dry mouth

[darrylmcelveen]

I have been using cpap mask with chin strap for 3 weeks.Sleep is horrible due to severe dry mouth.Have humidifier up as high as will go,level is almost gone in am so it is working Therapist suggested chin strap in case i am a mouth breather.Dry mouth continues and i feel like tongue is glued to roof of mouth.Will this continue to be life as cpap user or will this resolve.

[plr66]

Will this continue to be life as cpap user or will this resolve.

No, it will not just resolve on its own. You are mouth breathing, and the humidity has nothing to do with that, so it's probably best to turn back your humidifier to a lower level to avoid rainout. A chin strap does not prevent mouth breathing. Clench your teeth and blow air out your mouth. See how easy that is? Mouth taping may be a solution...or a full face mask which covers both nose and mouth. Mouth taping should be researched here, using the search box in the upper left corner of this page.

[Pugsy]

I have been using cpap mask with chin strap for 3 weeks.Sleep is horrible due to severe dry mouth.Have humidifier up as high as will go,level is almost gone in am so it is working Therapist suggested chin strap in case i am a mouth breather.Dry mouth continues and i feel like tongue is glued to roof of mouth.Will this continue to be life as cpap user or will this resolve.

Can you go to your user account and edit your profile so we can see exactly what equipment your are using? Please use text descriptions instead of the pictures as it saves a bit of time. This will help someone help you better.

Off hand, sounds like you are using either nasal pillows or a nasal mask and probably mouth breathing or leaking significantly through your mouth. Chin straps can help if the mouth breathing issues are minor but you may need a full face mask. Dry mouth is most commonly the first symptom of air/pressure escaping through the mouth. You must address the issue because it affects the effectiveness of the therapy. All the humidity in the world won't fix an open mouth.

Please provide more details so someone can give you more specific suggestions. Machine, mask, pressure??? How do you feel???

[n9tel]

I'm a newbie and found this sight because of the same problem. I was told that having the humidity to high can actually make things worse. I had mine maxed out like you. I turned it down and yes, it seems to have helped. I'm still experimenting with different settings. I also tighened up my mask the last couple of nights and things seem better. Not sure why, unless maybe I was leaking or ??
From 1 newbie to another.. good luck,
Dave

[Wulfman]

I have been using cpap mask with chin strap for 3 weeks.Sleep is horrible due to severe dry mouth.Have humidifier up as high as will go,level is almost gone in am so it is working Therapist suggested chin strap in case i am a mouth breather.Dry mouth continues and i feel like tongue is glued to roof of mouth.Will this continue to be life as cpap user or will this resolve.

Since you're using a chin strap, I presume you're using a nasal mask. Get a (good) full face mask!!! (and make sure it does NOT have the word "Comfort" in it)

Turn your humidity all the way down or off......too much humidity can actually close up your nasal passages and promote more mouth-breathing.

PS. I'll bet you don't have a data-capable machine, either.


Den

[rubymom]

OK, so I'm confused.

If it's purpose is not to help dry mouth, then what is the purpose of the humidifier?

Also, my RT said it was fine to breathe through my mouth. Why is that a problem?

[Yiano]

OK, so I'm confused.

If it's purpose is not to help dry mouth, then what is the purpose of the humidifier?

Also, my RT said it was fine to breathe through my mouth. Why is that a problem?

It is fine to breathe through your mouth.... unless, like the original poster seems to, you are using a nasal mask and not a full face mask.

Humidifier with a nasal mask would obviously be there to keep your nose from becoming overly dry.

[Wulfman]

OK, so I'm confused.

If it's purpose is not to help dry mouth, then what is the purpose of the humidifier?

Also, my RT said it was fine to breathe through my mouth. Why is that a problem?

The preferred method of breathing is through the nose. That's one of its primary purposes.

The humidifier is supposed to help keep your nasal passages from getting dry. Too much (heated) humidity can actually close up the nasal passages and make for worse mouth-breathing. With a full face mask, mouth-breathing CAN be done but with a nasal mask, mouth-breathing is a HUGE problem.


Den

[Yiano]

OK, so I'm confused.

If it's purpose is not to help dry mouth, then what is the purpose of the humidifier?

Also, my RT said it was fine to breathe through my mouth. Why is that a problem?

The preferred method of breathing is through the nose. That's one of its primary purposes.

The humidifier is supposed to help keep your nasal passages from getting dry. Too much (heated) humidity can actually close up the nasal passages and make for worse mouth-breathing. With a full face mask, mouth-breathing CAN be done but with a nasal mask, mouth-breathing is a HUGE problem.


Den

Even when I'm awake I prefer mouth-breathing... while I can breathe through my nose if I conciously think about it, I tend to start feeling that I'm not getting enough oxygen after a few minutes of this... Even tried a nasal mask with a chinstrap... I was still breathing through my mouth despite the chinstrap

[roster]

I have been using cpap mask with chin strap for 3 weeks.Sleep is horrible due to severe dry mouth.Have humidifier up as high as will go,level is almost gone in am so it is working Therapist suggested chin strap in case i am a mouth breather.Dry mouth continues and i feel like tongue is glued to roof of mouth.Will this continue to be life as cpap user or will this resolve.

Let me reemphasize Pugsy's comments. People will give you advice without knowing what type of equipment and mask you are using (I wish they would not do that!). But they are just talking about what worked for them with their equipment. You may have entirely different equipment which requires a different solution.

Fill out your profile.

[rubymom]

I've also always been a mouth breather. I vaguely remember my dad taking me to a doctor or dentist as a kid to have that checked out.

So I will turn my humidifier down a bit and see how that goes. Thanks!

[Muse-Inc]

Thanks to all of you for posting suggestions on dry mouth; I realize after reading lots of threads here that I really am having events at night. I'll try the taping suggestions and see if they stop my leaks; if not, I'll beg my doc for a hybrid mask as it sounds like it might be an option for me.

Thanks again all for posting your experiences; it all helps.

PS I envy all of you whose sat O2 stays mid 90s or higher, sure wish mine would! I get my BP checked periodically when I'm running errands and always get my sat O2...sometimes only 92%. I'm hoping my "Step 1 Making the Motorboat sound" required to learn how to play a didgeridoo will actually retrain me to breathe deep and change these lower sat O2 levels. That and continuing to lose...50#s so far since starting CPAP *G*!

[roster]

......... I get my BP checked periodically when I'm running errands and always get my sat O2...sometimes only 92%. .......

Sleep apnea causes oxygen desaturations when one is sleeping. If sleep apnea is the only bad health condition, when the patient awakens he immediately begins breathing regularly and within minutes blood-ox levels return to normal.

What does your doctor say about your 92% reading when you are awake and active?

[Muse-Inc]

What does your doctor say about your 92% reading when you are awake and active?

I just realized since reading posts here that I am having events (off and on, lots of leaks last Oct-Nov and past several months after last appt)...primary & cardio doc suggest it's all blood sugar swings, wore an event monitor for a month with all normal rhythms. It hadn't occurred to me to mention my periodic sat O2 percentages to the apnea doc, I was worried about the wakeups and increased pulse and heart rhythms...duh, apnea makes me sooo annoyingly dumb *sigh*. As I said elsewhere, took me 9 months for my energy level to mostly return to what it was, averaging 51 mins/day on my exercise bike now; other vast improvements over where I was...now after months of improvements, I have these leaks *sigh* (will try taping tonight). Guess I'm gonna call my doc and see if we need to have a serious chat re my breathing...just too shallow as the sleep study verified. Last visit, he suggested I might want to try a different mask as my OptiLife needs to be smaller around the back of my head (might try snipping & sewing) now that I've lost so much wt; I was resistant and didn't understand I was having occasional leaks...guess a different mask might be in my future. Now, my lowered daytime sat 02 is worth pursuing...y'all have better numbers than I *envious sigh*. Meanwhile, I continue to make motorboat sounds disconcerting the other person in the house *G*. Seems I now breathe shallowly and the muscles around my lower ribcage are tight...when I belly breathe, they do not allow my ribcage to expand backwards at all. Seems to me that used to happen.

Just realized my S8 Escape might have software loaded ("SX 386-0253" appears on the LED, whatever that means, 386 chip? version 02.53 software?) that can be read by ResScan software if I buy it (fat chance, I got laid off last March). If I had it, I could monitor to some extent what the heck is going on when I'm sleeping...I was afraid I'd have to have another sleep study and that's not possible with my extremely limited budget now *G*.

Maybe I need an oximeter to check myself...

Thanks Rooster for asking this...help appreciated *G*!

[Wulfman]

An S8 Escape will only record hours slept. (compliance)

Den