[CPAP] Problems with Resmed S8

[Mel324]

Greetings! New to this board and will post a success story soon. I've been on a Resmed S8 for about 6 years (a guess, it clocks 15,000 hours) and have recently been having a problem with the humidifier.

I wake up with my mouth and nostrils bone dry, but the well gets warm, water almost used up by morning, and I can see the air rippling the surface of the water.

There is no condensation in the hose. I do have it covered with a fleece insulation tube, but there is an exposed part for the mask assembly (I used nasal pillows) and no condensation.The inside of my nostrils have gotten pretty sensitive, and they are producing a lot of mucous, a symptom of the dryness, I believe.


I am completely at a loss as to the cause. Does anyone here have any ideas?

Thanks

[justMongo]

Well we have a dinosaur here who once used an S8. (Me.)
There were/are two humidifiers for the S8. The H3i and the H4i. You likely have the H4i.
Somewhere near the rotary knob that sets the humidity, there is a small light that flashes slowing when the humidifier is working.
At higher settings that light will flash more frequently. Check for operation of that light. If it doesn't work, the humidifier is dead.

However, if as you say: " the well gets warm, water almost used up by morning" Then it sounds like it is working.

[woozie38]

...have recently been having a problem with the humidifier.
I wake up with my mouth and nostrils bone dry, but the well gets warm, water almost used up by morning, and I can see the air rippling the surface of the water.
There is no condensation in the hose. I do have it covered with a fleece insulation tube, but there is an exposed part for the mask assembly (I used nasal pillows) and no condensation.The inside of my nostrils have gotten pretty sensitive, and they are producing a lot of mucous, a symptom of the dryness, I believe.
I am completely at a loss as to the cause. Does anyone here have any ideas?
Thanks

As Just Mongo has said, the humidifier appears to be working fine, so my best guess is - therapy air exhausting out through your mouth. This is very common with patients using the nasal route, The air flow would be huge & would dry away every drop of moisture it flows over.
It would seem there's about 3 possible solutions. 1. change to a full face mask (FFM) - 2. use Micropore tape to cover your mouth. (i did this for 6 years and it works). - 3. Invoke "training" as described on this forum, but given the science of pneumatics I can't see this working, so I'm skeptical about it.
A base pressure of 11 cms is not insignificant and would be very difficult to contain, so another alternative is to get an automatic titrating machine & set it to say, 7 to 11 cms. This may work, but the FFM is your best bet. Best wishes & stick with it.

[trish6hundred]

Hi Mel324,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
It sounds like you are opening your mouth; you could try a chinstrap or if that doesn't work, you might consider a full-face mask, (FFM.!
Hang in there for more suggestions and much success to you as you continue your CPAP therapy.

[PaytonA]

I can get "training" to work at 20 cm/H2O.

I do agree though that it sounds like you have air leaking out of your mouth.I would try a chin strap and the "training". I found when I first tried chin straps that the ones that cupped my chin did not help me although a lot of other users like them and find them useful. I found that I needed a 3" wide chinstrap that went under my chin all the way back to my neck. I feel like in addition to keeping my mouth closed, which makes the tongue seal a little easier, the pressure on the fleshy parts under the chin seem to encourage my tongue to maintain the seal.

The tongue seal is created by raising the tongue up against the roof of your mouth. It will contain much higher pressure than your lips can. The challenge is to maintain this seal while you are asleep.

Sleeprider suggested a series of exercises one could do while awake that might help one to keep that seal while asleep. Hopefully he will come by and reiterate or you could search for his list on the board.

Keep working at it and do not let your S8 humidifier run dry. That can give you a horrible taste in your mouth as well as a mouth so dry that it hurts. Been there, done that, have the scars.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

I found what Sleeprider wrote. Here it is:

Sleeprider Wrote:
The graduate studies for learning control are the following:
Talk intelligibly with the cpap on.
Drink some water...beginners can use a straw.
Inhale at the mouth and exhale from the nose, then when you're good at that, reverse.

All of this can be done, and practicing it gives you REAL control and understanding of air pressure. You'll look pretty silly in the first attempts, so video is encouraged. I'm not kidding, it not only can be done, it can become easy.

[OMyMyOHellYes]

Sounds like the machine is working (I like the S8 series - got a brand new one last year for travel). If all the water is gone, then it went up the hose and through your nose, just like it was designed to do.

Something else is making your nose ans sinuses dry out. Any recent change in meds? Witht he S8 it is more difficult to determine if you are having leak issues. You don't say which model S8 you use so can't really determine what data you might be able to pull out of it.

But at 15,000 hours you should be planning on what to do for your next CPAP machine. It may run for six more years, but it's running on borrowed time. It may be time to get a more data friendly machine. (my first CPAP was an S-8 and it died somewhere above 15,000 hours).

OMMOHY