Still looking for a solution

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
Double Dx
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Sep 13, 2013 10:16 pm

Still looking for a solution

Post by Double Dx » Sat Sep 12, 2015 10:29 am

I have been using my CPAP now for about 3 years, with a few vacations when I couldn't stand it anymore. I have tried three different masks, as I am a huge mouth breather, but now I'm having trouble with the new one I have. I'm really sick of the whole thing. I honestly can't tell that I feel one bit better sleeping with it, but now, my mouth is miserably dry and I'm having trouble with my gums.
I hear people (cardiologist) talk about how I should not be tired all the time and how I should lose weight, especially around the middle. What makes it work so successfuly for some and so poorly for others? I think my favorite was the nasal mask, but.....not good with your mouth hanging open. If you're wearing a full face mask and your mouth is hanging open, doesn't your tongue fall backwards and block your airway anyway? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Tdub210
Posts: 97
Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2015 12:39 pm
Location: SA Texas

Re: Still looking for a solution

Post by Tdub210 » Sat Sep 12, 2015 12:40 pm

I use a full face because I mouth breathe a lot. I use some biotene in gel form before bed. It seems to help a lot. It doesnt eliminate the dry mouth but reduces it a lot. I also made adjustments to the humidity. Small increments at a time. There are a lot of posts here about dry mouth.

I didnt have some giant burst of energy, and it seems most here dont. I think thats fairly rare. As for the weight, cpap isn't going to reduce weight. It should give you the energy to exercise to get it off, but there's not really anything about cpap that takes weight off in and of itself. Prior to cpap, i didn't have high blood pressure, nor was I falling asleep at the wheel or desk during the day. So, maybe I'm not very comparative. But like I said, I didnt see some big increase in energy during the day. Other improvements, but nothing earth shattering.

Yeah, I would say if you sleep on your back, your tongue and all the rest of the stuff in your mouth will settle back. However, the cpap is going to fight off the apnea events. I generally try to sleep on my side and stomach as much as I can (yes, even with a FFM, I figured out some strategies with the pillow). But I do some nights end up on my back. Last night in fact. My wife told me this morning I spent a lot of time on my back. And I can see it in the Sleepyhead graphs. There are more hypopneas and flow limitations when I'm on my back. I also had a couple of apneas. That being said, my AHI was 1.9 last night, compared to my sleep study of 37 on my back without cpap.

Even though I didnt see some big noticeable jump in energy, with my AHI under control, I figure I'm doing my heart and the rest of my body a lot of good on this. Plus, I dont snore anymore.

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Wulfman...
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Re: Still looking for a solution

Post by Wulfman... » Sat Sep 12, 2015 3:05 pm

Double Dx wrote:I have been using my CPAP now for about 3 years, with a few vacations when I couldn't stand it anymore. I have tried three different masks, as I am a huge mouth breather, but now I'm having trouble with the new one I have. I'm really sick of the whole thing. I honestly can't tell that I feel one bit better sleeping with it, but now, my mouth is miserably dry and I'm having trouble with my gums.
I hear people (cardiologist) talk about how I should not be tired all the time and how I should lose weight, especially around the middle. What makes it work so successfuly for some and so poorly for others? I think my favorite was the nasal mask, but.....not good with your mouth hanging open. If you're wearing a full face mask and your mouth is hanging open, doesn't your tongue fall backwards and block your airway anyway? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!
Please fill out your profile with the exact equipment and settings you use. We're not clairvoyant.

Only if you're sleeping on your back and haven't trained your tongue to stay to the roof of your mouth and your mouth to stay shut. Try to stay on your sides.
Too much heated humidification can cause more nasal congestion and make mouth-breathing worse.
Turning down (or Off) the HH setting may help
Doing nasal cleansing before bedtime may also help.

Is your machine data-capable and are you using software to study your nightly data?


Den

.
(5) REMstar Autos w/C-Flex & (6) REMstar Pro 2 CPAPs w/C-Flex - Pressure Setting = 14 cm.
"Passover" Humidification - ResMed Ultra Mirage FF - Encore Pro w/Card Reader & MyEncore software - Chiroflow pillow
User since 05/14/05

JDS74
Posts: 3397
Joined: Sun Jan 23, 2011 2:57 pm
Location: South Carolina

Re: Still looking for a solution

Post by JDS74 » Sun Sep 13, 2015 8:33 pm

Jaw drop is a cause of leaks with full face masks as the facial muscles relax with sleep. Use of a soft cervical collar will help in keeping the jaw from dropping and displacing the mask. If you are having gum issues, the reducing the humidity level will not help that. Discuss this problem with your dentist to see if increasing the humidity will help.

If you want a lot more humidity (and can tolerate it), here is a link on how I addressed that issuer.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=106199&p=1007744&hi ... d#p1007744

Another poster, AlabamaAl, built a different approach to this same problem. I don't have the link readily at hand.

_________________
Mask: Oracle HC452 Oral CPAP Mask
Humidifier: DreamStation Heated Humidifier
Additional Comments: EverFlo Q 3.0 Liters O2 PR DSX900 ASV
Oracle 452 Lessons Learned Updated
DSX900 AutoSV with HC150 extra humidifier and Hibernite heated hose
Settings: EPAP Min-10.0, EPAP Max-17, PS Min-3, PS Max-10, Max Pressure-20, Rate-Auto, Biflex-1.
Sleepyhead and Encore Pro 2.21.

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ChicagoGranny
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Location: USA

Re: Still looking for a solution

Post by ChicagoGranny » Sun Sep 13, 2015 8:40 pm

Double Dx wrote:If you're wearing a full face mask and your mouth is hanging open, doesn't your tongue fall backwards and block your airway anyway?
Not if you have the right machine settings and the mask is not leaking excessively.

Without getting involved here and making a determined effort to get your CPAP therapy optimized, you might continue to be a failure. This takes some time and effort for some people. Make up your mind that you are going to make the investment. The payoff can be huge.
"It's not the number of breaths we take, it's the number of moments that take our breath away."

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