Horrible dry mouth - tried most suggestions =(

[TalonNYC]

I've got a FFM, and the Climateline tubing for the S9 cranked up to 80 degrees. Going through 1/2 tank of water every 6-7 hour night.

I use biotene before bed, swishing for a full 30 seconds, no food or drink after that.

I'm stumped, I wake up every AM with a bone-dry mouth and throat, and it's really annoying. I'm also noting that I get a sore throat some days while talking - a problem that stopped completely when CPAP therapy kicked in six months ago.

This isn't new, but it is progressively getting worse.

SleepyHead is showing no major leaks and low AHI and centrals, same as it looked a few months ago.

Should I tape my mouth shut and go back to a nasal? Suggestions appreciated, as always.

[Snuff-L-Reddy]

I have the same setup and problem. And if I set the humidifier too high my face and nose gets wet but my mouth is still bone dry. What gives ?

[TalonNYC]

Well, rain-out would be a problem, but I got the ClimateLine hose, which has been really good about keeping water from building up. So the water is being humidified, but I still get a dry throat =(

[Snuff-L-Reddy]

I have Climateline as well and have tried different settings on both manual and auto. I don't really get rainout just a really moist face under the mask yet still a dry mouth. Thursday will be first 30 day mark Would like to try nasal approach but have always been a mouth breather. And them dang masks is expensive if if ain't time for insurance to cover.

[TalonNYC]

I agree, the mask costs are one of the things keeping me from just going wild and experimenting with a nasal besides the comfortblue (yuck) that I have.

[sol]

Should I tape my mouth shut and go back to a nasal? Suggestions appreciated, as always.

Going back to nasal mask and a chinstrap may help , it is far better to breathe through your nose .

[robysue]

Obvious question: Are you on any medications---even OTC ones? Because many meds have dry mouth as a side effect---including many antihistamines for example.

Second obvious question: Are you making sure that you are well hydrated before bedtime?

Third less obvious question: Have you recently turned the heat on for the season? Once the heat is on the ambient air is much drier in most of our houses. Hence it may be necessary to increase the humidity setting a bit to stay comfortable.

[TalonNYC]

Good questions, Sue:

1 - no new meds in the last 2 months
2 - no change in hydration, I try to stay well hydrated
3 - heat is off. I switched to the ClimateLine after the dryness started, otherwise no change overall =(

[Bobby269]

I use a full face mask and I breathe through my mouth and am trying to train myself to keep my mouth shut. But for me stopping mouth breathing isn't going to happen. So when I sleep deeply my mouth is very dry. But I have no headaches in the morning, I don't fall asleep at stop signs,and I feel like life is good again. It appears that I am a mouth breather and will have to live with it and the dry mouth.

[TalonNYC]

@Bobby

Yeah, I am beginning to think the same as you do. I was just hoping someone had a magic bullet on this one =(

Ah well, there are worse things in life than a dry mouth in the AM.

[xenablue]

I have a Mirage Liberty hybrid mask (but I use Swift FX and LT) and when I was using this mask, would constantly wake up with my mouth like a desert.

Regardless of whether therapy is working when you open your mouth with a FFM, I was waking up with air going up my nose and straight out my mouth, just like what happens with nasal pillows if I don't use a chinstrap. I used a chinstrap with the Mirage Liberty, and no more dry mouth.

This would be my guess to what's happening to you - not mouthbreathing, just mouth dropping open so all that good air going to waste.

Also, this is something that concerns me, as spending a lot of time with a dried out mouth leaves your gums wide open (no pun intended) for bacterial disease and tooth problems, so a chinstrap IMHO is preferable to mouth surgery.

Cheers,
xena

[robysue]

Good questions, Sue:

1 - no new meds in the last 2 months

So what meds (including OTC) are you taking on a regular basis? Did you start something a couple of months ago? Sometimes it takes a while for a side effect to kick in---particularly one like dry mouth. For example, it takes zyrtec at the full 10mg about a month or so to start really making my mouth noticeably dry to the point of needing to do something about it.

3 - heat is off. I switched to the ClimateLine after the dryness started, otherwise no change overall =(

Sounds silly, but maybe turning that temp down from 80 degrees would help. While it's true that hot air can hold more moisture than cooler air, that also means that it takes more moisture to get up to a comfortable humidity level.

[TalonNYC]

1 - no new meds in the last 2 months

So what meds (including OTC) are you taking on a regular basis? Actually nothing in the last six months, to be honest.

2 - Sounds silly, but maybe turning that temp down from 80 degrees would help. While it's true that hot air can hold more moisture than cooler air, that also means that it takes more moisture to get up to a comfortable humidity level.[/quote]

1 - nothing new in the last six months, really. I take allergy meds, and started claritin about a 1/2 week back (well after the dry-mouth started happening). I have no doubt it's being made worse by my allergies, but that doesn't change the overall problem until they stop. Usually that's another 3-4 weeks.

2 - I'll crank it down a bit, can't hurt. Thanks!

I appreciate all the advice, this is the first major hiccup I've had since starting therapy about 8 months ago. I don't want it to fall apart now. Will try lower heat and biotene GEL instead of rinse.

[Snuff-L-Reddy]

Regardless of whether therapy is working when you open your mouth with a FFM, I was waking up with air going up my nose and straight out my mouth, just like what happens with nasal pillows if I don't use a chinstrap. I used a chinstrap with the Mirage Liberty, and no more dry mouth.

Good suggestion, I am going to try a chinstrap, although whenever I see one I am somehow reminded of Jacob Marley on the old Christmas Carol shows.

[Pugsy]

This sort of goes back to what I often say about mouth breathing with nasal pillow masks (and no taping) when the leak line doesn't show the large leak would expect, yet we do have a dry mouth on occasion. It sometimes doesn't take a raging wind tunnel of mouth breathing to dry the mouth out. Plus for some people the added moisture from the humidifier when using a FF mask simply isn't enough to moisturize the mouth adequately. It is mainly designed to replace moisture in the nasal mucosa and that area has much less surface area to deal with. The oral cavity is just larger area to try to supplement moisture to. Then some people simply dry out more easily than others.

Makes it awfully hard to deal with for some people. This is why some people use a chin strap with a FF mask. In hopes to help keep the mouth closed enough to prevent dryness.

Using the old fashioned method of heat only and really cranking up the humidifier will use more water and thus possibly add more moisture to the air going to oral cavity than we get with the new sensor tracking stuff climateline technology. Of course then the other ugly beast awakens ...rain out. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.