Strange correlation for me, lower AHI worse night of sleep

[soundersfootballclub]

I just wanted to see if anyone else has the same issue I have experienced. When I take steps to mouth breathe less I get a lower AHI in my data (under 5) ...but I feel like I didn't get as good a night sleep as when I allow mouth breathing and have a higher AHI (slightly over 5). I feel more normal during the day when my machine says I had a 5-6 with mouthbreathing the prior night than I do when I force my mouth to stay shut and get an AHI of 3. Should I just keep things as is? I would love to switch to nasal pillows one of these days but my body doesn't want to play along.

[palerider]

I just wanted to see if anyone else has the same issue I have experienced. When I take steps to mouth breathe less I get a lower AHI in my data (under 5) ...but I feel like I didn't get as good a night sleep as when I allow mouth breathing and have a higher AHI (slightly over 5). I feel more normal during the day when my machine says I had a 5-6 with mouthbreathing the prior night than I do when I force my mouth to stay shut and get an AHI of 3. Should I just keep things as is? I would love to switch to nasal pillows one of these days but my body doesn't want to play along.

I wouldn't think, with that space bubble you're wearing, that mouth breathing would matter either way!

[BlackSpinner]

I just wanted to see if anyone else has the same issue I have experienced. When I take steps to mouth breathe less I get a lower AHI in my data (under 5) ...but I feel like I didn't get as good a night sleep as when I allow mouth breathing and have a higher AHI (slightly over 5). I feel more normal during the day when my machine says I had a 5-6 with mouthbreathing the prior night than I do when I force my mouth to stay shut and get an AHI of 3. Should I just keep things as is? I would love to switch to nasal pillows one of these days but my body doesn't want to play along.

But you have the equivalent of a full face mask (a hybrid) so mouth breathing shouldn't make a difference.

[Krelvin]

... When I take steps to mouth breathe less I get a lower AHI in my data (under 5) ...but I feel like I didn't get as good a night sleep as when I allow mouth breathing and have a higher AHI (slightly over 5).

Confused... your listed mask is a FFM.. mouth breathing wouldn't be an issue using that. Only if you were using a nasal only mask.

[soundersfootballclub]

... When I take steps to mouth breathe less I get a lower AHI in my data (under 5) ...but I feel like I didn't get as good a night sleep as when I allow mouth breathing and have a higher AHI (slightly over 5).

Confused... your listed mask is a FFM.. mouth breathing wouldn't be an issue using that. Only if you were using a nasal only mask.

I have a hybrid mask. My mouth gets pretty dry from it so I have experimented with forcing my mouth closed while wearing it. When I do so is when I feel more tired the next day even tho my AHI is lower.

[JDS74]

Perhaps your humidity is set too low and that's why you experience dryness.
With your mouth forced closed, perhaps your nasal breathing is more forced so you struggle a little more.

[Wulfman...]

... When I take steps to mouth breathe less I get a lower AHI in my data (under 5) ...but I feel like I didn't get as good a night sleep as when I allow mouth breathing and have a higher AHI (slightly over 5).

Confused... your listed mask is a FFM.. mouth breathing wouldn't be an issue using that. Only if you were using a nasal only mask.

I have a hybrid mask. My mouth gets pretty dry from it so I have experimented with forcing my mouth closed while wearing it. When I do so is when I feel more tired the next day even tho my AHI is lower.

If you're mouth-breathing (even in a full face mask), you're probably going to have a dry mouth.
Exactly what humidifier setting do you use?

You might even try a lower HH setting or even Off ("passover" mode......water but no heat)
Are you doing nasal cleansing before bedtime? If not, and you're congested, you might want to try that.


Den

.

[Sheriff Buford]

To me, successful cpap therapy is feeling better. The numbers come second. I average a .3 to .4 AHI and I find that I don't feel as well when I get a zero AHI. Do you use autoset mode or straight cpap mode.

Sheriff

[kaiasgram]

Is your main question why you have a higher AHI when you let yourself mouth breathe, or why you actually feel better the next day even with the higher AHI?

[soundersfootballclub]

Perhaps your humidity is set too low and that's why you experience dryness.
With your mouth forced closed, perhaps your nasal breathing is more forced so you struggle a little more.

Good point. I will experiment here, couldn't hurt.

[soundersfootballclub]

If you're mouth-breathing (even in a full face mask), you're probably going to have a dry mouth.
Exactly what humidifier setting do you use?

You might even try a lower HH setting or even Off ("passover" mode......water but no heat)
Are you doing nasal cleansing before bedtime? If not, and you're congested, you might want to try that.


Den

.

It looks like I have it at 78 degrees. I don't feel congested when I go to sleep so I have never thought about cleansing.

[soundersfootballclub]

To me, successful cpap therapy is feeling better. The numbers come second. I average a .3 to .4 AHI and I find that I don't feel as well when I get a zero AHI. Do you use autoset mode or straight cpap mode.

Sheriff

Good point about feeling well being the priority here. I always have pressure set at 7.8. I have experimented with pressure before and my AHI goes up when I raise or lower the pressure, I also don't feel as rested so this appears to be the correct pressure for me right now at least.

[soundersfootballclub]

Is your main question why you have a higher AHI when you let yourself mouth breathe, or why you actually feel better the next day even with the higher AHI?

I am wondering why I feel worse when both my AHI is lower and I have prevented myself from mouth breathing.

[Pugsy]

am wondering why I feel worse when both my AHI is lower and I have prevented myself from mouth breathing.

Perhaps whatever you are doing to prevent the mouth breathing is having a negative impact to your overall sleep quality.
I had a similar problem when I first started therapy and I was trying chin straps and taping. They did the job for the most part but each had a negative impact to overall sleep quality...just a little. Chin straps would slide around a bit and were just generally annoying and I would wake often. Then with taping I would wake if the tape came loose or wake up just to make sure it was still in place. Since I didn't open my mouth all that often (and could easily breathe through my nose so the mouth opening thing was habit and not out of necessity) and never very long I decided long ago that the fix for minor mouth breathing leaks was disrupting my sleep quality worse than having 15 minutes or so of maybe mouth breathing leaks that for the most part never went to large leak territory anyway. The cure caused more problems than the problem did in terms of my overall sleep quality and my sleep was already pretty fragile due to pain issues. I sure didn't need something else to wake me up a gazillion times.

My primary goal is to get good quality sleep and feel decent. Having a nice low AHI and/or perfect 0.0 leak line is not my primary goal. It's not a math test where perfect numbers are the goal. I am good with an acceptable AHI and a for the most part acceptable leak line as long as I sleep well and feel decent. Nice perfect low AHIs and 0.0 leaks don't mean squat if we don't sleep well and feel decent the next day.

[Sheriff Buford]

With a full face mask (in your case a hybrid) it's ok to mouth breath. I am a really big mouth breather and a lot of folks are also. Don't worry about it unless you are using a nasal mask or pillows. It appears you may also starting to chase numbers. Don't get into that trap. Set your pressure at a constant level and see what happens. Give it time. Lots of folks have relatively high ahi's. I sometime get a low AHI and feel worse.

Sheriff