New CPAP user

[LSAT]

I'm super new, I started only 2 days ago--those who have used cpap longer may have better/differing opinions than me. But a couple of things I've noticed with me is that as I'm drifting to sleep I have a tendency to drop my jaw. It's just not comfortable for me to clamp my jaw shut, as I wake up with jaw pain. I suffer through year-round indoor and outdoor allergies; although my nose isn't stuffed (thanks to UPPP surgery 4 years ago) I thought I had carried on a lifelong habit of mouth breathing during high pollen counts. I was surprised when the DME told me that I don't appear to be a mouth breather, despite my history of waking up with a dry mouth and a very wet pillow. A few months ago I realized my jaw drop tendency and an experiment I've been "planting" my tongue on the roof of my mouth as I am drifting to sleep. I noticed that my jaw still can drop to where it's comfortable but I'm not a huge drool monster. On day 1 of cpap, while getting accustomed to the machine, I tried laying with my tongue relaxed at the bottom of my mouth and heard leaks, but if I planted my tongue the hiss was gone. I checked my resmed report and it was showing no leaks with the tongue plant method. Another thing I noticed while playing around is the ramp feature at 4-5 was really hard for me to exhale. But that might be a noob/mental thing for me. I felt like I had to do the deep abdomen breaths like what singers do, and then it felt like my heart was racing. Once my ramp got over 5, it felt like the breathing more natural. Night 2 I turned off the ramp, and it seemed a lot easier for me. But granted, my auto pap RX pressure is a 5-10 and the machine so far is saying my average pressure is a 9.

Have you tried a cervical collar? Some people have had success using it to hold their jaw in place. Also..try raising your minimum pressure to 7.

[Wulfman...]

I would suggest raising the minimum to 9 or 10.
From my experience, the "average" may be a little low and the 90/95% may be a little too high, so I try to split the difference.


Den

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[pontifex]

The last 2 nights have been terrible. waking up with really dry mouth (using the full face mask). i have it set to 4 humidity. 5 or higher tends to get water in the hose and mask...

I don't think the padacheek thing on the F10 is doing me any good either. seems to leak a lot more with it on.

[Pugsy]

Do you use a regular non heated hose or the ClimateLineAir heated hose with your AirSense machine?
If a non heated hose you might add some sort of hose cozy to help insulate the hose to maybe help prevent the condensation.
Or get the heated hose.

If you are using the heated hose then what temperature are you using? Remember warmer air will retain the moisture better than cooler air.

Dry mouth is a common complaint from full face mask users even those who are maxing out the humidity delivery. The humidifier simply can't always rehydrate the mouth that gets dried out from mouth breathing.
The oral cavity is larger and thus more area to try to add moisture to.
Add in the fact that some people's mouths just dry out easier than others even with maybe just a little mouth breathing.
You may not be able to fix the dry mouth even with maximum humidity. This is why so many people use products to aid in dealing with dry mouth like the Biotene products.
The mouth breathing is the big culprit. Are you mouth breathing because the nose is congested or just out of habit? If the nose is congested then maybe addressing the nasal congestion will decrease the need to mouth breathe.

[pontifex]

Do you use a regular non heated hose or the ClimateLineAir heated hose with your AirSense machine?
If a non heated hose you might add some sort of hose cozy to help insulate the hose to maybe help prevent the condensation.
Or get the heated hose.

If you are using the heated hose then what temperature are you using? Remember warmer air will retain the moisture better than cooler air.

Dry mouth is a common complaint from full face mask users even those who are maxing out the humidity delivery. The humidifier simply can't always rehydrate the mouth that gets dried out from mouth breathing.
The oral cavity is larger and thus more area to try to add moisture to.
Add in the fact that some people's mouths just dry out easier than others even with maybe just a little mouth breathing.
You may not be able to fix the dry mouth even with maximum humidity. This is why so many people use products to aid in dealing with dry mouth like the Biotene products.
The mouth breathing is the big culprit. Are you mouth breathing because the nose is congested or just out of habit? If the nose is congested then maybe addressing the nasal congestion will decrease the need to mouth breathe.

I have the heated climateair hose.


I think I tend to mouth breathe out of habit, although a lot of times my nose is congested throughout the year.
I have tried some kind of saliva producing OTC medication (forget the name) and all it did was make my saliva thicker...

[Pugsy]

If you have the heated hose you should be able to increase the hose air temp and the humidity and not have the condensation in the hose and mask unless you are sleeping in a really cold environment.
Again even maximum humidity may not be enough but it's at least worth trying to see if it helps even a little.

[pontifex]

If you have the heated hose you should be able to increase the hose air temp and the humidity and not have the condensation in the hose and mask unless you are sleeping in a really cold environment.
Again even maximum humidity may not be enough but it's at least worth trying to see if it helps even a little.

pretty sure i tried raising the humidity with the heated hose and still got water in the hose and mask. last night i set humidity to 5 and temp to 86 (highest) but I ended up not using it very long. just could not get it comfortable.
its weird because for like a week i used it all night and now i'm back to it being uncomfortable.

[gasp]

It's good that you are paying attention and trying hard. That same attention and trying hard might also contribute to not being able to relax fully into a restful state? Kind of a catch 22. Sooner or later you should get used to all the apparatus and relax more. This forum made all the difference for me having eventual success.

[pontifex]

I don't know what else to do right now. I'ts been easier to use the machine and mask but when I first go to bed, I still have this like anxiety when it's on before I fall asleep.

Also, I am getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night so i take off the mask and i find that I forget to put it back on when I return to bed.

[Okie bipap]

When you get up at night, leave the mask on. Disconnect the hose from the mask, then reconnect it when you go back to bed. If you leave the mask on, you will remember to reconnect it.

[Wulfman...]

I don't know what else to do right now. I'ts been easier to use the machine and mask but when I first go to bed, I still have this like anxiety when it's on before I fall asleep.

Also, I am getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night so i take off the mask and i find that I forget to put it back on when I return to bed.

Maybe you're going the wrong way with your humidity.
Too much warm humidity can cause more nasal congestion which will make more mouth-breathing necessary.
If you're not already doing nasal cleansing before bedtime (so you can breathe through your nose), try it.
Next, try turning your heated humidity down or off........including your heated hose settings.


Den

.

[pontifex]

I don't know what else to do right now. I'ts been easier to use the machine and mask but when I first go to bed, I still have this like anxiety when it's on before I fall asleep.

Also, I am getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night so i take off the mask and i find that I forget to put it back on when I return to bed.

Maybe you're going the wrong way with your humidity.
Too much warm humidity can cause more nasal congestion which will make more mouth-breathing necessary.
If you're not already doing nasal cleansing before bedtime (so you can breathe through your nose), try it.
Next, try turning your heated humidity down or off........including your heated hose settings.


Den

.

I tend to find that my mouth is super dry with the full mask. I have humidity maxed out and temp at 86 (max). maybe i need to lower temp?

[Wulfman...]

I don't know what else to do right now. I'ts been easier to use the machine and mask but when I first go to bed, I still have this like anxiety when it's on before I fall asleep.

Also, I am getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night so i take off the mask and i find that I forget to put it back on when I return to bed.

Maybe you're going the wrong way with your humidity.
Too much warm humidity can cause more nasal congestion which will make more mouth-breathing necessary.
If you're not already doing nasal cleansing before bedtime (so you can breathe through your nose), try it.
Next, try turning your heated humidity down or off........including your heated hose settings.


Den

.

I tend to find that my mouth is super dry with the full mask. I have humidity maxed out and temp at 86 (max). maybe i need to lower temp?

You won't know till you try. Some do better with more humidity and some do better with less. Part of the problem is that to get MORE humidity in the air we breathe also means it needs more heat to accomplish that. (Warm air holds more moisture than cool air).
The example I use is........Is it easier to breathe standing under a hot shower or out on the porch on a cool evening after a shower of rain?
Depending on where one lives and the relative humidity (in the bedroom), if the relative humidity is low, it's typically going to pickup more moisture as it "passes over" the water. I use "passover" humidity and like my air on the cooler side. I do sleep in a cool bedroom, so I pull the hose under the covers next to me to warm it up a bit.

Another "trick" is to train your tongue to stick to the roof of your mouth. Think of sucking on a lemon drop. That should help seal off the mouth to allow better nasal breathing and less mouth breathing.


Den

.

[pontifex]

I still don't feel any difference when I wake up with using the machine.

I have got more used to the full face mask but it has been bothering my with riding up and bothering my eyes. I got a different full face mask, one with a forehead piece that is supposed to help prevent it from riding up i guess, but i'm still having the same issue, plus this makes an audible noise where the small air holes are on the front of the mask.

I don't know what else to try. The place I am getting the masks from only has a very limited amount of masks and I think I tried all of the full face masks now (at least in the office) anyway. some just leaked too bad when we tested them at the office or were just too uncomfortable.

I still have my nasal pillows and tried to go back to them but it just makes me feel like I can't breathe right.