Help me get back on the Wagon

[roster]

If the only problem with higher humidity is rainout,

Too much humidity has been reported by some CPAPers to cause nasal congestion.

[TWW]

Yeah Rooster, but if I understood right, the OP was not having that problem with high humidity -- it was rainout, which impeded increasing the RH to address the dry mouth problem.

[Needsdecaf]

So:

Night number one.

Fell asleep around 11:30. Late, but I was reading and that always keeps me up. Humidity to 3%, Pressure at 9.5 (yes, not a high pressure, but that's even up from my titration!)

Made it until my wife woke up to go to the bathroom at 4:00. At which point, I felt the burning desire to turn over on my stomach....which meant that 30 seconds later, the mask was off.

Mouth was pretty dry, as were the lips. But it was tolerable.

There was some rainout, but nothing too bothersome.

I'm having issues with my card reader, so I can't read how I "really" did, but the seal was very tight and I don't think I had any major leaks. Plus my wife said she heard nothing.

WOOT!

[TWW]

From my point of view, that's a great reboot.

It took me almost two months to reach four hours.

[roster]

Yeah Rooster, but if I understood right, the OP was not having that problem with high humidity -- it was rainout, which impeded increasing the RH to address the dry mouth problem.

Unfortunately many people view heated CPAP humidifiers as something akin to to steam saunas. They are not. They are only designed to provide enough moisture to bring the air in the system up to normal room humidity levels (40 to 60%).

If the user is mouthbreathing for extended times, even 60% relative humidity is not enough to keep the mouth moist. The CPAP humidifiers are not designed to keep the mouth moist. Users who crank the setting up due to dry mouth, are not able to resolve the dry mouth and are causing other problems, such as rainout and possibly nasal congestion.

I have been testing something for about two months to help prevent dry mouth. I am getting quite good results, even during the last week when I had a cold which forced excessive mouthbreathing. I will post about it later this week if I get some time.

[Needsdecaf]

So I was able to download my data, finally. Needed to re-install my smartcard reader driver.

So here it is:

Use time: 4:44
Pressure - 9.5 cm
Humidity - 3
OA: 3.2
H: 0.8
AHI: 4.0
Vib. Snore: 11.0
Avg. Leak: 40.19
Large Leak: 0%

Looking at my leak graph, there were three spikes, and two longer plateaus. None of them were over 50, and my baseline is somewhere around 30, it seems.

Looks like a pretty damn good night.

[Gerryk]

Besides your numbers, how do you feel? Do you feel better than you normally would have when you woke up? The number are one thing and the way you feel is one thing. The main thing is how you feel.

Gerry

[Needsdecaf]

Tired...but my schedule is very variable now, and I worked all day on painting my son's room, so that was tiring. Remember too, that my AHI pre CPAP was less than 30, so that will play into things as well.

So after 1 good night last night...not so much. I could not get the mask to stop leaking, and ended up not using it.

Need to play with the fit a bit more before I go to bed tonight. Damnit, I can live with the dry mouth, but can't they make a mask that freaking doesn't leak!!!!!

[TWW]

I could not get the mask to stop leaking, and ended up not using it.

Must be a Virginia thing. Same thing happened to me last night after I added padding to the straps on my mask. But it seemed so darned tight.

Hang in there. We're pullin' for you.

[roster]

Need to play with the fit a bit more before I go to bed tonight. Damnit, I can live with the dry mouth, but can't they make a mask that freaking doesn't leak!!!!!

Here are some tips on using the Hybrid mask. Many of the tips will also apply to the Liberty.

[Needsdecaf]

Yeah, I've been through those tips. I'm wondering if the mouth pillow size is too large (it's the large). It only comes with the one size, so I haven't ever been able to try the medium.

[roster]

Yeah, I've been through those tips. I'm wondering if the mouth pillow size is too large (it's the large). It only comes with the one size, so I haven't ever been able to try the medium.

That is one of the are two reasons I always recommend the Hybrid over the Liberty. It comes with three sizes of mouth cushions (Liberty comes with only one) and three sizes of nasal pillows.

The second reason is it comes with a removable chin flap and the Liberty has no chin flap.

[Needsdecaf]

So more nights, more data.

Third night same as the second. Started off well but woke up to leaking and could not get it to re-seat. It does not help that I have issues with a sick 3 year old waking up all hours of the night.

Last night, however, went much better. Was able to stay on the machine, with only one break, from 10:30 until 4:45. Woot!

Feel great today. The numbers were good too, AHI of 6 and a low leak number.

Yay, getting back in the groove!

[TWW]

Congrats, ND. I had a good (>6 hour) night as well. I still think it's a Virginia thing.