactly* how much water is in there at the start of the night, and at the end. see if it's gone down some. the amount it goes down will vary as the humidity in your house varies, usually much less water usage in summer than in winter.

Could somebody tell me if it has been problems with the H5i or the climate line hose? If that is the case I should maybe buy an humidifier before it is stil possible to get one.

I'd bet that there'll be humidifiers around for long time, you can still pick up humidifiers for s8, maybe even s7 machines.

The second machine although it has really not much hours, it seems to be unable to autostop when I take the mask off my face, the mask setting in the setup is correct but it doesn't stops automatically. Other than that, I have never experienced the dry throat problem when using the second machine.

swap the humidifiers between the two machines, see if the problem follows one of them. while humidifier problems with the S9 series aren't unheard of, they are pretty rare.

I'm really out of track with the new machines. Could somebody tell me if there is a significant improvement in the new machines compared to my S9 AutoSet? I'm very satisfied with the S9s and vue their combined total amount of hours is not high I think it would be a waste of money to change them now if there isn't something really special with the new machines.

there is a new mode in the autoset for her this time, (unlike last time when it was just a different color) that changes a few parameters, and may work better for some people, man or woman. other than that, they're the same, though they require different heated hoses, and the humidifier is built in, instead of detachable. they're also more 'upright' so they take up a lot less space on the nightstand. but, they are not revolutionary, like the s9 was in comparison to the s8.

[SewTired]

FYI, as some maybe could remember I tried to get rid of the CPAP after loosing a lot of weight. I had two sleep tests, Dr told I didn't need CPAP I was free to stop it or to continue using it. I noticed I was still feeling tired when not using it (my AHI was 5.1 at the sleep test).

Rosie

In my reading, an AHI of 5 is the minimum diagnosis level for insurance to pay for a machine. I've read in a number of places that many patients with symptoms whose AHI is below 5 also benefit from Cpap therapy, but since Medicare/insurance set the threshhold, they have to buy a machine themselves. So, keep on using your machine!

[rosacer]

Hi Julie, LSAT, palerider and new friends
Thanks for the answers I thought you had forget me iat is nice to see you didn't

To answers the questions:

- I use a Headrest nasal mask
- The machine is set for this type of mask
- I tape very well my mouth each night with surgical paper tape
- Humidity is set at 4.5. It has happened a couple of times that I put my mask on and then my sinuses were block. I check the humidity setting and surprise it is set at 5.5 or 6 and I swear I didn't touch it. Other times I wake up almost coughing in the middle of the night as if I had not enough humidity, some times I will take the tape off and drink some wather, other times I will only try to swallow and let it replace by itself (could take time). I fall asleep and I wake up ok
- Each morning the water level is lower that maximum, I put it at max each night before using the machine

Could it be the humidity sensor ? It should be one. I will swap humidifiers this night and wait to see if this situations arrives again, it is an intermittent problem which makes it hard to find the cause.

It is very good to know the new machines are not really better than the S9, also that it could be easy to buy the humidifiers for it.

I'm in the hurry, I'll be back soon

[Pugsy]

Hi Rosie. Been wondering how you have been doing.
I don't really have anything new in the way of ideas for this problem. Let's see what happens when you swap out humidifiers.
Do you have any way to measure the ambient humidity in your bedroom?

[palerider]

- I use a Headrest nasal mask
- The machine is set for this type of mask

looking at the pictures, I'd say that's more of a pillow mask than a nasal mask (at least for settings purposes. try setting the mask type to 'pillow' and see if it works better.

Could it be the humidity sensor ? It should be one. I will swap humidifiers this night and wait to see if this situations arrives again, it is an intermittent problem which makes it hard to find the cause.

the humidity sensor in the resmed S9 units is in the humidifier part of the unit. (I took one apart once just to see what was inside) so switching the humidifiers will be a good test.

[rosacer]

Hi Pugsy

I'm doing well. As I wrote I never stopped using the cpap more than a couple of days because I needed the humidity from the humidifier to prevent my sinuses to get block. Then I started to feel tired and I raised up pressure a bit to make the AHI go down and at the end I put the machine on automatic 7-9.

I I'm such a princess , at AHI=5.1 I should have felt OK compared to the 32 at diagnosis but it wasn't the case so I decided to continue hooked to the hose Now I don't know what AHI I have but it's not important I use the machine anyway. My Dr was so happy when he told me I was free from OSA oh well !

I don't have a humidistat, I can't measure ambient humidity level Although It is summer time it could be dry because of the AC. I will pay attention at the problem, I set my equipment at night. Here it is getting cooler so I need to do something now because soon dryness will be installed for a couple of months

[rosacer]

palerider, now you see how true it is I was disconnected from OSA matters I should have write nasal pillows, because you are right it is a nasal pillows The machine is set for nasal pillows.

I'll try the other humidifier, I will now go and make the exchange.

[palerider]

palerider, now you see how true it is I was disconnected from OSA matters I should have write nasal pillows, because you are right it is a nasal pillows The machine is set for nasal pillows.

I'll try the other humidifier, I will now go and make the exchange.

you could try raising your minimum pressure a little. resmeds sometimes have trouble with the auto off if the pressure is too low... (hard for them to tell the diff in a big leak and mask off, basically, especially with pillows)

[rosacer]

The old machine has 9120hrs the other has 2180hrs.

The old machine has the humidifier tank which came with the machine, the one which is not easy to open kind of breakable plastic. I don't know if that metallic container develops a bad for health kind of rust . I read you are supposed to change the tank each 6 months, is that true and why?

[palerider]

The old machine has 9120hrs the other has 2180hrs.

The old machine has the humidifier tank which came with the machine, the one which is not easy to open kind of breakable plastic. I don't know if that metallic container develops a bad for health kind of rust . I read you are supposed to change the tank each 6 months, is that true and why?

because profit!

if you aren't a good little drone and replace your perfectly functional cpap parts on an artificial regular basis, they don't make as much money!

seriously, the whole 'replacement' schedule is a crock. (ok, except for filters... every six months or more often if they get dirty sooner.)

everything else, masks, cushions, hoses, humidifier tanks... replace 'em when they start to fail. no sooner... otherwise, you're just wasting money and helping to fill up a landfill somewhere.

[klv329]

The old machine has 9120hrs the other has 2180hrs.

The old machine has the humidifier tank which came with the machine, the one which is not easy to open kind of breakable plastic. I don't know if that metallic container develops a bad for health kind of rust . I read you are supposed to change the tank each 6 months, is that true and why?

https://youtu.be/scg8Nc9LkRo

Those are tough to open. Tried on one then got the dishwasher safe ones as a replacement.