Suddenly getting air in my mouth

[ZzzCatcher]

I've been using my APAP perfectly well for about 18 months now, with the F&P Brevida nasal pillow. Over the past few days, I've suddenly started waking up several times a night because of little bursts of air coming out of my mouth. As I try to go back to sleep, I notice small amounts of air getting into my mouth (via my throat), until there's no more room, then pthffft, my lips flap, and I'm awake again. Changing position doesn't help. My sinuses are clear. The only new thing is that I recently lost quite a lot of weight. I'm still heavy, but not AS heavy.

Am I doomed to having to tape my mouth shut and wake up looking like Dizzy Gillespie during a particularly big note?

[jimbud]

Losing weight does change things, I gather.

What I do is practice breathing through my nose...Always. (if possible)
I make myself self conscious about it.
Exercise, nose breath.
Walking anywhere, nose breath.
Sitting in my chair, nose breath.
Always.
You can retrain yourself to nose breath when you are asleep this way.

You nose breathed before.
That means you can nose breath again.


Good luck,

JPB

[ZzzCatcher]

I'm not mouth breathing, though. It's just that some air is blowing into my mouth, and when my mouth gets full enough, it poofs out from between my lips. I'm still breathing through my nose, even as it's happening.

I only mouth breathe if I have major congestion. I have a backup mask for those few days a year when my nose is totally blocked, but hate it because mouth breathing makes me wake up with surfboard tongue.

[jimbud]

If air is blowing out of your mouth you are "mouth venting" then.
Same dynamics, just smaller volume.
Air gets into your mouth by the same channel.
You have to get the part of your throat that isolates the mouth from the nose to go back to clamping off again.
Retrain.

You only get therapy pressure through your nose with the brevida.

JPB

By the way I never said you were "mouth breathing".

[Pugsy]

Common problem....we call it chipmunk cheeks. Search the forum for past discussions.
Not an easy problem to fix but for some reason your back door to your airway in the back of the mouth is falling open and allowing air to sneak into the oral cavity.

[LSAT]

Try to train yourself to keep your tongue pressed against the back of your upper front teeth.

[ZzzCatcher]

If air is blowing out of your mouth you are "mouth venting" then.
Same dynamics, just smaller volume.
Air gets into your mouth by the same channel.
You have to get the part of your throat that isolates the mouth from the nose to go back to clamping off again.
Retrain.

You only get therapy pressure through your nose with the brevida.

JPB

By the way I never said you were "mouth breathing".

Sorry for misinterpreting you. When you gave the recommendation for always nose breathing, I assumed you assumed I didn't already always nose breathe. Thanks for the feedback!

[ZzzCatcher]

Common problem....we call it chipmunk cheeks. Search the forum for past discussions.
Not an easy problem to fix but for some reason your back door to your airway in the back of the mouth is falling open and allowing air to sneak into the oral cavity.

Ah-ha! A search term! Thank you, that's very useful.

[Miss Emerita]

It sounds as though you used to be able to maintain a good seal with your tongue but now can't. I wonder whether for some reason your lower jaw is dropping just enough to break the seal. If so, a soft cervical collar might help.

Everyone's body is different, but for what it's worth, I was having trouble with the tongue seal until I realized that I can maintain it better if I let my lower jaw slide back. When my jaw is forward, the seal is much harder to sustain.