Question on AirSense 10 Autoset Humidifier

[Lou Cypher]

I am having a difficult time for some reason getting the right settings for my humidifier....

I think I screwed up by trying to upgrade to the AirSense 10 and switching to a Full Face mask at the same time,,, should have done one first , then the other....

I have gone through 3 Full Face masks and just can NOT get them to work for me... I never did get one to to work well for me when I started on CPAP and was extremely happy when I tried nasal pillows....

So onto my question.... I did manage to get the right humidification when trying the full face masks but after giving up and going back to my Swift Lt with chin strap and tape I just can not get it right...... I usually wake up during the night with extremely dry mouth or feel like I am smothering in thick air....

It was very easy with my old S8 Autoset, just move the knob one click at a time until comfortable.. my only issue was occasional rain out.... and that was even with a soft fleece cover on the hose, but again only once in a while, no big deal....

I have the heated tubing and perhaps that is the problem.... two different settings getting me screwed up......

I tried the auto setting first as recommended and it was no good... very bad dry mouth, like my teeth would stick to my lips and dryness would wake me up....

So if someone could tell me how to start to get this to work I would appreciate it... which settings to start with first or should I try working them both..... any help would be appreciated....

I have checked the AirSense manual and heated tubing manual , but unless I am missing something I can't find an answer...

Thanks in advance

[Pugsy]

The humidified air can't really get to the mouth if you are using a nasal pillow mask.
If you are getting a dry mouth with a nasal pillow mask it isn't the humidity setting causing the dry mouth...it's most likely mouth breathing (unless you are on some meds that might do it).
Even if you were using a full face mask there's no guarantee that even running the humidifier at maximum output that the humidified air can fix the dry mouth. These humidifiers were designed to fix nasal mucosa issues...not the mouth. The nasal cavity is much smaller than the oral cavity.

Now you may or may not be doing the mouth breathing all night. I can get really bad dry mouth from as little as 5 minutes of mouth breathing (usually you can spot a big leak to measure).

So why the mouth breathing? Are you having nasal congestion now that you didn't have? Or is it maybe just habit?

[Lou Cypher]

Mouth breathing started about 3 or 4 years ago and a chin strap solved it until last August... At that time I found I wasn't opening my mouth because of the chin strap but my lips part slightly letting the air out..... thinking about all you said...... I believe it is sinus issues..... I have had them since a child but they got worse and I saw an allergist.... I have nose sprays that work but at night when I am laying down they don't last long.... could it be that the sinus clogs from sinus dripping forcing the air down into the mouth and out???? I do tape the lips shut to try and stop that......

My allergist says I have non allergic Rhinitis..I can not take a decongestant because I'm on Blood Pressure medication.....

Am I trapped in a catch 22 ????

However I did not have this dry mouth with my old S8 autoset, that is what confuses me also...

[Pugsy]

What nasal sprays do you have in your arsenal?

What setting for humidity did you use on the S8?

It is possible that you are experiencing more mouth breathing because of more nasal congestion during the night.
Maybe consider trying a lower setting for humidity.

We do need to look at the leak graphs to see just how bad the leaks from the mouth breathing is. You don't want to be spending half the night in really large leak causing therapy pressure to be lost.
Now 15 to 30 minutes that you sleep through large leak probably isn't the end of the world.
I mouth breathe on occasion...but it's never for very long and not necessarily every night and I sleep through it for the most part so I don't care and don't do anything special to stop it.

[Lou Cypher]

I am armed with NASACORT AND AZELASTINE HYDROCHLORIDE

I had my S8 humidifier set on 3. That was needed at this time of the year and i would move it down to 2 during the warmer months

Yes it is possible for more nasal congestion during the night..... While I was trying to use a full face mask, the nasal congestion was way down from using the nasal pillows..... I was really hoping to be able to use one but the results were horrible and I felt horrible also.... When I first went on CPAP I tried to use a full face to no avail......

I am setup for MyAir by the DME... would those leak graphs give you what you are looking for ???

I had the moved the humidity control up to 6 last night after waking up feeling like sand in my mouth......

How do I go about finding the right temp to set the tubing????? Any standard rules of thumb for that??

[Pugsy]

I am setup for MyAir by the DME... would those leak graphs give you what you are looking for ???

MyAir doesn't do detailed leak graphs but it does give a 95% leak number I think. If the 95% leak number is below large leak territory we probably don't just have to look at the details. If it is above 24 L/min then we need to look at the detailed graphs because it doesn't necessarily mean half the night.
I can have some pretty big 95% numbers that make it sound like leaks were really bad but they were really bad maybe 30 minutes and not necessarily all night. So MyAir may or may not help us. Depends on that that 95% leak number is.

How do I go about finding the right temp to set the tubing????? Any standard rules of thumb for that??

Hose air temp is strictly comfort and condensation prevention (if needed). I use warmer hose air temp in the winter because I keep my house on the cold side in the winter. So I do warmer for both comfort and rain out prevention.
Now in the summer I prefer not so warm obviously...and rain out is much less likely to happen so I use pretty much hose air temp as low as it will go.
I never change the humidity though because I learned a long time ago that my nasal mucosa doesn't like change and doesn't like to be dried out.

So you may or may not be mouth breathing enough to negatively impact the therapy. You don't seem to really want to automatically go the full face mask route (neither do I) so you need to be sure just how much of an impact it might be having on the therapy itself.
Anything that wakes us up is unwanted though...even if it is a teeny tiny leak or 5 minutes of dry mouth...and maybe it doesn't really impact the therapy itself but it is impacting sleep quality. Sleep quality is very important...without good sleep those good numbers don't mean much.

Actually you have the 95% leak number on your sleep report on the LCD screen...what does it say for last night?

[Lou Cypher]

Leak number 18L / min last night.

Of the last two weeks I have had 20 four times, 10 four times , the rest were within10 to 20....

before this and the last night that I tangled with a full face mask it was 60

[Pugsy]

If the 95% leak number is less than 24...looking at the leak graph isn't critically needed.
It means that the leak was at OR BELOW whatever that number is showing (last night 18 L/min) for 95% of the night.
5% of the night above it. We don't know how much above it but I don't worry about 5% of anything...it might have been 22 was the max it went to...might have been 32 or 42 but even if it was 42 I don't worry about 5 %.
At some point you do want to get yourself comfortable with SleepyHead but there's no urgent need for it at this moment with 95% numbers in the range you are seeing.

Here's an example
95% number is 30 but most of the time above 24 L/min was spent between 24 and 27 ....

[Lou Cypher]

So it seems like I am not too bad at the moment just uncomfortable at times with dryness( the intensity varies day by day)... which is probably from sinus congestion....

Seems like maybe an issue to bring up with the allergist

I am better after clearing my throat when I wake up and 20 minutes after using the first spray and perfect after the second one which is 20 minutes later..... but that is for the daytime,,,, probably because I am up and walking around....

i do the same treatment at night before bed but laying down is when my head starts to fill up.

I am sure you have been asked this a thousand times but this sleepyhead program... I can probably google for it... but basic questions.....

how much is it, do I need equipment to use it and has anyone written a how to use it PDF file or can I buy a book somewhere......

[Pugsy]

SleepyHead is free
Go here and follow links to get it.
https://sleep.tnet.com/equipment

It's fairly easy to use. RobySue did a good install and basic use tutorial.
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph ... d#pid73182

[Lou Cypher]

So it says I am supposed to bakckup my data file.... I don't see any folder that says data file... what is the name of what I am supposed to back up ???

[Pugsy]

Don't worry about backing it up. SleepyHead by default will do a back up for you.

[Lou Cypher]

OK, hopefully last question for awhile....

I notice on the Options of the AirSense 10 they have listed under masks,,,,, Nasal or pillows.... what is the difference between these two ?

[Okie bipap]

Nasal masks fit over the nose while nasal pillow are inserted slightly into the nose.

[Lou Cypher]

Nasal masks fit over the nose while nasal pillow are inserted slightly into the nose.

Thank You Sir...