A Question... thank you!

[PositiveMe123]

Noticing lately that when I use my machine/mask I wake up several times a night with extreme dry mouth, and need a sip of water.

I decided to experiment over the weekend and didn't use my machine. No dry mouth at all... never woke once during the night.

Thoughts appreciated.

[SleepyWabbit]

Two days in and I am having the same issue. I'm sure there are already posts on here, but as long as you posted, I'm curious to see what others have to say.

I have a full face mask and breath through my mouth, so I know that is part of the problem...

I find myself wishing my mask had a little straw attachment similar to my M40 NBC Gas Mask had back when I was in the army.

[Sleeprider]

A dry mouth is most likely leakage. What kind of leak rate do you see in the data?

[tml678]

are you using your humidifier? I've only been on APAP for around a month and I had one particular night where I forgot to fill the humidifier and had a similar issue to you as well.

It's also possible that the nasal pillows aren't sealing as well as they should and you may be mouth breathing, resulting in the dry mouth you describe..

What is your pressure range? If your pressure is too low, you may not be getting enough air, once again resulting in mouth breathing?...

[Shastzi]

#1. Sounds like your mouth drops open at night when using CPAP. A chin strap should help with that.
#2. you are going to need to add humidity to the air you have coming from the machine.

Did the doctor throw a machine at you and just say "Here use this"?

As you can see from some of the subject lines there is a bit more to using cpap and getting the most out of it.

Hang in there and I'm sure more folks will chime in with good advise & experience.

[OpalRose]

You could try experimenting with the settings on your humidifier.

How is your leak rate? You could be mouth breathing, and that would wake you up a lot.

It might be a good idea to download Sleepyhead software and start looking at your data.

[PositiveMe123]

Thanks so much for all of your replies!

I'll try to answer some of your questions: My pressure is 6/10 and water tank is always full and set at 3. Pillow is a new one. When I first started this therapy I did use Sleepyhead. Since I purchased a new computer a few months ago, I haven't downloaded SH. I'm not a computer person and someone helped me the first time, and I dread downloading it.

When I look at the screen on the machine I always see a happy face and AHI isn't more than around 2.9. So, when I see that I think I'm doing okay?? My doctor checks the SD card when I see her but won't see her until late November. I saw her this past May and she said leak levels were okay. I don't use a chin strap. Tried a few but couldn't sleep with it.

I'm really confused why I sleep better (no dry mouth) when I don't use the machine.

[justMongo]

I'll offer the Mongo theory. PAPers train themselves to keep their mouths closed; and their tongue in a position to seal leaks.
The Mongo theory is: PAPers do not move their tongue and mouth. The salivary glands are stimulated by motion.
The salivary production of PAPers is reduced; and produces dry mouth.

[parkerdt]

I think Mongo is on to something here, as I have the same issue, although maybe to a lesser extent. I've learned to seal my tongue on the roof of my mouth, and have almost no leaks. When I wake up to pee in the night, my mouth is dry. So, I bring a cup of ice water to bed with me, and sip as needed. With practice, I can now even take a sip without removing my mask.

[PaytonA]

It is my opinion that dry mouth is almost always due to mouth leaking/breathing. This is even true with a full face mask. Been there and done that. The other possibilities are to little humidity in the air caused by humidifier setting too low or malfunction or humidifier ran dry. Even with the alternatives, in order for the mouth to dry out there must be air moving through the mouth.

What Mongo says is also very true. There is very little movement of the mouth which normally triggers salivation. This makes the air humidity important as well as it being important that air does not travel through the mouth (maybe talking in your sleep is not such a bad thing except that it might let a lot of air travel through the mouth).