Using FF mask and sleep apnea

[Big Stevoreno]

I've been using a ResMed Ultra Mirage FF mask for a few months now, I'm on a high pressure which is "18", I switched from a nasal mask to a FF mask because of mouth breathing issues which I still have, I'm still breathing with my mouth open even with the FF mask because I wake up every morning with the inside of my mouth and tongue bone dry. Now today for some reason after sleeping 6 hours on my machine I still feel crappy, sleepy. Can I still be having apneas even while I'm now using a FF mask?

Is there anything else I can do to warm up the air that I breathe through my machine at night besides turn up the heat in my room, something I do not want to do? I have the humidifier on my Respironics C-Flex machine set to the max which is "5" and I'm still waking up with a very dry mouth every morning. This feeling sleepy lately is beginning to bother me. I thought switching from a nasal to a FF mask would take care of that problem. I do have a deviated septum on the left side of my nose which is probably what's causing me to still have mouth breathing issues even while I now use a FF mask at night.

[Pugsy]

A person can still have a dry mouth from breathing through mouth even with FF mask.

Please check your machine listed in your profile. Please confirm exactly what machine you are using. A data capable machine might give some hints as to what is going on with your complaints of not feeling so great. I don't remember how much data is available on the M Series Pro if that is what you use. It hasn't been available for a while and that is why I ask. You may have been on it longer than you have been a member here.

Any number of things can contribute to feeling less than great.

[BlackSpinner]

Also make sure your machine is set for a full face mask. You may have to play with the pressure a bit if you have an older machine.

[sleepnationtv]

Yes it is possible to have apneas still when using a full face mask.

Some possibilities are that the mask is leaking a lot during the night
The pressure really needs to be adjusted

[LSAT]

I've been using a ResMed Ultra Mirage FF mask for a few months now, I'm on a high pressure which is "18", I switched from a nasal mask to a FF mask because of mouth breathing issues which I still have, I'm still breathing with my mouth open even with the FF mask because I wake up every morning with the inside of my mouth and tongue bone dry. Now today for some reason after sleeping 6 hours on my machine I still feel crappy, sleepy. Can I still be having apneas even while I'm now using a FF mask?

.

Using a FF mask will not keep your mouth closed. Some people use a chin strap along with the FF mask.

[Big Stevoreno]

I saw the machine error, I have a Pro model but never did buy the software for it. When Apria's RT brought my FF mask out to the house a few months ago she checked my machine's pressure, it was still on "18". I'm not one who likes to mess with the pressure settings on these machines. Apria has always told me before they can change any machine's pressure they first need orders from a doctor to do it. My last sleep study was done in October 2007 and I got my current machine in January 2008 and right now I don't want to think about having to go through another 2 night sleep study nor do I think I could tolerate a new pressure greater than "18".

Any suggestions on how I could warm up the air coming through my hose at night? As posted before I have my machine's humidifier set to the maximum setting of "5" and it's using my distilled water like crazy. I have to fill up the humidifier's water chamber every night before bedtime although it's not a very big water chamber. I'm now buying a gallon of distilled water every 2 weeks, before while I used a nasal mask and set my humidifier to a setting of "2" that gallon of distilled water would last me an entire month. Well what can I do to keep my mouth from getting so bone dry? Do those "heated" hoses I have read so much about warm up the air as it comes from the machine to my nose or would that irritate my nostrils more? The true test will be this summer, where I live it gets hot, real hot and humid, I keep my bedroom super cool at night during the summer months, about what I'm running my heat on right now which is about 72F at night. Today is almost spring like here, sunny and 71F, last week it was in the 30's here for highs.

[Pugsy]

I use a setting of 3 on my humidifier. I will use almost a full tank of water every night. Winter or summer, doesn't matter. My pressure will average around 11. Wonder if higher pressures cause the water to be used up more? Seems like it might but I can't say for sure.

I am not sure what effect heating the hose would have. I have been toying with getting one of those Repti cables 15 watt to see what happens because I have been fighting rain out. Mississippi? Should already have pretty high humidity there.

I would suspect that the extreme dry mouth is simply from breathing through the mouth for most of the night. The same thing might still happen even if you weren't on the CPAP machine. I know before cpap I would wake up with dry mouth and sore throat from mouth breathing. Some people advocate using a mouth rinse like Biotene (sp?) because it adds some moisture to the mouth. I have never tried it though. Some people do use some sort of chin strap to keep mouth closed even with a full face mask.

Sorry, I can't be of more help.
Check your PM box for a different idea.

[BlackSpinner]

I saw the machine error, I have a Pro model but never did buy the software for it. When Apria's RT brought my FF mask out to the house a few months ago she checked my machine's pressure, it was still on "18". I'm not one who likes to mess with the pressure settings on these machines. Apria has always told me before they can change any machine's pressure they first need orders from a doctor to do it. My last sleep study was done in October 2007 and I got my current machine in January 2008 and right now I don't want to think about having to go through another 2 night sleep study nor do I think I could tolerate a new pressure greater than "18".

Get the software and check it yourself and adjust it. It is your machine, your health.

[Big Stevoreno]

I use a setting of 3 on my humidifier. I will use almost a full tank of water every night. Winter or summer, doesn't matter. My pressure will average around 11. Wonder if higher pressures cause the water to be used up more? Seems like it might but I can't say for sure.

I am not sure what effect heating the hose would have. I have been toying with getting one of those Repti cables 15 watt to see what happens because I have been fighting rain out. Mississippi? Should already have pretty high humidity there.

I would suspect that the extreme dry mouth is simply from breathing through the mouth for most of the night. The same thing might still happen even if you weren't on the CPAP machine. I know before cpap I would wake up with dry mouth and sore throat from mouth breathing. Some people advocate using a mouth rinse like Biotene (sp?) because it adds some moisture to the mouth. I have never tried it though. Some people do use some sort of chin strap to keep mouth closed even with a full face mask.

Sorry, I can't be of more help.
Check your PM box for a different idea.

I never had any luck using a chin strap when I was on a nasal mask, the strap really wasn't that strong, I appreciate the mouth rinse recommendation, I use ACT alcohol free mint flavored mouth rinse, I'm not looking forward going to the dentist next month because I bet this dry mouth issue is also having an affect on my gums. If my dentist beats me up next month and tells me I can't let my mouth continue to get dry each night I might have to go back to using a nasal mask.

There is a lot of humidity here in Mississippi, especially since I live less than 3 miles north of the gulf but during the summer months I do keep the house cool, my first CPAP machine back in 1999 was a Sullivan, it sat on top of a large thin tank that held my distilled water, no control settings on that machine like my current machine, no way to heat the water, just turned it on and let it blow, many mornings I woke up with very irritated nostrils from I guess the air not being humidified but it was a good machine. I still have it boxed away in my closet just in case something happens to my current machine and the setting has also been changed on it from "16" to "18".

[Big Stevoreno]

I've been using a ResMed Ultra Mirage FF mask for a few months now, I'm on a high pressure which is "18", I switched from a nasal mask to a FF mask because of mouth breathing issues which I still have, I'm still breathing with my mouth open even with the FF mask because I wake up every morning with the inside of my mouth and tongue bone dry. Now today for some reason after sleeping 6 hours on my machine I still feel crappy, sleepy. Can I still be having apneas even while I'm now using a FF mask?

.

Using a FF mask will not keep your mouth closed. Some people use a chin strap along with the FF mask.

I am fully aware that use of a FF mask will not keep a mouth closed on someone like myself who has mouth breathing issues. Switching from a nasal mask to the FF mask was suggested to me by the RT at Apria who also told me I would have trouble keeping a good seal using a FF mask since my CPAP pressure of "18" is considered high. I tried at least 4 different FF masks before choosing the one I have now. I also see what the RT meant about the pressure/seal problem because I find myself adjusting my FF mask several times during the night because if I don't not only do I not maintain a good seal but the mask makes one h*ll of a weird noise, kind of like breaking wind and blowing on your arm at the same time, it's loud.

[BlackSpinner]

I found that the INNOMED hybrid does a good job of keeping my mouth closed with its chin flap and if I do mouth breath it is ok.

So ask your dentist if having good teeth and gums is better then a short life.

[Pugsy]

If you are experiencing a great deal of difficulty with the mask sealing and all the sounds, it is possible that leaks or just the sounds are waking you and disrupting sleep. If the leaks are significant enough they can compromise therapy and allow events to happen.
Either can impact how you feel in general.

[Big Stevoreno]

I saw the machine error, I have a Pro model but never did buy the software for it. When Apria's RT brought my FF mask out to the house a few months ago she checked my machine's pressure, it was still on "18". I'm not one who likes to mess with the pressure settings on these machines. Apria has always told me before they can change any machine's pressure they first need orders from a doctor to do it. My last sleep study was done in October 2007 and I got my current machine in January 2008 and right now I don't want to think about having to go through another 2 night sleep study nor do I think I could tolerate a new pressure greater than "18".

Get the software and check it yourself and adjust it. It is your machine, your health.

Do you "tinker" with the settings on your machine, do you change the pressure settings on your machine? My sleep doctor told me to never do that, if he decided that my pressure needed to be changed he would write an order and forward it to Apria whose RT would then come out and reset my machine. I'm at "18" right now, I would hate to think about going to a higher pressure, "18" is high enough on my nose. I would think I would have to undergo another 2 night sleep study first before my sleep doctor would agree to order a pressure change. My last 2 night study was done in the fall of 2007.

[Big Stevoreno]

I found that the INNOMED hybrid does a good job of keeping my mouth closed with its chin flap and if I do mouth breath it is ok.

So ask your dentist if having good teeth and gums is better then a short life.

Or how about this, ask him if it's more important to have good teeth and gums than to stop using a machine where I might stop breathing at night and die. People can die from severe obstructive sleep apnea, correct?

[BlackSpinner]

Do you "tinker" with the settings on your machine, do you change the pressure settings on your machine? My sleep doctor told me to never do that, if he decided that my pressure needed to be changed he would write an order and forward it to Apria whose RT would then come out and reset my machine. I'm at "18" right now, I would hate to think about going to a higher pressure, "18" is high enough on my nose. I would think I would have to undergo another 2 night sleep study first before my sleep doctor would agree to order a pressure change. My last 2 night study was done in the fall of 2007.

You bet I do!. If my 84 year old mother with dementia is capable of testing her sugar and adjusting her insulin I am surely capable of reading my AHI and adjusting my pressure accordingly! Plus my sleep doc thinks that is great. Yours seems bent on making lots of money - a two night study! Why ? they can titrate in one. They can even send you home with a machine with bells and whistles and have it done at home.