Almost 2 glorious years, then suddenly "dry mouth"

[OkieHoseNose]

I have had my CPAP(nose pillows) for almost 2 years and cannot sleep without it but in the last 2 months I am suddenly waking up every couple hours with the most severe dry mouth I have experienced in my life. My saliva production is not a problem because I can remoisten my mouth by simply moving my tongue around. Before CPAP, I was a drooler, open mouth and all, and I don't have daytime problems with dry mouth. Is it possible that I have just begun to open my mouth again(like pre-CPAP) or are there other issues I am not considering?

OkieHoseNose

[Stormynights]

I know how you feel. I started having this problem last spring. The only thing so far that really has helped me very much is using 2 boil and bite youth mouth guards. I mold one for the top teeth and one for the bottom. I will still have a night with that dry mouth but less often and less severe. I made no sense for this to start up so quickly and hang around so long. I hope someone has some real answers.

[Sir NoddinOff]

That's what happened to me after more than a year of bragging on this forum about my perfectly 'trained tongue', ie this happened while using Swift FX pillows. Ahhh, I still miss the comfort of them. In response to my new unwanted dry mouth situation and subsequent loss of therapy air pressure I first tried several different chinstraps, simple dental devices, then mouth taping, then both together and eventually an FFM. FFMs can sometimes be tough getting used to and there aren't as many choices as nasal masks, plus mask leaks can be very tedious but I'm coping. Still we have to do what we must, especially given the new challenges that sometimes pop up along the way.

Good luck on your quest.

[scott784]

If you have heated tubing with a humidifier, have the settings recently been changed (intentional or unintentional)? Has your system developed any leaks recently? If you use a humidifier, is your CPAP still using the same amount of water (before and after) the dry mouth? Any climate change in your home, such as adjusting the thermostat to a new setting?

I recently experienced dry mouth as a result of turning my heated tubing (temperature) down from 72 degrees to 67 degrees. My CPAP went from draining the water tub dry every night to using practically nothing at all. And I instantly noticed dry mouth in the morning. Of course, my situation may be different in that my mask now has some leakage due to some beard growth. But I don't have anymore dry mouth after turning the humidifier setting back up to 72 degrees. But I still need a new mask because of the leakage.

[BlackSpinner]

If you like nose pillows but can't keep your mouth closed anymore the try the Resp-Care Hybrid. They are nose pillows with a separate mouth cover and chin flap.

[chunkyfrog]

A sudden change like this may be due to something other than cpap.
Have you spoken to your doctor?

[Goofproof]

I just has the same problem, had to go back to my ff mask for a month, now I'm back on nasal doing ok. I can do whatever I need to breath, that's the key to life. Jim