Taping mouth shut?

[maggie22561]

I have noticed that maybe once a night, but not every night I'm opening my mouth. I wear an over the nose only mask.

I'm still in the compliance period and have already switched from the nasal pillows to the nasal mask. The nasal mask is working so much better for me than the pillows did. The sleep tech has ordered me a new nasal mask, as the one I'm using now is only a loaner (?). I have no idea why it's this way. Seems to me that I should keep the mask I'm using now and the sleep center should order the new mask for their use, but whatever.
My insurance says it will cover 50% of the cost of CPAP and supplies. Money is already very tight and I'm guessing that I'll be charged for the new mask as well. That makes me not want to request trying a full face mask, for fear of being charged for that too.
The idea of adding a chin strap to the straps I already have around my head and face is something I'd really rather not do. So....my questions are, how do I tape my mouth shut? What sort of tape do I use? If I'm not opening my mouth constantly and keeping it open for a long time do I even need to be worried in the first place?

Sorry this is so long and I hope I've made sense here.
Thanks.

[cpap'er]

There are many people who would gladly help me to tape my mouth shut....lol

I dont know how using tape would affect your skin over time its not very skin friendly...you could use medical tape that seems to work on skinn but you would have to deal with sticky residue alot of the time when you take it off....have you thought about using one of those elastic bandages under your chin and up over the top of your head you could make it loose enough to not feel like it was a bother....I know the thoughts of wearing a chin strap is kinda alarming for some...but it may very well train you to not open your mouth while sleeping after a while.

Hope that helps...

[M.D.Hosehead]

Maggie, the best place to start reading is R.G.'s links here:


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