Tape?

[sehvinn]

I am amazed at all the good stuff you guys have come up with to help therapy be as efficient/beneficial as possible

Before I query you about my golden morsel I found tonight, I want to hit the high spots of my most recent responses:

Thanks to thimarine for the 'good wishes'.

Thanks to goose for suggesting CPAP Humor! Mike is one funn-ee fellow.

LavenderMist, I have found that many on here have Fibro as well. And I think it impedes our progress a bit more when other things are piled on top of the apnea.

All of you strike me as a big bunch of the most caring, loving, and helpful people I have seen in a very long time. And funny too, what a bonus!

A comment on a previous thread about masks and fit and the love/hate relationships people have with them (Moby's post, I think); I never gave the mask any consideration at all. All that I DID know was that I was so bloody exhausted and so tired of being tired that I would have gladly stuck my head into a bag of worms if that would give some positive results

I don't care what it looks like, I don't care how silly, ugly, bazzare, or,undesireable I look with it on - just point me in the direction of the mask and tell me which end to stick on my face and I...AM...THERE!

With myself - I think it had everything to do with attitude. My #1 concern? Getting Better - No Matter What!

My point, Moby - is that I was only going to respond to this therapy as well as I wanted to (within the limits of the things, of which, I had control ).

None of us, I am sure, belong on the runway(catwalk) while we're all geared up!

And how on earth could I benefit myself, or anyone else in my life, if I looked Drop Dead Gorgeous and, thru misplaced priorities, I allowed myself to become just Drop Dead? This is only one of those areas in life when you have to leave your vanity and dignity in the other room. But , by all means carry your humor and your hope and will power and your faith with you!

So, Moby - that is for you. A tad late but just as sincere as it would have been had I made it to the pity-party.

Maybe I will catch the next one.

We will all have days or nights when we will hit a wall and do not progress as fast as we think we should or get overwhelmed at all of the prep work we may be forced to do for proper therapy; we may have spouses that demand more than we can give right now in the face of all we are trying to accept.

Those of us with encouraging and supportive spouses are quite blessed. As the parts of us that they are truly concerned with is the parts that cannot be seen. Those pieces that are us - that is who they love and who thay are concerned about.

On to my learning ; Pineapple, do you use tape for your mouth? What kind? Does it help?

I am a mouth breather if my allergies kick up and I have wondered if this will interfere with the success of my therapy.

My mask is pretty much without a single leak so, is mouth breathing still a no-no?

Please get back to me on this and, also, anyone else with any input on this situation. Other than a semi-dry mouth, I seem to suffer no other ill-effects.

Thank you all again.

It is way too late for me to be up...I need all of the brain cells I can hang on to. So I will gear up, tuck in, hook up,

[ozij]

Hi sehvinn, and welcome.
Mouth breathing is an absolute, total no-no.

You put the mask on to created pressure that will support your airways and keep them from collapsing.

And then you open your mouth, and phhhhttttt, all that wonderful pressurized air is escaping into your room. You've no longer got support for your collapsing airway - and no therapy.

O.

[sehvinn]

Hi sehvinn, and welcome.
Mouth breathing is an absolute, total no-no.

You put the mask on to created pressure that will support your airways and keep them from collapsing.

And then you open your mouth, and phhhhttttt, all that wonderful pressurized air is escaping into your room. You've no longer got support for your collapsing airway - and no therapy.

O.

Hi ozij -

I did not mention that I wear a full face mask.

Does the closed mouth rule still apply? My sleep doc said she noticed I slept with my mouth open and this is why she said I would need the full face
mask.

[Gerald]

Sehvinn...........

Leaks can happen in (2) areas..........either the mask leaks....or the mouth leaks...........or both. Attack 'em one at a time......divide & conquer.

The mouth leaks are relatively easy to fix. My honey and I are using blue 2" wide masking tape made by 3M....delicate release type.....available at Lowe's in the paint department. I believe this tape has the same adhesive....and I've found it to be almost identical to the Micropore medical tape......and it's a heck of a lot less expensive.

Rested Gal's famous panty-hose tights are also needed.....to help the adhesive....and prevent blow-outs. The adhesive has to be delicate....meaning easy release in the morning.......but strong enough to seal. That's where the panty-hose tights come in.

Purchase a pair of panty-hose TIGHTS and cut off one leg. Use hot glue to cement the ends together so that you have formed a "band". That band goes over the tape that covers your mouth......and around to the back of your head. NOTE: Use the whole leg....a double layer....just a long "tube" of material. The double thickness is perfect.

To keep the leg band in place, you might consider cementing another piece of leg material.....beginning just in front of one ear....up over the top of your head.....and down to the other side....where it is cemented to the band....just ahead of the other ear. (If you have (3) ears, I don't know what to do.)

At night, I peel off about 10" of the blue 2" tape......fold the ends over 1/2" so that I've got handles for removing the tape the morning......press the tape into place over my mouth.....install my panty hose tights....slip on my mask......and have no mouth leaks all night.

In the morning, remove the tape by pulling one end PARALLEL to your face.......If you pull at a 90 degree angle, it's uncomfortable. Pull sort of like you'd "un-zip" a zipper on your coat.

Hope this helps..........

Gerald

[Gerald]

Sehvinn..........

YIKES!......I didn't know you were wearing a full face mask.

My mouth taping technique is for those of us who wear nasal masks.

Sooooooooooo......you might want to consider using a nasal mask. I think they're easier to seal against air leaks.

Here's a principle of Physics.....a low pressure pushing against a big area will move easily. A low pressure pushing against a small area won't do much.

Translated....a low pressure like 10-cm pushing against a big area like a full face mask....will lift that mask off the face....and allow a leak.

However, the same pressure of 10-cm pushing against the little pillows on the nose won't push them enough to allow a leak.

I have found that it's a lot easier to fix leaks with a mask that has little pillows that fit just inside my nares. I'm running about 10-14 cm pressure....and I have few leaks around my nares. I'm also using Lensenoh lanolin on my nares every night....for a better seal.

Gerald

[rested gal]

Hi sehvinn, and welcome.
Mouth breathing is an absolute, total no-no.

You put the mask on to created pressure that will support your airways and keep them from collapsing.

And then you open your mouth, and phhhhttttt, all that wonderful pressurized air is escaping into your room. You've no longer got support for your collapsing airway - and no therapy.

O.

Hi ozij -

I did not mention that I wear a full face mask.

Does the closed mouth rule still apply? My sleep doc said she noticed I slept with my mouth open and this is why she said I would need the full face
mask.

Closed mouth rule doesn't apply if you wear a FF mask. It's perfectly ok to breath through your mouth while wearing a FF mask, and you'll still get your therapy. Nasal breathing, oral breathing... either way is ok with a FF mask on. Mouth's gonna get pretty dry for most people, even with good humidification, when mouth breathing with a FF mask.

What ozij said does apply to wearing a nasal mask... a traditional covers-the-nose-only mask, or any mask (nasal pillows, nasal prongs) that doesn't also cover the mouth at the same time.
Mouth breathing while using a non-FF mask is a real treatment-breaker.

[ozij]

Hi sehvinn, and welcome.
Mouth breathing is an absolute, total no-no.

You put the mask on to created pressure that will support your airways and keep them from collapsing.

And then you open your mouth, and phhhhttttt, all that wonderful pressurized air is escaping into your room. You've no longer got support for your collapsing airway - and no therapy.

O.

Hi ozij -

I did not mention that I wear a full face mask.

Does the closed mouth rule still apply? My sleep doc said she noticed I slept with my mouth open and this is why she said I would need the full face
mask.

phhhhttttt,... there goes my wonderful explanation. It like Rested Gal says: Closed mouth rule doesn't apply if you wear a FF mask.

O.

[rested gal]

phhhhttttt,... there goes my wonderful explanation. It like Rested Gal says: Closed mouth rule doesn't apply if you wear a FF mask.

O.

The explanation was still great, O! Will help people reading who aren't using a FF mask.

I had the advantage of having not seen this thread until later..."after the fact." LOL!!

[Guest]

Sehvinn, according to your profile you are using a full face mask. Mouthbreathing is a concern with a nasal mask or nasal pillows. Most mouth breathers use a full face mask or tape, use polident strips or a chin strap. I have not been able to find a ffm that doesn't leak and is comfortable. Therefore, I do use medical tape for sensitive skin. I put on a thin layer of milk of magnesia to keep the tape from irritating my skin and let it dry, put chapstick on my lips, purse my lips and apply the tape horizontally out further than my lips. This has stopped my mouthbreathing and my treatment much improved after I began doing that. Since you are using a ffm, mouthbreathing isn't a concern.

As far as allergies affecting treatment, I have found that on nights when my nose is stuffy my ahi does seem to be higher. Sometimes using a saline rinse for your sinuses can help that issue.

I applaud your attitude. You have what it takes to make this work. I know for me, I just decided that I had no choice in the matter and had to find solutions for whatever obstacles I came across. In the long run, that determination helped me stick with it and reap the benefits



I wish you the best in successful treatment.

Mist

[MrRandom]

I am a mouth breather if my allergies kick up and I have wondered if this will interfere with the success of my therapy.

Well, it may interfere with your ability to breathe at all, if you're anything like me. I tried a nasal mask, and while it is much superior to the ff mask in terms of comfort and seal, it was impossible for me to breathe. I've done everything possible with my sinuses and the still get plugged up at times, probably from all the allergies and as soon as that happens I open my mouth. Taping my mouth just made it so I couldn't breathe at all. So YMMV.

[Pineapple]

Hi sehvinn,

Sounds like your feeling good today. Great.

Since your useing a full face mask with no appearent leaks, taping shoud not be nessessary for you. But since Gerald did such a good job explaining his taping method, I'll go ahead and add to that discussion so you have the information if you need it in the future (or if any new tapers need it) I refer you to the thread posted last week by AMinNJ:

viewtopic/t29975/Finally-some-mouth-taping-success.html

I really think AMinNJ's secret is in the crossed Bandaids. I think my problem with the delicate release tapes was simply I would wiggle my face and loosen the tape. The bandaids seem to stop that wiggeling. I used girls microfiber tights (Wal-mart - not to be confused with girls microfiber pantyhose) for my RG strap - they are strudy enough to withstand a 9 year old tree climbing tom-boy.

Allergies - I hear you, I'm allergic to "the world". With a full face mask, I don't think you will have to many therapy problems. If you do find you are having some discomfort from nasal congestion - may I suggest you try a saline rinse? I've done this long before I started CPAP. Neli Meds has just become available in our area, it is much more economical than the products I used in the past and I really feel the bottle provided gives a much better rinse. There's also the option of going to an ENT and ask
about nasal steriods to help keep the sinuses clean (don't forget to tell him your on CPAP).

You sound like your doing petty good, but if you do have a furstration attack, we'er here.

[sehvinn]

I am a mouth breather if my allergies kick up and I have wondered if this will interfere with the success of my therapy.

Well, it may interfere with your ability to breathe at all, if you're anything like me. I tried a nasal mask, and while it is much superior to the ff mask in terms of comfort and seal, it was impossible for me to breathe. I've done everything possible with my sinuses and the still get plugged up at times, probably from all the allergies and as soon as that happens I open my mouth. Taping my mouth just made it so I couldn't breathe at all. So YMMV.

[OldLincoln]

Gerald.... Try a nasal mask, they're easier??? Lets see, pop on my FF and go to sleep, OR put on my nasal mask, apply duct tape and several layers of panty hose then try going to sleep laying on panty hose knots all night.

Uhhhh, just a suggestion, but perhaps you might try a FF mask.

All in good humor, Gerald! I really cracked up reading this thread. You're all great!