RE: mouth leaks with additionnal cm
(09-16-2014, 05:33 AM)JimZZZ Wrote: It's an unpopular thing to say but after a long struggle with nasal masks/mouth leaks, I finally settled on a full face mask with chin strap. It's not as uncomfortable on the face as you might imagine and the therapy is a lot more effective. The only catch is you still need to keep your mouth shut so you don't swallow incoming air (aerophagia) thus the lightly tensioned chin strap as a reminder.
Hi JimZZZ, the full face mask in an option i'm considering. I'm not there yet but if everything else fails i could try it.
RE: mouth leaks with additionnal cm
Good news,
That goofie technician was right. My mouth was opening because my nose was dry because of too much heat and increased pressure. The air coming faster in the nostril dried the nose faster.
Just by lowering heat from 3 to 2 i almost had no leaks. Well 2 small ones at the end of sleep cycles.
Got 3 short Oa's last night. So the apneas are way down.
I feel better than yesterday but still a bit tired. I think i may need a couple of days to get back on track after those 3 horrible nights.
RE: mouth leaks with additionnal cm
Good job Ghandi. Glad you're back on track.
RE: mouth leaks with additionnal cm
I use one polygrip denture strip to hold my lips shut, just curve it a bit then moisten it then place on your lips , it has just enough force to hold your mouth shut and if you need to open your mouth you can still do so.
RE: mouth leaks with additionnal cm
Vicpete @14 I like the sound of keeping your lips closed. Sounds a lot more comfortable than my chinstrap. I think I shall have to get hold of some of these strips and give it a go.
Thanks for the tip.
Well done Ghandi, great to hear you have your problem sorted.
Sleep Tight...
Gabby
09-19-2014, 07:59 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-19-2014, 08:22 AM by Ghandi.)
RE: mouth leaks with additionnal cm
I tried the chin strap last night. Almost all leaks are removed. Except one time when the chin strap got a little loose. My AHI for last night is 0,4
I feel good.
I think i'll have to get used to placing the chin strap correctly and this should do it.
RE: mouth leaks with additionnal cm
(09-19-2014, 07:59 AM)Ghandi Wrote: I tried the chin strap last night. Almost all leaks are removed. Except one time when the chis strap got a little loose. My AHI for last night is 0,4
I feel good.
I think i'll have to get used to placing the chin strap correctly and this should do it.
I have to keep my chin strap adjusted so that it has the proper tension as it wears. Those mouth leaks may not be large enough to register as a large leak, but they can wake you up interfering with your sleep.
Another things you can try in the future are an auto-adjusting CPAP machine, a bilevel CPAP machine (BiPAP or VPAP), or better yet, both. Meanwhile you can set your C-Flex to it's maximum of 3.
All of these things lower your pressure, and that may reduce the likelihood of mouth-leaking.
Keep an eye on craigslist. You can find machines that are barely used for a good price. Then just keep your other machine as a back up. Don't take this too far, though. I now have three spares in a closet.
Sleepster
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
RE: mouth leaks with additionnal cm
(09-19-2014, 08:09 AM)Sleepster Wrote: (09-19-2014, 07:59 AM)Ghandi Wrote: I tried the chin strap last night. Almost all leaks are removed. Except one time when the chis strap got a little loose. My AHI for last night is 0,4
I feel good.
I think i'll have to get used to placing the chin strap correctly and this should do it.
I have to keep my chin strap adjusted so that it has the proper tension as it wears. Those mouth leaks may not be large enough to register as a large leak, but they can wake you up interfering with your sleep.
Another things you can try in the future are an auto-adjusting CPAP machine, a bilevel CPAP machine (BiPAP or VPAP), or better yet, both. Meanwhile you can set your C-Flex to it's maximum of 3.
All of these things lower your pressure, and that may reduce the likelihood of mouth-leaking.
Keep an eye on craigslist. You can find machines that are barely used for a good price. Then just keep your other machine as a back up. Don't take this too far, though. I now have three spares in a closet.
With an auto-cpap, what pressure would you set it to? like 6-9 ? At 7 i almost never had mouth leaks.
The flex setting was lowered at the same time the doc increased the pressure. I could try the putting it back at 3 without the chin strap to see if it goes well. Maybe it the additional cm - 1 c-flex which creates the leaks.
RE: mouth leaks with additionnal cm
(09-19-2014, 08:33 AM)Ghandi Wrote: With an auto-cpap, what pressure would you set it to? like 6-9 ? At 7 i almost never had mouth leaks.
6-9 might be a good place to start. You have to look at the data and tweak the settings. It's not as hard as it might seem.
Quote:The flex setting was lowered at the same time the doc increased the pressure. I could try the putting it back at 3 without the chin strap to see if it goes well. Maybe it the additional cm - 1 c-flex which creates the leaks.
It's hard to figure out because you might go a week with no mouth-leaks and then have it start again on its own. I would ask the doctor why he lowered C-Flex from 3 to 2. He might be doing it for some reason I've never heard of.
If I were you I'd continue with the chin strap and monitor your leaks.
Sleepster
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
