I am a mouth leaker not breather

[SleepySandy]

I am going to order a full face mask tonight

I hadn't noticed this before I posted my previous reply.

It can be really difficult to find a FF mask to fit well. Do you have access to a local DME and might your insurance cover a new mask? I'm asking because it would be great if you could try on several masks to see what would be the best one for you. I'm hoping you'll be successful quickly.

Clearly, ordering online costs less, but if the mask isn't going to work it might cost more in the long-run. A lot of masks on cpap.com have return insurance - that could be a good choice.

Also - can you tolerate nasal pillows? If you can, the Hybrid might be a good choice because it comes with all sizes as well.

[bgalb]

Mth,
I feel for you, man. Like you said, it's now not a choice of quitting. You just got to keep on till you get something that works. My best friend is an ex-Marine, so I don't hold that against ya! (being retired Air Force, myself) Ha! Ha!.

I know all about being told, "Its all in your head". I came back from my second tour in Vietnam after 300+ combat missions in USAF Fighters and fought with stomach ulcers for 20 years after that. The active duty medics just couldn't find any problem, but I finally got some help for the problem after retiring from the AF.

Your problem with tape causing inflammation is really difficult, when taping your mouth definitely stops mouth leaks for most of us. I had the same inflammation problem with all kinds of med tape, but found that the "Breathe Right" nose strips did not cause me any problem, so I used them in large size to tape my mouth. They were very adhesive, so worked pretty well.

Later, I found that using a $1.15 boilable mouthguard from WalMart worked almost as well as tape. I boiled the mouthguard and then trimmed the outside gumline down with scissors. Then boiled again to soften the edges and bit down till my teeth almost pierced the guard. Used this with a nasal pillow mask (optilife) and it works pretty well. Still leaks some the first part of the night, but stops the last several hours of the night for some reason.

I know it must be hard after all those years of trying, but you must keep on trying till you hit the magic combination that works for you.

Am Praying for you.

[blowfish]

.

[Moby]

I just used the 432 for a couple of nights trial. I found initially it blew my face out like a dog's hanging out the car window, but once I accepted that I was able to close my mouth with my cheeks pouched out still, it was quite comfortable and a reasonable seal.

Have you tried the online fitting guide here? It worked well for me.

regards

Di

[rested gal]

If there were a 95% surgery I would do it in a minute if I had to sell everything I own.

There is, and it probably would take something like that to pay for it.

It's called MMA-GA. It's drastic surgery, but is reported to be highly effective. Check out the posts by billinseattle in the section down in the bottom third of the page at the link below. I think the surgeon who worked on Bill was Dr. Kasey Li at Stanford.

Clickable LINKS to surgery, turbinates, Pillar, TAP experiences
viewtopic.php?t=2836

[blowfish]

.

[blowfish]

.

[krousseau]

A combo that might be worth a trial is nasal mask, boil & bite plate, and a home brewed chin strap that puts the support where you really need it-under the chin and around the top of the head-nothing that pulls the chin backward.

[rested gal]

I think we should call you the Librarian....

LOL!! Someone already has.

[Catnapper]

You can call rested gal the librarian, but I have never heard her say

SSSSHHHHH!!!

Isn't that a requirement for librarians?

[RosemaryB]

I tried the tape and don't like it or the hassle of it. My cheeks puff out when I tape and I eaither swallow the air or seep it out or burp through my nose.

It sounds like you've decided on the full face mask, but just in case you want to give it another try, I've had some luck dealing with this. Here are the things I've done that seem to work for me, most gleaned from reading this forum.

1. Sleep on my back only. The side sleeping seems to make my cheeks puff out more. Once I figured out how to side sleep with the Swift and did it, I was in a lot of pain, and fortunately had a slow day at work and just kept my door closed the whole morning.

2. Turn off C-Flex. I think that the constant pressure seems to keep the air where it belongs.

3. Learn to swallow the air properly. Keep tongue against the front teeth. When it starts to puff up my cheeks, I suck my cheeks in using the muscles used in making a "fish face" like we used to when we were kids, but not that much, and then kind of swallow the air, not all the way, but just enough to get it back into the stream that's going to my lungs. I saw this described somewhere by Rested Gal and tried it and it worked once I got the hang of it. Because the puffing wakes me, I get a chance to practice this and it seems to be working. She probably described it better than this, though.

4. Elevate the head of your bed. Mine was already elevated about 9 inches for my reflux. I got those plastic bed elevators at Bed Bath and Beyond for about 10 bucks. I stacked two together and put them under the legs to the head of my bed. I noticed that when I slept flat during the sleep study it was much worse. Next time I travel I'll have a chance to try this again. (I hate the wedge pillows, though).

5. Don't set the pressure higher than you need. I'm still experimenting with this one.

6. There is some yoga position that allows you to relieve gas. I haven't found this yet, but remember a yoga teacher talking about it once. Maybe it's called the "Wind Salutation"

7. Use a pillow that is very small and doesnt push your head forward. I'm using a very thin donut pillow that has a speaker in it. It keeps my head in the best position for the air staying where it should.

I hope the full face mask works for you. If not, you can try some of this if you haven't already.

Rose

[DreamStalker]

Rosemary makes very good points.

In addition, you should try and practice controlling the air flow between your nasal cavity and your mouth. Try (without machine) to breathe only through your nose while keeping your mouth open (ie. not allow air flow thru mouth while open). Then do opposite, breathe only through your mouth without allowing any air to flow through your nose. This will strengthen the muscle within your throat that controls which way the air flows. After you get the hang of it, try using the machine -- open your mouth and breathe through your nasal mask without letting any air escape from your mouth.

Using a nasal saline rinse on a regular basis will also help with this exercise in addition to keeping your nasal cavity clean ... mitigating allergies and other nasal congestive issues. Try and remember this PAP treatment is a whole new lifestyle and to fully optimeize your treatment, you need to try things you may have never thought of ... much less done before.

[Moby]

If you can (not sure I could any more!) try kneeling, sitting on your heels, then lowering your body forward till your head's on the floor in front of your knees.
I think this helps massage the abdomen, also raises the rear end to facilitate the anti-gravity properties of the gasses in question

good luck!

di

[littlemo]

based on what you've said, it sounds like your pressure is too high, but I'm noticing this trend since being on this site. here in canada, we can't put someone on Bi pap with having a failed CPAP . A bi-pap trend means that people end up on high pressures, sometimes uneccasairly. If the pressure is too high, it has to go somewhere, often through exhalation hence mouth leakage!