Looking for ADVICE please

[dct]

I'm kinda new to this "CPAP world" and site. Very glad this site exists Please forgive me if you've had this question before. Been using my CPAP (ResMed S9 Elite with H5i Heated Humidifier with Climate Control hose set at 70) since September and within the last month have developed extremely painful dry mouth. I've read many posts regarding dry mouth. I've tried lots of things - tape on my lips, chin strap, mouthwash, dry mouth patches. Air is not escaping through my mouth. I have no mask leaks (Comfort Gel Blue Nasal). I have lost 20 pounds in the last 6 weeks and was wondering if my pressure of 12 might need to be set lower?? AHI is always under 5. I really don't want to get a full face mask since I'm a side sleeper. Any words of advise for this lady? Thanks much!!

[jnk]

If you are using a nasal mask and air is not escaping out of your mouth, it is highly unlikely that the dry-mouth condition is PAP related, in my opinion. It is a common side-effect of some drugs, though, and there may be some treatments for the condition:

http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/ ... treatments

[avi123]

Why are you using such a hi pressure, and why have you lost 20 lbs in 6 weeks? Was it intentional? My AHI is around 20 (12 this morning) and I use 7 cmH2O of pressure. I wished that I had your AHI of 5. I am following Rested Gal of Tennessee suggestion to raise my pressure to see if it lowers my Obstructive Apnea of 12. But instead of raising it to 9cm I raised it only to 7.6 cm. Next week I'll raise to 8 cm and see the result.

I also get dry mouth even if I use a Full Face mask. I think that just opening my mouth by 1/8" could cause it. I use a few spritzes of Biotene spray.

I have yet to use my climate control humidifier. I don't believe that it's needed if I keep my room at 75F.

jnk, what about older age when the salivary glands stop producing?

[Pugsy]

Wonder if increasing the humidity level just a little will impact the mouth dryness? Have you tried changing humidity to see if that helps or makes it worse?

Weight loss might OR might not impact pressure needs but lowering just the pressure should not impact mouth dryness if the mouth is remaining closed.

[dct]

Thanks for replying!

juk - I'm not taking any meds - PTL!

avil123 - 12 is what I was given after the sleep study back in Sep. I put myself on a low-carb diet six weeks ago because I NEED to lose 80 more pounds. I've got a friend who lost his weight and is no longer on CPAP - that's my goal!!

pugsy - I did have just a regular hose attached and had the humidity set at 4.5 and I was almost drowning in droplets, so I switched to the climate control hose and was told to set it at bedroom temp - which is 68 to 70. To get more humidity out of a climate control hose, what number should I set it?

[Pugsy]

pugsy - I did have just a regular hose attached and had the humidity set at 4.5 and I was almost drowning in droplets, so I switched to the climate control hose and was told to set it at bedroom temp - which is 68 to 70. To get more humidity out of a climate control hose, what number should I set it?

Hmmm, did the dry mouth occur after switching to the Climate Control hose? Or did you switch because of the dry mouth?

I have zero experience with the new climate controlled hoses. So I can't help there. I still use the old standard humidifier and standard hose with my M series machine. Lots of people here use it and can offer insight into its various settings.

[dct]

I switched from regular hose to climate control hoping it might help more than the regular hose after I developed dry mouth. If our mouths are full of air the entire time we're connected to CPAP, I wonder why everyone doesn't get dry mouth?! Very frustrating indeed!

[Julie]

You can be a side sleeper and still use a FF mask if you also use a Pap pillow, which is specially designed for the purpose. Many people here use them and have no problem being able to sleep that way. Have you looked into them?

[Pugsy]

So sorry that I can't come up with any other ideas. Someone will come along and hopefully add some ideas about the Climate controlled hose. If it will help or not, I honestly have no idea. I was just tossing out one thing that I could think off as an idea. You have already tried the other ones I might have thought of.

Dry mouth is something I have never experienced except in relation to the obvious mouth breathing that I had early on in therapy. Even then it was minimal. I use the tongue to roof of mouth placement to keep air out of my mouth. I never get chipmunk cheeks either.

Have you spoken to your doctor about this just in case it might be related to something else?

[dct]

Julie - I have tried a couple different CPAP pillows and my head was too high on them, making my neck ache. But that is good to know the FFmask people sleep on their sides.
Pugsy - I will be seeing my Dr for a six month check-up the end of March. Just trying to figure things out now, if I can, before seeing him. There are so many years of experience on this board I was hoping someone had a magic formula for me - oh well, c'est la vie!

[Pugsy]

Keep us posted. If I think of anything else I will let you know.

Regarding the cpap pillow thing. I too find that the usual pillows are too high for my little neck with a metal rod in it.
Puts a strain on things. I have found that a small buckwheat pillow works great for my situation. I am mostly side sleeper also. Of course I use the nasal pillow mask but others have found that it works for them too because the buckwheat can be "molded" to form support for the neck and yet create a space for the mask to rest without pulling.
Just a thought to add for comfort in general. Won't help the dry mouth unfortunately.

[jnk]

jnk, what about older age when the salivary glands stop producing?

Good point. Dentists and docs sometimes treat that too, I hear.

PAP can make for some increased humidity needs in the throat and nose when we breathe through the nose at night. But the only direct relationship between dry mouth and PAP is mouth-breathing, as far as I know. ( I don't always know very far, though. )

[jnk]

I've got a friend who lost his weight and is no longer on CPAP

Healthy eating and healthy exercise is a worthy goal for any human who wants to feel his or her best.

But generally, as I understand it, if the weight has been carried for many years, losing the weight is unlikely to make PAP therapy unnecessary for good sleep to occur. When relatively sudden weight gain "causes" OSA, that is an instance in which loss of the weight is most likely to address the "cause" of the OSA for that person.

TBS [that being said], a healthy lifestyle is always worth pursuing, and I wish you the best with it!

[avi123]

[quote="dct"]Thanks for replying!


avil123 - 12 is what I was given after the sleep study back in Sep. I put myself on a low-carb diet six weeks ago because I NEED to lose 80 more pounds. I've got a friend who lost his weight and is no longer on CPAP - that's my goal!!

Reply:

Trying really really to wish you the best on your saga of weight reduction to get rid of CPAPing. A month ago while discussing with my Doc (see his credential below) my chances of trashing the CPAP, in the future, he said:

Actually, he had a few patients who managed to get off CPAP. They were at younger ages and obese. After they lost 20% of their weights and also lost fat tissues in their throats they managed to do it.

As for myself, I am not obese but lightly overweight with BMI of 29 (Google to find yours). So my chances of doing it are almost nil.

My Doc's credentials:

XXXX M.D., F.C.C.P.

INTERNAL MEDICINE & PULMONARY MEDICINE

Undergraduate: Union College, Schenectady, NY
Medical School: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY (with honors)
Internship: Bellevue Hospital, New York University Medical Center, NY, NY
Residency: Bellevue Hospital, New York University Medical Center, NY, NY
Fellowship: Pulmonary Medicine, N.Y.U., NY

Membership:

Alpha Omega Alpha, Honors Medical Society
Fellow, American College of Chest Physicians
American Thoracic Society
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
North Carolina Medical Association
Wake County Medical Society

Board certified: Internal Medicine, Sleep Medicine, and Pulmonary Diseases

[ladyhen]

You can control the temp and humidity independently, but you have to go into the clinician menu and set it to "manual" for that area.