Fluttering

Arizona-Willie · Post by **Arizona-Willie** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:04 am

Yesterday afternoon I decided to take a nap and use the machine.

I laid on my back and was resting and suddenly began experiencing this terribly fluttering sensation inside my head!

I thought I was having a stroke or something. After awhile I turned on my side and was still experiencing the fluttering but went to sleep anyway. Woke up feeling bad and scared too.

Then last night we went to bed and I was fine then turned on my side and began experiencing the fluttering sensation again!

This time though, my arm was across my chest and over the hose and I felt the exhaust on my arm an the air was fluttering!

THAT WAS THE CAUSE OF THE WEIRD SENSATION.

For some reason the machine was not sending a steady stream of air but putting out puffs like a machine gun. Or so it seemed.

After awhile it stopped all on it's own. The rest of the night was uneventfull although I did try sleeping on my stomach in the early hours and this morning my AHI and HI and AI counts were up.

I though possibly there was water in the hose causing the fluttering but didn't find any when I tried dumping the hose this morning. It has been more humid than usual as we have had some monsoon rains the last 2 days / nights.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

Is my machine about to give out?

OwlCreekObserver · Post by **OwlCreekObserver** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:13 am

Sounds to me like it might be uneven current or a "brown-out" situation, especially if you've been having heavy rains. They're a lot less frequent in my part of the country than they once were, but still occur every so often. You might want to check with your power company to see if they've had any storm related issues or anything else that might have affected the power to your home.

OCO

OwlCreekObserver · Post by **OwlCreekObserver** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:15 am

And I should also have suggested that you check your air filter to be sure it isn't clogged and also take a look at your power cord to ensure that it's fully inserted at both ends.

OCO

tooly125 · Post by **tooly125** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:18 am

You should check the hose for water while it's fluttering instead of the next morning.
If the machine is lower than your head, as it should be a change in position
could allow the water to run back from the hose into the tank.

Snoozing Gonzo · Post by **Snoozing Gonzo** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:36 am

Although more of a gurgle than a flutter, I had a somewhat similar experience when I overfilled the humidifier tank. Each time a bit of water got into the hose my Activa would start dancing on my face. It took a while to figure out what was happening as the symtoms didn't seem to fit the problem at first. Once I realized what was happening and rectified it, I was glad the water hadn't moved up the hose to the point I could have aspirated it.

Long shot that its related to your problem but costs nothing but a couple of seconds to check.

Chris

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): humidifier, activa, hose

Lindi · Post by **Lindi** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:54 pm

another suggestion:
I had that fluttering and it was water (arounf the hose where it connects to the humidifier) that has spilled when I filled the humidifier tank. When I removed the hose a, dired the area of excess water nd reattached it, the fluttering stopped.

Linda

Arizona Willie · Post by **Arizona Willie** » Sun Jul 30, 2006 8:22 am

Not sure what caused it. The unit is below the bed height, although not as low as it used to be since we got rid of the old mattress and got a Tempurpedic which isn't as thick as the old one. But it is still lower by a couple inches.

Also the hose goes up over and through a curlicue place in the headboard and then hangs down in a loop well below the cpap unit. Any water would get trapped there and it would seem like it would take a LOT of water to fill that one inch hose and block or semi-block the air flow. I can understand that if it did obstruct the air flow that would / could cause the fluttering.

It was a really weird sensation because the air is in your sinus cavities and all and that fluttering feels like something inside your head .. doesn't feel like it's the air. If I hadn't happened to feel the exhaust air fluttering I would never have known it wasn't something big time wrong in my brain.

The humidifier wasn't overfilled and I don't think spillage was a problem. The hose comes off the top of the humidifier on the S8 so any water would not enter the hose as far as I can see. It would pretty much have to be condensation if that was the problem.

Anyway, if it every happens again it will immediately try draining the hose and see if there is any water in it.

Thanks for all the replies.