RE: In the beginning, mouth breathing
Hey Dan!
I would suggest that you try the mask that you feel most comfortable with. Just because you only have a small selection at first does not mean that you cannot continue to explore with what options are comfortable for you. I have read countless stories here where what works for one of us does not necessarily work for the next. Good luck!
RE: In the beginning, mouth breathing
Thanks all for your comments and thoughts.
All right, second night is now behind me. It was somewhat different. I think the quality of sleep was almost as lousy as the first night, but difficulties changed a bit.
When I went to bed I think I was rather tired since I started to doze off quite quickly. Also the mask and the airflow didn't bother me much at all. But when I had slept for a while the increase in pressure woke me up several times. I think the difficulty was related to exhaling against increased pressure. In the data I could see that the pressure was around 12-15 during this time. Nonetheless, I actually got maybe four hours of better sleep, which was only interrupted by short awakenings. I think it just takes some time to get used to exhaling against a pressure.
What I also noted is that air escaping though my mouth did not wake me up at that instant. It was actually the sound of the air whoozing out from my mouth that ended my sleep several times. I had several different dreams about where that sound was coming from, before waking up. Interesting to see how this develops.
I also seem to have some skin irritation around my nostrils from the nasal pillows (I have small red scabs at the lower edge of both of them) I actually had to loosen the straps at some point during the night to relieve the irritation a bit. But I think the skin will learn or get thicker.
At this point I want to continue trying with this mask and see how all this develops. I think 3 nights is anyway too short period to make any calls. I don't sleep well, but I still get some hours of sleep and don't feel too exhausted in the morning.
03-20-2014, 11:37 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-20-2014, 11:38 AM by retired_guy.)
RE: In the beginning, mouth breathing
(03-20-2014, 04:55 AM)dan76 Wrote: Thanks all for your comments and thoughts.
All right, second night is now behind me. It was somewhat different. I think the quality of sleep was almost as lousy as the first night, but difficulties changed a bit.
When I went to bed I think I was rather tired since I started to doze off quite quickly. Also the mask and the airflow didn't bother me much at all. But when I had slept for a while the increase in pressure woke me up several times. I think the difficulty was related to exhaling against increased pressure.
There is a setting they can make to help you with this. When you go in, be sure and ask them to make nice in this area.
(03-20-2014, 04:55 AM)dan76 Wrote: In the data I could see that the pressure was around 12-15 during this time. Nonetheless, I actually got maybe four hours of better sleep, which was only interrupted by short awakenings. I think it just takes some time to get used to exhaling against a pressure.
What I also noted is that air escaping though my mouth did not wake me up at that instant. It was actually the sound of the air whoozing out from my mouth that ended my sleep several times. I had several different dreams about where that sound was coming from, before waking up. Interesting to see how this develops.
I also seem to have some skin irritation around my nostrils from the nasal pillows (I have small red scabs at the lower edge of both of them) I actually had to loosen the straps at some point during the night to relieve the irritation a bit. But I think the skin will learn or get thicker.
This is a red flag. You definitely do not want to develop a sore at your nostrils. So try some lanolin cream at night to try to keep this from happening.
(03-20-2014, 04:55 AM)dan76 Wrote: At this point I want to continue trying with this mask and see how all this develops. I think 3 nights is anyway too short period to make any calls. I don't sleep well, but I still get some hours of sleep and don't feel too exhausted in the morning.
Good job so far Dan, keep up the good work!
RE: In the beginning, mouth breathing
Hi dan76,
Sounds like you are off to a fairly good start; CPAP therapy can take some time to get used to and it also can take time for you to notice the benefits of it, just be patient, it will get better.
As far as getting soars in your nose from your pillows, get some HPA lanolin cream. You can find it in the baby isles of most stores, even Amazon has it. Anyway, take a Q-tip and put a "LITTLE" bit on it an swav the inside of your nose with it. If you have soars on the outside, put a bit on them as well.
Good luck.
trish6hundred
RE: In the beginning, mouth breathing
Forget other stuff - the above stuff seriously works~! Not only does it stop the hurt, it'll heal much faster, and allow you to use the pillows while healing.
*I* am not a DOCTOR or any type of Health Care Professional. My thoughts/suggestions/ideas are strictly only my opinions.
"Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you. Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your Soul, the other for your Freedom."
RE: In the beginning, mouth breathing
dan76,
I used a nasal mask for a year thinking that I was getting a good seal. Well the mask sealed fine but I found out that my mouth did not. I can make the seal fine when I am awake but when asleep, not so much. I tried the chin strap even though I knew that merely keeping my mouth closed was not the answer. I got some improvement but not much. I finally got a good full face mask and my leakage rate is not perfect yet but it is much better - a VERY significant improvement. I am using a bilevel setup at fairly high pressure (20cm/H2O).
You have already determined what you need to do to keep the air from infiltrating your mouth. If you can make it work for you, that will be great but if you can't, go for the FFM. They are not that bad.
Good luck and Best Regards,
PaytonA
RE: In the beginning, mouth breathing
My resmed machine has expiratory pressure relief and I have it set to 2. This allows me to comfortably exhale against a lower pressure, you should consult your owners manual because this is a setting that can be set by the user without going into the clinical settings. My pressure is 12 and the machine ramps up from 6 over twenty minutes which is plenty of time for me to fall asleep before the higher pressures set in. Hope you find your way with it.
RE: In the beginning, mouth breathing
Went to sleep clinic today to talk about the beginning. Nurse said that I had only few apneas during the nights AHI < 1, but still I had my oxygen saturation dropping few points below 90% and averaging in between 91-92%. She wasn't overly concerned about this. She said that it may improve. But this is something that's going to be followed when I have next doctor's appointment in early June.
during the initial sleep polygraphy I had my lowest saturation at 83% and average was below 90% as well. So based on this, there's cause and consequence.
We concluded that I will continue with the nasal pillow mask and see if I can manage to keep my mouth shut or not to be woken up every time my mouth opens. There were not too much leaks after all, so I don't sleep my mouth open. I just open it, wake up, close it and try to get back to sleep. I think I will give it week or two to see if there's improvement, since waking up so many times during the night is not helping. Really considering trying out some chin strap. Any suggestions?
Last night i loosened my mask a bit and it was seemingly a relief to my nose irritation. This showed up as increased leakage rates, but they were still well withing acceptable range. Although with this setup I can only sleep on my back, because turning to my side will cause an audible leak. Maybe after my nose gets more experience I can tighten the mask up, so I can sleep on my side as well.
RE: In the beginning, mouth breathing
(03-20-2014, 03:26 PM)PaytonA Wrote: dan76,
I used a nasal mask for a year thinking that I was getting a good seal. Well the mask sealed fine but I found out that my mouth did not. I can make the seal fine when I am awake but when asleep, not so much. I tried the chin strap even though I knew that merely keeping my mouth closed was not the answer. I got some improvement but not much. I finally got a good full face mask and my leakage rate is not perfect yet but it is much better - a VERY significant improvement. I am using a bilevel setup at fairly high pressure (20cm/H2O). PaytonA, You and I have reached the same conclusion about the full face mask. I could probably get good therapy with a nasal mask but I would wake up many times each night to roll back onto my side and close my mouth. I tried chin straps, tongue training, tennis ball sewed to back of shirt, etc. but finally concluded the full face mask is best for me.
RE: In the beginning, mouth breathing
(03-19-2014, 09:11 AM)dan76 Wrote: (03-19-2014, 07:21 AM)JimZZZ Wrote: ...I can tell you I finally gave up on the nasal mask. With the full face mask, I continue to work on preventing air from leaking into my mouth... Which one do you prefer, because seems that the problem wasn't solved by switching to full face mask? dan76, Of the full face masks I have tried, I prefer the F&P Simplus because it is bigger and provides more space around my nose. I am, however, going to try out the Circadiance Sleepweaver Anew to see if the soft fabric mask will stay better centered on my face when I sleep on my side. The Simplus is great but the hard shell makes it subject to being pushed aside by my pillow when side sleeping.
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