RE: my humidifier problem

[DJD52]

I notice when I read over posts that many use the ResMed S9 with S9 Series H5i Heated Humidifier with Climate Control.

I'm having increasingly dry sinus issues with this set up even using the ResMed Clinicians suggested manual settings of 5.5 and 80* on the hose.

Could someone who has used max humidity settings on this machine please tell me if you use any water over night and is there any condensation on your water reservoir in the morning? Also, can you feel warm, moist air, or is it always a tad cool?

I apologize for not keeping this in a humidifier thread. I wasn't sure which one to put it in.

Thank you for any response.

[STL Mark]

Assuming you humidity is low in the room the machine is in (<40%) you should see water being used out of the tank. I was not sure from your description if you were using the ClimateLine hose? Assuming your room temperature is below 80 run the preheat cycle your machine with it set to 80. When it says the machine is ready, pop open the humidifier and remove the tank. Is the bottom plate in the humidifier warm? Is the bottom of the tank warm? This would be as compared to a glass sitting in the room and not as compared with your body temperature.

[cowgirlzooom]

I have had the dry sinus issue for over a year. I have not been able to resolve it either. I keep water with a straw next to my bed to sip when I wake up. I have tried Vaseline and vicks in my nose...In fact I use it every night and it still doesnt help much.

Does anyone else have this issue?

[DJD52]

Assuming you humidity is low in the room the machine is in (<40%) you should see water being used out of the tank. I was not sure from your description if you were using the ClimateLine hose? Assuming your room temperature is below 80 run the preheat cycle your machine with it set to 80. When it says the machine is ready, pop open the humidifier and remove the tank. Is the bottom plate in the humidifier warm? Is the bottom of the tank warm? This would be as compared to a glass sitting in the room and not as compared with your body temperature.

I'm sorry I didn't make it plainer but yes I'm using a Climate line hose.
Temp in the room is 65* or less, the humidity now is 55%. I haven't seen the water drop below the line one time since I got this machine set up. I started therapy in early April on a PR 460 cpap/humidifier/heated hose and I had the same room temp and humidity, always used almost a full tank of water with settings for less humidity and I never woke up dry.
A few weeks with this machine and I've got dry throat, nose, and sinus that I have not had issue with since the first week when I didn't know how to increase the humidity.
My RT uses CPAP and believes the water level should be dropping and there should be some condensation on the water reservoir but ResMed technical say if the plate is heating it's working as it's supposed to. So I guess I'm in trouble.
From what you said, it sounds like water would be used at my room temp and humidity.

Thank you for your input.

[DJD52]

I have had the dry sinus issue for over a year. I have not been able to resolve it either. I keep water with a straw next to my bed to sip when I wake up. I have tried Vaseline and vicks in my nose...In fact I use it every night and it still doesnt help much.

Does anyone else have this issue?

I don't have enough dry mouth to need water through the night.
When I first started cpap, I had some dry sinus, throat, and nose. Raising the humidity took care of it pretty well. This is a different set up and I have no idea what to do.
Have you tried saline nasal spray and/or rinses? I use them a lot because my ENT insists. I believe they help quite a bit with nasal dryness and sinus problems.

[cowgirlzooom]

I will look into rinses, thanks. I had no luck with the sprays. I hope you resolve your issue.

[ozze_dollar]

I have had sinus problems for a long time. I am sure it has a lot to do with your local envoirnment. For example I live in Sydney in a very leafy suburb with lots of flowers and pollen and my sinuses are always a problem. My wife is a Filipina and we often spend time in the Philippines,we live in a city envoirnment not many trees or flowers and no sinus problems.

The other thing different is in Sydney I rarely have the air con on in the bedroom,perhaps 4 times a year,but in the Philippines it is on nearly all the time.

In Sydney I use a lot of water while in the Phils very little.
I set my machine to 25deg C and the humidity to Auto.

In Sydney I tend to use Nasonex spray and take different OTC sinus pills to help me through. It is not uncommon for me to have to get up because I cant breath properly.

If you find an answer please let me know.

A sinus rinse also helps a little.

[zoocrewphoto]

I use my humidifier set at 5.5. I used to use the temp in t he high 70s, but I now keep it lower as I was getting sweaty part way through the night.

I usually top off my humidifier as a good night (7+ hours) will use a good portion of the water. 10 hours and I can totally empty the tank. This is in Seattle. I like a lot of humidity as I am a mouth breather. But I do keep the temp lower.

I would think that your machine, set with manual settings and rather high, should be using a good amount of water. Since it doesn't, I'm guessing something is wrong with it. Did you get your machine from a DME? If so, contact them and see if they can check it.

[DJD52]

I use my humidifier set at 5.5. I used to use the temp in t he high 70s, but I now keep it lower as I was getting sweaty part way through the night.

I usually top off my humidifier as a good night (7+ hours) will use a good portion of the water. 10 hours and I can totally empty the tank. This is in Seattle. I like a lot of humidity as I am a mouth breather. But I do keep the temp lower.

I would think that your machine, set with manual settings and rather high, should be using a good amount of water. Since it doesn't, I'm guessing something is wrong with it. Did you get your machine from a DME? If so, contact them and see if they can check it.

Thank you Zoo!
What you stated is how I thought things should be, but I'm rather new to cpap and my first machine used almost a full tank when the humidity was turned up. I turned the hose temp down as the weather outside became warmer and more humid but I still used a good bit of water. This machine is new to me and I just couldn't believe that the air was cool and it used no water so I did call my RT at the DME within a few days and he came out, checked it, called ResMed and was told it's working as it's supposed to. I called ResMed myself and talked to a Clinician who is sure there is a problem with the machine, not just the humidifier. When I told my RT what she said, her name and phone no, the DME got ResMed to send a new humidifier but the Clinician was right, that didn't fix the problem.
I let the DME know that it's still not working and they called ResMed but ResMed is refusing to allow them to send back the S9 stating it IS working exactly as it was designed to. That is why I wanted to know if anyone else used much water with this same machine and humidifier. I thought it should be as I had just gotten my sinus issues under control learning how to set the humidity on my last machine and a few nights with this machine/humidifier those issues were back and increasingly worse each night.

Thank you so much for your response.

[Pugsy]

Ditto on the not working like it should thing.
It should use some water unless you lived in a rain forest at the settings you are using.
Don't know if it is the humidifier itself...or the sensors not working properly though.

[SMenasco]

My bedroom stays at 73 degrees, 45 percent RH year round. My H5i uses a full reservoir in two nights. I have the humidifier on auto, with the Climateline hose temperature set at 72 degrees, since I don't like to breathe warm air. I have never experienced any rainout. Since I retired, I no longer set the alarm clock (since arising early all my working life) and my average sleep time is around 10 hours. I love my Sleep Number bed.

[Pugsy]

If the humidifier has already been replace then I would next assume that the sensors in the blower unit and/or maybe CLimateLine were not working as they should.

Have you tried a regular hose with humidifier set to max...see what happens??

[Tino2You]

I use an S9 with a climateline hose and I use about 3/4 a tank a water a night. I would run the test STL Mark suggester, or just put your mask on and turn the machine on. After about 10-15 minutes, turn the machine off, open the dehumidifier and take out the tank. If the bottom of the dehumidifier is not warm, call your DME and return the humidifier.

-tino

[DJD52]

I don't have any extra hoses as I'm too new into this. I only have a heated hose that was used with my first Respironics.

The hot plate under the water reservoir does heat up, this is why ResMed technical didn't think there was a problem BUT the ResMed Clinician I first talked to thought there was, and with the machine not the humidifier.

I just talked to ResMed technical as my DME threw me to them. The tech was very nice, he listened to everything the Clinician had told me and asked if I had tried the humidifer with another S9, well no I couldn't as the DME doesn't carry ResMed so wouldn't even have one to try. Long to short, he was going to email the Clinician and have her call me AND/OR on her input they would do what she thought needed done.
So that would mean they will take care of this.

Thank you all for your input as I was able to honestly tell this tech that others who use this machine are using at least 1/2 tank of water and I've only used a max of less than 1/2 inch in a night and only one night at that.
I'm hoping to get this resolved quickly but it is a holiday weekend.

Thanks again!

[DJD52]

Update:
The clinician never called. I gave her 5 days and called ResMed again, the same clinician told me to have the DME send the machine back, but when he called to do this, ResMed refused.

Resmed won't replace the machine. The plate IS heating, and they said the machine is just the power, it has nothing to do with the humidifier. They suggested I see a doctor for dry issues, and tried to tell me I'm a mouth breather. (one with no leak line)
He suggested I put the setting at 6 and my hose to 70* or less since my room is 65-68* all year. I started at that setting and it didn't work then, the air almost cold as well as dry, but he says the hose temp at 80* is not allowing the humidifier to work properly.... well their Clinician told me it wasn't working because it needed to be at 80*.

I told him about Pugsy's suggestion of trying a plain slimline hose. He hadn't even thought of that. He thought that a good idea as yes, the sensor on the climate line could be malfunctioning and it is under warranty. (Imagine that, he admitted there could be a malfunction besides me!) He's the high paid technical trouble shooter and Pugsy knows more about the set up than he does. My RT is going to drop off a slim line hose tomorrow so we can check that out. I am hoping that is the problem.

I'm disappointed in ResMed.. If the hose isn't the problem, I'm up a creek.