Mouth Breathing

[Jake1]

I use a pillows mask and I'm fine until I go to sleep, which is very difficult now, and I start to open my mouth a little and the whole thing gets out of control and I awake and take off the mask. The next time I wake up for whatever reason, like a trip to the toilet, I put the mask back on and turn on the machine. This may happen four times in a night. If I can't get back to sleep, I take it off. Would I be better off leaving the mask on with the machine off during down times?

[Julie]

Definitely.

[Sleeprider]

Julie, why would it be better to leave a mask on without the machine running? Rebreathing air and increased respiratory effort is now good for you?

Jake, you are not a nasal pillows candidate unless you can manage the leaks while you sleep. You're much better off in a full face or hybrid mask that offers equal pressure to the nasal and oral area. You can try chinstraps, taping and other measures, but if your mouth drops at night, you need to talk with your care provider and change the mask out.

What kind of pressures are you set at? Oh yeah, don't wear the mask with the machine off. No benefit whatsoever!

[grayghost4]

Wear the mask with the machine off ONLY IF THE MACHINE IS SET TO AUTOSTART !

[Jake1]

I have a full mask, but I couldn't get a good seal, and you know what it does when the seal is broken. It worked great when I held it to my face, but I couldn't adjust it so the air didn't blow up into my eyes. I didn't mind the full mask except for the seal issue.

I really want to make this work, and this site, and your responses are life saving.

Thanks

[Sheriff Buford]

Most of the time, when I get up, I take my mask off. But there are times when I leave the mask on. There's no answer... whatever turns your crank.

Sheriff

[cathyf]

I have a full mask, but I couldn't get a good seal, and you know what it does when the seal is broken. It worked great when I held it to my face, but I couldn't adjust it so the air didn't blow up into my eyes. I didn't mind the full mask except for the seal issue.

This sounds like the mask is the wrong size. If you go to cpap.com (the hosts of this site) and look up your mask, there should be a link for a size template. (You print it out and cut it out and hold it up to your face.) In my case the template showed me right at the bottom of size small, but the x-small fits and the small is a little too big. Everybody's face is slightly different (that's how we recognize individuals, after all) and so it's also possible that one version of a FFM will fit you great, while others won't fit right -- they fit other people with other shapes to their faces.

After I traded my small F10 for an x-small, I read in the resmed advertisements that one of the great things about this mask is that you can wear your glasses. If I had picked up on this right away I would have known that the small didn't fit -- because there is no way I can have my glasses on my nose with the lenses in front of my eyes so I can see when I am wearing the larger mask, where I CAN have my glasses on and can read with the x-small. Look at the material that came with your mask and is in the product descriptions at the online sites for the sellers and manufacturers. You might be able to figure out whether your mask is the wrong size, or the wrong shape and no size will fit and you need to try a different manufacturer.

[ChicagoGranny]

I start to open my mouth a little and the whole thing gets out of control

That's right. When you use a nasal interface and your mouth opens, the therapeutic pressure may be lost and you start having apneas - everything goes TH.

The gold standard solution in this case is to use a full face mask (FFM) - https://www.cpap.com/cpap-masks/full-face-cpap-mask.php .

With a FFM, when the mouth opens or leaks, the pressure on the airway is maintained and the therapy works - you continue sleeping and breathing.

You should fill out your equipment profile so members know what equipment and mask you are using.

Then work on using your FFM. It needs to be sized right and the headgear needs to be adjusted properly. It may take a second try to get the size right and adjusting the headgear so that it doesn't leak can take some time and experimenting. Start a thread about which FFM you have, describe your problems and ask for tips on sizing and adjusting the headgear. You don't want to overtighten the mask - a common newbie mistake.

There are many types of FFMs - see link above. Whichever one you have works for many people when sized and adjusted properly. However, no mask works for everyone and you may have to try other FFMs to find "your" mask. But I recommend you work on the one you have first.

[saltydawg2]

Lookin' Good, Granny!

[Sleeprider]

A version of the full face is the hybrid mask. These use nasal pillows as well as cover the mouth so if leaks do occur, it is not towards the eyes. I don't have personal experience with this but if it sounds interesting, there are a number of members here that can help discuss the pros and cons of the different designs. https://www.cpap.com/cpap-masks/hybrid-cpap-mask.php

[ChicagoGranny]

A version of the full face is the hybrid mask. These use nasal pillows as well as cover the mouth so if leaks do occur, it is not towards the eyes. I don't have personal experience with this but if it sounds interesting, there are a number of members here that can help discuss the pros and cons of the different designs. https://www.cpap.com/cpap-masks/hybrid-cpap-mask.php

I use the Innomed Hybrid.

Anyone wanting to try a "hybrid-style" full face mask for the first time should go with the Innomed. Here are the advantages of the Innomed over the ResMed Liberty for first time users:

- Comes with three sizes of nasal pillows and mouth cushions.
- Has a chin flap.
- Chin flap can be removed.
- Is cheaper.
- (Seems like there is one more, but I can't remember it now.)

[sleepy1235]

For a couple dollars I purchased a head band. I have it over the top of my head and below my chin.

It works. Keeps your jaw closed.

It may not be for everyone, but it is $2 and it takes one or two nights to try.

[Midnight Strangler]

a head band

Chin straps and other things used as chinstaps work for some.

Never worked for me. I love my FFMs.

[RogerSC]

It isn't be a problem to have the machine off and be wearing a mask. Nor is it a problem to leave your mask on when you go to the bathroom at night. You're not rebreathing anything, you're breathing air through the vent in your mask. I've woken up in the morning after a power failure at night, where I was on the machine for hours with mask on and machine off. I was fine, breathing through the vent in my mask. Although it was a little harder to breath than normal *smile*. Even that didn't wake me up until I was ready to wake up. No rebreathing of CO2, no problems.

Don't know where this information comes from.

[ChicagoGranny]

It isn't be a problem to have the machine off and be wearing a mask. Nor is it a problem to leave your mask on when you go to the bathroom at night. You're not rebreathing anything, you're breathing air through the vent in your mask. I've woken up in the morning after a power failure at night, where I was on the machine for hours with mask on and machine off. I was fine, breathing through the vent in my mask. Although it was a little harder to breath than normal *smile*. Even that didn't wake me up until I was ready to wake up. No rebreathing of CO2, no problems.

Don't know where this information comes from.

+1

Thanks for correcting that.