SleepyHead Question: machine settings on Daily Sidebar don't match actual settings

[Kris the Crone]

Five nights into CPAP use, I've been trying different settings of humidity and hose temperature for comfort and because of wheezing. I had turned climate control to manual, and then back to auto again last night. I want the air in my hose to be cool, so set it to the lowest setting, 60 degrees F. After turning humidity off a couple of days ago and getting bad dry mouth, I turned it back up and finally decided to let Auto do what it wanted. Now I have accepted the wheezing until I talk to my sleep doctor, and I just want cool air from the ClimateLine hose. It doesn't feel that cool, and when i looked at the SleepyHead daily sidebar, it says that the machine is on Manual with a temperature setting of 27 degrees Centigrade for the Climateline, the highest setting, (I have machine set on Fahrenheit).

screenshot of the Machine Settings part of last night's SleepyHead daily sidebar showing Manual (instead of Auto) and 27 degrees C (instead of 60 degrees F):
   

photos of the My Options screen and the Clinical Menu on my machine as they were set last night:
   
   

Is this a glitch with SleepyHead, or am I doing something wrong with the machine? Is it possible that the way I have set the machine is the way it is operating, and it just doesn't show up on the Machine Settings in SH?

[green wings]

Hi Kris. I don't have a ClimateLine hose, so I'm here to ask you a question rather than to be helpful.

Is your room temperature higher than 60 degrees F? I'm just wondering what the hose does if you set its temp lower than room temperature. Does it do nothing in that case?

I'm curious about how these work. I started CPAP therapy in January of this year with an unheated hose and had a tough time getting enough humidity but not having condensation in my hose.

[Crimson Nape]

Kris, The ClimateLine only works with temperatures that are above ambient. It will act like a regular hose if it's set to any temperature below the environment it's operating in. The number being reported by SH is probably recorded from its sensor.

[Kris the Crone]

Crimson nape, that explains it all. Yes, I have the temperature of the hose (60 F) set lower than the house temperature, which is usually around 70. I'll reset the hose temp higher, or maybe let the Auto feature do both the temp and humidity again. I read the user guide over and over again, and never saw this mentioned, so I'm glad to know it now!

I was aiming to repeat the first experience I had with CPAP which was when I had the mask fittings. I got to lie down and try all 3 kinds, and the air flowing in through the masks was cool and wonderful, and I loved it. I guess I thought the ClimateLine hose would cool down...silly me!

I don't like warm, humid air for breathing. And, with this wheezing that I have, warm and humid makes it feel worse.

Greenwings, you guessed it right! It seems that the past few days I have been using an unheated (and uncooled) hose, which may be just want I want. The air has been OK, with adequate humidity (no dry mouth for me) and no condensation in the hose. Will do more experimenting.

I've been wearing my FFM all night for 6 nights now, taking it off only for drinks or bathroom breaks, and getting sufficient sleep. I sleep mostly on my side, and got the leaks under control. AHI has been under 5 for all nights except 1, so I think things are going well. Waiting to hear from the sleep doctor about the wheezing.

[green wings]

Kris,

Do you know if they were using a humidifier when you did your mask fittings? They didn't when I did mine, so I was breathing room temperature air. It feels nice, but I'll bet if you breathed it for several hours through your CPAP mask, it would be drying.

I have wondered why most of us need the air from our CPAP machines to be humidified, but breathing room air is fine. The only answer I can come up with is that the constant movement of the air going out our mask vent will take moisture away from our nasal passages if it isn't humidified.

If that's not the reason, I'm hoping someone will explain.

[Crimson Nape]

Kriss, Some members have reported using the humidifier filled with ice cubes to cool the air. If they were using a heat hose, they'd turn the setting to off.

Green Wings, Fast moving air that is traveling across a wet surface accelerates evaporation. I'm assuming that the slight increase in the inhale velocity would have the same drying effect.

[Kris the Crone]

Green Wings, I have no idea whether the air during the fitting was humidified. The time with each mask was only about 10 minutes, so not enough time to dry a person out. I tried one night here at home without humidity and my mouth was like a desert, a bit worse than a night without CPAP.

Crimson Nape, thanks for passing on the idea about the ice cubes! And it's good to know why using non-humidified regular room air dries you out more during CPAP than it does with non-CPAP breathing.