Full Face vs. Nasal Pillows? Mouth Breather

First time poster, but reader for a month...

I have been very successful in wearing my ResMed P-10 nasal pillow mask. I wear a chin strap to help me keep my mouth closed. So far, I am good for 28 straight days of compliance and AHI's averaging 2.6 or so

I am so happy with my success that I have found other friends who have told me that they were prescribed CPAP but have not been successful, and I have tried to help encourage them. Of course, I don't want to pretend to be an expert in such a short time, but I thought encouragement was in order and would be helpful to them.

One friend was given a Full Face mask and was turned off by it (frankly I would have been also and was fortunate that my Doctor and DME both suggested the nasal pillows). I was wondering if I should suggest to my friend to try the P-10 as well? He claims to be a "mouth breather" and that was why he says that he was given the Full Face mask.

What do you think?

Thanks, CPAPER Paul

Impossible to say for another person, let alone one who we have no real info about... but if he is mouth breathing, a nasal mask may not be the best choice and just because one FF mask did not agree with him, there's no reason to think others wouldn't... he needs to try them for himself.

Thanks Julie,

I guess you are right. I will encourage them to try again and let them work with their Doctor....

Paul

Paul,

If your friend can comfortably breathe through his nose during the day, he may not necessarily be a mouth breather. And even if he has some difficulty, he might find the nasal pillows opening up his sinuses.

The P10 might be worth trying.

49er

PS - This thread also might be helpful.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=100464&hilit=tongue ... f+of+mouth

Paul
Is your friends problem with the FFM an issue with claustrophobia? If so, if they can adapt to a nasal mask, that wiil be good.

But, if they are truly a mouth breather, then it is possible that the Oracle mask is the solution.

Check my post on my experiences with this mask and see if that might e something you would pass on to your friend.
It might be helpful to them if they, too, registered here and sought advice on their own issues.

Great suggestions.... I think the claustrophobia was the issue, it certainly was for me. That's what prompted me to try the nasal pillows and for me to suggest them to him. I guess the good news is that there are lots of alternatives. Right now he is taking a sleeping pill and thinks he is solving his sleep problem. Obviously he is in denial.

Just trying to help him.

Thanks for all your help,

Paul

I thought I was a mouth breather too. Come to find out the bulk of my mouth breathing at night was me gasping for air from the apnea events. Fixed the apnea events and that fixed the mouth breathing.
It all depends on why someone mouth breaths...physical need from nasal congestion that can't be cleared up so person can't breathe through there nose or out of habit and slack jaw causing mouth to drop open.

If your friend can normally breathe through his nose just fine...nasal pillow mask is a good option to consider.
Even if he did have a little mouth opening with nasal pillow mask....it's still better than not using the machine. Not all mouth breathing means that all the therapy is wasted anyway. It all depends on how much mouth breathing and how long it lasts.

CPAPER Paul wrote:First time poster, but reader for a month...

I have been very successful in wearing my ResMed P-10 nasal pillow mask. I wear a chin strap to help me keep my mouth closed. So far, I am good for 28 straight days of compliance and AHI's averaging 2.6 or so

I am so happy with my success that I have found other friends who have told me that they were prescribed CPAP but have not been successful, and I have tried to help encourage them. Of course, I don't want to pretend to be an expert in such a short time, but I thought encouragement was in order and would be helpful to them.

One friend was given a Full Face mask and was turned off by it (frankly I would have been also and was fortunate that my Doctor and DME both suggested the nasal pillows). I was wondering if I should suggest to my friend to try the P-10 as well? He claims to be a "mouth breather" and that was why he says that he was given the Full Face mask.

What do you think?

Thanks, CPAPER Paul

I agree with you. I went through 3 different mask before resorting to the nasal pillow style. My issues was the mask was irritating the hell out of my skin. Since going to the nasal pillow I have been Ok but as you wear a chin strap otherwise I wake up in the middle of the night feeling like I just ate a dozen green persimmons. I have a low leak rate also with the chin strap. (pressure is 6). I have considered trying a full face but for whatever reason, my skin can't take the abrasive mask. (Before anyone slams me for not trying the liners, I have.)

A little off topic, I tried sleep with just the chin strap a couple of nights ago and recorded with my nonin 2500A and Profox software. What's surprising is I went for 4 hours without any desat. At 4AM I loosed the chin strap and had 20 desats between 4AM and 7:AM. So my question is, if you keep your mouth closed, can you still have obstructions? I don't understand how the throat, uvula and all that stuff plays into this. Anyone know?

palerider wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gie2dhqP2c

That's excellent, thanks!

i thought for sure i'd be a mouth breather. i breathed all day with my mouth and not my nose. when the sleep technician said i'd breathe through my nose when i was asleep i didn't believe her. but sure enough, i did. so try the small before the full face

I like the nasal MASK better than the nasal pillow.
It doesn't stream air directly into your nose and it allows excess pumped air to escape and give you a more open feeling.
I don't like the FULL face mask at all. I had more leakage and farting and squealing with the full face.
The nasal MASK fixed my situation.

CPAPER Paul wrote:First time poster, but reader for a month...

I have been very successful in wearing my ResMed P-10 nasal pillow mask. I wear a chin strap to help me keep my mouth closed. So far, I am good for 28 straight days of compliance and AHI's averaging 2.6 or so

I am so happy with my success that I have found other friends who have told me that they were prescribed CPAP but have not been successful, and I have tried to help encourage them. Of course, I don't want to pretend to be an expert in such a short time, but I thought encouragement was in order and would be helpful to them.

One friend was given a Full Face mask and was turned off by it (frankly I would have been also and was fortunate that my Doctor and DME both suggested the nasal pillows). I was wondering if I should suggest to my friend to try the P-10 as well? He claims to be a "mouth breather" and that was why he says that he was given the Full Face mask.

What do you think?

Thanks, CPAPER Paul

I suggest having you do what the sleep disorder clinic techs at the V.A. did for me.

Sit quietly with your mouth and eyes closed and relax and breathe normally through your nose.
Just sit for 5 minutes.
At the end of 5 minutes honestly evaluate if at any time during the 5 minutes you any unbearable urge to breathe through your mouth?
Was it painful or uncomfortable to breathe through your nose?
If the answers are no, then you are probably not a "mouth breather" and the open mouth breathing during sleep is an *effect* of the apnea and will be mitigated by the XPAP.

Just sharing my personal experience, as I thought I was a "mouth breather" and after that little "test" they issued me a Airfit P10 nasal mask and I like it a LOT more than the alternative mouth and nose mask!

Sitting still is very different from actively moving around or sleeping.

Sitting still, I can breathe through my nose with occasional openings of my mouth. Walking around, my mouth needs to be open. And lying down changes everything. On rare occasions, I can lay down with my mouth closed, but usually I feel like I am suffocating. My breathing is always worse when lying down. If I have a cold or asthma problem, I have to sleep sitting up or I can't breathe, even with my mouth open.

Sleepy Veteran wrote: I suggest having you do what the sleep disorder clinic techs at the VA did for me.

Sit quietly with your mouth and eyes closed and relax and breathe normally through your nose.
Just sit for 5 minutes.
At the end of 5 minutes honestly evaluate if at any time during the 5 minutes you any unbearable urge to breathe through your mouth?
Was it painful or uncomfortable to breathe through your nose?
If the answers are no, then you are probably not a "mouth breather" and the open mouth breathing during sleep is an *effect* of the apnea and will be mitigated by the XPAP.

Just sharing my personal experience, as I thought I was a "mouth breather" and after that little "test" they issued me a Airfit P10 nasal mask and I like it a LOT more than the alternative mouth and nose mask!

A very good exercise.
So you can hear your breathing place one finger in each ear during this exercise.

We tend to open our mouths when we are congested or don't feel we are getting enuff air without even thinking about it; so this exercise helps to sort that out.

Also try to be conscious of any mouth breathing during the waking hours as it will become habit if you can breath thru your nose when awake.