Chin Strap Weird Results

[JDS74]

I've been having periods of large leaks related to my mouth dropping while I sleep so I thought to try a chin strap. I got the Respironics White strap and have tried it for a few nights. The large leaks are suppressed when I wear it - that's what I wanted. What I see is a large increase in OA clusters on the nights I use the strap, not many on the nights I don't - not what I wanted. This is last night:



Without the chin strap, my OA's generally run between 0.5 and1.5 not 11.8 like last night. Yeah, last night was really lousy.

Does anyone either use an Oracle 2 mask and a chin strap or a FFM and a chin strap have similar experience?
I'm guessing that this comes from pressure that pushes my tongue up and back in some positions while I sleep.

Just curious - NOT going to use the chin strap any more.

Edit 1 : Anyone wanting a Respironics White chin strap used just 4 times, pls send me a PM. I'll wash it before sending.
Edit 2 : The chin strap has already been claimed.

[Pugsy]

If the leaks were large they could possibly have impaired machine's scoring ability meaning the previously low AHI could have been falsely low. Perhaps use of chin strap stops the large leak and allows true reporting? Just a thought.

[Mary Z]

I agree those are weird results, your reasoning for the increased AHI sounds likely. Have you thought of using a FFM? That shouldn't change the position of your jaw. Perhaps you might have better luck with a different chin strap. The Ultimate Chin Strap, though it looks very confining, is supposed to be very comfortable and comes with a guarantee. Good Luck. I agree you want to get those mouth leaks under control.

[JDS74]

If the leaks were large they could possibly have impaired machine's scoring ability meaning the previously low AHI could have been falsely low. Perhaps use of chin strap stops the large leak and allows true reporting? Just a thought.

Pugsy:

The leaks I was trying to control were short lived ( 5 to 10 minutes in any one night and don't wake me ) and not too often. Never got above 100 LPM ( the mask default leak rate is 36 LPM at my pressures ).

Without the chin strap, my AHI varied between 1.2 and 8.0 and, except for some occasions, the leak rate never got above 36 LPM. All in all, it's really weird. I was just wondering if anyone else experienced this phenomena as a result of adding a chin strap.

[ultimatestrap]

Hey...if you need a chin strap you should check out the ultimate chin strap for sleep apnea...it is designed to keep your mouth closed and yet because of its unique design opens your air passages without your tongue rolling back! check out website...good luck

[ozze_dollar]

I need to wear a chinstrap. Just the way it is. I was looking after one of my grandchildren the other day and she had a bit of a cold and a blocked nose. She always likes to have dummy when she sleeps but was impossible as the dummy keeps her mouth shut tight and with the blocked nose there was no way she could use it.

It made me think...sucking the dummy really keeps the mouth shut. Now I am not suggesting that we all go out and buy dummies but it makes you think that there may be something in this for us poor CPAP users.

I wonder would a similar thing for adults keep our mouth shut?

[asylvia]

what is a "dummy"?

[LSAT]

Dummy = Pacifier????

[Lizistired]

Have to wonder what the sucking would do to the airway?
One of the complaints I had about my sleep, prior to my study, was that when I woke up, I felt like I had been sucking or swallowing all night.
I sucked my thumb for a long time when I was little.

[xenablue]

Yes, a dummy (Australia/UK) is a pacifier (US).

xena

[Pugsy]

The leaks I was trying to control were short lived ( 5 to 10 minutes in any one night and don't wake me ) and not too often. Never got above 100 LPM ( the mask default leak rate is 36 LPM at my pressures ).

Without the chin strap, my AHI varied between 1.2 and 8.0 and, except for some occasions, the leak rate never got above 36 LPM. All in all, it's really weird. I was just wondering if anyone else experienced this phenomena as a result of adding a chin strap.

If large leaks were rare and short lived as you say then I wouldn't expect it to impact AHI greatly. Easy to see on the reports if they did. Of course as we all know there are no absolutes to this therapy and often things happen that we cannot explain. Maybe it was a coincidence. Maybe that really ugly night would have been ugly without the chin strap.
I was just trying to think outside the box sort of grasping at straws for a possible explanation.

[JDS74]

Maybe that really ugly night would have been ugly without the chin strap.
I was just trying to think outside the box sort of grasping at straws for a possible explanation.

Pugsy:

I'm always grateful when anyone takes the time to make suggestions. It's always helpful because it causes me to go back and rethink .

In addition to sleep apnea, I'm fighting some other condition that gives me whole body sweats, tachycardia, hypertension, and headaches from 12 t0 23 times each day in any and all combinations. I went back over my data and discovered that the day before the 'ugly' day I set a new record of 23 episodes. Last night my AHI was back down to a more 'normal' 3.9 and the number of episodes had dropped to 13 for the previous day.

BTW the tachycardia and hypertension episodes last from 15 seconds to 3 - 4 minutes and then they are gone. Been looking for this particular one for 11 years.

[Pugsy]

In addition to sleep apnea, I'm fighting some other condition that gives me whole body sweats, tachycardia, hypertension, and headaches from 12 t0 23 times each day in any and all combinations. I went back over my data and discovered that the day before the 'ugly' day I set a new record of 23 episodes. Last night my AHI was back down to a more 'normal' 3.9 and the number of episodes had dropped to 13 for the previous day.

Ahh. Maybe you have found the correlation. Maybe when you have an "ugly" day you stand a greater chance of having an "ugly" night too. The chin strap could have just been a coincidence.

[ozze_dollar]

Yes, a dummy (Australia/UK) is a pacifier (US).

xena

Sorry guys i forget sometimes we come from different countries. The world is getting smaller.