Mouth breathing

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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Joedaddi
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Re: Mouth breathing

Post by Joedaddi » Fri Jul 25, 2014 12:59 pm

Well that sucks, especially considering I told them to give me top of line best equipment for my situation. My insurance covers 80% of DME costs so that's not an issue. I'm waiting for a call back from the Dr.s office to explain it to me. I think I'll stop by there before they close instead. Thanks!

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palerider
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Re: Mouth breathing

Post by palerider » Fri Jul 25, 2014 1:09 pm

Joedaddi wrote:Well that sucks, especially considering I told them to give me top of line best equipment for my situation. My insurance covers 80% of DME costs so that's not an issue. I'm waiting for a call back from the Dr.s office to explain it to me. I think I'll stop by there before they close instead. Thanks!
take your angry face, and force choke 'em

also, welcome to the wonderful world of what i've been told is typical DME behavior.

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Joedaddi
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Re: Mouth breathing

Post by Joedaddi » Fri Jul 25, 2014 1:25 pm

I'm dealing directly with my Dr. on this. I guess they misunderstood me when I was in the office discussing this. They said the upgrade would cost me another $50, really??? I'm going to see them on Monday and get fitted for a FFM and get an autoset unit. Although, I get the feeling they are going to try and talk me out of it. Not sure why they would do that. Anyway, I'm a former Marine and not shy in expressing my opinion.

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Sheriff Buford
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Re: Mouth breathing

Post by Sheriff Buford » Fri Jul 25, 2014 1:48 pm

Joedaddi wrote:Although, I get the feeling they are going to try and talk me out of it.
They'll try to talk you outta' of it because the Escape provides them the most profit. They have tried this with a lot of unsuspecting folks here. Tell them you want the "top of the line" and the Escape is not even close. The Autoset will allow you to operated in the cpap mode (straight air) or the Autoset mode. The Autoset mode allows you to set the air pressure at two levels. The lower pressure is set for comfort. When the machine suspects an apnea event, it'll ramp up high enough (but no higher than the higher pressure setting) to treat the event, then ramp down to the comfortable (lower) pressure setting. But most of all, you want the autoset because it provides you DATA. The Escape (which you have) does not provide data. Amongst a bunch of other data, the autoset will tell you leak rates, AHI and number a different types of apneas you had during the night. Spend some time on this site and you will learn what the data means and how to use it. As a retired law enforcement officer, just say the word and I'll go with you and bring a can of "whipp-ass" with me. Been wanting to jump into something since...

Sheriff

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Joedaddi
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Re: Mouth breathing

Post by Joedaddi » Fri Jul 25, 2014 2:13 pm

I work for a hospital so I know the billing drill. In any case, when I tell them top of the line, and they give me crap, it pisses me off. I should be ok on my own, but, if I need assistance I'll let you know when the second visit is....

volley13
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Re: Mouth breathing

Post by volley13 » Fri Jul 25, 2014 3:02 pm

Hey Joedaddi,

Just found and joined the group today. I'm a new cpap user as of March 2014, and I love it…only because I get good sleep now, and no longer keep the wife awake. I have a Philips Remstar Auto A-Flex, and a Respironics System 1 heated humidifier.

I didn't know what Aerophagia was, so I googled it, and sleeporders.about.com gave a good overview. I noticed it also said this: "If aerophagia occurs in the setting of CPAP use, this can be corrected by making some changes to your CPAP pressure setting. In most cases, the pressure is too high and it must be reduced. It may also be necessary to change you to a different type of treatment, such as bilevel. If you have concerns about experiencing aerophagia, start by speaking with your sleep doctor." Hopefully, this might help you.

I've had a few instances of waking up with dry mouth, but that's usually if I've had a couple of cocktails or wine a late in the evening

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Joedaddi
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Re: Mouth breathing

Post by Joedaddi » Fri Jul 25, 2014 4:27 pm

Well, I have a martini every night ;^). However, rarely did I wake up with a dry mouth prior to the mask. Thanks for the info!

Stevoreno_55
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Re: Mouth breathing

Post by Stevoreno_55 » Fri Jul 25, 2014 5:30 pm

Joedaddi wrote:
palerider wrote:
JDS74 wrote:Is the S9 Elite one of the bricks - no data but compliance hours?
If so, return it and get a full data machine.
if you don't know, then why bring it up?

and, no, it's the escape models that should be avoided.
What's the issue with the Escape model? That's actually what I ahve and was told that it is the latest and greatest they have.
If you received a ResMed Escape you received a brick; the ResMed S9 Elite or the Autoset are both fully data capable machines. Sorry to hear you received an Escape; a nice brick from ResMed.

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ShelaghDB
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Re: Mouth breathing

Post by ShelaghDB » Sun Jul 27, 2014 4:35 am

They'll try to talk you outta' of it because the Escape provides them the most profit. They have tried this with a lot of unsuspecting folks here. Tell them you want the "top of the line" and the Escape is not even close.
Granted its different here in Canada then the US but in my case, I asked the doctor for the AutoSet before I got the prescription and in my case my insurance pays for 80% of the machine and 100% of my accessories BUT the prick not only refused to give it to me, although I have severe sleep apnea but when I asked what the problem was and that I was going to pay the difference anyhow, he had the nerve to write on my prescription that if i wanted the auto set i would have to pay 100% for it as i did not need it.........and continued to tell me that the ESCAPE was the best one. He went as far as to say all the rumours of the AutoSet being better were false.

Thats how far some will go...needless to say he lost 2 patients that day but I have never bothered to go back to a doctor on any of it and just found out everything here on this site. Although that takes a lot of time if you only have about 30 min a day to read the posts

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Semily
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Re: Mouth breathing

Post by Semily » Sun Jul 27, 2014 7:55 am

Hey, so I'm a newbie too, just finished night 6 on my CPAP. I have a full face mask and fairly low pressure - 7. I have kind of a stupid related question. As long as I'm using a full face mask, does it matter if I breathe through my mouth? Does it interfere with the effectiveness of treatment?

Ms Piggy
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Re: Mouth breathing

Post by Ms Piggy » Sun Jul 27, 2014 8:18 am

Does no-one tape their mouth any more? I still do, as I dislike full face masks I only use nasal
pillows so I make up and use light paper tapes to size to just cover over my lips to make sure my
mouth stays closed.

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palerider
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Re: Mouth breathing

Post by palerider » Sun Jul 27, 2014 12:41 pm

Semily wrote: As long as I'm using a full face mask, does it matter if I breathe through my mouth? Does it interfere with the effectiveness of treatment?
it doesn't affect the effectiveness of treatment if you breath through your mouth when you have a ffm, though it may lead to a dry mouth. (keeping a water glass with a straw handy works for some people)

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Semily
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Re: Mouth breathing

Post by Semily » Sun Jul 27, 2014 12:55 pm

palerider wrote:it doesn't affect the effectiveness of treatment if you breath through your mouth when you have a ffm, though it may lead to a dry mouth. (keeping a water glass with a straw handy works for some people)
Thank you!

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Joedaddi
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Re: Mouth breathing

Post by Joedaddi » Thu Aug 14, 2014 4:17 pm

I upgraded my machine and got the FFM. I also had them lower my setting to an 8. Funny they started me at a 17 and then said I was ok at an 8 if I didn't like the 17, huh???

So, I've been using it for a few weeks now and I'm waking up 4 or 5 times a night with dry mouth. Also, I think I'm still getting the aerophagia. I've been feeling bloated and feel constipated or have gas pains regularly ever since I started using the machine. Any advise??

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jilliansue
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Re: Mouth breathing

Post by jilliansue » Thu Aug 14, 2014 4:45 pm

I, too, am a mouth breather. I first got a chinstrap and it only helped so much. I had to experiment with different tightnesses and angles....it also slipped on my hair. I tried FFMs and never could find one that fit comfortably and did not leak.

Four years into it, and my current set up is an Activa LT nasal mask, and I use a PapCap, but I do not use the chinstrap that comes with it, I substitute another one, which has wider fabric at the chin, so it kind of cups my chin. It makes it easier to stay in place and to adjust the angle of it. And I can pull part of the fabric over my lips.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/pursle ... otton.html

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/respir ... white.html


I have found that keeping the jaw up and the lips closed can be addressed separately, and for me, the jaw staying up seems to be my biggest issue with leaks. I use one, small, piece of tape diagonnally across my closed lips, and then I put on the cap/chinstrap and then the mask. Using the piece of tape seems to allow me to have the chinstrap looser. It is actually pretty comfortable and my leak rate is generally quite good.

http://www.nexcare.com/wps/portal/3M/en ... 326&rt=rud

For me, the answer has not been a FFM, and I have never been able to train myself to keep my mouth closed enough without any help, although I wish I could and may keep trying.

The moral of the story is that there are many different tweaks and options one can try. Keep reading and posting here and keep trying things.

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