Newbie having problems

[djhall]

I can't really help with the dry mouth issues, but I can say this as someone currently running a pressure of 19.... Do NOT feel bad or discouraged about having trouble getting acclimated to breathing, sleeping, or taming a mask at 16! It takes time for your body to adjust to the change and masks fit gets more critical at these pressures. I went through 6 masks before I found one that worked for me, but eventually you do get to where where sleeping on the hose is "normal".

[jencat824]

Doc,
My hubby wears a FFM & he likes to drink water when he wakes up at night. He discovered using a straw allows him to get a drink without the whole process of 'unmasking' & 'masking up again'. I personally never drink at night, even before CPAP. Prior to CPAP I was a 'sleep-eater' but that's a whole other conversation.

Jen

[zoocrewphoto]

I am a mouth breather too, as I can't get enough air through my nose to breathe more than a minute or two without opening my mouth while awake and upright. I am worse at night and only use my mouth. I did try once to breathe through my nose with the mask on, and I hated the feeling.

I have found that most nights, I do not have any dry mouth, but some occasions, I have severe dry mouth. Not so much anymore though. I think the difference is how open my mouth is. I am used to breathing through my mouth all day, so I my mouth is typically open a little bit. I am very self conscious about how it looks, so I try to keep as closed as possible while open enough to breathe. So, only a couple mm.

Most of the night, I sleep on my side, and that works great. If I roll onto my back, my mouth falls open, my airway collapses more, and I wake up with higher pressure, flapping cheeks, and dry mouth. Because of this, I tend to roll back onto my side, or just stay on my side. My brain is learning to avoid back sleeping. And I now rarely have dry mouth. I think, for me, as long as my mouth is mostly closed, there isn't as much air flow in my mouth as when my mouth is wide open. So, I don't get so dried out.

If you think your mouth is open a good amount, try keeping it closed more, even try a chin strap, though not so tight as to close your mouth completely. See if that reduces the dryness.

[doccuke]

Last night I tried it at 6 on the humidity and temp of 73 and it seemed to work better. I will try that setting for a while