Chipmunk cheeks solutions
Hello everyone. Ive been trying to switch from a full face mask to a nasal mask because of the FFM giving me TMJ issues. Everytime i doze off with a nasal mask though i get woken up by chipmunk cheeks. I can keep my tongue on the roof of my mouth while im awake and in control of it, but when i start falling asleep it seems to fall down. Ive also tried leaving it at the roof of my mouth throughout the day for quite some time. Is there anyone here that has found a solution to this? Is this a problem that my body can eventually learn to prevent after sleeping with cpap for a while or is it something that needs to be addressed manually?
RE: Chipmunk cheeks solutions
Just keep working on the tongue. Keep practicing during the day. At night make a point of starting out with your tongue at the roof. Open your mouth to test if you have the right spot. If you wake up with chipmunk cheeks, put your tongue in place. You will learn.
I didn't look at your pressure range. If you have the range, you could try lowering the bottom pressure, a little bit, until you get the hang of the tongue.
RE: Chipmunk cheeks solutions
I don't know if my situation applies here, but I learned over time that I'll experience chipmunk cheeks on APAP pressures above 8.
Fortunately, pressure in the 6-7 range while sleeping on my left side with my mouth taped takes care of any OSA and mouth leaks and no chipmunk cheeks.
This was something I had to figure out on my own. My first sleep doctor was worthless. He acted as if chipmunk cheeks was some unknown phenomenon with no solution.
I wish you luck. It took me a number of months to figure out my solution. The chipmunk cheeks was extremely disruptive to my sleep.
