NEW USER QUESTION

[A1KIWI]

I HAVE BEEN USING MY CPAP MACHINE NOW FOR 3 WEEKS. IT HAS HEATED HUMIDIFIER AND I AM USING A NASAL MASK. I'M ON THE LOWEST PRESSURE SETTING PER DOCTOR AND HAVE RAMP UP

PROBLEM IS THAT I AM WAKING UP EVERY 2 HRS. WITH DRY MOUTH. I ALSO NOTE THAT I HAVE A DRY COUGH. TRIED DIFFERENTS SETTINGS ON HEAT, BUT NOTHING HELPS.

I'M THINKING THIS IS DUE TO ME LEAKING THROUGH MY MOUTH.

WITH THE NASAL MASK, I HATE THE FEEL OF JUST HAVING MY NOSE BEING COVERED (EVERYONE PROBABLY DOES TOO) BUT I'M MANAGING. IF I GO TO A FULL MASK I'M AFRAID IT WILL BE MORE IRRITATING. I'M SURE INSURANCE WILL GET A NEW MASK, BUT WHAT TYPE DO SOME OF YOU RECOMMEND THAT WORK WELL FOR YOU. I HAVE SEEN SO MANY ADVERTISED.

ALSO, I HAVE SEEN POSTING ABOUT SOFTWARE THAT CAN BE USED WITH CPAP MACHINE FOR DATA ON NIGHTLY SLEEP PATTERN. WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFO ON THIS. THE LADY THAT SET THE MACHINE UP GAVE VERY LITTLE INFO. OTHER THAT BASIC HERE YOU GO.

[RestInSeattle]

Dry mouth and cough every 2 hours? Yep, sounds like a mouth leak.

I had this problem early on in my treatment, but with time, I learned the reflex keep my mouth closed during treatment.

There's a couple ways to deal with this:

1. Full Face mask - doesn't train you to use your nasal passages only and are prone to leaks around the mask as there's more surface area to seal.

2. Chin strap, important to get the quality ones with the chin cup and head gear to keep it from sliding off the chin and imparing the airway. Originally they gave me one that was like an ace bandage, but it'd slide off and choke me. The last set has a chin cup and better head gear so it doesn't slide off.

3. Seal the mouth with tape. Yep, some do this. Duct tape isn't a good idea as you'll react to the glue used with that tape and it'll also perform the equivalent of waxing your face everytim you tear it off

If you search, you'll find more details on the above methods. I'm not familiar with FF masks, but ResMed makes an Ultra Mirage FF that is highly regarded.

Personally I used the chinstrap method and have found that over time, I didn't need to use the strap any longer. I do have it in case I become congested or have other problems that may make me prone to mouth leaks.

If you don't go with a full face mask, I'm using the ResMed Mirage Swift which is a nasal pillows setup that interfaces directly to the nares on my nose (nostrils) and provides a very comfortable seal and is pretty light. There are several other highly regarded nasal pillows solutions as well. For nasal "masks" the current king appears to be the ResMed Activa followed by the Nasal mask version of the Ultra Mirage (from the same company).

As for any mask, you should have a fitting for several with your DME and only take home what works best for you. Your interface (mask, pillows or whatever) is probably the most important link in your XPAP therapy as compliance only happens if you are comfortable. Don't settle until you are well satisfied with the comfort and get good rest.

Good luck!

[sleepylady]

Hello and welcome to the hosehead club. First, please turn off caps. It's very hard to read a message that is in all capital letters.

Sounds like your dry mouth is due to opening your mouth during the night. You can go to any type of mask, even if you are a mouth breather. The thing is you will need to then use a chinstrap or as many here do, tape your mouth. If you do a search you'll find lots of info on that.

As to what type of mask? That one will have many answers. And, while one may work for some, it doesn't for others. I personally use the Aura nasal pillows by AEIOmed. I love it, however, some don't care for this mask. Other nasal pillows that are popular are the Breeze and Swift. If you're looking for a little larger nasal mask that is for active sleepers, many people like ResMeds Activa. You will want to check with your insurance to see how often they pay for replacement masks. Mine pays every 6 months, whereas others are 3 months or even a year.

In your description you use the Remstar Plus. If this is indeed your machine, then it isn't equipped to handle software. If you had the Remstar Pro, it has SmartCard ability that monitors your treatment. In that case you would need software if you wanted to monitor your treatment.

Melinda

[roster]

Hello A1KIWI and welcome aboard. I am fairly new too.

It does sound like your dry mouth could be caused by air leaking through the lips or through an open mouth. Worse than the dry mouth, if you are losing air pressure you may still be having apnea episodes. This is the problem I had when I started cpap 12/27/2005.

For about six weeks I have been using the procedure pasted below and highly recommend that you try it. Keep us informed on how you are doing and good luck.

Just One Man's Very Successful Mouth Taping Procedure

I tried chinstraps for the first two months and although they kept my mouth closed I would wake up from apnea episodes due to the pressure leaking out through my lips. Taping the mouth sounded stupid and hideous to me but I tried it, it works beautifully for me and it is quite comfortable (the chinstraps were hot and uncomfortable!). Here's the procedure that works for me:

Mouth taping

Tape: Nexcare Gentle Paper Tape (3M Micropore Surgical Tape) 2-inches wide (available from many internet suppliers; I buy mine from Walgreen’s - $6.99 for 360 inches).

Nightly routine:
1. Notify family silent for 8 hours (phone calls – take message).
2. Wash thoroughly and dry face.
3. Apply Chapstick (generic brand) to lips.
4. Roll under about 1/16 inch of tape end to form tab for easy/quick removal of tape in morning.
5. Cut length of tape to cover lips plus about ¾ inch on each side of lips.
6. Turn lips in slightly (opposite of puckering) and center and apply tape horizontally across lips.

It doesn’t sound like it, but there is almost no discomfort wearing the tape and zero mouth leaks. There is slight discomfort when removing the tape, but the Chapstick stops the tape from adhering to the sensitive lip tissue.

So far the only downside for me is the occasional night when I awaken and need to take an Ibuprofen and glass of water for muscle aches or headache. Then I need to remove the tape and retape.

I should add that I have sneezed quite forcefully right through the Swift nasal pillow and the mouth tape held.

I have now coughed a few times through the Swift nasal pillow and that was a little bit scary. The mouth tape held and the cough seemed to blow back through my nose and almost blew the Swift interface off. Oh well, I lived and now it won’t be so scary when I have to cough again.

Note: Some have expressed a concern about a power failure with the mouth taped. I have turned my machine off to test this and I could easily breathe through the exhaust ports on the Swift nasal pillow. Of course if you continue to sleep when the power goes off you are getting no therapy and apnea episodes will occur.

Note: I did have a step of applying Ayr gel to my nostrils but I discontinued the use of Ayr because I came to the conclusion that the saline in the gel was contributing to nasal irritation.

Note: Other brands and types of tape may be just as good. I haven’t tried any because I am satisfied with the 3M type listed.

[Offerocker]

Welcome, A1KIWI.
I agree that your morning dry mouth feeling is probably caused by mouth breathing at night.
I use a different method of taping my mouth, and it works fine. I use a piece of tape about the width of my little finger, and 1-1/2" long. I place this in center of lips after rolling lips inside mouth, as RestInSeattle described. My lips return back to 'normal' shape after the tape is applied. I am a mouth-breather, and it works for me. Uses less tape, and easier to remove - whatever works. I use the ComfortLite mask because I am a side sleeper, minimum surface contact, and no hard mask 'frame'. I tried the other nasal masks, but found that I had to 'scratch my nose' multiple times, and repositioning of that type mask was disruptive. Do your homework - ask questions here, try all the masks you can, and look at what's available online - if there's anything you see that you think may work better than what you have, let your provider know you WANT to try that one. Check with them on how long you can have the mask before deciding whether or not you can tolerate it. Keep at it , and be determined to do whatever it takes to get proper sleep and rest.

[Handgunner45]

Don't be afraid to try a full face mask if you think it will work!!!! Durring my sleep study they put me on a nasal mask and once I fell asleep my mouth opened. They then put a chin strap on me, and while that kept my mouth closed, I was still getting major leaks through my lips. They then changed me to a full face mask and I make it through the rest of the night. I use the Ultra Mirage full face mask and I find it very comfortable. The thought of taping my mouth shut makes me shudder. Add to that the fact that I wear a full beard and taping is not an option. I always decongest myself at night and go to sleep breathing through my nose, but when I fall asleep, my mouth comes open. I know this because my mouth feels like the Sahara Desert when I wake up. My heated humidifier is on the way. I hope that will help. I do probably have a higher leak than a nasal interface would, but the machine can compensate for this and I still recieve good therapy. My leak rate is averaging about 38-40 and the Remstar Pro 2 is calibrated to deliver 160.