New guy...thanks for the info! (and one S9 question)

Hi everyone. I just wanted to write a note to say thanks for the info on this board. I'm new to using CPAP, and like most of you had no idea that I had a sleep problem, other than the fact that I was just dog tired all the time, slowly gaining weight and with blood pressure and cholesterol creeping upward. Like everyone else here, I had a sleep test done, only to discover that I stopped breathing 35 times per hour, and that was without going into rem sleep (which I understand would probably have been worse). Oxygen saturation was down in the low 80s.

At any rate, I'm now using a ResMed S9 Escape Auto and a Swift Fx pillow arrangement. Thanks to the folks here, I know that my water in the tube problem can be fixed with a heated hose (which I ordered online for $50 and am waiting to come in). I also know that I can look at my data with the Sleepy Head software, which I found and installed. Turns out my AHI is now 0.0 for the first two weeks of using it. I also know that despite the fact that I'm sleeping well with the device (set on Auto, from 6-16), it's not unusual that I'm still pretty tired when I get up, due to the accumulated sleep deficit.

This board is a valuable source of information for me, and I really appreciate the time and effort that you've all put into entering your advice and observations here.

I do have one question, though, come to think of it. On the Resmed S9, there is an option to warm up the humidifier before using, but there's no documentation I can find on whether this is something I should do routinely or how long I should allow it to warm up. Any advice?

Again, thanks for your input, everyone.

Welcome to the forum.

Regarding the need to preheat the humidifier....unless you find the initial air unpleasantly cold and want warmer air immediately, there is no need to preheat. It is entirely up to you. There are lots of us that use machines that don't even allow us to preheat. Mine doesn't and I don't miss anything. It is strictly a comfort choice.

from the main screen turn dial left to go down to the humidifier menu (water drop)
press and hold dial for 3 secs

Its really dry in Arizona so i always pre heat. plus if i use my pur sleep aromatherapy pads the wife likes the plesent smell that ends up in the room.

I don't use an S9 but I start everything at the same time. No problems even without a heated hose. If you continue to have problems with rainout or the crunch water in the tube, place cpap lower than the bed and that should allow excess moisture to flow back into the well.

Wodeshed wrote:Hi everyone. I just wanted to write a note to say thanks for the info on this board. I'm new to using CPAP, and like most of you had no idea that I had a sleep problem, other than the fact that I was just dog tired all the time, slowly gaining weight and with blood pressure and cholesterol creeping upward. Like everyone else here, I had a sleep test done, only to discover that I stopped breathing 35 times per hour, and that was without going into rem sleep (which I understand would probably have been worse). Oxygen saturation was down in the low 80s.

At any rate, I'm now using a ResMed S9 Escape Auto and a Swift Fx pillow arrangement. Thanks to the folks here, I know that my water in the tube problem can be fixed with a heated hose (which I ordered online for $50 and am waiting to come in). I also know that I can look at my data with the Sleepy Head software, which I found and installed. Turns out my AHI is now 0.0 for the first two weeks of using it. I also know that despite the fact that I'm sleeping well with the device (set on Auto, from 6-16), it's not unusual that I'm still pretty tired when I get up, due to the accumulated sleep deficit.

This board is a valuable source of information for me, and I really appreciate the time and effort that you've all put into entering your advice and observations here.

I do have one question, though, come to think of it. On the Resmed S9, there is an option to warm up the humidifier before using, but there's no documentation I can find on whether this is something I should do routinely or how long I should allow it to warm up. Any advice?

Again, thanks for your input, everyone.

Only advice I can give is to see if you can exchange your ESCAPE model for the AutoSET model. The ESCAPE is a bare bones machine with little data to offer you. Janknitz's blog lists the models and what data you can expect.... http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/