dental cream/fixadent on mouth works better than tape for me

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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rdjw
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Post by rdjw » Thu May 04, 2006 9:46 am

Wow. What a hoot! Timing is everthing and as usual, mine stinks.

I taped last night for the very first time. I have been sleeping very VERY poorly, and decided that I was going to keel over if I did not get rested. So I tried a quadruple whammy. I sprayed my nose to be sure it was clear, took a prescription sleeping pill, (which I had stopped 2 weeks ago), some Benadryl, and dug out a bag of ancient medical tape remnants that I inherited from my Mom's frequent hospitalizations. Of the many types, I picked th 3M Transpore, 1", because it look fairly lightweight. I applied a very tiny amount of lotion to my lower face and dried it thoroughly, put a light coat of chapstick on lips, inverted lips and slapped on a piece. I am NOT using a chin strap. I figured that if it came loose I wouldn't have lost much, and having heard so many tape burn and adhesive residue horror stories, I really wanted to start out easy. It was easy to remove, and left no residue, but did hold through the night.

Well, golly! I slept better than I have in years. First thing this AM I went out to the web an ordered a box of 12 rolls of this stuff (Total $27.77 - let me know if you want to know the site I ordered from). The tape I used was very old, and the adhesive may have degraded, so I will report on what the new stuff does.

And then, I saw this thread on Fixodent! What a scream! I'm going to try it as well, since taping is a bit scary due to emesis aspiration dangers. But I haven't "fed the fish" in many years, so I decided that this was an acceptable risk.

Cheers
Robin[/img]

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Post by Sleepless on LI » Thu May 04, 2006 10:57 am

First off, great work, Woozle. Amazing how desperation breeds creativity.

Now, Goofproof mentioned it briefly, but would it hurt to use on the mask itself, like the Marine Glue we've been testing? Is there any ingredient in the Fixodent that would hurt the mask seal? I'm almost game to try it tonight on an old "unfriendly" mask that I don't like as I have a couple of them hanging around . Any thoughts?

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Post by Wulfman » Thu May 04, 2006 11:11 am

Sleepless on LI wrote: Any thoughts?

Go for it, Lori!

Best wishes,

Den
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Amigo
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RE: fixodent and forget it

Post by Amigo » Thu May 04, 2006 1:22 pm

Sleepless on LI wrote:First off, great work, Woozle. Amazing how desperation breeds creativity.

Now, Goofproof mentioned it briefly, but would it hurt to use on the mask itself, like the Marine Glue we've been testing? Is there any ingredient in the Fixodent that would hurt the mask seal? I'm almost game to try it tonight on an old "unfriendly" mask that I don't like as I have a couple of them hanging around . Any thoughts?
Lori, on page one of this thread, Guest posted a list of Fixodent ingredients, two of which are petrolatum and mineral oil. Given all the concerns about petrolatum and seal deterioration you may want to just put it on your lips.

It also sounds as though some of those ingredients might be irritating to the more delicate skin of your face.

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Post by Sleepless on LI » Thu May 04, 2006 1:31 pm

Thanks, Amigo. I guess I won't put that on the old shopping list, then, if not for anything other than mouth breathing. I appreciate the heads-up!

Sorry, Den. Looks like I won't be using it on the mask after all.
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Post by TerryB » Fri May 05, 2006 11:44 am

I was hoping to see some more reports on this to help me make up my mind to give it a whirl. Perhaps I am not alone in the waiting mode.

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Snoozin' Bluezzz
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Post by Snoozin' Bluezzz » Fri May 05, 2006 11:48 am

I tried this last night. Needs some tweaking on my part if I am going to do it consistently.

Too much goo! I was up 25 minutes later washing, rubbing and spitting it all out and plastering the trusty 2" Durapore tape on my puss.

I did what they recommended, using only a small amount but it wasn't small enough. The stuff isn't cheap either. $5.89 at my local drugstore. I'll see if I can figure it out as a fallback to when tape is just intolerable (not yet) but, for me, it's not ready for primetime.

SB

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ThStoddart
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Post by ThStoddart » Fri May 05, 2006 12:13 pm

Snoozin' Bluezzz wrote:I tried this last night. Needs some tweaking on my part if I am going to do it consistently.

Too much goo! I was up 25 minutes later washing, rubbing and spitting it all out and plastering the trusty 2" Durapore tape on my puss.

SB
I had the same result; tried two nights in a row, couldn't get it to work well (i.e., dry to a good seal). Plus I had some end up on my tongue or on my teeth and gums, which I didn't like. I understand that some moisture or water is necessary for the seal to be activated, but I just couldn't get it to work. I did use the "Fixodent Free" version, without the flavor and smell. Maybe that version doesn't work as well..

But tonight I'm going to test the "Super PoliGrip Comfort Seal Strips." I'm hoping those will be easier to work with than the goo. Might work, might not, but I'll report back how it goes.

Stodd


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Snoozin' Bluezzz
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Post by Snoozin' Bluezzz » Fri May 05, 2006 1:54 pm

Yeah, I used exactly the same stuff with exactly the same result. Stuff on the end of my tongue and behind my teeth. I didn't like it either. It did stick, pretty good actually, just too much goo!

SB

Jimm
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Post by Jimm » Fri May 05, 2006 2:43 pm

I tried this last night also. It acctually worked quite well. I have a full beard and mustache so I've never tried taping and I've had what felt like light mouth leaks since the beginning of my xpap therapy. Anyway, I used the Walgreen's generic version of fixodent and it sealed my lips together all night. I didn't use a lot, maybe squeezed out about an inch onto my lower lip and spread it around a little with my finger. I plan to try this a few more nights to see if it makes any difference in how I feel the next day. The Encore Pro numbers seem pretty much the same as before.


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Post by Goofproof » Fri May 05, 2006 2:49 pm

[quote="Sleepless on LI"]First off, great work, Woozle. Amazing how desperation breeds creativity.

Now, Goofproof mentioned it briefly, but would it hurt to use on the mask itself, like the Marine Glue we've been testing? Is there any ingredient in the Fixodent that would hurt the mask seal? I'm almost game to try it tonight on an old "unfriendly" mask that I don't like as I have a couple of them hanging around . Any thoughts?

Use data to optimize your xPAP treatment!

"The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease." Voltaire

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Post by Ellen » Fri May 05, 2006 3:30 pm

Yipes!! I tried the "Fixodent and Forget It" route, as I am the one with the serious sensitivities to ALL tape adhesives - Full face mask was a bust so mouth taping has been required to make CPAP work. After month #1 my tape burn is SO bad I cannot go outside the house if the sun is shining.

So, of course, I just couldn't wait to do Fixodent. Within 1st 30 minutes of application, I was amazed at how well it worked. Went peacefully to sleep only to wake in appx 4 hours later and it was like the Fixodent had "broken down" and was this horrible "slimy, but sticks to everything" consistency. I tried to keep nasal mask on and go back to sleep, but Fixodent was started to slide into mouth in little gobs. I finally realized the danger of sucking a "gob" into my lungs and got out of bed and spent 30 minutes trying to clean the stuff up enough to go back to bed.

But, as with every mask, every pressure, etc. - every person is different and what works for one doesn't always work for the next person so I applaud the person who first brought this idea to the forum and I am very glad for those it has helped.....................wish I was one of them!!


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Post by NightHawkeye » Fri May 05, 2006 3:49 pm

Ellen wrote:But, as with every mask, every pressure, etc. - every person is different and what works for one doesn't always work for the next person so I applaud the person who first brought this idea to the forum and I am very glad for those it has helped.....................wish I was one of them!!
Hmm . . ., I have a suspicion that in the not so distant future somebody will start doing a comparison of the different denture creams and conclude that some are better suited to xPAP users than others. Stay tuned . . .

Regards,
Bill

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Post by Sleepless in St. Louis » Fri May 05, 2006 4:05 pm

I can't believe that I'm sitting here on a beautiful St. Louis afternoon (we don't get all that many of these) with my lips glued shut with generic fixodent (I'm using the WalMart store brand). I'm basically trying a "dry run" to see if there is any chance at all thta this could work. Better to try it now than waking up in the middle of the night with gooey air shooting out of my gooey lips. It's been on about 10 min. and so far so good. If it holds another half an hour I'm going to call it a qualified success and then go out and chat up my new single neighbor who is just as cute as could be. Wish me good luck, but I hope I get all the stuff off of my lips and teeth. How could I tell her that I'm doing a test drive with Fixodent. She'll think I'm kinky or something...


Tim

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Post by Sleepless on LI » Fri May 05, 2006 4:38 pm

Goofproof wrote:I was joking, I just thought would be nice to be able to do away with the straps. Jim I don't think it would be a good idea.
GP,

I just meant you were the only one who even mentioned using it on a mask. Hey, I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I'm not THAT dumb...I really isn't.
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