Constant puffing

tedthefed · Post by **tedthefed** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:26 am

So, after two years of using my CPAP machine without major issue, midway through last night's sleep, my machine stopped producing a continuous stream of air and started sending out repeated puffs of air that each last about a second and repeat indefinitely. It is impossible to sleep that way. They only happen when I'm wearing my mask with a seal... otherwise, it's just a constant stream.
Once the work week starts, I can take it in to be looked at, but until then this is a very annoying problem.

Two questions:
1. What probably went wrong in my machine?
2. Is there any workaround anyone can think of?

Julie · Post by **Julie** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:27 am

It would help to know what machine you have, what model #, etc. And any other clues you can come up with like your pressures, etc. And what mask are you using and what do you mean it only happens when there's a seal? All masks theoretically seal.

tedthefed · Post by **tedthefed** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:31 am

Julie wrote:It would help to know what machine you have, what model #, etc. And any other clues you can come up with like your pressures, etc. And what mask are you using and what do you mean it only happens when there's a seal? All masks theoretically seal.

Oh, of course.

It's a ResMEd S9 with H5i. I'm using a full face mask. My pressure is set to 13. (I'm not sure how well I answered these... let me know if I need to provide more info.)

And I'm not sure how better to describe the mask thing. If it's strapped onto my face and air can't escape, it starts puffing. But when it's off my face, it's just a continuous stream.

LSAT · Post by **LSAT** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:18 am

If it is a steady, continuous stream of air when the mask is off...it' may not be a machine problem. Are you sure it's not mask leaks that sound like air 'farts' around the side of the mask? Your DME can check the air pressure of the machine. This is a good reason to have a back up machine.

herefishy · Post by **herefishy** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:33 am

If by chance you have an Activa mask, it can feel like it's expanding and contracting with each breath if it's too tight.

JDS74 · Post by **JDS74** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:43 am

Since you have and S9, I'm not sure how this would apply.

It is possible that a sensor in the machine that detects breathing has failed and thinks that you are not breathing.
On a Respironics machine, this initiates a series of puffs to determine whether of not the patient has an obstructive apnea event or a open airway apnea event (central apnea).

So, have you downloaded the data from the machine and looked at what is reported during this time? That assumes you have a data capable machine (I'm really not up to speed on ResMed machines )

If the machine data just shows a series of central events, then its likely that the sensor has failed in some way.

BlackSpinner · Post by **BlackSpinner** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 10:00 am

tedthefed wrote:
It's a ResMEd S9 with H5i. I'm using a full face mask. My pressure is set to 13. (I'm not sure how well I answered these... let me know if I need to provide more info.)

.

Which kind of S9? Escape, Elite, autoset, Vpap? Each type works differently. But only one kind sends puffs to start you breathing again.

tedthefed · Post by **tedthefed** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 10:43 am

The mask is definitely on correctly. The puffing air is actually less severe when air is farting out.

I really suspect that it just isn't perceiving me breathing, and so it's just constantly pulsing. I am a poor CPAP user and don't know how to download the data. Luckily there's an Apria center like a minute away from my new apartment, so after this weekend hopefully a replacement sensor will be all I need.

islandboy5150 · Post by **islandboy5150** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 10:50 am

That's exactly what I complained about to the tech during the night of my sleep study. It was maddening! Puff, wait a few seconds, PUFF!, repeat, repeat, never ending. The tech said the machine was set to CPAP constant pressure, but hell it was anything but. There's no way you can get to sleep with that going on. Sorry to hear your experiencing this, I know exactly how upsetting it is.

BlackSpinner · Post by **BlackSpinner** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 11:01 am

tedthefed wrote:The mask is definitely on correctly. The puffing air is actually less severe when air is farting out.

I really suspect that it just isn't perceiving me breathing, and so it's just constantly pulsing. I am a poor CPAP user and don't know how to download the data. Luckily there's an Apria center like a minute away from my new apartment, so after this weekend hopefully a replacement sensor will be all I need.

If it is a pure cpap or in cpap mode IT IS NOT PUFFING! It can't puff.

tedthefed · Post by **tedthefed** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 1:24 pm

BlackSpinner wrote:
tedthefed wrote:The mask is definitely on correctly. The puffing air is actually less severe when air is farting out.

I really suspect that it just isn't perceiving me breathing, and so it's just constantly pulsing. I am a poor CPAP user and don't know how to download the data. Luckily there's an Apria center like a minute away from my new apartment, so after this weekend hopefully a replacement sensor will be all I need.
If it is a pure cpap or in cpap mode IT IS NOT PUFFING! It can't puff.

Then it's not, I guess? Although I am confused, because in the secret settings menus, it says CPAP mode and can't be shifted to any other.

Because believe me, it is regularly and constantly pulsing air about 60 times a minute, and it won't stop.

Julie · Post by **Julie** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 2:47 pm

Take it to the dealer and let them deal with it.

BlackSpinner · Post by **BlackSpinner** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 3:12 pm

tedthefed wrote:
BlackSpinner wrote: If it is a pure cpap or in cpap mode IT IS NOT PUFFING! It can't puff.
Then it's not, I guess? Although I am confused, because in the secret settings menus, it says CPAP mode and can't be shifted to any other.

Because believe me, it is regularly and constantly pulsing air about 60 times a minute, and it won't stop.

You still haven't said exactly which S9 you are using.
It is kind of like talking about driving a Ford. We still don't know if you have a small sedan or a pickup truck.

tedthefed · Post by **tedthefed** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 6:31 pm

BlackSpinner wrote: You still haven't said exactly which S9 you are using.
It is kind of like talking about driving a Ford. We still don't know if you have a small sedan or a pickup truck.

Oh, sorry, that slipped past me. It looks like an Elite.

tedthefed · Post by **tedthefed** » Sun Sep 29, 2013 12:02 am

tedthefed wrote:
BlackSpinner wrote: You still haven't said exactly which S9 you are using.
It is kind of like talking about driving a Ford. We still don't know if you have a small sedan or a pickup truck.
Oh, sorry, that slipped past me. It looks like an Elite.

Does anyone know how to change the modes on a Resmed S9 Elite? I don't know if it'd make a difference, but it's set to CPAP mode, and I can't change it away from that mode. I think changing to Auto would be worth a shot, but it won't change away from CPAP.

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