N00b fail...help please

[cactoman]

Hi...am a n00b here...

I have been running a cpap (or trying to) for the last couple of months now...have not made it through the night once...

Either (1) it drys my moth out like a mouthfull of cotton balls or;

(2) the bottom of the mask ends up in mu mouth

Have no idea what I'm doing wrong...I do know that I have had limited nasal airflow my whole life, and tend to mouthbreathe.

Any help/advice would be highly appreciated

Ed J
the ORIGINAL Cactoman...since 1995

[ww]

I could never make the Comfortful mask work for me. It leaked, farted, and made leaking noise all night no matter what I did. I tried a medium then a small ResMed Ultra Mirage Full Face mask to finally fit properly and quit leaking. You cannot get good therapy with a leaking mask! Many of us with difficulty breathing through our noses, tend to mouth breath over in the night causing dry mouth and poor results since the mouth is not as capable as the nose in holding the airway opening! A full face mask should be as small as you can wear and the bottom should fit in the chin crease and it should not be easy to get your chin up inside the mask. If you can, then the mask is too large and you need to get a smaller one. Sinus rinse kits, Breath Rite Strips, prescription generic Fluticasone Propionate nasal spray and bendryl are ways that most of us have managed to breathe ok and keep our mouth shut with a full face mask.

[ozij]

In addition to the above:
You may need to have more humidity in the air you breathe - especially since your mouth is open.
You can get that by adding a more powerful humidifier (a Fisher & Paykel 150) and by heating your hose - I use the heated hose obtainable from http://www.sleepzone.com.au. Too much humidity with not enough heat results in rainout.

O.

[alnhwrd]

I would guess that you might have the wrong size, or it is too loose. Can you try a different type or size?