A 3" length of dental floss...

[cherylann]

So the nasal pillows acutally go in your nose? I still don't understand the purpose of that since you're breathing through your mouth.

[nanwilson]

So the nasal pillows acutally go in your nose? I still don't understand the purpose of that since you're breathing through your mouth.

You don' t exclusively breath through your mouth...you can and do breath through both...or in through your nose and out through your mouth, it doesn't matter. I start the night breathing through my nose but as my facial muscles relax during the night, I breath through my mouth, just like you do with a regular ffm. The reason we like the hybrids is that there is less of a footprint than the regular ffms. Take a look at the pictures and descriptions on cpap.com.

[SleepyToo2]

So the nasal pillows acutally go in your nose? I still don't understand the purpose of that since you're breathing through your mouth.

No, the nasal pillows don't actually go in your nose - unless you have an idiotic DME who tells you that they need to go there. There is a cone at the top of each pillow. The tip of the cone is supposed to be inserted into each nostril, with the base of the cone lightly resting on the outside of the nostril. The air pressure will then inflate the cone to seal against the sides of your nostril.

Your other comment is why would you breathe through your nose? Our bodies were designed to have us breathing through our noses. Elaborate filtering systems (hairs, sinuses, etc) and a warming system before the air hits our lungs. The mouth is there as a back-up system when the main system is blocked, or when we need a larger volume of air (eg, running up the stairs). There are all sort of anatomical and other medical reasons why we might rely on the back-up, but ideally we should all be working on finding a way to use the primary breathing system (our noses).

[voltaire]

...has made a bigger difference in my CPAP experience than everything else I've done combined over three years. As a lifelong mouth breather at night, I've had to use either full-face or hybrid masks and I'm currently on my fourth - a Resmed Mirage Liberty hybrid. Previously I used a Quattro, which seemed to work OK for more than a year but then I began having nose bridge sores, and I was never able to get the leaks well controlled. When I switched to the Liberty, my leak numbers improved quite a bit but my average weekly AHI was still in the 1.5 - 2.0 range. Over three years and four masks, I never once felt like I really slept, probably because I was forcing myself to hold my mouth in a certain position or force my face into the pillow in order to minimize leaks.

Some time ago I read where someone mentioned using dental floss to tie the nasal pillows together in order to keep them from moving around so easily. I don't even know why I thought of it two weeks ago, but I figured it couldn't hurt to try it. I just tied the two pillows together loosely; not pulled together really, just prevented from pulling away from each other. I just wrapped the floss around them a couple of times and carefully tied a knot. That night I slept like I hadn't in years! Every night since then hasn't been as perfect as that one, but all of them have been better than any night I had on CPAP before then. My last two weeks' AHI's have dropped from 1.5-2.0, down to .5-.8.

I just wanted to pass this along. If nothing else, to the new CPAP users - the most insignificant things can make all the difference in the world, and you just have to keep at it, trying new things until you find what works for YOU.

Thanks for sharing this technique, helpful indeed.

[cherylann]

Our bodies were designed to have us breathing through our noses.


I never realizd I was a mouth breather until all this started. I was having so much trouble with the nasal masks that my pulmonoligist sent me to and ENT to see if I had some kind of nasal blockage. He said I didn't, but that my nasal passages are too narrow to breathe through. I started "testing" that by consciously keeping my mouth closed for an long as I could and it would only be around 30 seconds before my lungs were filling up and I was gasping for breath.

I've had three DMEs none of whom were interested in anything more than making a sale. The so-called respiratory therapists don't really know anything other than the routine that works for most people. I couldn't even get them to experiment with different pressure settings without a prescription from my doctor.

Thanks for all y'alls advice. I'll look into the hybrid - if I can get the DME to let me try one out. My insurance co will only pay for a mask every six months.