First Night Report from New User

Last night was my first experience with a xpap. I went to bed early so I could get the Swift FX adjusted. I thought it was fine but I guess I was wrong. Difficult to find a good sleep position so resorted to back sleeping. (That is when my sleep study showed the most Apneas). My nostrils are sore as I dont have any Lanisoh. I will try some cream tonight. Also very congested. I did not use the humidifier as the humidity is just under 40%. Temp last night was 60. Here are some results:

AHI: 8.5
Pressure 12.8
Leak Rate 25.2

I wore my oximeter and it showed 41 desats. 96.4 % were betwen 94 and 100 while 3.5 % were between 88 and 93 and 1.4% between 80 and 87 %. There were even 2 desats between 70 and 77%. All of the above were far worse than my sleep lab test . The desats were worse than the night before without Cpap. Pulse rate was between 39 and 70.

I am going to play with the mask this afternoon. I think it was too tight. I had far more apneas than on my sleep lab test but maybe that statistic is incorrect due to the leak rates.

Bob

Hi, I'm sure it'll get better as you readjust things, but one did stand out, and that is that you keep the room so cold, on top of having air blown into your nose without a heated humidifier, and I wonder if all that doesn't add up to the congestion you had. An unheated humidifier would probably have given you a cold, but not using one at all in such a cold room with the air blowing (drying) might be something to adjust.

Thanks Julie: Are you saying I should use the humidfier and the heater? If I had the heated hose can you use the heat in the hose without the humidifier? Cam the H5i be adjusted to a very low humidity level. I suppose I couild turn on some heat in the room.

Thanks. Bob

I agree that adding a heated humidifier might help. Along with a hose cozy to help deal with potential rainout issues.

I strongly prefer sleeping in a cool/cold room, although we typically keep the room warmer than 60 degrees. My bedroom temp at night during heating season is more like 62 or 63 degrees. And while 40% relative humidity sounds reasonable, for me, it low enough to be quite drying with air being forced down my throat by the CPAP machine if I don't have the heated humidifier on.

I'd suggest adding a heated humidifier at a relatively low to middle setting. I seem to do best with my S9's Hi5 humidifier set to 3 at night. Very little water seems to be used each night, most likely because the relative humidity here in Buffalo is typically pretty high and the relative humidity in our house is typically between 35% and 40% in the winter, I think. But that little bit of added humidity in the hose does keep my airways from getting painfully dried out and the nasal congestion under control.

It's important, however, to experiment with the humidity settings. Congestion can be caused by setting the humidity either too HIGH or too LOW. I"m still looking for the sweet spot, but I'm pretty sure it's either 3 or 3.5 for me since I can't set it at 3.25. [3.5 seems to make congestion marginally worse and 3.0 seems to lead to some drying of my nose and throat.]

cortez356 wrote:Last night was my first experience with a xpap. I went to bed early so I could get the Swift FX adjusted. I thought it was fine but I guess I was wrong. Difficult to find a good sleep position so resorted to back sleeping. (That is when my sleep study showed the most Apneas). My nostrils are sore as I dont have any Lanisoh. I will try some cream tonight. Also very congested. I did not use the humidifier as the humidity is just under 40%. Temp last night was 60. Here are some results:

AHI: 8.5
Pressure 12.8
Leak Rate 25.2

I wore my oximeter and it showed 41 desats. 96.4 % were betwen 94 and 100 while 3.5 % were between 88 and 93 and 1.4% between 80 and 87 %. There were even 2 desats between 70 and 77%. All of the above were far worse than my sleep lab test . The desats were worse than the night before without Cpap. Pulse rate was between 39 and 70.

I am going to play with the mask this afternoon. I think it was too tight. I had far more apneas than on my sleep lab test but maybe that statistic is incorrect due to the leak rates.

Bob

Others with more knowledge can/should correct me if I am wrong, but here is what I see:

* You are using an S9 Autoset. That device has a setting where you specify the type of mask you are using - in your case, it should be set to "Pillows".
* If that setting is properly configured - AND - if your mask is fitting well and you are not noticing many leaks - THEN - the reported Leak Rate from the S9 Autoset ought to be 0 (zero).
* Your reported Leak Rate of 25.2 seems quite high for an S9 device, and if the aforementioned configuration settings are correct, this would indicate you had problems with your mask leaking - which probably resulted in higher pressures and in a higher AHI than if the mask was fitted well to your face.

In sum - I suggest you; (a) confirm the S9 configuration is correctly set for your mask type, and then (b) focus on fitting the mask (maybe a different mask) to reduce/eliminate leaks. Once that is accomplished, you will have a much better basis for analyzing your results.

FWIW

Hi, whatever you do, don't use the heat without the humidifier and don't use the humidifier without water - both will burn the machine!

Thanks : I will try tonight with the humidfier WITH H20. The mask is set correctly. I will post my results tomorrow.

Bob

For a first night report, just getting some sleep and keeping the mask on is success! You will learn to make adjustments for humidity and mask fit, as time goes on, and your AHI will go down.

With the S9, you have the option of 3 different hoses: Regular, Slimline (like a regular hose, but slimmer), or Climate Line (with temperature/humidity sensors). Be sure you have the hose option set correctly in the Clinical Menu.

If you are using the Regular or Slimline, then your humidity control options range from 0 (off) to 6. This controls the heating plate in your humidifier, and thus changes the humidity level.

With the Climate Line, which I highly recommend, there are more options:

1. Auto Mode--the humidity is maintained at 80%, however you can adjust the air temperature from 61 to 86 degrees F (16-30 C).

2. Manual Mode--the humidity is adjustable from 0-6, and the temperature from 61-86 F.

In AZ, where the humidity is 20% or less, then Auto Mode works best. I like the temperature at 75 but that's a personal preference.

When I'm in WA state, I found that I didn't get enough humidity in Auto, so use Manual at a setting of 4 if the humidity is 40% or higher, and lower it as temperature/humidity changes.

FYI, there have been complaints about the S9 hoses breaking at the rubber connector, so I have reinforced mine with F 4 Silicone tape. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001HE ... ss_product