Need support

[HalfAsleep]

I'm trying to understand this....Your antidepressant seems to have made nose breathing more difficult so you're needing to breathe via your mouth?

I'd recommend checking in with the antidepressant prescriber in case this is a harbinger of other side effects. I also suggest consulting your PCP in case there's an issue with the nose and it just happened to start up at the same time as the medication switch.

Even apart from those 2 issues, you could make your nose happy with breathing like it used to, so your mouth can cut it out? I'll bet other posters on here have all kinds of ideas about pampering noses!

[Sleepster]

I'm trying to understand this....Your antidepressant seems to have made nose breathing more difficult so you're needing to breathe via your mouth?

It's more likely that the meds are causing the jaw-closing muscles to relax more, so the jaw drops when in deep sleep. This causes the mouth-leak.

I picture the back of your tongue touching the roof of the mouth and forming a seal, like closing a valve. When that valve is closed and you're wearing a nasal mask you have air behind the valve that's at a higher pressure than the air that's in your mouth. When the valve opens there's a leak. But if instead you're wearing a full face mask the pressure is the same on both sides of that valve, so if the valve opens you don't get a leak.

[HalfAsleep]

I'm trying to understand this....Your antidepressant seems to have made nose breathing more difficult so you're needing to breathe via your mouth?

It's more likely that the meds are causing the jaw-closing muscles to relax more, so the jaw drops when in deep sleep. This causes the mouth-leak.

I picture the back of your tongue touching the roof of the mouth and forming a seal, like closing a valve. When that valve is closed and you're wearing a nasal mask you have air behind the valve that's at a higher pressure than the air that's in your mouth. When the valve opens there's a leak. But if instead you're wearing a full face mask the pressure is the same on both sides of that valve, so if the valve opens you don't get a leak.

Great point. I didn't think of the relaxation thing. I won't withdraw my suggestion to mention it to the meds prescriber, however, in case the muscle relaxation thing is not a positive side effect.

[Sleepster]

I won't withdraw my suggestion to mention it to the meds prescriber, however, in case the muscle relaxation thing is not a positive side effect.

I agree. Changing the meds because of this side effect is one solution. But if the meds are working, and there's a remedy for the side effect (which there is in this case -- the fullface mask) then that's a possibility that's perhaps worth exploring.

I'd probably be on some meds to help me relax, but they have side effects for me that are just not tolerable.

[HalfAsleep]

I won't withdraw my suggestion to mention it to the meds prescriber, however, in case the muscle relaxation thing is not a positive side effect.

I agree. Changing the meds because of this side effect is one solution. But if the meds are working, and there's a remedy for the side effect (which there is in this case -- the fullface mask) then that's a possibility that's perhaps worth exploring.

I'd probably be on some meds to help me relax, but they have side effects for me that are just not tolerable.

Yep, but I can expound a bit. Jaw slacking might be benign, but the medication may have induced slacking (or something else) of another body part that is less obvious and might not be so benign. For instance, if it extended to, say, the bladder, the heart, the legs....

Example: some meds can give you Parkinsonism. That's secondary Parkinson's. Remove the med and you remove the "disease".

[readyforsleep]

Sleepster is right.  The medication is causing the jaw muscles to relax when in deep sleep.  The medication is working to combat depression/anxiety so I will not change it.  It took along time to get to this point of being content with an antidepressant.  Sometimes you just have to work with medication side effects.

I tried the f20 last nite.  It may have potential.  I actually slept. The full face mask is not as horrific as I imagined!  However Lots of leaks around the chin/ mouth area.  Still trying to figure it out..  I did the mask fit and everything was ok.  I had my cervical collar on and when i got the leaks the mask was hard to tighten with the collar on.  Tonight I will try a chin strap.

I got the medium size cushion (for her) which seems right.  I must have a long face. Does anyone know if the medium cushion is the same for "her" and regular size?

[Sleepster]

I don't know about the different "for her" sizes, but it wouldn't hurt to try a larger size. You should not need the chin strap at all, in my opinion. I think that you just have to adjust the straps. Sometimes new masks are like that. They get stretched out a bit when you first use them.