Question about mask,

[Doug450]

I got my machine yesterday and tried it last night, I was excited to try it but it didn't go to good, I have a nose type mask, every time I fall asleep my mouth
opens and the machine automatically steps up the air movement and it wakes me up, I tried it about 7 or 8 times thru out the night before giving up, when I picked up the machine from the medical place they gave a little class and had us pick which type mask we wanted, I wasn't sure which type mask to pick but I myself was kind of thinking about one of the mask that covers the nose and mouth, I wake up a lot in the middle of the night and my mouth is pretty dry and my tongue seems like a rock which I think is from sleeping with my mouth open so my thoughts were leaning toward the bigger mask, but when the guy giving the class called me up I ask him which mask I should get he recommended the smaller mask and told me that if it doesn't work out then I have 30 days to exchange it for a different one.
Do I definitely need to get a mask that covers my nose and mouth or is there other options that I might want to try, I think I have read that the bigger mask are hard to sleep on the side but I mostly sleep on my back because I have shoulder problems.

Thanks for any help, Doug

[grayghost4]

Welcome to cpaptalk

I have been using cpap for about 8 months .... and started with the same problem you are having .... I now use a chin strap or a cirvical collar to keep my mouth closed.

I tried a full face and that did not work ... when my mouth opened my jaw droped back and the mask seal leaked.

You might have better luck with a full face than I had. and it might be worth a try.

Good luck

[Wulfman...]

I got my machine yesterday and tried it last night, I was excited to try it but it didn't go to good, I have a nose type mask, every time I fall asleep my mouth
opens and the machine automatically steps up the air movement and it wakes me up, I tried it about 7 or 8 times thru out the night before giving up, when I picked up the machine from the medical place they gave a little class and had us pick which type mask we wanted, I wasn't sure which type mask to pick but I myself was kind of thinking about one of the mask that covers the nose and mouth, I wake up a lot in the middle of the night and my mouth is pretty dry and my tongue seems like a rock which I think is from sleeping with my mouth open so my thoughts were leaning toward the bigger mask, but when the guy giving the class called me up I ask him which mask I should get he recommended the smaller mask and told me that if it doesn't work out then I have 30 days to exchange it for a different one.
Do I definitely need to get a mask that covers my nose and mouth or is there other options that I might want to try, I think I have read that the bigger mask are hard to sleep on the side but I mostly sleep on my back because I have shoulder problems.

Thanks for any help, Doug

A couple of things........
Nasal passages need to be CLEAR before going to bed, so nasal cleansing may be necessary.
Too high of a humidity setting can also cause nasal congestion.
In short, if you can't breath through your nose (and you're using a nasal mask), your mouth is going to open to enable breathing.......you need to get the air in your body, one way or the other.


Den

.

[Gasper62]

I tried to prevent mouth leaks with several chin straps, no matter how tight I adjusted them I was still able to defeat them and lose tons of air out of my mouth. Maybe one will be a good solution for you, not much money to try one either. I am now trying to adapt to using full face masks with pretty good success. RemZZZ mask liners are making it a lot easier for me. You might want to do the exchange before 30 days and try a full type. (they're good to have when you have a cold anyway) Good luck !

[JDS74]

The problem is the facial muscles relaxing when you go to sleep. That allows the jaw to drop to some extent and allow air out instead of continuing down your airway. It is possible to learn how to keep the oral airway closed while sleeping. Perhaps someone who has had success in doing that can chime in and provide additional advice.

A chin strap will help keep your jaw closed at night but won't completely solve this problem.

Switching to a full face mask and combining that with a soft cervical collar will help also.

This journey is difficult for some of us. Please hang in there and keep trying - its important.
Keep posting questions when you need more information and/or more help.

[Doug450]

Thanks for all your responses, and thanks for future responses, this seems like a cool forum.

2nd night of trying the machine with nose mask, I am going to try a chin strap but I am wondering if may be I just need to try a full face or nose and mouth mask.

This machine is reminding me about little stuffiness nose occurrences I have noticed thru out the years, the stuffiness nose has never really bothered me too much to where it made me uncomfortable but It seems like it is going to cause me problems with getting this machine dialed in, thru out my life I have noticed the stuffiness most when I lay down and if I lay on my side one nostril seems to clear up and if I switch the side that I lay on the nostril clogging switches to the other nostril and the other side clears up, WOW! I hadn't noticed that for years, last night was the 2nd night of trying the machine and it didn't work to good last night either, for a couple breaths every once in a while it seemed kind of nice almost like it was going to do the breathing for me but that was very very seldom, when I seemed to get a few good breaths in it was when I was just laying there with out making any adjustments or any thing, I am very much wanting to get this machine dialed in.

When I said it almost seemed like it was going to do the breathing for me....... is that what a dialed in and working properly set up should feel like?

Doug

[Gasper62]

It sounds like you might have sinus congestion/allergies which are causing you to mouth-breathe. Maybe an antihistamine would help clear the way for a nasal mask to be effective ? I'm not too sure about the concept of training yourself while asleep to keep ones mouth closed and leak free, I doubt that I'm ever likely to succeed at it so, I use a FFM and I'm "covered". Good luck and don't get discouraged, you'll figure something out !

[QualityDMEGuy]

Depending on how many hours you've put in, I'd give it a few more days of trying before jumping to any decisions. Mouth venting is a problem that everyone experiences a little bit in the beginning. Until you've had several hours to adjust to the pressure and how it makes you breath a little abnormally, it's hard to say you won't get used to it. A lot of times people just need to get used to the pressure until they realize they don't need the full mask. And anything to avoid a full face is ideal - it's bigger, bulkier, more prone to leaks, and less comfortable. But if this problem youre having persists, full face will be your solution.

Regarding "how it is supposed to feel" - everyone experiences it differently. Of course you'll 'feel' it, but you should not feel like you're not in control. The machines respond to you - they don't dictate your breathing. I think the 'nice' was when the machine was able to keep in rhythm with you, which is how it will ultimately be all the time.