Post
by klutzo » Fri May 31, 2013 10:28 am
Thanks to Boyce and to Pugsy for your responses.....
The machine only is really loud when I first turn it back on, just like my old one. I thought that meant the motor was having trouble starting and it was about to conk out. Maybe there is nothing wrong with the old one except the card reader not working. So, I have it as a back up now, which is reassuring if I need repairs for any reason. As the night went on, I realized the machine is much quieter than the old one once it has been on a few minutes. Hopefully, most of you don't have to get up 6 times a night like I do. Last night I only got up 4 times, so maybe the new machine is better. Time will tell.
I talked to the DME this morning. They said I can take the card out every morning to dry the machine, no problem. They also said I can leave the humidifer space wide open, so the humidifier is on the drying rack in light and air all day, and just wipe out the humidifier space with a damp cloth and let it air dry before using, if it gets too dirty. They expressed surprise that I got mold from air drying the headgear and from leaving the humidifier in the old machine, even when empty. She said she's had over 4,000 patients and never heard that before. I guess our poor old house must be especially leaky, or maybe it's because we leave our air conditioning set on 78 during the day and 76 at night. In winter we have to keep the heat at 76 and run the woodstove too, or I am crying from pain, I get so cold and my muscles harden like rocks. They said I can make an appt. and come in and be taught how to use all the gizmos on the new machine if I find I need to, but I think I got so much help from you all that I won't need that. The video I found though Pugsy's link really helped. I can always change my mind and go in there.
Boyce, temp wise, Florida is not too hot for me, though I hate the humidity. If you are normal other than OSA, I can see why you would wonder about a heated hose for me. I have Stage IV Lyme Disease, which is slowly terminal. One of the first things Lyme does is remove your brain's ability to read the temperature sensors in your skin, and therefore you have no more control over internal temp, which is quite dangerous. I am a lot more afraid of hurricanes than the average Floridian, because loss of power is not just uncomfortable for me, it can be life-threatening. We have a generator and a tiny one room air conditioner that fits into one of the boards we use to cover our windows as a result. Lyme patients often say we have a "one degree comfort zone", and mine is 78 degrees. As I get colder especially, I start to have dangerous symptoms, my core temp drops to 93, which is close to hypothermia, and at about 50 degrees I start having arterial spasms that bring me to my knees. Going the other way, over 86 degrees, my pulse goes so low I have to crawl from place to place on the floor. But, all in all, most of us find even slight cold unbearable due to thyroid reactor blockage. In otherwords, we take thyroid meds, but most of it does not get delivered to the tissues, so we suffer all the symptoms of long term untreated hypothryodism. As a result, my normal temp is only about 96, so I feel cold when you would be too hot. I wear sweaters if the temp goes below 77, unless I am being very active. All this may be TMI, but Lyme is now the number one infectious disease in the world, so people should know and be very careful when outside in tall grass or woods.
Thanks to all who answered my post. You guys are fab! I told the DME this morning that I would not be a CPAP user without you.
klutzo
