Just want to check that I won't suffocate!

[snoozysue]

I have been using a Quattro full face for almost a year and have always been comforted by that fact that if the power ever went off (and it has) then I would still have no difficulty breathing in air through the "vent".
I am going to try a Swift FX tonight and will try taping my mouth. I had a quick go today and when I had the mask on and the machine off, with mouth taped, it didn't seem like much air was coming through those tiny little holes!
I just would like some reassurance that with my mouth taped (life long mouth breather) I won't suffocate if the power goes out tonight.
Thanks
Susan

[DavidCarolina]

You wont suffocate for the same reason that you were DIAGNOSED with OSA to begin with.

Namely, that your brain, thanks to our heavenly Designer, startles you awake (and all kinds of other chemical reactions within the body no doubt) jolts you awake when your oxygen level falls below a certain parameter.

It also detects small alterations, sounds, disturbances, from pattern that can awaken you.

So if you lose power, your brain is going to do its work, albeit that you might suffer an apneatic event in that process.

Furthmore, the mask is designed such that C02 can be released through physical properties.

Relax, and be thankful for the technology---a relatively recent innovation that most of us cannot
imagine living with out.

[DavidCarolina]

George Bernard Shaw People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them. ~George Bernard Shaw, "Family Affection," Parents and Children, 1914

Somehow our devils are never quite what we expect when we meet them face to face. ~Nelson DeMille

Never bear more than one kind of trouble at a time. Some people bear three - all they have had, all they have now, and all they expect to have. ~Edward Everett Hale

We can easily manage if we will only take, each day, the burden appointed to it. But the load will be too heavy for us if we carry yesterday's burden over again today, and then add the burden of the morrow before we are required to bear it. ~John Newton

If I had my life to live over, I would perhaps have more actual troubles but I'd have fewer imaginary ones. ~Don Herold

Drag your thoughts away from your troubles... by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it. ~Mark Twain

[TalonNYC]

I was also concerned over this before I switched to the FFM. Folks here gave me a couple of great suggestions - including the idea of getting a nice, loud, power alarm. Hit the search function for "power outage" and you'll dig up the threads.

[jimnsc]

Hey Snoozysue - Your question has been answered already but I just wanted to share my experience with you. I too, used the Quattro (being a mouth breather) and recently moved over to the Swift FX. I used tape the first night and everything went well but the second night I hadn't been asleep long until I went into a coughing fit (allergy). No fun coughing into that tape as I had to "slowly remove it." Although I wouldn't admit it publicly at the time I was apprehensive about doing the same thing again. So, I ordered a Cpap Cap, which works very well for me - keeps my hair in place ( ) and serves as a good chin strap. I intend to use it until I am satisfied I have trained myself to breathe through my nose naturally. I'm one who thinks you cannot just decide you're going to stop breathing through your mouth one day and start breathing through your nose the next. I believe it's a learning process.

I liked the Quattro but I just had to have less mess on my face (the American way). I really like the Swift FX but will always have the Quattro "at the ready" when the old nose is stuffy. I found your selections interesting as mine were the same. Good luck to you and to myself!

Jim

[BlackSpinner]

I wear a hybrid. The power went out a 1:05 am last night (or early this morning) and I was awake instantly! Sitting up and taking off the mask before I realized what was going on!

[Pugsy]

The very first night I decided to tape mouth (was using the Swift LT) we had a thunderstorm about 3 AM. Lost power. I was awake pretty quick thinking "something is not right here" then realized no air movement and just took the tape and mask off. There is enough limited movement of air through the vent holes to allow some breathing.

[snoozysue]

Thank you all for the advice and I am please to say that I survived the night without any suffocation!

Since starting CPAP early last year I have started grinding my teeth so I have to wear a night splint - heavy duty and very rigid. I used the blue painters tape and slept very well for 6 hours but the tape had come loose at the bottom and was very moist - yuk. I think the teeth splint helped to keep my mouth shut too.

I am amazed at how low the pressure was during the night - it was much less than when I used the Quattro and today the AHI is zero (pressure is usually close to 18 and last night was at 12 for much of the night) .

After waking, I changed to the Quattro for another 2 hours sleep as I am concerned about protecting my nares - I have tried the Liberty a few times and it took days for my split nares to recover. The pressure was much higher again with the Quattro.

I am impressed with my one night of the Swift FX and my nose feels OK too.

[chenpangpang]

You wont suffocate for the same reason that you were DIAGNOSED with OSA to begin with.

Namely, that your brain, thanks to our heavenly Designer, startles you awake (and all kinds of other chemical reactions within the body no doubt) jolts you awake when your oxygen level falls below a certain parameter.
Microsoft Office 2010
Microsoft Office 2007

[Bobby269]

Early in my Cpap career I stumbled back into bed plugged in my hose and it seems fell asleep before turning the unit on. (Mirage Quatro FFM) The lack of noise woke me a 1/2 hour later and I turned the machine on and went back to my dream.

[ClayL]

There is an anti suffocation valve in the L shaped tube in the mask the hose connects to.

It is held shut by the air pressure from the machine. When power goes off the valve is open and you can breathe normally. There is no CO2 build up because the opening is very close to your mouth and the expelled air flows right out.

I have had power failures and didn't even know it until the next morning when I saw the microwave clock display blinking.
(My machine has an automatic on feature so when power is restored it senses my breathing and turns itself back on.)

[archangle]

Hook up and try it. Hold your mouth closed or tape up and turn the machine on. Then power off the machine and unplug it and see what happens. See if you're getting fresh air. That thing on the end of the Swift FX short hose does look like the "anti asphyxiation" valve I've seen on some oral masks.

If you're not getting fresh air, there's a risk. Medical professionals seem to think that there's a risk that some people won't wake up and will suffocate. That's why all full face masks have to have anti-asphyxiation valves.

A lot of people on this board have tried taping and reported they wake up if the power goes out. We don't know if anyone who has tried it has died quietly in their sleep from taping and we didn't hear about it. Their survivors won't necessarily make the connection between taping and death or know to post about it on the board.

Just because most people wake up one time when it happens doesn't mean everyone will wake up every time. Our sleep patterns vary through the night and from person to person.

[Muse-Inc]

I had a power outage alarm in shipment when one of our Southern thunderboomers took out the power. I didn't wake up wearing my OptiLife mask, a pillow mask...I just tried sucking air in thru those tiny exhaust holes for 75 mins until the huge chest effort and sucking noises and lack of oxygen panicked my brain into waking me up. Now, knowing I don't wake up when the power goes out, I test my power outage alarm weekly. Get a power outage alarm, plug it into the same circuit that runs your xPAP -- eliminates a lot of worry.