Mouth breather with a swift fx nasal mask

[nangiggles]

Feels pretty un natural... it's only my second night but I feel like I dont have enough air, yesterday I got a little nauseous actually, I also wake myself up a couple of times when I open my mouth to breath and freak out due to the mouth air escape, on top of that I noticed I clench my jaw, bite down while sleeping with the nasal mask.

Do you guys have trouble sleeping on your side with the masks? mine tends to leak air/unseal once I'm sideways :s

Maybe I just need more time to adjust...

[Conrad]

Once I get my pillow, mask, and hose situated just right, I can sleep on my side just fine. It just takes some time to get used to it.

[chunkyfrog]

The nausea may be due to swallowed air.
(search "aerophagia" for solutions)
A too small nasal pillow may restrict airflow; and different companies' masks may yield different results.
For side-sleeping, you may need to experiment with different bed pillows, as I like a really soft pillow with the FX.
CPAP bed pillows are another possibility.

[Pugsy]

What pressure is being used when you feel like there isn't enough air moving? Are you using the ramp feature?
What size nasal pillows are you using?

[nangiggles]

I'm using small nsal pillows, I tried with ramp and it happened, my machine is set to 5-15 so I felt it without ramp too, Apria let me try on for a minute their Amara mask, felt pretty darn good.

I have a stupid question when I open my mouth the air being pushed inside my nose comes out, hence it's constantly going down, do I need to actually breath/inhale and exhale or is the machine doing it all for me? I found that if i dont inhale/exhale I feel better

[ughwhatname]

I find that inhalation requires very little effort since its being forced on me, but exhalation I definitely must do.

I had the suffocating feeling when my starting pressure was 4 with the XS pillow. I switched to S, with a minimum pressure of 5 (I don't use ramp) and I'm fine. I did also adjust my EPR to 3, from 2 because I felt I was suffocating when trying to exhale at higher pressures.

I'm using small nsal pillows, I tried with ramp and it happened, my machine is set to 5-15 so I felt it without ramp too, Apria let me try on for a minute their Amara mask, felt pretty darn good.

I have a stupid question when I open my mouth the air being pushed inside my nose comes out, hence it's constantly going down, do I need to actually breath/inhale and exhale or is the machine doing it all for me? I found that if i dont inhale/exhale I feel better

[Pugsy]

Your machine starting at 5 cm pressure won't increase the pressure until events drive the pressure up.
A lot of people find that the setting of 5 cm (ramp starts at 4 and is as low as the machine will go) simply does not provide enough air movement to feel comfortable. While we won't suffocate at that pressure it sure feels like it for a lot of people.

You have to inhale and exhale. The machine is not a ventilator.
You need to keep your mouth closed and the tongue in the roof of the mouth so that air going up the nose and down the airway doesn't try to exit the airway via the mouth.

[nangiggles]

I trolled craigslist and found a new in package respironics comfortgel full mask for $40! Lets see if its better *crosses fingers*

[nangiggles]

OK so I tried the comfort gel and it was super uncomfortable, if I put the mask to my forehead with the forehead rest piece thing then it's all the way to the edge of my chin in the bottom and pinches the top of my nose because it hangs too low, seems it's too big for me but it's the small also it kept leaking air so I had to tighten it to the max in the top so I woke up at 6am and it hurt my nose bridge so bad i had to take it off and had the mask print all red in my face, I guess I might have to keep using the nasal one despite that awful feeling of not having enough air

Quick question, the comfortgel, the "sealing" part is kinda curved to the inside, does the curb make the seal or the thin inside of the edge?

[RandyJ]

I would try to go up one size on the pillows if you can get a set and see how that feels.

I personally feel like I am suffocating at less than 8 cm pressure.

[nangiggles]

I would try to go up one size on the pillows if you can get a set and see how that feels.

I personally feel like I am suffocating at less than 8 cm pressure.

Well I use the small and the mediums dont fit right, I'd like to have it at more but i have like an auto setting that starts at 5 even if i dont ramp

[Julie]

Sounds like a Hybrid or hybrid type of mask would be worth a serious trial.

[lucylou10]

I am a mouth breather as well and had a nasal mask for the first week. My nasal passages are quite small and felt like I wasn't getting enough air and I also had trouble keeping my mouth closed when I was sleeping. For the past week I have been using the ResMed Quattro FX full face mask and I am finding a big difference.

[jencat824]

OK so I tried the comfort gel and it was super uncomfortable, if I put the mask to my forehead with the forehead rest piece thing then it's all the way to the edge of my chin in the bottom and pinches the top of my nose because it hangs too low, seems it's too big for me but it's the small also it kept leaking air so I had to tighten it to the max in the top so I woke up at 6am and it hurt my nose bridge so bad i had to take it off and had the mask print all red in my face, I guess I might have to keep using the nasal one despite that awful feeling of not having enough air

You sound like you have small facial features, like me. I cannot use any masks that have the forehead cushion feature. Don't worry there are lots of other masks, it takes some trying to find the one that fits you. I have the following:

Piliaro - my favorite
Sleepweaver Elan - my second choice
Simplicity - oldie but a goodie when needed (leaves awful marks on bridge of nose)
IQ - my previous favorite, but the change they made in headgear doesn't work for me
Swift FX - works for a lot of people here
Go Life for Her - a lot like the Swift FX but with a hard wire across the cheeks thingy
Mirage Vista- not bad, had a stiff headgear, hard for me to tighten, but not bad at all to sleep in

These are just my masks, go to CPAP.com & check out the variety. What works for me or another forum member may or may not work for you. With patience, you will find the right mask (and possibly chin strap if needed).
Oh yea of little faces
Jen

[xenablue]

I hate stuff on my face, so used a chinstrap for almost 2 years. A few times I tried going without, but kept going back to the chinstrap to stop my mouth from falling open.

Then last summer, I decided to go 'cold turkey' and it was the best thing I could have done. My mouth dropped open a few nights over the following few weeks, but I hung in there. Now it's a few months and every now and then I wake up with desert-mouth, but it's quite rare.

cheers,
xena