Mouth Breathing?

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
lindsayschach
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Mouth Breathing?

Post by lindsayschach » Fri Oct 24, 2014 4:27 pm

I'm new here. I hope you can see my equipment. I read somewhere that if you have nasal pillows and dry mouth, you need a full face mask because you are mouth-breathing.

My mouth gets so dry that my cheeks stick to my teeth. Extremely dry. Should I just go ahead and get a full face mask, or is there something else I can look at in the data (Large Leak?) that would confirm that I am breathing through my mouth?

Also, my AHI is about 7 over the past 30 days. It was 11 in the sleep study, but I only slept for two hours. So I don't know how accurate that was. I have had a couple of people tell me that, before getting my CPAP machine, I would wake up choking and thrash around. The study also showed that my blood oxygen went down to 87% during one episode.

Shouldn't the machine be able to get my AHI lower than 7?

Thanks so much,

Lindsay

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Julie
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Re: Mouth Breathing?

Post by Julie » Fri Oct 24, 2014 5:18 pm

Those people who've seen you sleep and comment on you're not breathing - can they also confirm that you're mouth breathing (it may only be a thin stream thru not-very-open lips, not necessarily a big wide thing.

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Sir NoddinOff
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Re: Mouth Breathing?

Post by Sir NoddinOff » Fri Oct 24, 2014 5:29 pm

lindsayschach wrote:I'm new here. I hope you can see my equipment. I read somewhere that if you have nasal pillows and dry mouth, you need a full face mask because you are mouth-breathing.

My mouth gets so dry that my cheeks stick to my teeth. Extremely dry. Should I just go ahead and get a full face mask, or is there something else I can look at in the data (Large Leak?) that would confirm that I am breathing through my mouth?

Also, my AHI is about 7 over the past 30 days. It was 11 in the sleep study, but I only slept for two hours. So I don't know how accurate that was. I have had a couple of people tell me that, before getting my CPAP machine, I would wake up choking and thrash around. The study also showed that my blood oxygen went down to 87% during one episode.

Shouldn't the machine be able to get my AHI lower than 7?

Thanks so much,

Lindsay
Ouch, that dry mouth situation sounds uncomfortable. Sometimes you can train yourself to keep your lips closed... I did that a few years ago but sadly it didn't last once I went to ASV therapy. If you're willing to try taping your lips, that would be the first thing to try:
Put the phrase 'mouth taping' in CPAPtalk's search window in the upper left and you will see a lot of various posts, both pro and con, mostly because mouth breathing is a very common problem.

If the concept of mouth taping doesn't sound appealing to you, definitely try a full face mask. I like the new ResMed AirFit F10, but full face masks are always a very individual thing and sometimes it takes months to find the right one.

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Re: Mouth Breathing?

Post by AEmedic » Fri Oct 24, 2014 5:32 pm

I'm trying to teach myself to use nasal pillows because I have always (prior to therapy) been a mouth breather.

When my mouth opens the air almost howls out my mouth and it wakes me up. It is really noisy, at least to me...

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JDS74
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Re: Mouth Breathing?

Post by JDS74 » Fri Oct 24, 2014 5:33 pm

Lindsay,
It would be helpful if you would review your selection of cpap machine. Your cpap doesn't show up and that can occur if you select an older model. You likely have a 60 series machine and have selected a similar 50 series machine which no longer shows up in the equipment display.

If you can, could you ask your doctor for a couple of things?
1) A copy of your sleep study / titration study as they will have very useful information.
2) A copy of your prescription.

Mouth breathing is a significant cause of dry mouth. You can start with a soft cervical collar which will help with jaw drop.
Next step is a chin strap for more control.
The switching to a full face mask with the collar will help even more.

Do check the humidity level if you switch to FFM. It will require a somewhat higher level.

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Re: Mouth Breathing?

Post by LSAT » Fri Oct 24, 2014 6:07 pm

lindsayschach wrote:I'm new here. I hope you can see my equipment. I read somewhere that if you have nasal pillows and dry mouth, you need a full face mask because you are mouth-breathing.

My mouth gets so dry that my cheeks stick to my teeth. Extremely dry. Should I just go ahead and get a full face mask, or is there something else I can look at in the data (Large Leak?) that would confirm that I am breathing through my mouth?

Also, my AHI is about 7 over the past 30 days. It was 11 in the sleep study, but I only slept for two hours. So I don't know how accurate that was. I have had a couple of people tell me that, before getting my CPAP machine, I would wake up choking and thrash around. The study also showed that my blood oxygen went down to 87% during one episode.

Shouldn't the machine be able to get my AHI lower than 7?

Thanks so much,

Lindsay
Most people that have been on CPAP for a while average an AHI well under 5.

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Re: Mouth Breathing?

Post by Pugsy » Fri Oct 24, 2014 6:07 pm

Get the software (links in my signature) and let's see just exactly what the leak graphs are showing as well as exactly what is making up that AHI...maybe a bunch of clear airway events are being flagged when you might be asleep...maybe therapy for the OSA isn't optimal. Need more information for sure
Speaking from personal experience...dry mouth (and really bad dry mouth) can happen even if mouth breathing episodes aren't all that prolonged.

Using a full face mask won't necessarily fix the dry mouth either. ...but it does hopefully prevent loss of therapy pressure out the mouth.

Sometimes full face masks are needed if a person is mouth breathing in large quantities for prolonged periods of time and they can't get the mouth to stay shut but I usually suggest at least evaluating the leaks first unless someone just wants to try a full face mask...but there's no guarantee that a full face mask will fix dry mouth if that's the reason it is used.
We have lots of full face mask users here on the forum who complain about dry mouth and have to try other measures to reduce the dryness.

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Re: Mouth Breathing?

Post by Wulfman... » Fri Oct 24, 2014 9:58 pm

lindsayschach wrote:I'm new here. I hope you can see my equipment. I read somewhere that if you have nasal pillows and dry mouth, you need a full face mask because you are mouth-breathing.

My mouth gets so dry that my cheeks stick to my teeth. Extremely dry. Should I just go ahead and get a full face mask, or is there something else I can look at in the data (Large Leak?) that would confirm that I am breathing through my mouth?

Also, my AHI is about 7 over the past 30 days. It was 11 in the sleep study, but I only slept for two hours. So I don't know how accurate that was. I have had a couple of people tell me that, before getting my CPAP machine, I would wake up choking and thrash around. The study also showed that my blood oxygen went down to 87% during one episode.

Shouldn't the machine be able to get my AHI lower than 7?

Thanks so much,

Lindsay
Sure. But not if you're losing much of your therapy air out your mouth while you're sleeping. And, that's what your description points to. Doing nasal cleansing before bedtime should help some. If you're using a high humidifier setting, try turning it down or off. Too much warm, humid air can contribute to nasal congestion. Try to train your tongue to stick to the roof of your mouth while you sleep.......tape your mouth shut or get a full face mask. Along the lines of what Pugsy said, full face masks won't necessarily prevent mouth breathing or dry mouth, but the should prevent the loss of therapy air.


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Re: Mouth Breathing?

Post by Muse-Inc » Fri Oct 24, 2014 10:52 pm

Check out the Innomed/RespCare Hybrid mas. Has pillows and an oral cushion (covers mouth) so you can breathe through nose or mouth without losing therapy air. Comes with 3 sizes of pillows and 3 sizes of oral cushions. Pretty comfortable too. Our host sells it as well as return insurance in case it doesn't work out.

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Re: Mouth Breathing?

Post by tan » Sat Oct 25, 2014 10:56 am

I used to have a mask covering my nose only, but often woke up with air escaping through my mouth. I have a full mask now but it doesn't help with dry mouth at all. Just prevents air loss. But I have had a bad nasal congestion, my breathing through the mouth seems a natural work-around in my case. Even if I wake up at night still wanting to sleep but unable to for a long hours due to nasal congestion and if I am lucky to fall asleep in the morning for just half an hour, I will feel refreshed but with a trade-off of my mouth being like a desert, despite my using a maximum humidity.

If you don't have problems with your nose, mouth-taping could work. It didn't for me though

lindsayschach
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Re: Mouth Breathing?

Post by lindsayschach » Sat Oct 25, 2014 5:35 pm

I tried taping my mouth shut last night, and dry mouth was no more.

Maybe a coincidence, but my AHI was 3.

Thanks

Lindsay

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Re: Mouth Breathing?

Post by Wulfman... » Sat Oct 25, 2014 5:40 pm

lindsayschach wrote:I tried taping my mouth shut last night, and dry mouth was no more.

Maybe a coincidence, but my AHI was 3.

Thanks

Lindsay
Well, there ya go!


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lindsayschach
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Re: Mouth Breathing?

Post by lindsayschach » Sat Oct 25, 2014 5:46 pm

JDS74 --- my manual says "REMstar Pro C-Flex+" That's all. How can I tell if it's a 60 series?

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Julie
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Re: Mouth Breathing?

Post by Julie » Sat Oct 25, 2014 5:47 pm

Remove either the humidifier or at least the water in it... then turn the machine over and look for model #'s, often beginning with Ref. or something similar.

lindsayschach
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Re: Mouth Breathing?

Post by lindsayschach » Sat Oct 25, 2014 5:52 pm

okay, on the bottom it says "REMstar Auto, DOM, REF 560P. So what is it?

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