Help with nasal mask and mouth breathing

[mruwu69]

Hi all, I'm occasionally a mouth breather but I've been using the the N30i cradle mask. I've tried the other mask types before for a short time and they all felt too uncomfortable to fall asleep (but I was just starting out). So I've been using mouth tape with my N30i which had been working pretty well. 

The only problem now is that I find my tongue relaxes and slips down, especially when my jaw drops and this causes air to rush into my mouth. With the tape, my mouth just inflates like a balloon, so leakage is not the problem but I think this disturbs/wakes me up. As you can imagine its uncomfortable to sleep with a mouth full of air. 

I'm stuck in the belief that I want to train myself into becoming a nose breather, even when I sleep, because I know all the benefits of it. But obviously it's been affecting my sleep. What do you guys recommend? Should I switch to a full face mask? 

Thanks!

[staceyburke]

Here is a thread about it

http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...ongue+suck

[Dafod]

OpelRose's post is it.

There are many people who have success stopping mouth breathing in all sorts of funny ways, but having your tongue essentially reside on the top half of your mouth with some slight suction is the only one I have found over the many years (6 or so) that has stopped me allowing my mouth to leak. I started CPAP not as a mouth breather and had a 3-5mth honeymoon period where I didn't have an issue but once I started to relax it all went to hell. Tried tape, chin straps, all manner of masks but none represented more than a temporary salve.

Adopting this approach can take 1-3 months - so it will not be a quick win. Also, with this approach your mouth can actually open while asleep and not leak!

[NotADr]

Lifetime mouth breather here until I started CPAP and didn’t want to use a full face mask because I’m a stomach sleeper. I taped for about 6 months then discovered I overcame the mouth habit and didn’t need the tape any more.

[Ratchick]

Also a mouth breather here, who periodically has to use pillows because the bridge of my nose gets insanely sore. While I can keep my tongue in a position that allows me to open my mouth without losing air while awake, I haven't yet trained my tongue to stay there permanently when I am asleep. That said, I use a chinstrap that also has straps that go around the back of the head across the cheeks (which may or may not be appropriate if you have an issue with chin tucking/positional apnea). That, plus tape, means minimal or no chipmunk cheeks for me. I found the same thing. My cheeks suddenly inflating would wake me up every time. I hope that this technique will help you!