New user on Auto CPAP with C flex (M series)

[roster]

What Hawthorne said.

The software will give additional help.

[DoriC]

If the noise from the machine still bothers you after awhile, can you order a Whisper Cap from cpapdotcom? It's an inexpensive accessory, attaches easily and muffles the sound. Some folks say it doesn't make any difference but I think it helps. Also, you didn't mention your leak data. Could the leaking mask be the noise you're hearing? Keep us posted. Dori

[BleepingBeauty]

last night I zeroed all data on LCD as was instructed on the forum and went to bed determined that I would sleep no matter what and also used ear plugs.

It worked. Sleep wasn't 100% good but I slept. In the morning I found average pressure for one night showed 5.1 - and finally, it also shows therapy hours: 1 and blower hours: 5.6 and AHI 1.1 (do not know if it's good or bad)...

So overall, I think I just need to keep using it. Thanks all guys.

Regards

Hi, and a belated welcome to the forum.

If that's not a typo, one hour of therapy is nowhere near enough to question the AHI. Yes, 1.1 is a very acceptable number, but it's not reliable with only one hour to go by. When we talk about AHI, it's the average number of events per hour (total number of events divided by the number of hours slept). So a one-hour chunk of time is really not representative. In order to see what's happening (and when), you need to look at your data graphs. When you have some time, work on that.

But yes, by all means, continue using the machine, hopefully increasing your nightly usage hours until you're sleeping through. Hang in there. It does get better.

[DoriC]

BB, Oh right, I didn't see the 1 for therapy hrs. Then what does the 5.6 blower hours mean?

[Hawthorne]

I missed that too! You do need to try to get more sleep with the machine running and mask on.

The "Blower" hours are how long the machine has been on for ANY reason. Most machines are just turned on and left to run for a few hours to see if they are working before they are sold. That and other times the machine was on and not "attached" to a person counts as "Blower hours".

Not sure I explained that too well!!

[DoriC]

So the 5.6 blower hrs means the whole time the machine has been running since day 1, not just one night, yes? I should know this but I'm having one of those"senior moments".

[BleepingBeauty]

So the 5.6 blower hrs means the whole time the machine has been running since day 1, not just one night, yes? I should know this but I'm having one of those"senior moments".

Yes, you're right, Dori. The blower hours are the total number of hours that the machine has run, from the beginning. Therapy hours are just that - the number of hours the machine was actually used for therapy.

[rested gal]

Yes I have bought the card reader software and whole lot too. I will perhaps download the data over the weekend. I just need to make sure that when I download the data it doesnt erase it from the card because I need to go to hospital with my sleep data every 3rd month too! That's part of the treatment.

If you do, indeed, have the software called Encore Viewer 1.0 (which is what is shown in your equipment profile) you don't have to worry at all about data being erased from the Smart Card when you download it.

The software called Encore Viewer does not erase any data when the card is downloaded. You can download the card as many times as you wish. The data will be there for the hospital to see when they download it later, exactly as if it had never been downloaded before.

Older "detailed" data is overwritten by newer detailed data periodically, but that has nothing to do with whether anyone has downloaded the card or not. Even if the card is never downloaded, that overwriting of older "daily details" with newer details happens automatically after so many sessions. If a person uses the machine 8 hours a night, the card would hold about 6 nights worth of daily details before the older details began to be overwritten with more recent ones.

If you use Encore Viewer to download the card at home, what the hospital will see on the card months later will still be exactly what they'd see as if the card were being downloaded for the very first time since you had begun using the machine. Encore Viewer leaves the data on the card as if the card had never been downloaded before.

[DublinBoyo]

So the 5.6 blower hrs means the whole time the machine has been running since day 1, not just one night, yes? I should know this but I'm having one of those"senior moments".

Yes, you're right, Dori. The blower hours are the total number of hours that the machine has run, from the beginning. Therapy hours are just that - the number of hours the machine was actually used for therapy.

Do remember though I zeroed all data on LCD display for the third night.

I slept like a baby last night since about 2 AM - when the pressure went up to 8 I felt a little discomfort but then it was good. However even though the humidifier was set to 2 in the morning I found my tongue very dry felt like I was chewing cotton for the rest of the night!

Overall I have started liking it really. The noise was quite low too - I think (I may be wrong) the more the machine is knowing my patterns the better adjustments it's offering to me...

[Pugsy]

Do remember though I zeroed all data on LCD display for the third night

It does not affect blower hours. If this were the case then used machines could be sold as new very easily.

Resetting to zero (the LCD display) will affect the 7/30 day averages and the leak average shown.

I do not remember if resetting to zero affects therapy hours but it definitely does NOT affect blower hours. So you cannot gage how long you used the machine in one night by the blower hours.

[roster]

........ However even though the humidifier was set to 2 in the morning I found my tongue very dry felt like I was chewing cotton for the rest of the night!

.........

This is a symptom of mouthbreathing and/or mouthleaking. It is thought that about 40% of patients do this. When air escapes through the mouth, the therapeutic pressure is lost and you can be having apneas and hypopneas. The solution is to use a full face mask which is a mask that covers both the nose and the mouth. Then you can breathe through your mouth and still maintain the pressure.

[DublinBoyo]

That's what I have - full face mask - you can see below what items I use....

[roster]

Dubliner,

Oh sorry, I misread your profile. With a full face mask, there is no "pat" solution for dry mouth. The humidifiers are designed to maintain moisture in the nasal airway. If you are doing much mouthbreathing, the humidifier will not deliver enough moisture to keep the mouth from becoming dry.

There are a few things you can do to lessen the dry mouth. For some people, mouthbreathing is caused by suboptimal air flow through the nasal passages. The brain causes the mouth to open because the body needs more air. An examination of the nasal airway by an ENT from the nostrils down to the vocal cords with an endoscope should be performed to check the anatomy. The ENT can make recommendations after the exam.

Nasal congestion from allergies and other irritants can contribute to mouthbreathing. Reducing congestion can sometimes lessen mouthbreathing. Here is a good discussion on ideas to reduce congestion - viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36483&st=0&sk=t&sd=a .

I have some congestion from time to time which leads to some mouthbreathing. Of course I try to eliminate the congestion but this is not always 100% effective. I have recently found a way to use Biotene Dry Mouth Moisturizine Gel, http://www.biotene.com/Products/Gel.aspx , to prevent and relieve dry mouth. I place a small dab of the gel on the tip of my tongue and then place it in my gum over the upper central incisors. When you remove your tongue leave the dab of gel up high in the gum. I have found this can help to moisten my mouth for four to five hours with moderate mouthbreathing.

Good luck,