[CPAP] xirokx - Therapy Thread

[PeaceLoveAndPizza]

Re: the wiki. Find any CPAP topic of interest point and start reading. Follow some of the references as well for more details. 

https://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph...=Wiki_Home

For the condensation issues, try turning your temp down to 26°C and humidity to 2. If no condensation and you feel like you need more moisture, then increase humidity to 3. If you still have condensation then you need to turn down humidity or increase the temp.

You can adjust both temp and humidity up/down as needed once you find the balance point.

[xirokx]

I meant the apneaboard wiki

I see you mean this, thanks

Apneaboard wiki

I still struggle with condensation on occasion when I change from tube temp/humidity on auto. It is a fine balance to get those right and it may vary season to season. Typically as one increases humidity you need to increase tube temp, but it varies based on room temp and humidity. 

How many hours are you averaging each night?

If you need more humidity, then set it to what you want to try and start increasing tube temp a bit to see if it helps with the condensation. 

As newbie, how do I know if I need more humidity? What determines that?

What should I start my tube temp at?

Here is a chart from ResMed that may help.

https://document.resmed.com/documents/pr...sa_eng.pdf

[url=https://document.resmed.com/documents/products/machine/airsense-series/humidair-vs-h5i-settings-fact-sheet/1018807_humidair-vs-h5i_fact-sheet_usa_eng.pdf][/url]
Thanks for this

Find the lowest humidity level that is comfortable for you. Try both manual and auto humidity as well. Also add as much heat to the heated hose that's comfortable. For the heated hose, that likely will be a manual setting. You will likely need both actions. 

What do I start of at with my humidity? 

How do I set it auto humidity? do you mean APAP mode ?

Be certain your hose travels uphill to get to the mask, with a hose holder somewhere in the middle being helpful too.

Yes I can confirm I have this setup already


Just want to clarify with you guys that these are the settings I used last night:

 Mode APAP
Min pressure 7
Max pressure 12
EPR 3 full-time
No ramp
Climate control auto
Tube temp auto

So now you are advising the below, I will try 26 degrees tube temp and 2 humidity and will tweak as per your instruction. However can I check I am keeping the mode, min, max, epr, no ramp all the same? please clarify?  

For the condensation issues, try turning your temp down to 26°C and humidity to 2. If no condensation and you feel like you need more moisture, then increase humidity to 3. If you still have condensation then you need to turn down humidity or increase the temp.

This bit is bit of a mind twister, need to get my head around it...as when I wake up in the middle of the night I need to remember it

If no condensation and you feel like you need more moisture, then increase humidity to 3. If you still have condensation then you need to turn down humidity or increase the temp.

So I understand 

If no condensation but I have a dry mouth then increase humidity to 3.

However if I get condensation then drop humidity back to 2 and increase tube temp from 26 to 27 degrees

Is that correct? pleaes clarify

You can adjust both temp and humidity up/down as needed once you find the balance point.

What is a definition of the balance point?

Thanks so much really appreciate your help and support

[PeaceLoveAndPizza]

Responses in order…

1. Cheers

2. I sleep on average between 7-9 hours. I do occasionally have bad allergy attacks and have to sleep without the CPAP, but those nights are rare. My machine is a bilevel and I use CPAP-S mode with IPAP=12 and EPAP=8. I do on occasion use VPAPauto mode with min=7 max=14 PS=4 if I want to check on how the 12/8 fixed is working.

3. I would start with temp=26C and humidity=2. Depending on how things feel you can adjust from there.

4. Cheers

5. Humidity and tube temp is set in the clinical menu. If you are unsure how to do this you can get the manual for your machine at https://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-p...tup-manual

6. Roger dodger

7. Everything else stays the same regardless of tube temp/humidity. 

8. It can be a bit confusing at first. Simply put, if you need more moisture you up the humidity. if it causes condensation then increase the tube temp a bit at a time until there is no more condensation. If it feels too warm then you need to drop the temp and humidity to avoid rainout.

9. Bob’s your uncle

10. Balance point is where things are comfortable in both tube temp and humidity. If you increase/decrease one or the other, then things may go bonkers.

Note that there are few absolutes with CPAP. It requires experimentation and patience to find what works best for each individual.

[xirokx]

Responses in order…

1. Cheers

2. I sleep on average between 7-9 hours. I do occasionally have bad allergy attacks and have to sleep without the CPAP, but those nights are rare. My machine is a bilevel and I use CPAP-S mode with IPAP=12 and EPAP=8. I do on occasion use VPAPauto mode with min=7 max=14 PS=4 if I want to check on how the 12/8 fixed is working.

3. I would start with temp=26C and humidity=2. Depending on how things feel you can adjust from there.

4. Cheers

5. Humidity and tube temp is set in the clinical menu. If you are unsure how to do this you can get the manual for your machine at https://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-p...tup-manual

6. Roger dodger

7. Everything else stays the same regardless of tube temp/humidity. 

8. It can be a bit confusing at first. Simply put, if you need more moisture you up the humidity. if it causes condensation then increase the tube temp a bit at a time until there is no more condensation. If it feels too warm then you need to drop the temp and humidity to avoid rainout.

9. Bob’s your uncle

10. Balance point is where things are comfortable in both tube temp and humidity. If you increase/decrease one or the other, then things may go bonkers.

Note that there are few absolutes with CPAP. It requires experimentation and patience to find what works best for each individual.

Thanks so much , I have no words to express my gratitude but know I really appreciate your responses...

Will give it a go and get back to you tomorrow, even if its a "needed more moisture so upped the humidity"

Thanks so much

[xirokx]

Hey peeps,

Had the worst sleep ever last night a lot of water in the mask and tube.

So i increased humidity to 3 , still water in mask , then I upped tube temp to 27 from 26 and still had condensation/water in the mask, so upped humidity to 4 and still had condensation/water in the mask. It did not feel too warm, I did not wake from dry mouth. Woke up 4 times and managed 4hrs of broken sleep, am a proper zombie today, going back to bed.

So current settings are:

Mode APAP
Min pressure 7
Max pressure 12
EPR 3 full-time
No ramp
Humidity 4
Tube Temp 27

My room temp was 21.2
Room Humdity reading was 60%

Cannot think straight but reading this again:

"It can be a bit confusing at first. Simply put, if you need more moisture you up the humidity. if it causes condensation then increase the tube temp a bit at a time until there is no more condensation. If it feels too warm then you need to drop the temp and humidity to avoid rainout."

I am now wondering if I should have increased the humidity from 2 at all?? because I did not need more moisture due to the fact at 26 tube temp and 2 humdity I was getting condensation. Instead, I ought to have just upped the tube temp and left the humdity at 2, to see if I became dry? hmmm

What do you think?

Thanks so much, am so determined to find my balance point

All feedback would be appreciated

[xirokx]

Is my understanding on the right path?

It water present then decrease humidity by 1
If water still present then increase tube temp by 1 until no condensation
If full blown rainout then decrease humidity to 1 and increase tube temp until dry
If you are dry then increase humidity by 1
If you are still dry then decrease tube temperature by 1
If dry and rainout then decrease tube temp and humidity by 1

Tube temp therefore dries the tube out so decreases moisture
Humidity reduces dryness in the air so increases moisture

[PeaceLoveAndPizza]

Please post an OSCAR chart from last night. The instructions for downloading and formatting are in my signature. 

I think you want to go the other way and reduce humidity to 1 or even turn it off. Same with the tube temp. From there you can adjust things up as required.

[xirokx]

Please post an OSCAR chart from last night. The instructions for downloading and formatting are in my signature. 

I think you want to go the other way and reduce humidity to 1 or even turn it off. Same with the tube temp. From there you can adjust things up as required.

I have attached my OSCAR chart from last night. I cannot for some reason make space from the graph headers , any reason why?

Are we experimenting what happens if I turn off humidity and tube temp ?

Then apply the if dry then add humidity and tube temp by 1 and increase/decrease as required?

This is how I understand to increase/decrease tube temp and humidity, that correct?

It water present then decrease humidity by 1
If water still present then increase tube temp by 1 until no condensation
If full blown rainout then decrease humidity to 1 and increase tube temp until dry
If you are dry then increase humidity by 1
If you are still dry then decrease tube temperature by 1
If dry and rainout then decrease tube temp and humidity by 1

Tube temp therefore dries the tube out so decreases moisture
Humidity reduces dryness in the air so increases moisture

Thanks so much for your help

[PeaceLoveAndPizza]

A few questions to better understand what we are seeing. Your tidal volume is quite large, so I want to understand it better. I am 1.94m and 89kg, but your TV is more than twice mine. Not that it is a problem for an athlete or trumpet player, just something we do not normally see.

Are you on any medications?

What is your age, weight, and height?

Have you ever had your lung functions tested?

Any other medical details you think we need to know?

[SarcasticDave94]

Yes, you went the wrong way on the humidity setting. If it was already leaving water in the mask, you should have turned humidity down. Then go with Auto humidity at 1.

Or more drastic:

Try Off with no water in the humidifier tub. Make certain humidity is OFF to do this.