Mouth Leaks

[MVPinBoynton]

I have been doing fine with my cpap therapy and quite pleased with the results. I probably shouldn't even worry about the leaks I am having, since the percents aren't that bad where I have to something about it. My P10 seems to fit great and I have never noticed any air leaking from it. When I do wake up, it seems like air might have been coming from the side of my mouth, rather than my mouth being wide open. I don't think that a jaw strap would do any good, since my lips could still slightly open, like I assume they are currently doing. I have read about people taping their mouths shut. Do they just tape in the middle? Would that even stop air from coming out the sides?

At this time, I don't think that it is even worth trying to do anything about it; but trying to understand what to do if it gets worse. I am putting in graphs to show the current leak levels.

[Pugsy]

My suggestion is to first identify the cause of the leaks and the only way to do that is to tape your mouth and see if the leaks stop or keep on. People assume that when they see these leaks that it is all mouth breathing but it isn't necessarily the case.
Those leaks could easily be mask movement leaks just as easily as they could be mouth breathing leaks.

When I taped I used a horizontal strip across the lips. I am the queen of cheap so I just used blue painters tape that I had left over from a painting job. I think it was 2 inches wide.

Do it for one night just to see if the leaks reduce or not. Then you can decide on the best course of action should it worsen.

[MVPinBoynton]

My suggestion is to first identify the cause of the leaks and the only way to do that is to tape your mouth and see if the leaks stop or keep on. People assume that when they see these leaks that it is all mouth breathing but it isn't necessarily the case.
Those leaks could easily be mask movement leaks just as easily as they could be mouth breathing leaks.

When I taped I used a horizontal strip across the lips. I am the queen of cheap so I just used blue painters tape that I had left over from a painting job. I think it was 2 inches wide.

Do it for one night just to see if the leaks reduce or not. Then you can decide on the best course of action should it worsen.

Good idea! I have to see if I have any of that painter's tape. It would be a lot better than duct tape.

[Pugsy]

Duct tape is rough on the skin. Leaves a really sticky residue. Though I would use it occasionally just to exfoliate the unwanted chin hairs but nothing will pull those SOBs out it seems.

My own personal rule about leaks...if they don't wake me up and they aren't prolonged deep into large leak territory then I really don't worry about them. 15 minutes in large leak that I sleep through isn't the end of the world.
I learned a long time ago that my sleep was fragile enough from other stuff and sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.
I could get nice perfect leak lines but it would require doing stuff that causes me discomfort and would wake me up.
I get enough wake ups already....I don't want more just to fix something that really isn't that big of a problem anyway.

[MVPinBoynton]

Duct tape is rough on the skin. Leaves a really sticky residue. Though I would use it occasionally just to exfoliate the unwanted chin hairs but nothing will pull those SOBs out it seems.

My own personal rule about leaks...if they don't wake me up and they aren't prolonged deep into large leak territory then I really don't worry about them. 15 minutes in large leak that I sleep through isn't the end of the world.
I learned a long time ago that my sleep was fragile enough from other stuff and sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.
I could get nice perfect leak lines but it would require doing stuff that causes me discomfort and would wake me up.
I get enough wake ups already....I don't want more just to fix something that really isn't that big of a problem anyway.

I do agree with your logic. I think that I am just more curious as to what is causing the leaks.

[zonker]

as an alternative to taping, may i suggest the following?

viewtopic/p1089718/viewtopic.php?f=1&t= ... s#p1086296

[MVPinBoynton]

as an alternative to taping, may i suggest the following?

viewtopic/p1089718/viewtopic.php?f=1&t= ... s#p1086296

That does look like a good option! Thanks for the tip. FYI, they are now $7.49 on Amazon. Still quite reasonable price for a leak solution.

[lliann]

I have totally forgotten how to get my Sleepy chart on here via MAC. Meanwhile, I am doing ok. I am getting below 4 ahi numbers . Last night it was 1.48. But I am leaking again.

The N20 seems to be the perfect one for me but of course there is the mouth. I do use tape. I seem to do ok till about 5-6 hours in, then the mouth is bone dry, and I start leaking from the sides. (I will try diagonal but I think I have done that and its the same result).Also prior to that it seems I start to choke on my spit (or PND?) and then go dry.The leak is up to 11.XX which I never used to have. I forget the acceptable leak numbers?

I was using tape and chin strap but geez louise. Just put me in a submersible and get it over with.

.

[MVPinBoynton]

I have totally forgotten how to get my Sleepy chart on here via MAC. Meanwhile, I am doing ok. I am getting below 4 ahi numbers . Last night it was 1.48. But I am leaking again.

The N20 seems to be the perfect one for me but of course there is the mouth. I do use tape. I seem to do ok till about 5-6 hours in, then the mouth is bone dry, and I start leaking from the sides. (I will try diagonal but I think I have done that and its the same result).Also prior to that it seems I start to choke on my spit (or PND?) and then go dry.The leak is up to 11.XX which I never used to have. I forget the acceptable leak numbers?

I was using tape and chin strap but geez louise. Just put me in a submersible and get it over with.

.

To get the Sleepyhead chart using a MAC, hold down the Shift, Command and 4 key. Then use your mouse to cover the chart area you want to paste to your desktop. Drag the chart icon that you placed on the desktop into the reply area where you have typed your comments.

[palerider]

I have totally forgotten how to get my Sleepy chart on here via MAC.

Same as everyone else, upload it to imgur and post the link, read the newbie instructions pugsy wrote.

[MVPinBoynton]

I have totally forgotten how to get my Sleepy chart on here via MAC.

Same as everyone else, upload it to imgur and post the link, read the newbie instructions pugsy wrote.

My way is easier!

[zonker]

as an alternative to taping, may i suggest the following?

viewtopic/p1089718/viewtopic.php?f=1&t= ... s#p1086296

That does look like a good option! Thanks for the tip. FYI, they are now $7.49 on Amazon. Still quite reasonable price for a leak solution.

you are most welcome. i've got a good local source at, i think, about that price. but i'll keep it in mind if that local source dries up. thank you!

[juaquin]

For what it's worth, increasing my humidification has helped me with mouth leaks. Not eliminated them, but I have less of them and get woken up by them less often. The lower humidification worked fine for me as far as comfort when I was awake, but apparently "asleep" me likes more humidification.

Anyway, my point is that you can try to prevent your mouth opening using tape/chinstraps/etc, but another approach is to see if there's a reason you're trying to open your mouth and what may help with that. Like if your min pressure is 4, you may subconsciously be feeling like you aren't getting enough air and opening your mouth (I know this is a problem for a lot of us even when we're awake, so most people start at 6 or 7). Good luck!

[MVPinBoynton]

Anyway, my point is that you can try to prevent your mouth opening using tape/chinstraps/etc, but another approach is to see if there's a reason you're trying to open your mouth and what may help with that. Like if your min pressure is 4, you may subconsciously be feeling like you aren't getting enough air and opening your mouth (I know this is a problem for a lot of us even when we're awake, so most people start at 6 or 7). Good luck!

That is a good point. I moved my minimum up to 8 recently and have been much happier. I am going to tape my mouth tonight to see if that is where the leak actually is. It is always fun to wake up and pop in the SD card to see results. I do hope that I will quit obsessing over the results as time passes; but being a numbers guy, I might never stop.

[MVPinBoynton]

Since my last post, I moved my minimum pressure up to 8 and I have been sleeping very well and my AHI has continued to come down. I couldn't be happier with my CPAP experience and very pleased with the positive effects of it. My only concern is that I continue to have large leaks around 16% most nights. I have tried taping my mouth and using the Scunci straps; but my leaks pretty much stayed the same with or without them. I will say that the taping didn't seem to work very well, since it didn't stay in place for more than a few hours. Perhaps I didn't apply the painters tape properly.

I am not sure if I have mouth leaks or the mask is leaking. The P10 seems to be very secure. I sleep on my back all night and it doesn't appear to move at all. On occasion, when I wake up, the I hear a louder sound of air, which stops when I move my mask with my lip; but I don't feel any excess air coming out of my mask when that happens. I have been on CPAP now for 4 weeks. Since I am getting good AHI numbers and sleeping so well, I am about to quit worrying about the leaks and just let them happen. Should I quit worrying about the leaks unless they get a lot higher?