The newer ones are probably better at it. Here’s a site that discusses the issue.
20 seems high but I only have old-folks-medical conversations to base it on. I did poke around a bit.
For most people, an appropriate CPAP pressure is between 6 and 14 cmH2O, with an average of 10 cmH2O.
If someone is using a setting of 20 I wonder how tight they have to keep the mask keep it from leaking.
I think I’m going to start doing that. I now keep a gallon of distilled water by the microwave and use the same cup to heat the water which holds the same amount as my neti pot. That way I can regulate the temperature precisely by the amount of time I set the microwave to.
It does seem to help things.
You can also get “hose cosies” which are basically plush hose covers. My husband uses that on his. I never needed to, even before I got the unit that works with heated tubing.
I looked into the alternate pillows for the N30I, that @BippityBoppityBoo mentioned. Sadly, most places are out of stock on the various pillows - my plan had been to pay for a couple sizes (small-wide, large) out of pocket, and try them, but so far no luck.
I did just get a sample of a different mask:
https://www.fphcare.com/us/homecare/sleep-apnea/masks/brevida/
The tech at the sleep clinic had mentioned their Evora mask but he sent me the sample of the Brevida instead. I’ve been using it since Sunday, so about 4 nights so far. The first night, I swore I could feel that it was leaking, a lot. But for whatever reason, that feels a lot better now - and the report on the MyAir app on my phone suggests that there is indeed less leakage.
What I don’t like: the pillow part that pokes into the nostril is pretty flimsy. On my original ResMed Swift, the pillows are actually double walled, and it’s easy to make sure they’re poking up correctly; with the F&P, it’s hard to get them to be not inverted.
What I DO like: the adjustment straps are near the front; with the Swift, I hated to adjust it while wearing it because it felt like my hair would get caught in the Velcro. Also, there’s an optional diffuser that clips onto the front of the mask, to make the outflow a bit quieter; with the Swift, if my bed pillow bulges up a little bit, the outflow of air blows very loudly against it.
This seems like the correct thread to ask this question.
My wife recently got a CPAP machine, an AirSense 10 with heated hose and humidification. We have some trips planned this summer where nearby mains electricity may not be available.
I bought an inverter thing, that I attach my lawnmower battery to. The 5Ah/56V battery runs the CPAP great, but only for about 4-5 hours.
Turning off the humidifier and heat should let the pump run longer. First question: how uncomfortable will it be switching from heated and humidified air to ambient air?
I know she could just try turning those off, but conditions could be anything from extremely dry and cool to wet and warm. How much difference will that make?
The second question relates to electricity, so I'm going to hide it under a clicky thing.
The lawn mower battery is 0.28kWh, but I can only get about 0.18kWh of useful work out of it. The CPAP needs 0.25-0.30kWh per night. At the campsite I will also have a 75.0kWh battery available. My question, the lawnmower battery inverter claims to provide a perfect sine wave, and a kill-a-watt shows it as having 60Hz, and a fan I connected it to runs perfectly. The CPAP also runs great off it, until the power runs out.
The 12v inverter I have is from the 90s. I have no idea what kind of wave it supplies. The kill-a-watt says it has “dc” Hz. That result is not in the manual. The fan I plugged into it runs, but does not seem happy. If it were an IC engine I’d say it was “missing”. I didn’t let it run long, because I don’t want to burn out the motor on my fan.
Is whatever weird modified sine wave coming out of my old inverter going to damage the power supply for the CPAP?
It’s a 110-240V to 24V power supply, and I assume it is pretty low quality, because it stays warm all the time, and pulls 3-5 watts even when unplugged from the CPAP.
So three options, which to do?
- Use the lawnmower battery for as long as it lasts each night. Costs $150, but is very versatile, because we don’t always have to be near the car.
- Use the wonky inverter with an AC extension cord. No additional cost, but have to be near the car, and no idea what that will do to the CPAP power supply.
- Buy a 12v to 24v power supply for the CPAP, plus an extension 12v cable. Cost is around $50, and will only work near the car.
How long does the lawnmower battery last? That would be my choice. You say she is new to CPAP - does she have to show a minimum number of hours used for insurance purposes?
I wouldn’t let that 12v inverter anywhere near my CPAP, but I am no expert.
Suggestion: go to /askanelectrician on Reddit with your electrical questions, they are pretty helpful.
Good luck!
mmm
I have a question of my own.
I’ve been using a Philips Dreamstation for five years. I used the humidifier for less than the first week. When I’m trying to sleep, I want a cool environment; I don’t want to breathe hot air. So I disabled the humidifier in the settings and never looked back.
It never occurred to me to see if the humidifier could be detached. I got my replacement machine due to the recall this past Monday, which is when I discovered the humidifier comes off. Cool, now the machine only takes up half the space on my nightstand!
But, when I got in bed that night, I could hear the airflow through my mask. I’m not sure how to describe it, other than there was now a bunch of noise when before there was none. I use this mask:
Whichever side was between my face and the pillow is where I could hear the air rushing through. I’d only hear it through that side, and if I rolled over to the other side then I’d only hear it on that side. If I removed my head from the pillow, I didn’t hear it at all.
Anyway, on Wednesday, I hooked the humidifier back up and made sure it was turned off. When I went to bed that night, there was blessed silence, like before.
Why in the world would having the humidifier hooked up make a difference, versus the hose plugged directly into the back of the machine? And is there any way to fix it so I don’t have to have the humidifier hooked up, but also don’t hear a racket through the mask when I’m trying to sleep?
I use a ResMed machine but a similar mask. I know the sound you describe. It is annoyed, I agree.
Can you use the customer accessible controls and turn your humidifier level way down, including the heat level? I can with my ResMed. Then don’t put any water in the reservoir and use it on cool/dry to avoid heated air, without the annoying noise? I use my ResMed at the lowest humidity setting and hose temperature.
If the new hose is one of the climate control heated ones, you’ll want to set that temperature to the lowest also.
Other than that, I’d call and talk to the respiratory tech who set your machine up for you to problem solve. Usually its a quick fix and something they’ve seen many times before. If you don’t have a local respiratory company, call Philips customer service.
It is an annoying noise-like a zombie hiding behind the curtains, about to pounce on your face.
CPAP does not pump air into your lungs like whatever device Darth Vader uses. It inflates your sinuses so you can breathe normally. You have to relax and let it do its work. If you have the type of CPAP that uses water to moisturize your sinuses, put in about half as much water as it looks like you need (bottled water is fine). You may need to start sleeping on your side.
I use that exact mask. I’ve tried probably 10 different masks over the years, and this one is my favorite.
What I do not like about it, though, is that when you lay on your side, your face compresses that side’s airflow due to the design of the mask. Is this what is creating your noise?
I’ve chosen to live with that downside because this mask is far more comfortable for me than any other I have tried.
mmm
All these years, the humidifier has been off, but attached. So I’ve been plugging the hose (a normal one, not heated) into the top of the machine, through the humidifier. So, air comes out of the machine into the empty humidifier chamber, then out the top into the hose.
I never had any noise issues until this past Monday night, after I detached the humidifier for the first time. I plugged the hose directly into the back of the machine, and got the annoying rushing air sound. I put up with it for two nights, then reattached the humidifier and went back to the old setup. No noise.
Same here. I think the humidifier chamber acts like a muffler for the CPAP.
The lawnmower battery lasts 4-5 hours, but closer to 4. I can boost that to almost 6 hours by chaining batteries, so the lawnmower battery charges while it discharges. I need to do a test without heat and humidity, because it’s not worth bothering if it gains 15 minutes, but if it cuts the power use in half, that will be a big deal.
The current CPAP machine was inherited and is owned, so there is no penalty for missing nights, other than being completely wrecked the next day. The initial diagnosis was over two months ago, and we’re still waiting for insurance and the durable med company to get her a new machine, but that is a different thread in a different forum.
Have her give it a try at home, to get a feel for it.
I never had a heated hose until a few years back; I honestly don’t notice much difference. And of course that machine REQUIRES use of the humidifier chamber, but you can turn off the heated humidification: I have that cranked very low because otherwise it goes dry before I’ve had my 8 hours of sleep. If she puts water in the chamber, the air will get a little bit of humidity just from passing over the water.
What model do you have?
I used to have a Respironics similar to this one:
The humidifier part is on the right, and can be completely detached from the main part; I guess you’d connect the hose onto the right side of the humidifier-less unit then. I never tried this though - but I could imagine it’s a bit noisier.