Upped Humidity--Higher AHI and Water Problems

[brody287]

Hi guys,

I have been on CPAP for about two weeks now, and these are the things I'm sstruggling with. First, if I set my Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset to automatic humidity and hose temperature control I find that it puts the humidity too low and the hose temperature too high. I wake up feeling too warm because of the warm air coming from the machine constantly. Then in the morning I have a dry throat so I decided to take the machine off auto and set the humidity to "4" (middle of the road) and turn the hose temp down to 23c, or just above our room temperature at night. I find the air so much better to deal with and the humidity is nice, I don't have problems with a dry throat anymore. Our climate is notoriously dry (we are located on the Canadian prairies) so I think the extra humidity is necessary since the air coming in is as dry as can be.

However, my AHI jumped from 1.3-2.0 average to 3.7-4.0 the last two nights. Considering my untreated AHI is only 7, it is being far less effective. I was quite alarmed the first night but decided to give it a second night just to see, and it remained high. And that's higher than it's been throughout my whole treatment.

Another problem is I find a lot of moisture in my mask. I don't think this is connected to changing the settings as I had about the same results before as I do now. But often in the morning I find myself having to lift up the bottom of the AirFit F20 mask and wipe away the moisture collecting in the bottom of the mask and on my chin before rolling over for a few more minutes of shut eye. My machine is located on the nightstand which sits lower than the bed (we have a very tall pillow-top mattress on a frame with wheels) so I don't think I'm getting moisture running down the hose, I think it must all originate in the mask. I've even wondered if maybe I've always been drooling but didn't notice it until I had a mask sealing in the moisture. Perhaps that's all it is.

Is it possible the humidity and temperature changes are affecting my AHI? Should I keep going and try to adjust to the new settings? I find them much more comfortable sleeping, I prefer the cooler air temperature and the higher humidity to fall asleep and wake up to but obviously it's not worth it keeping my AHI higher throughout the night. Thanks,

Brody

[mesenteria]

AHI is variable from night-to-night, and many things can cause that variation, including the amount of discomfort, anxiety, or just annoyance you feel about the equipment, how it seems to work for you, and your overall state of rest.

Most of us fiddle with the climate control manually.  Each bedroom, and each bedroom month-to-month, is different.  With changing seasons come changing conditions.  It stands to reason that one setting for hose temps and for overall humidity won't be appropriate six months later.  In the dead of winter, when the house is dry from heating and windows rarely get cracked, you might need more humidity, but it means you must raise hose temps for hoses that are more exposed to cool room air.  In the late spring, when we sleep with a window partially opened, you may find that you need less humidity, or none, and you must make those changes.

We sleep differently as our conditions change, and as we change.  If you are early in PAP therapy, you may be undergoing some changes that may require occasional alterations of your pressures.  Or, your better sleep may mean you enjoy sleeping a way that invites more OSA, maybe on your back or with your neck closed off due to chin tucking.

You will have to look at your sleepyhead charts to see if you are getting clusters of OSAs.  If so, they are most often due to sleep position, or chin tucking.

[brody287]

You will have to look at your sleepyhead charts to see if you are getting clusters of OSAs.  If so, they are most often due to sleep position, or chin tucking.

Thanks, that last bit is a really helpful tidbit. I wonder if I am 'chin tucking' as I sleep most often on my back. In fact, I can rarely drift off in any other position. I'll have a look at the sleepyhead charts and see whether I have any clusters of OSA.

[Sleep2Snore]

Colder weather can cause condensation in the hose and mask.  Heat the room slightly more, turn down humidity if you can stand it, get a cover for the hose or get a heated hose.  During the summer, don't run Air-con to hard when sleeping.

[brody287]

I checked whether I had any clustering of apneas in the SleepyHead data to see whether I was "Chin tucking", assuming that's an indicator. What I did find is that on one night in particular that I had the temp down and the humidity up I had 6 apneas in just over a minute just before I woke up and then took the mask off.

Last night I tried setting the machine's climate controls back to auto and my AHI went down to 1.4 again. It does seem to me that the lower temps were causing more apneas. I'm hoping with less apneas I will be able to keep the mask on more consistently as right now I often take it off in the middle of the night and end up with low usage hours.

[MitchS]

Some of us use a hose cover with our heated hose, which allows us to run lower hose temperatures and still prevent condensation.

[brody287]

Some of us use a hose cover with our heated hose, which allows us to run lower hose temperatures and still prevent condensation.

That's a good idea, at first the hose covers seemed kind of gimmicky to me. I will likely give a hose cover a try. Thanks.

[Big Guy]

I use a hose cover, but only to make it quiet, as it sits atop of our bed's head board. I fabricated a hose hanger a while back, and it works great. 

The hose cover keeps the hose from making any noise if it should move about when I turn over in my sleep. I have a heated hose, but it's never turned on.