Feedback from experienced PB 420E users wanted

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 4:13 pm

In my first night on CPAP using my PB 420E the data seems to confirm my assertion that I am best served with an auto adjusting machine.

ave pressure 6.6cm (I was titrated at 7cm)
low pressure 5.0cm ( min pressure setting) time duration 60%
max pressure 13.0cm ( would not get this with a fixed 7cm)

I also have made the following observations regarding my set-up. If anyone has any input it would be much appreciated.

- The mirage activa mask, though kind of bulky, just does not leak. for that I love it. At times it does seem to "pulse" against my face which can be distracting. Tightening the lower straps minimized this but did not totally stop it. Also several times the activa made a muted trumpet sound coming from the exhaust area. I assume this is a vibration of the soft rubber exhaust fitting.

- The Puritan Bennett 420E makes a reving sound - UP as I inhale, DOWN as I exhale. Is this normal?

- I set my Fisher & Paykel HC150 heated humidifier at 2 to start and increased to 3 an hour into the evening. This seemed comfortable for the rest of the night but I had to raise the hose and dump the rainout back into the water chamber midway thru the night to stop the gurgling noise. I have a "snuggle" hose cover but I think I may need the heated hose. I will try putting the hose under my blanket and also try hanging the hose so that most of it is down hill to the water chamber. I didn't think that rainout would be so prevalent - it hasn't even gotten that cold here yet!

- When you use the 420E with the HC150 you need the pressure sensing pigtail to be about a foot longer than it is. I had to fix a defect in my hose configuration so I just removed the inner hose and installed a longer piece of hose $0.72 from the hardware store.

All things considered I hade a great first night of CPAP

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 9:26 pm

Hi Wader, sounds like you're getting things going pretty well despite the glitch in the hose. I was glad to see in your other topic about the hose that it's going to be replaced.

The Activa - isn't it neat the way you just almost can't make that mask leak? Keep playing around with tilting the forehead adjustment thingy...that usually makes it fit better than tightening any straps. Muted trumpet sound from the exhaust - hmm, not familiar with that, except from back in my old highschool band days. Any time you hear any kind of funny sound from a cpap mask's exhaust, check to be sure something (pillow, arm, cover, mattress) isn't too close to the exhaust, causing the noise.

The Puritan Bennett 420E making a slight "rev" up and down sound as you breathe...apparently that's normal. My 420E does that soft rev up/down as I breathe, too. My Remstar auto doesn't do that.

Fisher & Paykel HC150 heated humidifier - keeping mine at about 1 1/2 or just under 2 seemed to prevent rain out while giving me sufficient humidification. Guess it depends mostly on the temperature in one's bedroom, but anytime I moved the humidifiier's dial up past the halfway mark, I'd get some rain out.

I've been trying out the Aussie heated hose that I bought from another cpap user. The heated hose they had didn't have the sensor line in it, so I can use it only with my backup machine, the Remstar Auto. Love that heated hose for stopping rainout, period. I plan to buy the heated hose with sensor line for my 420E too.

Isn't it great to have the software and be able to see your data the next morning, Wader?

Hope you get great therapy. You've sure got yourself a good machine/mask for working on it. Amazing what something with that small a footprint can do, isn't it?

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 7:24 am

Thanks for your input rested gal!

I find it very valuable as a new CPAPer to receive your comments on my concerns.

You are right things are going very well for me and CPAP. I feel very blessed especially after reading Judith88's posts. I hope she can get to a point of comfort on CPAP.

I'm still playing TAPS on my Activa. I know it comes from the joint where the hose clips to the mask. I've stood in front of the mirror and recreated the sound. It really does not happen very frequently. I am more concerned about disturbing my wife than my self. For me so far even with waking a half a dozen times for adjustments if feel very "rested" in the AM.

As for my Puritan Bennett 420E thanks for confirming the rev sound. I would personally charaterize it as louder than "slight" but it does not keep me awake. My machine is also about one foot from my head but I like it within arm's reach and in view so I can easily access it during the night.

Fisher & Paykel HC150 heated humidifier - turned mine down to 2 and tried to pull the hose under the covers when I had the chance and seemed to avoid rainout except for a few drops in the mask.

That heated hose looks great! My twins love my "snuggle cover" though (from cpap.com). It's the one with the robots on it and is the same print and material as pajamas they have (from Lands End).

If you are adventurous (and I know you are) I would convert your heated hose to a dual purpose one. You can buy that small clear hose at the hardware store by the foot ($0.09 a foot in my area). If you drill a small hole in the rubber fitting at the machine end of the hose and push the thin hose thru. Use your PB 420E hose as an example. My 420E came with a short piece of hose with two plugs in the end to be used to keep water out of the small hose when you wash it. You could put one of these in the machine end of the small hose when using your heated hose with your Remstar auto.

I too love using the software. It's very satisfying to see how you've done the night before. I need to get some kind of serial to USB adapter so I can connect to my Laptop. So far I have been carrying my 420e to my office.

Thank Youuuu! again for your comments and encouragement.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 10:52 am

Thanks, Wader, for the hint about making a "dual purpose" heated hose. My only concern would be making absolutely sure the store-bought tube was exactly the same diameter and thickness as the PB sensor line. I wouldn't want to change the flow characteristics the PB expects to see. As best you can tell, Wader, do they look to be precisely the same inner diameter?

Actually, hmmm...I have a friend who is a nurse. I could spare a snippet to let her match the size to hospital oxygen tubing, which I suppose is what it is anyway. I appreciate your giving me an idea...heheh...and explaining how to get it to work in the main hose.

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 11:22 am

Hi rested gal,

I'm glad you are adventurous enough to consider my idea.

The tubing I used has the same inside diameter but the wall thickness is slightly thinner. I was not that concerned about finding an exact replacement at the time, more so just trying to solve my hose problem.

I'm sure you could find hose that exactly matched the factory hose but I'm not sure it's that critical. The whole hose setup seems to be pretty low-tech to me.

Buying your own hose also solves the problem not of having enough slack to reach your F&P HC150 humidifier - another problem I encountered with the factory hose as supplied.

Maybe one of us could start a business selling all the CPAP goddies the DME's seem to neglect.

P.S. (from an earlier post) I'm also glad that they are sending me a new hose N/C. That's a good sign I using with the right supplier.

robertjoy · Post by **robertjoy** » Thu Oct 28, 2004 11:47 am

Hi and welcome to the world of rested sleep, gee I rember how tired I was before I went to my first sleep clinic in Melbourne. Sure changed my life around and I feel great plus I'll hopefully live longer. I've used Bubble masks a plenty when I first started it was that one or this one, that was the choice and they all leaked, get used to it.

Now so much improvements and all for the better. I'm still using my Sullivan CPAP machince good Auastralian product, I'd like to buy a new one but the hassle to purchase one frightens me off, maybe when I pluck up enough courage and I'm in a country that does not give me the run around and government red tape, not sure what country that will be if at all possible.

I used a CPAP Pro and would not recommend that mask the company that makes or sells them is on the point of being useless when it comes to any kind of customer service and the pipes break and the mounth piece gets dirty and needs replacement often.

I'm on a Breeze Nasal at present and find this to be very satisfactory although the escape hole does make noise a plenty, but I guess it's doing it's job and no escape from the nasal inserts which is the main thing, overall I love it.

Robert

Peterau · Post by **Peterau** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:32 pm

Hi wader,

I can also confirm the the 420e makes a rev up and down sound as I breathe. Like you it doesn't keep me awake. One thing I do which may help if you have a bedside set of draws is to put the 420 in the top draw. Not closed. It puts the machine just below the level at which I sleep. It is then very easy to see the display with the added bonus of being quieter. I use the Oz heated hose with my 420 and H2O humidifier. Fixes the rain out problem. If you order an OZ hose let Don at sleepzone know you would like the sensor hose to be slightly longer and I am sure he will oblige. The sensor line on the Oz heated hose is longer than the standard PB hose by about 4 inches anyway.

Peterau

RedThunder94 · Post by **RedThunder94** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:21 pm

wow, old post.

Peterau · Post by **Peterau** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:52 pm

Hi Red,

Just noticed that. Wonder why it appeared at the top of the threads list.
Strange.

nomad · Post by **nomad** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 10:01 pm

Peterau wrote:Hi Red,

Just noticed that. Wonder why it appeared at the top of the threads list.
Strange.

There was SPAM attached to the end of this thread that was deleted... the spammers attach their garbage to old threads to "hide" their crap. It makes it a whole lot less obvious than if they start a new thread containing spam right off the bat.

Hopefully karma will take care of these slime balls at some point.

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 10:14 pm

Suckered me into it also... oh well

Friendly Guest · Post by **Friendly Guest** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 5:24 am

You report

ave pressure 6.6cm (I was titrated at 7cm)
low pressure 5.0cm ( min pressure setting) time duration 60%
max pressure 13.0cm ( would not get this with a fixed 7cm)

- I set my Fisher & Paykel HC150 heated humidifier at 2 to start and increased to 3 an hour into the evening. This seemed comfortable for the rest of the night but I had to raise the hose and dump the rainout back into the water chamber midway thru the night to stop the gurgling noise.

I realize this is an old post, and the original poster most likely has already learned this, however, for new 420E users....
Condensation in the hose, and especially in the small clear sensor line will be misread as an event, overtitrating the needed pressure. So the 13cm h2o on the "rainout" night is likely NOT due to AHI, but rather line condensation.
To clear the line, remove the clear line from the machine, leaving the long hose attached. With your hand, cover the mask end of the hose, turn the machine on, forcing airflow through the clear line until every speck of condensation is blown out.
To avoid future events, turn down the humidifier, insulate or use heated hose.
Set the machines Maximum pressure no more than 3 points above your titrated pressure, so that the next rainy night, it doesn't "run away"

Feedback from experienced PB 420E users wanted

Feedback from experienced PB 420E users wanted

420E

sensor line tube

Sounds as if you are doing fine

Rainout runaways-Condensation pressure spikes