Liberty user with Dry Mouth. Help!

Needsdecaf · Post by **Needsdecaf** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 6:10 am

Mine just broke where the elbow clips onto the mask. But Gorilla glue fixed it like a charm.

BTW - ran HH at 4 last night....RAINOUT! AND dry mouth.

Can't win....maybe need a Pap Cap

jskinner · Post by **jskinner** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 1:26 pm

SLOGeo wrote:"Dry Mouth" doesn't really explain the situation to someone that hasn't had it... it is pure total unadulterated misery.

Amen to that!

sleepngo · Post by **sleepngo** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 5:59 pm

If you have good nasal air flow and I wouldn't advise anyone to do this, unless you have good nasal air flow. I did this to control mouth leaking and dry mouth and lips. I cut a piece of Saran warp about a 1/4 inch bigger than the liberty mask cushion, place over the mouth cushion and than fit the mask like you would normally do. I did this for a few days and never experienced dry mouth or lips, in-fact after three days I got a 0 AHI. It can be a little scary at first because it really does seal your mouth shut, it takes a little while to get used to it, but it will stop mouth leaking and dry mouth and lips, hope this helps.

regards,

Dan

CarrieS · Post by **CarrieS** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 8:29 pm

When I got switched to FF both the liberty and hybrid gave me dry mouth. Im glad I ignored negative remarks regarding chin straps because the persistence of finding the right one really paid off. I love my Topaz chinstrap (and hated all others) and now I am happily back to my nasal interfaces with no mouth leaking or breathing and great numbers. That said you may want to try a chin strap.

WearyOne · Post by **WearyOne** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 8:36 pm

CarrieS wrote:When I got switched to FF both the liberty and hybrid gave me dry mouth. Im glad I ignored negative remarks regarding chin straps because the persistence of finding the right one really paid off. I love my Topaz chinstrap (and hated all others) and now I am happily back to my nasal interfaces with no mouth leaking or breathing and great numbers. That said you may want to try a chin strap.

Carrie, where did you buy your chin strap? Do you think it's something that could be worn WITH the Hybrid or Liberty? I don't like interfaces that don't cover my mouth, but am starting to get tired of the dry mouth and throat. (And I think the dry mouth could be contributing to more cavities for me. At least the dentist thinks that might be a possibility.)

Thanks!

Pam

birdshell · Post by **birdshell** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:38 pm

Anonymous wrote:
SLOGeo wrote:I read someone's post that bought a new Liberty because their old one broke... mine too. BUT you don't have to buy a whole new mask, you can just buy replacement parts...
What part of your Liberty broke? I have only been using since about April but I have already 3 breakages. None of my past CPAP masks have ever broken. I like the mask in general but it seems to need some improved robustness. The problems I have had with it are:

1. Initial version the clips would come undone. Remed issued fix.
2. Twice the plastic has broken where the straps connect to the top
3. Once the seem on the connector elbo has broken

Oh, no...ResMed said

that they would fix these problems....

May I suggest that we all complain about the elbows breaking as well as the top clips? ResMed won't know that we are STILL finding their quality and design to be lacking in a mask that seems to work for so many of us.

(We should complain to our DME providers, sleep doctors, sleep technicians, RT's--anyone in the field of sleep, too. They have contact with ResMed representatives.)

Click Here for Info on How to Contact ResMed--North America
________________________________________________________________

Dry Mouth:

I found that scrupulous oral hygiene helped with the dry mouth problem for me. My mouth isn't exactly dry, but the tongue is...I think from some of my medications. I flossed, used my Sonicare toothbrush with the toothpaste that Brooke Shields advertises and Act 2 mouthwash to good effect. However, I have had to stop using my Liberty.

I have gum tissue eroding from around one tooth that happens to be unusually protruding. (This is apparently caused by the Liberty.) I get to have this surgically treated with a transplant. Last night I tried mouth taping with another mask; AAAUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!

MAXIMUM DRY MOUTH! I don't recall this from when I mouth taped for over a year! And, my meds are the same as they were during that year.

Tonight, I thought I would try the Oasis mouthwash as my last step. So, I'm hoping that the Oasis Moisturizing Mouthwash, which says that it lasts for 2 hours, will at least help for a while. Meanwhile, I hope that the gum tissue at least stabilizes. (I am waiting for the tissue to be transplanted to grow.)

Karen,
Who misses the (too easily broken) Liberty elbow

roster · Post by **roster** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 7:36 am

[quote="sleepngo"]If you have good nasal air flow and I wouldn't advise anyone to do this, unless you have good nasal air flow. I did this to control mouth leaking and dry mouth and lips. I cut a piece of Saran warp about a 1/4 inch bigger than the liberty mask cushion, place over the mouth cushion and than fit the mask like you would normally do. I did this for a few days and never experienced dry mouth or lips, in-fact after three days I got a 0 AHI. It can be a little scary at first because it really does seal your mouth shut, it takes a little while to get used to it, but it will stop mouth leaking and dry mouth and lips, hope this helps.

regards,

Dan

birdshell · Post by **birdshell** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:28 am

birdshell wrote:

Dry Mouth:

I found that scrupulous oral hygiene helped with the dry mouth problem for me. My mouth isn't exactly dry, but the tongue is...I think from some of my medications. I flossed, used my Sonicare toothbrush with the toothpaste that Brooke Shields advertises and Act 2 mouthwash to good effect. However, I have had to stop using my Liberty.

<snip>

Tonight, I thought I would try the Oasis mouthwash as my last step. So, I'm hoping that the Oasis Moisturizing Mouthwash, which says that it lasts for 2 hours, will at least help for a while. Meanwhile, I hope that the gum tissue at least stabilizes. (I am waiting for the tissue to be transplanted to grow.)

Karen,
Who misses the (too easily broken) Liberty elbow

Last night, I did the Sonicare with the Total Colgate toothpaste

and the Oasis mouthwash.

Tada! It was a success. I'm not sure if the night before last was a fluke...but I'm willing to try the Oasis again. Anything beats the dry-glued-to-the-roof-of-the-mouth, crawling-through-the-desert-looking-for-a-puddle feeling.

Karen,
Who did not know a mouth could be moisturized

sleepngo · Post by **sleepngo** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 2:58 pm

Hi Rooster,

I tried this for about a week and didn't have any problems with irritation from the Saran warp. after a week I tried using my nasal mask and was able to use it without mouth leaking also started using a OptiLife nasal pillows mask without mouth leaking. It's been about a year since I have used the Liberty mask.

I went back to using the Liberty after having Bilateral inferior turbinate reduction on July 1, of this year and wanted to be able to breath through my mouth if needed, but the surgery worked so well that the Liberty wasn't needed. I continued to use it to make sure I could breath through my nose without mouth leaking for about four days and found that I wasn't having any problem with mouth leaking, so I'm back to using my nasal and nasal pillows mask.

To answer your question about dermal problems, no there were no problems at all, hope this helps.

Regards,

Dan