Edit again- Sleep doctor visit

A heated hose allows for a more consistent delivery of whatever humidity you select to use and yes...in winter with furnaces and even fireplaces or wood stoves the air in the house is often a lot drier than usual.
So the machine will use up more water trying to maintain whatever humidity setting you choose. If it starts with drier air it simply has to use more water than when it starts with air that is more moist.

If it's really annoying and you can't make it through the night....adding a small room humidifier to make that starting air a little moisture will help with the water consumption.

A heated hose might help a little because it is geared for a more consistent delivery but it might not be the total end all solution depending on how dry the air is to start with. It will help with any condensation a person might be getting though. I use a heated hose year round. I just turn the temp down as far as it will go in the summer/warmer months and then crank up the temp when it's colder because I use a lot of humidity and keep the house on the cool side which of course means it's ripe for condensation to happen.
I don't really change the humidity setting itself though. When the air is more humid it will use less water and when the air is drier it uses pretty much all the water. I just let the machine sort it out because I have learned that my nose doesn't like for me to mess with the moisture in the air that it is used to.

I had my first visit with the sleep doctor yesterday. The only good thing that came out of it was he ordered an echo and a stress test to check my heart, which I’m happy about because I’ve been wondering if it’s damaged from going so long without treatment. Other than that, all he basically said was good job on being compliant.

He never mentioned anything about pressure settings and never really bothered answering my questions I had. Waste of money IMO.

As far as my therapy is going, I’m still having major mask issues. I have been using the Dreamwear FFM but having lots of leaks. I have different sized cushions ordered so hopefully that might help. I also have the ResMed Airfit F30 on the way. I am determined to find a mask that will work or go broke trying. lol

I tried a heated hose the other night. Not even two minutes of having the machine on and my mask was full of water. I had the settings for the hose on auto so not sure what happened there. I was tired that night so I just switched back to the regular hose and will do some research and try the heated hose again sometime again soon.

I’m so glad this forum exists for people to find knowledgeable help because we sure don’t get it from the “medical” professionals.