Newbie Gets No Joy First & 2d Night

[Bed Snorkeler]

Hello sleppy heads. Glad to join. My unit is comfortable and at first seemed like it was going to work great. The first cotton mouth night was a wash so I learned I could not get by w/o any distilled water. The 2d night the pressure would blow my mouth open right at the point where I'd drift off I guess casting me into a repeated torture cycle. At dawn I guess I decided to ditch. Now I know what it feels like to be a busted air hose - over and over again.

Am I headed for chin strap hell or is my pressure set too high?

[Ann N.]

Have patience. It does get better, much better. But you do need a heated humidifier (nearly everyone does) and evidently a chin strap (only some people need one). A lot of us also like a heated hose (from Australia) so that we don't get condensation (called rainout) from the humidifier ending up in our noses.

It usually takes a little while before a person gets a satisfactory setup because each setup has to be customized to the individual. The mask usually requires the most attention, and I think most people end up with a few ill fitting masks in the drawer before settling in on one that works well for him/her. Perhaps you are lucky on that count-- I didn't see any comments about your mask. Perhaps you are almost there!! Good luck-- hang in there. You will do just fine.

Ann

[rested gal]

Welcome to the message board, Bed Snorkeler! You've definitely come to the right place for help. Just keep asking.

Am I headed for chin strap hell

LOL! Mebbe. However, some rungs of hell are more comfortable than others. Check out frequenseeker's "Do it yourself" mouthguard to try to make the tongue prevent mouth air leaks.

On page 3 or thereabouts of the link you can click below, I posted clickable links to a lot of old topics - discussions of trying to stop mouth air leaks and lip puffs, and other ways to try to "train" the tongue to hold a leakproof seal on its own.

Topic started by frequenseeker Dec 01 2004 subject: mouth leak solution, cheap DIY oral appliance

or is my pressure set too high?

Not necessarily. If you read through all the links on page 3 of the link above, you'll see that it's all to do with whether a person's tongue maintains a leakproof position inside the mouth when totally relaxed during sleep. Each individual's tongue either natually does, or doesn't do that -- seemingly regardless of amount of pressure. If the tongue does hold a leakproof position, the mouth can even be slightly open and there will be no air leaks. If it doesn't, then you can have the jaw bound up with a chinstrap and teeth clenched, but still leak air out from between the lips.

I'd feel like I was driving on a foggy mountain road without my autopap and software. Takes a lot of the wondering out of this kind of treatment.

Now I know what it feels like to be a busted air hose - over and over again.

ROTFL!! First time I've heard it put that way! Very, very good description of mouth air leaks!!

Good luck! Your sense of humor will stand you in good stead dealing with this crazy new way of trying to sleep.

[ahujudybear]

Hi Snorkeler!

Sounds like you already have some good advice.

There is something that nobody here has mentioned, and that is sore mouth from the pressures placed on that "tongue seal". Mine has gone away now, but for the first few weeks the roof of my mouth became so sore that it hurt to eat or drink stuff. It seemed to be from the added pressure of my tongue against the roof of my mouth during the night.

So this is just to tell you not to worry, it'll go away!

If the pressure continues to cause a problem you might want to talk to your doc or RT about using some bi-level settings to reduce your EPAP pressure. (Provided you have the kind of machine that can be adjusted that way.)

One side of my mouth is paralyzed, so I frequently get air leaks (especially on exhaling) that way.


Hang in there.... it gets better and is well worth it!
- JB

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): seal

[twistedcherokee]

I use a ff so I am not sure I can give you any advise. I did not get any relief at first, took about 3-4 weeks before I did. The only advise I can really give is don't give up.

Toby