Quick question re: mouth leaks

[ghoundgirl]

Is it possible to have mouth leaks bad enough to cause really, really dry mouth, yet still show a .02 L/s leak rate? I woke up dry as a bone this morning (lips and mouth), but showed my best leak rate yet...

[LoQ]

Doesn't sound plausible to me, but frankly, I think there is a tendency in the forum to rely way too much on hard data. Other than the dry mouth, how did you feel?

[Valkyrie0]

I started on CPAP about 6 weeks ago with the FX pillow and got a bad case of dry mouth. I liked the pillows, but woke up 4-5 times a night with dry mouth. I also got low leakage reading (actually 0), but I think that the air puffed pressure out of my mouth enough times to cause the problem, but not register as a large leak. I tried a chin strap, but I found I had to tighten it to a point where it was uncomfortable.
I don't think I was opening my mouth, but I think I parted my lips when the pressure built up and the air puffed through the parted lips.
I also had to raise my pressure from 6 to 9. I wasn't having much of a problem at 6, but the dry mouth problem got much worse at the higher pressure.
I also tried using a gel to prevent dry mouth, but that didn't work well.
Bottom line is after a lot of trial and error and fussing,I ended up going with a full face mask, the Resmed Quattro about a month ago and haven't had a dry mouth problem since.
I am a male, side sleeper, with a beard and mustache. I like the FX pillows better for comfort, but the dry mouth problems made them usable for me.

Good Luck, but the pillow may not be for you.


Respironics System 1
Resmed Quattro full face mask