TMJ and mask compatibility

[lynninnj]

after spending the week with a slightly stuffy nose, and having great difficulty trying to breathe with my CPAP, I am thinking about potentially investing in a full facemask or a hybrid or something like that.

The other night while I was sleeping, my mouth kept popping open with air coming out. This was the first time this ever happened to me and it was very disruptive. Since that night, I have managed to treat the congestion a little bit but I still think it happened again last night where my mouth popped open.

when I look at the pictures of the full face masks, and the hybrid masks, I see a lot of activity going on at the temples. This would become very uncomfortable for me I believe although I would be happy to be wrong. The N30i had minimal bulk at the temples but I found it very painful.

I don’t want to get out of the habit of keeping my tongue on the roof of my mouth, but I’m also thinking about the potential for additional nasal congestion when we start running the pellet stove. During the day I have oh so slight restriction in my sinuses but at night with a PAP it’s multiplied.

Any suggestions?

[chunkyfrog]

Make sure your pellet stove is properly vented.
Then enjoy.

[ChicagoGranny]

Any suggestions?

Have you had your airway examined by an ENT and discussed your issues and CPAP therapy with her?

[robysue1]

Sinus congestion and TMJ problems are two different problems. And you may need to address both of them.

For the congestion: You may need to be more proactive in treating the daytime congestion as well as the nighttime congestion. That may mean some combination of drugs (antihistamines and/or short-term use of decongestants if you can tolerate them), ample use of saline nasal sprays, use of a neti pot, and potentially using flonase for a while. At night, you might also consider changing the humidifier setting on your CPAP: Some noses like a lot of humidity. Other noses get more congested with too much humidity. So consider turning the humidifier both up and down to see if your nose wants more or less humidity that it is currently getting at night.

For the TMJ problems: Even when the pain manifests itself in the temples, the problem is in the joints, which are where the jaw attaches to your skull. Custom night guards usually work well for managing TMJ problems. If a guard made by your primary care dentist doesn't work well enough, consider asking for a referral to a TMJ specialist. The problem here is expense: Most dental insurance plans pay little or nothing for TMJ guards and many health and dental insurance plans pay little or nothing for consulting with a TMJ specialist.

[lynninnj]

I think what I was looking for is a suggestion for what to use in terms of a mask when my nose is stuffy and just can’t get rid of the stuff. That mask would have to aggravate the tmj as little as possible. When I look at the pictures of the full facemasks, they all seem to have folded straps pressed right at the temples. That would be uncomfortable for me.

I have different techniques for unstuffing the nose and dealing with the tmj individually. The added humidity usually does a great job with clearing my sinuses out.

I guess what I’m driving at is I want to be prepared for the change in heating within the house. I know the AC dried it out but I feel like the pellet stove dries it out even more. I just want to have some sort of contingency plan.

Perhaps one day I can afford to have a TMJ specialist look at my jaw. I don’t normally get a lot of sinus congestion, but over the last week I have had some and it has been very disturbing, especially when air starts blowing out my mouth and waking me up in the middle of the night.

As a young teen I fell about 15 or 20 feet off of a rope swing and landed in such a way that I hit my face specifically my jaw. I’ve had braces, root canals, tooth extraction and an implant. I go to the dentist for a simple cleaning, and my jaw hurts for about two weeks. It’s possible that the ligaments have been damaged. I’ve been dealing with the TMJ for a very long time.

that said, I’m just wondering if there’s an alternate mask I can keep on hand for when I just can’t get the nose cleared out. Some of the medication’s I hesitate to use because of another health issue I have.

I like the idea of adjusting the humidity and will try that at some point. I’m working on the saline and some other inhaled decongestant. Thank you for the ideas ladies.

I keep looking at all of these different for facemasks, and none of them particularly look comfortable.

[Pugsy]

Get yourself one of those gadgets to measure ambient humidity. Cheap on Amazon.
I am pretty sure that the pellet stove heat is going to dry the air out a lot more than the AC did.
We recently had to turn on the furnace and I had to increase the humidity setting on the machine because of my nasal mucosa not liking the dry air.

Put the experiment using higher humidity setting on the fast track....it might just fix your problem and you won't even need or want a FFM.

Regarding a FFM that won't screw with your TMJ....I can't think of one at the moment. If the buckle on the P10 causes a problem then just about any straps used on a FFM is going to do the same.
But I will share this with you that I don't even own a FFM and have never ever really needed one. I managed to get my nose cleared up enough (if I am ill with a cold or flu) and still use my nasal mask. 13 years....never really needed a FFM and sure as heck didn't want one anyway.

[ChicagoGranny]

I’ve had ... tooth extraction ...

And, that dental professional may be the cause of your obstructive sleep apnea.

[lynninnj]

I’ve had ... tooth extraction ...

And, that dental professional may be the cause of your obstructive sleep apnea.

Seems unlikely given the size of my adenoids but I am sure it doesn't help my TMJ to have had multiple professionals over the year.

But whats a gal to do if she wants proper dental hygiene? I tell them to let me rest the jaw often but it doesn't matter much.

I can't blame them about one or more of the ligaments being damaged when I was a teenager.

who amongst you has experience with full face masks or hybrid masks? I don't know what to look for. I looked at the resmed f20 and 30 and the double straps at the temple looked painful. The "i" version of masks will not fit right. A straight across strap might work but I don't know if the place where it attaches/tightens is at or close to the temples but that makes a difference.

[babydinosnoreless]

As someone who lived with a pellet stove for 15 years I highly recommend putting a kettle on it with water. It puts humidity back in the air.

[lynninnj]

As someone who lived with a pellet stove for 15 years I highly recommend putting a kettle on it with water. It puts humidity back in the air.

we have a kettle.

We have two different humidfiers-one in main room and one for bedroom.

We have a well ventilated stove.

What I am earnestly trying to get here is mask suggestions for the stuffy person?

Because the semi stuff I have had for the last week or so MAY or MAY NOT be related to having the regular baseboard heat running. All I know is I do NOT want to struggle like I did last week trying to PAP with air streaming out my mouth every few minutes. I am tired just thinking about it.

[ChicagoGranny]

given the size of my adenoids

Why not have them removed?

I can't blame them about one or more of the ligaments being damaged when I was a teenager.

Ligaments is one thing. I blame them for practicing extraction orthodontics.

[lynninnj]

given the size of my adenoids

Why not have them removed?

I can't blame them about one or more of the ligaments being damaged when I was a teenager.

Ligaments is one thing. I blame them for practicing extraction orthodontics.

Because I have another medical condition that leaves me far more open to bleeding to death and I want something a LOT less invasive. I won't say more than that but thanks for asking.

Like say.........a full face mask.

I am earnestly looking for someone with experience with full facemasks. Someone PLEASE help? I want to hear experiences with various models.

[Okie bipap]

I have been using my machine for about seven and a half years. During that time, I have used many different masks. The first one I used for more than a month was the F&P Simplus mask. Next, I used the Amara View mask. I used this mask for about a year, then switched to the ResMed F20 mask which I used for around five years. I am currently using the F&P Evora mask. This is the easiest mask to adjust to fit my face that I have found. I had to tape the Simplus mask in place in order to use it, but it was better than what I used prior to it. The Amara View was difficult to get adjusted, but once I did, I had no problems with it. I liked the F20, but I found it difficult to adjust to my face. The small head gear was too small for me to use, and the regular head gear left very little room to adjust once it started stretching out. So far the Evora is the best mask I have found for me. It was very easy to adjust and the head gear still fits after using it for over four months. I have not had to make any adjustments to it since the first week.

[lynninnj]

I have been using my machine for about seven and a half years. During that time, I have used many different masks. The first one I used for more than a month was the F&P Simplus mask. Next, I used the Amara View mask. I used this mask for about a year, then switched to the ResMed F20 mask which I used for around five years. I am currently using the F&P Evora mask. This is the easiest mask to adjust to fit my face that I have found. I had to tape the Simplus mask in place in order to use it, but it was better than what I used prior to it. The Amara View was difficult to get adjusted, but once I did, I had no problems with it. I liked the F20, but I found it difficult to adjust to my face. The small head gear was too small for me to use, and the regular head gear left very little room to adjust once it started stretching out. So far the Evora is the best mask I have found for me. It was very easy to adjust and the head gear still fits after using it for over four months. I have not had to make any adjustments to it since the first week.

Thanks!

The evora looks promising. How much strap is at the temples?

Obviously having clear sinuses is ideal but sometimes not always possible.

[babydinosnoreless]

As someone who lived with a pellet stove for 15 years I highly recommend putting a kettle on it with water. It puts humidity back in the air.

we have a kettle.

We have two different humidfiers-one in main room and one for bedroom.

We have a well ventilated stove.

What I am earnestly trying to get here is mask suggestions for the stuffy person?

Because the semi stuff I have had for the last week or so MAY or MAY NOT be related to having the regular baseboard heat running. All I know is I do NOT want to struggle like I did last week trying to PAP with air streaming out my mouth every few minutes. I am tired just thinking about it.

If I can get my nose open enough to get the pap machine started the air blowing keeps it open. I keep a small bottle of vicks and when I'm super stuffed I sniff at that to get my nose open enough to breath. I just went through covid (first time officially tested positive) and even then a little bit of vicks and a menthol cough drop got my nose open enough. I keep a full face mask for emergencies but I haven't used it in like 2 years. About time for my hoarding self to get rid of it. Lol