any recommendation for a mouth breather

hello,

i am a new cpap user. i have been using a nasal pillow mask. it has been coming off alot during the nite.
my doc is now suggesting a f&p zest................... i dont know about this, i think a full face mask might
work better since i sleep w/ my mouth open. i wake up w/ sore throat and dry mouth. i want to something
that will cover my mouth.

please give me some useful suggestion?

thanks!

I am a mouth breather and I use a full fask mask. It might work better for you and it wont fall off.

Leaking of treatment pressure out the mouth has got to be right up toward the top of list of reasons CPAP therapy doesn't work.
For myself, I use a chin strap to hold the jaw up then I use Poligrip strips (which are used to hold dentures in the mouth), to hold my lips together.
I have the software required to read full data from my machine and I found that before I took these steps, I had long periods of "large leaks" which means my mouth was open.

Now I don't have those leaks. With My Swift LT, I have occasional small leaks but the machine can handle those. My treatment is good, my AHI is ALWAYS below 2.0.

Good Luck.
TerryB

If you do some searching in this forum, you'll find lots of handy info. on mouth leaks, mask types, etc.

I'd say try a FF Mask... probably one with an underchin design.

One where the bottom rests on top of your chin, you could potentially still open your mouth there by still breaking the seal.

I have been using the Respironics nasal mask for 1 1/2 years. I am also a mouth breather and my leak rate looks like a train wreck. I taped my mouth and found this to work quite well. Recently I purchased a Resmed Ultra Mirage FFM and gave it a try. I was satisfied with the nasal mask, but wanted the FFM to use when I have severe allergies or a cold and can not get enough air through nasal breathing alone. I noticed my leak rate is almost a straight line with the FFM, and it is very comfortable. Many members on this forum have found it necessary to experiment with different masks, or modify their existing mask setup. Everything from pantyhose, tape, PoliGrip, lanolin to provide better adhesion of mask to skin, chin straps, etc...
If you search this forum, you will find lots of ideas and I am sure one of them will work for you.

Full face mask. (properly sized and adjusted, of course.)


Den

sleepdepriveme wrote:...using a nasal pillow mask...

You might like Resp Care's Hybrid mask; it covers the mouth and has nasal pillows. Comes with 3 sizes of each to make fitting pretty easy; pillows can be set at 2 different heights too. Our host has mask insurance so you can return it if it really doesn't work out. Rooster has a thread about fitting this mask. I wear it and really like it. I am too claustrophobic to wear a nose or any other FFM.

I tried a full face mask and it did not workout for me. A chin strap cured my mouth breathing. I can't sleep without one now. I will wake up in the middle of the night with a dry mouth when not wearing one. The only thing bad about chinstraps is they are easy to lose. I have spent hours looking for it and found it hiding in spots that you would never imagine of looking such as deep inside pillow cases and in between mattresses and box springs. I bought me a spare so the next time I lose it I will not be up for hours playing hide and seek with the damn thing. Good luck!

I'm a hard-core mouth breather and went straight to the full face mask. At first it was a little claustrophobic (less than five minutes) but now the sensation is associated with good things and I go right to sleep.