another tape fan

[andy5805]

snore snore snore, that's me at the moment, once I get to sleep the machine does its magic but if I'm progressively getting more stressed with every snort arousal/hypoapnea before I get to sleep, then the deep sleep may never come

so I want to share this

last night had all the makings of a hell night. snoring awake, repeatedly, looking at the clock, seeing the hours get less

so I got angry - mostly at me and this extremely dysfunctional mouth I have that loves to destroy my sleep. I reached for the medical tape. Because I was angry I did it GOOD, I went across, then up to make damn sure, then up again, then put the mask back on, lay down exhausted and in despair

.........morning, I tell you the truth though I've probably had less than 6 hours after all that snorting I had the best day at work in my life!!! clearly this snorting awake continues into my sleep .... clearly that's now sorted

ALL HAIL TAPE!

[kaiasgram]

snore snore snore, that's me at the moment, once I get to sleep the machine does its magic but if I'm progressively getting more stressed with every snort arousal/hypoapnea before I get to sleep, then the deep sleep may never come

so I want to share this

last night had all the makings of a hell night. snoring awake, repeatedly, looking at the clock, seeing the hours get less

so I got angry - mostly at me and this extremely dysfunctional mouth I have that loves to destroy my sleep. I reached for the medical tape. Because I was angry I did it GOOD, I went across, then up to make damn sure, then up again, then put the mask back on, lay down exhausted and in despair

.........morning, I tell you the truth though I've probably had less than 6 hours after all that snorting I had the best day at work in my life!!! clearly this snorting awake continues into my sleep .... clearly that's now sorted

ALL HAIL TAPE!

You're hilarious! Good for you that you found a solution -- the way you describe your middle of the night desperation is exactly how I was compelled to give taping a try too. And it worked. Since then I've 'refined' how I do it so I feel a little safer in the event of a power failure or machine failure. I've posted a photo of my little 'system' on the forum before, if you want to see it again let me know and I'll post again.

I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't use a nasal pillow mask as any mask sitting on the bridge of my nose tears the skin up in a single night. But sleeping on a bed wedge means gravity is always working against keeping my mouth closed. Nasal pillow mask and mouth-taping is the only way I can do this bizarre therapy.

[Country4ever]

Glad to hear it works for you. I've been using blue painter's tape for a long time. Its the only way things work for me!
Nothing like a good night's rest!

[Sir NoddinOff]

THIS IS A RE-POST FROM A FEW MONTHS AGO... I HOPE ALL MOUTH TAPERS FIND IT USEFUL:

This is mainly for nasal mask users. Here's how I use 3M NexCare multipore plastic tape to tape my mouth by using a 'rip-away slit' which makes taping as safe as a chinstrap. I know, a big claim but give it a try!

Here's how I do it. I put a long strip completely over my lips in a horizontal fashion while compressing my lips firmly together... I fold over pull-off tabs at either end, just for ease of removal. Next I take a VERY dull steak knife with a somewhat blunted point which I keep in a bedstand drawer and carefully cut a horizontal slit about a 1/2 inch long (while the tape is on my lips) in the middle of the tape where the center of my lips seal together. The blade is so dull it doesn't damage my lips at all; it's a very dull knife but you do need a bit of a dull point to get thru the tape. A butter knife just doesn't seem to work.

Here's the beauty part: If I have to get my mouth open quickly (only once in a year have I had to do this) all I have to do is force my lips apart and typically the tape easily rips itself down each side of the slit and my mouth pops completely open. I also do this every morning to get the tape off and only about 5% of the time does the tape resist splitting... if that happens all I have to do is force the tip of my tongue between my lips and out thru the slit OR poke the slit with the tip of a finger - then it easily rips apart. It comes off very nicely in the morning with no pain. Another good point: If I need to take a pill in the middle of the night it's convenient because I just slip it thru the slit and use a soda straw and water to swallow it. Try this method while awake the first time and I think you'll find it's pretty easy to do. I use straight Palmolive dishwashing soap to get any sticky residue off of my face and leave it on for a few minutes while I make tea or whatever. BTW, I've never had any leaks thru my mouth or lips using this method. CAUTION: I wouldn't try this with any other tape than the 3M tape I mentioned (like medical or sports tape) because I don't know how easily it'd rip. Also, don't cover up the half inch slit with another piece of tape or you've just defeated the whole method!!! Final tip: to get the tape to stick all night wash your face with soap and water and rinse repeatedly then dry thoroughly. Don't use soap with any lotion in it.

[ReadyforRest]

snore snore snore, that's me at the moment, once I get to sleep the machine does its magic but if I'm progressively getting more stressed with every snort arousal/hypoapnea before I get to sleep, then the deep sleep may never come

so I want to share this

last night had all the makings of a hell night. snoring awake, repeatedly, looking at the clock, seeing the hours get less

so I got angry - mostly at me and this extremely dysfunctional mouth I have that loves to destroy my sleep. I reached for the medical tape. Because I was angry I did it GOOD, I went across, then up to make damn sure, then up again, then put the mask back on, lay down exhausted and in despair

.........morning, I tell you the truth though I've probably had less than 6 hours after all that snorting I had the best day at work in my life!!! clearly this snorting awake continues into my sleep .... clearly that's now sorted

ALL HAIL TAPE!

Congratulations, Andy! I'm glad it worked out for you. If tape works best for you, GREAT (rather than a mouth-covering chin strap).

Are you still planning on changing your mask?

Did you use tape again last night?

[andy5805]

snore snore snore, that's me at the moment, once I get to sleep the machine does its magic but if I'm progressively getting more stressed with every snort arousal/hypoapnea before I get to sleep, then the deep sleep may never come

so I want to share this

last night had all the makings of a hell night. snoring awake, repeatedly, looking at the clock, seeing the hours get less

so I got angry - mostly at me and this extremely dysfunctional mouth I have that loves to destroy my sleep. I reached for the medical tape. Because I was angry I did it GOOD, I went across, then up to make damn sure, then up again, then put the mask back on, lay down exhausted and in despair

.........morning, I tell you the truth though I've probably had less than 6 hours after all that snorting I had the best day at work in my life!!! clearly this snorting awake continues into my sleep .... clearly that's now sorted

ALL HAIL TAPE!

Congratulations, Andy! I'm glad it worked out for you. If tape works best for you, GREAT (rather than a mouth-covering chin strap).

Are you still planning on changing your mask?

Did you use tape again last night?

hi - yeah I did use tape, all night through - I'm tired now - 7.40pm UK time, but my busiest day at work is Wednesday and if I'm zonked out then before I start, I feel awful by now - so all in all another good night

I did put in some safety- I've got an app for smartphone that goes off if the power goes - I've had that in place since I started therapy. Last night I took additional step of turning on leak alerts - I'm a bit spazzy about the what if two pillows fall out of my nose and my moth is taped scenario - so I think that's covered

very much wanting to change mask next week - I am not good at nose pillows but I'm far better at them with tape - I think I've isolated why I can't get to sleep anyway - and it's at point of sleep mouth opens and either snore volume or snore intensity/apnea wakes me up. how horrible. other thing is twitching, nasal pillows make me twich which wake me up also. Usually overcome it by lanolin or exact positioning - but what a pain in the neck, I just want something I can stick on and go to sleep in, not worry for hours on end if I've got it right and then either have the fact I've got it wrong or the worry itself wake me up.

if I could suggest one thing in my opinion to the makers of such masks it'd be this - forget elastic material - it stretches and behaves like plastic material ( remember that physics experiment with the rubber band at school) you want a precision elastic only material settable by numbers, so you can say "my setting for tightness is 4.something, then dial in 4.something knowing you get the same pull, and that's bloody that. Dial in put on go to sleep. Perhaps I'm just not a gifted person at fitting masks but for me the pillows really irritate me and it's always the finest of fine lines between non leakage and too tight/facial injury

Kind regards
Andy


edit: I guess that's why a lot of us are here isn't it - some of us never sleep, some of us sleep great and all the rest of us are looking for that one word - consistency - a guaranteed system that means that unless there's something up emotionally you do a days work and you put your head down and sleep. I've been looking for this elusive system for years now. I feel I'm closer than I was, but I'd love to just nail it down to a formulaic methodic approach that "just works" - no drama or BS - from either mask or machine, simple system, turn on go to sleep. Always love to read messages by people who've found that holy grail as I'm not quite there yet!