cpap's turned me into a mouth breather after a month...

[sleep lover]

Just when I think I'm getting the hang of it...
last week I posted a message - I couldn't figure out where the noise was coming from that kept waking me up. It would stop everytime I awakened, sounding like it was crescendoing just before waking. I thought it was the humidifier. It wasn't...it was me! My nasal passages have been irritated and little did I realize until the last couple of nights that I've begun breathing through my mouth. It keeps waking me up now. It's as if my mouth is saying while unconscious "hey, screw the nose deal, just bypass it." I can't stop it from happening. I trade off between a nasal pillow and a nasal mask. I've been using the pillows the last 4 -5 days. I use a humidifier - put it on 3 out of 5. I started using ayr gel to help the nasal irritation and congestion. It's not like my nose is stuffed all the time. My pressure starts at 7 and goes up to 12 in 20 minutes and that seems to work for me I can say confidently after a month. But this mouth stuff is a drag. I wake up with dry mouth continually and as you know how strange it feels when you open your mouth and air comes through it, that must be happening during sleep. I'd really rather not switch to a full face mask, I was appreciating the barely thereness of the pillows. Maybe I just have to bite the bullet...Advice, wonderful folks? thanks, Lisa

[jdm5]

You can try taping your mouth closed - I know it sounds crazy but a fair number of people here do it. I use 2" blue 3M painter's tape and it works great (my wife thinks I'm insane!). I tried a wide range of masks but couldn't tolerate sleeping with them touching my face. Headrest + tape works for me.

Just fold over an edge of the tape to make it easy to remove.

[sleep lover]

thanks JDM,
I read that from a few people on the site and really can't stand the idea of it. How long have you been taping your mouth? jeez, that sounds nuts. It would be great if it trained you back into breathing through your nose... or are we talking about going through rounds of painter's tape for the rest of our lives? We'll have to buy them in boxes... What do you mean by 'headrest?" I'm hoping there's another way than tape. I feel like my body figured out a way to avoid the cpap while I sleep. it all started when my nostrils began to hurt so I'm hoping there's a connection there that I can work on and remedy... thanks for responding, Lisa

[jdm5]

I've been doing it for about a month now. It definitely takes some getting used to, but it does seem to work. The first 4-5 months I did ok breathing through my nose, but I think as I finally started getting good REM sleep my body relaxed more, and I woke up numerous times at night with a dry (as in Sahara desert) mouth. I refused to go back to trying masks with things resting on my face. The Aeiomed Headrest is my current favorite interface - it's a nasal pillow and nothing touches your face.

I only use 1 strip each night, maybe 6-8" total. Still using the first roll I bought; if I were to guess it will last many months.

[dtsm]

You can try taping your mouth closed - I know it sounds crazy but a fair number of people here do it. I use 2" blue 3M painter's tape and it works great (my wife thinks I'm insane!). I tried a wide range of masks but couldn't tolerate sleeping with them touching my face. Headrest + tape works for me.

The mouth breathing is quite 'normal'; it actually means cpap is working for you and your totally relaxed

Do the tape, it's easy, painless and most important, works. I had no problems with mouth leaks until about 1 month into therapy and then during REM sleep, leaked like crazy. Fellow cpaper pm and told me to use tape. Make sure to get #2080 and not #2090 3M blue painter's tape....it has less adhesion but does the trick.

One roll at Home Depot was about $7.00 and will last at least a few months, maybe up to 6. 8-10 inch strip, with handles at each end will do the trick for nasal pillows (Swift LT, Swift Fx or as jdm5's Aeiomed Headrest). You might have to cut into 1inch strip with nasal mask.

[BlackSpinner]

The other option is to get a mask that covers your mouth like the hybrid - it is nasal pillows with a mouth cover so if you do mouth breath you won't lose your therapy.

[Gerald]

I've been using the #2080 tape and the Aeiomed Headrest mask for almost 2-years....and I can find no better way to go. My rig is VERY comfortable...I have very few leaks....and my AHI stays below 1.0 night after night.

Here's something to think about.......If you can get close to stopping ALL leaks....and the tape system goes a long way toward that goal.....you may be able to lower your pressures in order to achieve the same results....with more comfort.

Boiled out....your choices are tape...or a full face mask. The mouth leaks must be conquered to achieve good therapy. I, for one, can't stand a full face mask. For me, taping every night is vastly more preferable to the discomfort of a full face mask.

[pdean44]

Wish i could use the tape method but have had this mustache for 30 plus years. I have sinus issues allergies etc. I love my mask so trying to make it work. I use a chin strap and denture strips to try and seal my mouth so it doesnt leak.
My numbers can be all over the place. I dont have the cash right now for the card reader. So I cant pull up the data to see whats is really going on with my leaks and high numbers now and then.

[sleep lover]

okay, so it sounds like #2080 blue painter's tape. I'm still hoping that if I can get a grip on getting rid of the nasal passageways being so screwed up I'll be able to go back to being a nose breather. I hear what y'all have been saying that it can change once the body gets more relaxed with better sleep (that was just beginning but I know I have a longer way to go), but I can't help hoping for that again. Last night my nose got so clogged, I couldn't breath and instinctively I took the pillows off. That was different in that I grabbed it instinctively, rather than having my mouth take over. I'm going to look into the Aeiomed headrest. You've all been very helpful. Every night's different and I do look forward to a satisfying plateau. My AHI dropped down to a 2.9 at the lowest, when I wore my nasal mask - with the pillows the AHI hovers at 3.8. Coming down from a 75.9, I know I'm doing a heck of a lot better. I, too, prefer the least amount of plastic on my face, as I think most people do, and perhaps that's why so many of us end up not doing this. They give up. My cardiologist friend says more than half of his patients who have sleep apnea end up not following through with cpap. The alternatives, however, suck. also, that's an interesting comment about controlling all leaks which might allow me to lower the pressure. I meet with my sleep doc for the first follow-up in another week. It will be interesting to have a frank discussion with him not just about my therapy but what I think of the lack of information and follow through with my DME and his office. Without this website, I swear, I'd be lost with this stuff... thank you.
Lisa

[JoyD.]

.

You may find that after using tape for a period of time that you no longer need it. That's what I discovered after about nine months of using tape with CPAP & pillow masks, even with a relatively high 90% pressure of about 14.

Personally, I never liked the idea of using painter's tape since it was not designed for the skin and could be toxic if absorbed. So I went with Johnson & Johnson waterproof 1-inch tape and used two strips (with the end folded over on one side to allow for convenient partial removal for sneezes, sips through a straw, etc). I always removed it gingerly, with a finger against my skin to avoid irritation. Skin varies in sensitivity, so the tape that works well for one person may irritate another.

Joy

[sleep lover]

Joy,
I think that'll be my first purchase, the J&J tape, rather than the painter's. I do have extremely sensitive skin and wouldn't want to add that to the list of things to "fix" right now...
thanks for the suggestion,
Lisa

[Guest]

I told my service provider the same thing and she said it is not uncommon for pressures to need increasing after 4-6 weeks and the symptom being the mouth breathing. I got my pressure increased and it seems to have stopped the mouth breathing for now. Now if I could just get the whole mask thing figured out I would be happy.

[DoriC]

Have you tried lowering the humidifier or just in passover, sometimes too much moisture makes for more congestion?

[sleep lover]

follow up - hopefully informative for newbies with similar questions about nose/mouth breathing:
My nose isn't as congested as it was and I've gone back to breathing through my nose again. Pollen is terrible here right now, and it could happen again, however. The cpap, I believe, made me more susceptible to allergens, something I've not been before. I used more of the Ayr Gel last night, around and in the nostrils, (I'd been kind of stingy with the goo), perhaps it helped.
Generally speaking, I think that many of us need multiple masks and solutions for our sleep problems. I now have a nose mask, nasal pillows (which I prefer because they're the least cumbersome, though my AHI hovers at 3.9 compared to 3.0 with the nose mask), and in anticipation of ever getting a cold or the flu, I should have a full face mask in the arsenal. I'd imagine that having an extra tube would be smart, as well, in case it punctures. Any other suggestions for us newbies? thanks, Lisa

[sleep lover]

DoriC,

could you please explain about passover, humidifier, etc...? don't understand their differences

thanks,