Tired and Drowsy During the Day

drowsyatwork · Post by **drowsyatwork** » Tue May 15, 2007 1:47 pm

I have been a continuous CPAP user for the last 2 years. I have a CPAP setting of 19 inhale 15 exhale with rounded nares. I have tried masks and nasal pillows with mixed results. I lost weight last year and had my pressure adjusted downward. Felt great until I gained most of the weight back between Thanksgiving and today. I have been experiencing tired eyes and drowsiness over the last 4 months. I had my eyes examined and was given a new reading glasses prescription but no change in my symptoms. Last week, I had the pressure reset to the original setting with no improvement and I'm thinking I may require a new mask.

I am a side sleeper and the original Mirage Swift prevents that from happening with the way the tube connects to the one end. I think it may be losing it's seal as I have been waking up multiple times at night and the mask has been disconnecting with the tubing as I shift positions. So, I figure it is time to get a new mask.

I mainly wear a nasal pillow mask but was thinking about getting either a nasal prong mask or oral mask if they are more effective. I have been looking at the available CPAP masks and after reviewing the user comments and looking at this forum, I have narrowed my choices to the following 5 masks:

1. Puritan Bennett New Version Breeze
2. Respironics Optilife Nasal Pillow
3. Invacare Twilight NP,Aura
4. Innomed Nasal Aire II
5. F&P Oracle HC452

Each mask has their pro's and con's but I wanted to get your advice.

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Tue May 15, 2007 2:17 pm

Newbie opinions:

I couldn't get the OptiLife to stay sealed. Fought with the mask and tube all night.

CL2 was better, but I still played with the nasal prongs and fought with the hose.

The Breeze is staying sealed VERY WELL. It seems a bit... How do I say this? It pushes on my upper lip sorta hard. And that hard shell is uncomfortable. BUT it stays sealed, and I've slept better with the Breeze than any of the other two.

I'm a tosser and turner too. Major side sleeper, major turner, major wiggler. I'm willing to keep working with the Breeze.

BTW - NO hose management issues AT ALL. It's out of my way and not a problem at all.

Cheers,
B.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Tue May 15, 2007 2:38 pm

drowsyatwork wrote:I have been a continuous CPAP user for the last 2 years. I have a CPAP setting of 19 inhale 15 exhale with rounded nares. I have tried masks and nasal pillows with mixed results. I lost weight last year and had my pressure adjusted downward. Felt great until I gained most of the weight back between Thanksgiving and today. I have been experiencing tired eyes and drowsiness over the last 4 months. I had my eyes examined and was given a new reading glasses prescription but no change in my symptoms. Last week, I had the pressure reset to the original setting with no improvement and I'm thinking I may require a new mask.

I am a side sleeper and the original Mirage Swift prevents that from happening with the way the tube connects to the one end. I think it may be losing it's seal as I have been waking up multiple times at night and the mask has been disconnecting with the tubing as I shift positions. So, I figure it is time to get a new mask.

I mainly wear a nasal pillow mask but was thinking about getting either a nasal prong mask or oral mask if they are more effective. I have been looking at the available CPAP masks and after reviewing the user comments and looking at this forum, I have narrowed my choices to the following 5 masks:

1. Puritan Bennett New Version Breeze
2. Respironics Optilife Nasal Pillow
3. Invacare Twilight NP,Aura
4. Innomed Nasal Aire II
5. F&P Oracle HC452

Each mask has their pro's and con's but I wanted to get your advice.

Based on what you described and the fact that your present mask is a nasal mask, I strongly suspect that you're leaking therapy air out your mouth. On top of that, all the masks you listed are nasal masks.
Whatever you get, you're going to have to make sure your lips are sealed.....either with tape or Polident adhesive strips.....unless you want to try a full face mask.

Den

drowsyatwork · Post by **drowsyatwork** » Wed May 16, 2007 7:53 am

Thanks for the replies Wulfman and Babette. I do have a chin strap but had quit wearing it because it was uncomfortable. I wore it last night and I have felt better this morning. You mentioned to use tape (Polident adhesive) to keep my mouth closed at night but I have some questions.

1. How painful is the tape to remove in the morning?
2. How do you prevent your lips from being damaged from the tape?
3. Does the tape go up and down?
4. How many pieces of tape do you use?
5. Should I think about getting a hybrid or full face mask since I am a moth breather?

I saw on the CPAP web site the Hybrid Universal Full Face CPAP Mask with Nasal Pillows. It got mixed reviews but I could not find a discussion on that mask in this forum. I am leaning towards the Breeze but if I have to wear a chin strap or tape over my mouth I may want to try the Hybrid.

Thanks for your posts.

Mitch

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Wed May 16, 2007 8:37 am

Here's a link to lots of threads:

viewtopic.php?t=8011

If that isn't enough, do a "Search" on "taping" with "Rested Gal" as the author.
I've never had to do it, but lots of people here do. There are a number of different brands/types of tapes that work. Many use the Polident adhesive strips. If done properly, both are reported to work well and with virtually no problems damaging the lips.
Some use the Hybrid. Seems they either love it or hate it......as with most masks.
Chin straps typically don't work very well or at least consistently.....from what I've read.

Den

TerryB · Post by **TerryB** » Wed May 16, 2007 11:34 am

Drowsy,
I know exactly what you mean about the feeling drowsy at work. I use the Polident strips. I take one strip and tear it in two relativly equal pieces. I wet the pieces and my lips and place the two pieces between my lips so there are three equal non stuck spaces at left end, center and right end of my lips. After I put on an elastic bandage set to provide a comfortable tension from the top rear of my head to the front bottom of my jaw to keep from straining the adhesive join. It is possible for small amounts of air to leak through the lips, but no major leaks, and I haven't had drooling problems since starting either.

Adding this has made a huge difference in the daytime feeling. It eliminated any need for weekend naps even.

Good Luck,
TerryB

flygal6 · Post by **flygal6** » Wed May 16, 2007 12:23 pm

Terry B,
I would try the polident strips with your chin strap and then give the ComfortLite 2 a try. I am a side sleeper and have found this mask to work very well for me on my side. I also use a hose hanger under the mattress to manage the hose over my head, which also helps as I turn side to side. Now I never feel the hose as I turn. This mask comes with 2 of 3 options nasal mask (simple cushion), direct seal, and/or pillows. This one also is pretty good even at high pressures >16. Best of luck.
Carol

TerryB · Post by **TerryB** » Wed May 16, 2007 1:30 pm

I'm sorry I misled you somehow. In fact that's exactly what I do. I was coaching Drowsyatwork.

TerryB

birdshell · Post by **birdshell** » Wed May 16, 2007 2:38 pm

Here we go:

Mouth taping: Your questions may be answered by the posting below.

I use the procedure below for my successful mouth taping PLUS:

I smear some milk of magnesia on the skin around my mouth and allow it to dry before applying tape. It protects the skin well.

Click Here for: Just One Man's Very Successful Mouth Taping Procedure

viewtopic.php?t=9653

Hybrid: As Den said, the Hybrid has been discussed ad nauseum, but still not enough for those of us on this forum. I believe that your problem may have been searching for the entire title, instead of just the word, "Hybrid".

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu May 17, 2007 6:43 pm

Wow!! Thank you for all of the replies. The links were perfect and the search engine worked extremely well. I tried the tape over the mouth last night and had mixed results. I was waking up frequently to see if the tape was still on. Hopefully, I will have better results tonight.

I am going to stay with the Swift for right now. I could not decide on the type of mask that would improve my sleep. The Breeze is not sold by my DME and I just don't like the look of the OptiLife. I found a link that showed how to get the Swift tube positioned over your head. I put a tube hanger over my bed to get it out of my way and hopefully this will allow me to roll-over at night and sleep on either side.

Thanks again for all of your wonderful advice. I plan to be a regular visitor and contributor to this site.

Tired and Drowsy During the Day

Tired and Drowsy During the Day

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