Struggling with Nasal Mask

[JimZZZ]

Someone mentioned putting a sports guard in their mouth before going to bed. Has that idea been successful for anyone?

[MAPnea]

I haven't tried a sports guard, but I have noticed that when I wear my "teeth whitening" trays overnight I have less leaks. In the morning, my lower jaw seems to be "jutted outward" a bit and I think my tongue rests against the trays. I think I'll give this a try the next few nights with my nasal pillows and see if my leak rate is consistently down.

[JimZZZ]

Thanks MAPnea. I'm seeing my dentist next week so maybe he will have a suggestion...at a hefty price.

[JimZZZ]

For the record, last night I tried taping my lips shut with surgical tape and using my nasal mask. Not a good idea. I felt like a panic stricken fool but finally fell asleep...for awhile. I awakened in an hour or so with a pressurized mouth, puffed cheeks and strange noises caused by air squeaking from the corners of my mouth. Funny but not good! So I ripped the tape off (ouch!) and tried to sleep with no chin strap. That resulted in full-blown gushing out the mouth. Finally I resorted to my ffm. I had forgotten how uncomfortable it was so went back to my chin strap and Wisp.

At the end of the experiment, I concluded that the Wisp with chin strap was the best of several suboptimal choices. Just saying...

[JimZZZ]

Okay, I am perilously close to giving up on the Wisp nasal mask because I am awakened repeatedly by air coming from my mouth regardless of chin straps, chin pads and/or tongue training. I didn't get along with the Quattro FX full face mask because it leaked and awakened me with air blowing into my eyes. So, I am thinking of asking my DME to provide one of the full face masks that have a forehead strap like the Quattro Air. Do you think that is a good idea and, if so, what mask would you ask for?

[Lukie]

Don't give up yet. I just discussed this very same issue with my sleep doctor. He said that these issues will get less and less as your brain realizes it does not have to mouth breath because enough air is getting to your lungs now you are on CPAP. He told me to use the nasal mask every night for a month and come back and let him know how things are going. So last night I did really well. I did use a chin strap and I had a few mouth leaks but I slept really well for the whole night . Much better than fighting the air leaks which occur with a full face mask.

[Mountain Man]

This is good info as I'm dealing with nasal mask issues myself. The one I have is an older model and I'm having a bear of a time keeping it from leaking. Still waiting on my sleep study follow ups for a script for new stuff so I can try a different mask and hopefully get a modern machine. This one doesn't show any recorded data.

I can't tell if my mouth is opening or not. It's not open when I wake but it gets extremely dry, so I wonder. Is dry mouth common to people who DON'T breathe through their mouth on the nasal mask?

[me50]

maybe there is a different chin strap you can try. I use carefusion adjustable

[PaytonA]

I was told by a respiratory therapist at my DME that certain medications, like diuretics and other blood pressure medications make dry mouth almost a certainty. This particular therapist uses a CPAP and has the dry mouth problem due to his blood pressure meds according to him.

PaytonA

[trish6hundred]

Hi PaytonA,
There a couple thing you can try for dry mouth.
One is Zylimelts, (they are a breathmint type thing,) or a mouthwash called Biodene.
Hope this helps you.