Were you prescribed a humidifier?

[feeling_better]

I have voted as 'yes, prescribed hh'.

My new post below may also be interesting to the people reading this thread.
viewtopic/t36116/Do-I-really-need-a-Hum ... overy.html

[FlyingMask]

I am a new CPAP user and new to forums. I was prescribed a humidifier cpap machine. It is all integrated and it not only has a heated humidifier but also a heated hose along with it. This I am sure because of seasonal nosebleeds (sometimes very ver bad) and also because of easily getting cold. So far it has been wonderful because I dont get cold like I used to. We will have to see how it goes.

[birdshell]

Welcome, FlyingMask! Please remember to fill out your profile information so that we can see what equipment we use. If you will do so in text, not pictures, it is a bit more specific (and takes up less forum space...).

That said, I used to get all-seasonal nosebleeds until I was prescribed Flonase. (Maybe that is why I love the humidity with my CPAP machine so much.) The nosebleeds actually were my only symptom of (mild) bleeding disorders.

feeling_better, I asked about prescriptions for heated humidifiers specifically because I had recently read a few accounts of people who had NOT been prescribed a humidifier at all, OR had been given a passover humidity only. That peaked my curiosity, as I'd thought the heated humidifier was almost a given in the modern prescribing protocol.

More power to you for finding out what works for you AND sharing your experience on this forum. It is just more proof that we are all better together than separately, so keep on posting here, all y'all!

Karen,
Who still heated humidity

[grandmma]

I've no idea if my humidifier is heated or not - and no idea how to find out! Get me at software, and I can quickly become a whizz, but hardware of any sort escapes me. Are they all anyway?

I find however if I don't use the humidifier, or use it in passover mode, my nasal passages become very gunky and congested - the kind of gluey congestion requiring a good pick not a blow, so it's not attractive at all.

Needless to say, I use the humidifier, but only on the lowest setting. No drama congestion-wise then.

The sleep centre did tell me to play it by ear, and if I felt I required one get it, otherwise I could be damaging my nose internally, specifically the tissues & lining, and that it would be permanent. I feel for me it's the right choice. My son has never used one, and never felt the need. Different strokes, I guess.

[Birddog]

I had chronic bronchitus before apneas,so the heated air is a godsend to me and i don't have near as much colds and congestion since being on the machine.Got bronchitus from working in fiberglass boats not smoking

[feeling_better]

I've no idea if my humidifier is heated or not - and no idea how to find out! Get me at software, and I can quickly become a whizz, but hardware of any sort escapes me. Are they all anyway?

I find however if I don't use the humidifier, or use it in passover mode, my nasal passages become very gunky and congested - the kind of gluey congestion requiring a good pick not a blow, so it's not attractive at all.

Needless to say, I use the humidifier, but only on the lowest setting. No drama congestion-wise then.

The sleep centre did tell me to play it by ear, and if I felt I required one get it, otherwise I could be damaging my nose internally, specifically the tissues & lining, and that it would be permanent. I feel for me it's the right choice. My son has never used one, and never felt the need. Different strokes, I guess.

Hi gradmma, When I look at the bottom of your msg, your msg says you have a heated humidfier! If that is true, then that is the answer to your question

[ozij]

Practice parameters of the AASM in 2006 already recommended heated humidification as standard (

The addition of heated humidification is indicated to improve CPAP utilization (Standard).
This recommendation is based on 3 Level I studies54,55,57 [5.1.3]. There was 1 Level II study that did not find increased utilization with heated humidification. Three additional studies68,74,76 favored heated humidification over unheated or non-humidified CPAP.

O.

[grandmma]

Thanks, feeling better. Would have just written what was on the machine, so lucky I did! Good to know.

[Captain_Midnight]

Here is a URL for an abstract for a recent study comparing AHI and a few other parameters between groups of patients, with and without HH, with evals at 7 and 30 days. http://tinyurl.com/3wgty2

The results did not show a significant benefit either way. The study would have had more power if they had used more patients, and if they had crossed over, meaning switching the HH group to no HH, and vice versa and re-running the study.

I usually do not hook up my humidifier, and if I do, I no longer heat at all. (Learned this from Wulfman Den's posts.) In fact, if I heat at all, my AHI goes wayyy up.

If someone still has issues after starting xPAP therapy, the current wisdom found on this board is (assuming leaks fixed) to experiment with unheated humidification, or no humidification, to see if that helps.

As far as the Rx, my doc fairly insisted that I get HH with each machine he prescribed. His reasoning was simple, it would be a prudent path for me to have the option of humidification. (My doc is a wise fellow.)

Regards all - -


.

[psikes]

Not only one HH but two. The one built into the Pro M was not sufficient to stop my dry mouth so my sleep Doc ordered a second stand alone H2 unit. Worked like a champ, no more dry mouth for me. The only problem is if i don't use my FF mask I get a mask and hose full of water. Using my FF mask there is no residual moisture at all. Go figure!

Phil

[WNJ]

Not sure which question to answer.

1- Were you prescribed a humidifier? No. The script said “CPAP 13cm.”

2- Were you issued (a humidifier) with your initial CPAP machine? Yes, the evil DME included a heated humidifier with the crappy CPAP. (A week later, I included a heated humidifier with the good CPAP I ordered from CPAP.com.)

Wayne

[fortomorrow]

Yes, it was specifically prescribed by my MD along with the make and model of the machine and mask.

I've been using it on 1 recently, although I've tried it up to 4 and ended up drowning myself in the middle of the night.

I might try it in passover mode tonight just to see what happens.

[MamaOf4]

I cheated. When I knew my daughter was coming home from the hospital on CPAP, I told the Dr's and discharge planners what I wanted. I got everything I asked for, including heated humidity and battery backup for the CPAP (Trilogy Ventilator).

[TheDuke]

No humidifier when I was initially diagnosed, perhaps they existed but I really don't know. . That was about 28 or so years ago, and my first machine was a very basic Healthdyne device, and use of CPAP was pretty much in its infancy. The first humidifiers I heard of were external add on devices and a pain to use. Fast forward to 2006 when a new doctor insisted that I needed humidification, and prescribed that my Respironics BiPap be fitted with the rather ingenious Respironics humidifier base that integrated with my machine - the humidifier chamber sat into the front of the machine and indeed I had far less problems with nasal congestion. Now I regard a built-in humidifier as a must feature, and my current doctor strongly agrees.

TheDuke

[LSAT]

Another 8 year old post reincarnated...............