Not Doing well
I have been at this now for two weeks and I find that I get less sleep with the machine than I did without. I wake up every hour to find some sort of problem. I just want to sleep but as I fall into deeper sleep suddenly I am woken to the sound of slurping in my hose as the hose has filled with water again and I have to empty it or the mask will be blowing air at my eye because I have rolled onto my side and the nasal pillows popped out. Now before anyone suggests turning down my humidifier I have to say it is off. I like my air really cold and that is the problem. I can't stand hot humid air it feels like I can't breathe. So I am trying to find a way of chilling it without causing rain out. I have a deviated septum as well and my doctor told me it makes no difference when it comes to sleep apneas. He said they are caused by tissue in the throat, ok but I read on web MD that a deviated septum can cause sleep apnea. So what to believe. I would have my septum fixed in a minute if it will keep me from having to use a CPAP for the rest of my days. Is their any one who has heard of a deviated septum being the cause of apnea and how can I cool my air so I can give this machine a fair trial.
05-31-2015, 03:52 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-31-2015, 07:26 PM by surferdude2.)
RE: Not Doing well
A deviated septum will not cause sleep apnea but will certainly aggravate it. Nasal breathing is more efficient since it introduces nitric acid (your nose produces that) into the air stream which makes the lungs work more efficiently. It is thought that the nitric acid also destroys some bacteria which may help prevent colds respiratory infections. Nasal breathing also warms and moisturizes the air which make makes for less airway discomfort from drying. I use a nasal stent method (SleepRight @ Walgreens) that works very well for my deviated septum. On most nights I am able to sleep on my side and not need the cpap machine if I use the stints. I don't mean to imply that that may work for you but just wanted to put it out there.
I can't imagine why you're getting all that moisture in your hose. If you are somehow artificially cooling the hose, that would cause it but you didn't say you were doing that so I'm guessing. Moisture in a cpap hose is caused by the air inside the hose being reduced in temperature down to the dew point and below. It normally happens when the user is running the humidifier and the ambient temp is below the dew point of the resultant air being delivered. It would not happen under ordinary circumstances if the humidifier wasn't being used. Since you are relatively new to this therapy, I will say that you will eventually be able to tolerate the normal air temperature as it comes from the machine and find the therapy will give you much better rest than you have been getting. I doubt the air temperature is the real problem and instead it may be that you just need more time to adjust to the invasion the therapy represents.
As for the nasal pillows dislodging, you may need to try a different kind of mask. Most DME suppliers will work with you and allow you to try different types to control any particular problem you are having.
05-31-2015, 04:24 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-31-2015, 04:34 PM by surferdude2.)
RE: Not Doing well
If someone held a gun to my head and asked me to come up with an easy air cooling sytem for a cpap, I'd say run your home air conditioning system at a lowered setting at night and duct the air from one of the output registers to blow into the immediate area of the intake of the cpap machine. That output air will ordinarily be down around 60° F. and may well reduce the air temperature of the cpap outlet to a degree that may satisfy those desiring cooler air to breathe. The evaporator coil of the a/c will be the recipient of the dew point moisture being produced as a result of the temperature reduction and you will be breathing the cleanest and coolest air in the house. As for efficiency of such an application, not so much.
RE: Not Doing well
surferdude2,
In another thread, the OP states that he is putting cold water and ice in his humidifier. Could this cause the problem he is describing about a lot of moisture in hose? Just curious. 
RE: Not Doing well
Hi Adoniscmj,
I'm sorry you are having such a rough time with CPAP therapy right now, you haven't been at it very long and it can take time to get used to it,so don't give up.
You might ask to try a different type of mask, as there are so many of them out there and this is the hardest part of this whole thing.
Hang in there for more suggestions and much success to you with your CPAP therapy and fine tuning it.
trish6hundred
RE: Not Doing well
(05-31-2015, 04:24 PM)surferdude2 Wrote: If someone held a gun to my head and asked me to come up with an easy air cooling sytem for a cpap, I'd say run your home air conditioning system at a lowered setting at night and duct the air from one of the output registers to blow into the immediate area of the intake of the cpap machine. That output air will ordinarily be down around 60° F. and may well reduce the air temperature of the cpap outlet to a degree that may satisfy those desiring cooler air to breathe. The evaporator coil of the a/c will be the recipient of the dew point moisture being produced as a result of the temperature reduction and you will be breathing the cleanest and coolest air in the house. As for efficiency of such an application, not so much. I really appreciate the response, I have been cooling the hose by putting it into a cooler full of ice. The air from the machine even at room temp. is just to warm for me. I have anxiety attacks from it because it doesn't seem like I am breathing if the air is warm and humid. I didn't want to use the air conditioner yet as it isn't that hot here yet. As far as the mask, I was given the machine and the mask. Then released to go and try it. The DME didn't take any time to show me any options but they did stress to me the importance of compliance. Ok, if they are so worried about compliance you would think they would take the time to show me some options. I will call my doctor monday and see what he wants me to do but He is about as useless as the DME.
RE: Not Doing well
(05-31-2015, 12:05 PM)Adoniscmj Wrote: I have been at this now for two weeks and I find that I get less sleep with the machine than I did without. I wake up every hour to find some sort of problem. I just want to sleep but as I fall into deeper sleep suddenly I am woken to the sound of slurping in my hose as the hose has filled with water again and I have to empty it or the mask will be blowing air at my eye because I have rolled onto my side and the nasal pillows popped out. Now before anyone suggests turning down my humidifier I have to say it is off. I like my air really cold and that is the problem. I can't stand hot humid air it feels like I can't breathe. So I am trying to find a way of chilling it without causing rain out. I have a deviated septum as well and my doctor told me it makes no difference when it comes to sleep apneas. He said they are caused by tissue in the throat, ok but I read on web MD that a deviated septum can cause sleep apnea. So what to believe. I would have my septum fixed in a minute if it will keep me from having to use a CPAP for the rest of my days. Is their any one who has heard of a deviated septum being the cause of apnea and how can I cool my air so I can give this machine a fair trial. Since you just want chilled air, have you turned off the humidifier? This will still allow a pass over chilling without the Resmed trying to add any moisture to the air stream.
RE: Not Doing well
The air doesn't have to be super cold just cool for me. I was able to use my ACAP for 4.5 hours a couple of nights ago but during this I woke up 4 times basically once every hour. I felt worse than if I had just not used it at all. I noticed I can sometimes go 2.5 hours strait and then I have to stop, but on those nights I feel well rested in the morning. My sleep study only showed me having one Apnea but yet they call it severe. The rest was shallow breathing for a total AHI of 34.0. My Oxygen never fell below 88% and that was once for 10 seconds. The rest of the night I was at 90% and above. I am not really sure that I need this thing. That is why I question if I have my nose fixed perhaps I will no longer need a CPAP. One can only hope, as there is a new procedure to fix septum deviation using a balloon instead of knife.
RE: Not Doing well
(05-31-2015, 04:51 PM)OpalRose Wrote: surferdude2,
In another thread, the OP states that he is putting cold water and ice in his humidifier. Could this cause the problem he is describing about a lot of moisture in hose? Just curious.
No, that wouldn't cause moisture to form in the hose. The moisture in the air would condense onto the ice and not go much further.
If he placed ice on the outside of the hose, as I note in his later post, that would most certainly cause dew pointing of the air passing inside the hose and the rain-out problem he is experiencing..
05-31-2015, 07:43 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-31-2015, 07:45 PM by surferdude2.)
RE: Not Doing well
Adoniscmj, You are right to consult with your doctor and tell him all that you have related here. There are some very effective OTC corticosteroids that he can point you to. I use one called Nasacort and it helps me immensely with increasing nasal breathing volume. It is approved for daily. That may help you to tolerate the air temperature and allow your body to become tolerant of the therapy and finally get some long term sleep sessions.
There is also a possibility that you may have the wrong type of cpap machine and what you tell the doctor will help him with that decision.
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