Taping mouth closed to breath through nose

[rested gal]

Taping is not necessarily "safe". Nothing in life is "safe". A life of untreated sleep apnea is very very unsafe. You maintain a taper kill him or herself. Asleep at the wheel, a person who would have done well with tape may kill himself or herself, and a few innocent by standers along the way. And when that happens, no coroner's report will show that the unfortunate driver may be one of those who avoided taping because he read Archangle's "warnings".

My sentiments, exactly, ozij.

People who tape, like myself, has tried everything else. Do you think we haven't thought of the " what if this happens or that happens". We tape because we have to. It comes down to taping or not getting the therapy we need. Understand?

Ditto to what kempo wrote.

For everyone who would say, "Well, why don't you just use a chin strap, or use a Full Face mask, or use an Oracle oral interface..."

I have tried just about every full face mask there is, including the Total, the Hybrid, and the Liberty.

I have tried the Oracle -- the original one and the re-designed one.

It's great that all those masks do suit some people. They do not suit me at all.
All those masks give me an unacceptable level of sleep disturbance.

I have tried many different chin straps, including the "Ultimate" and the "PAPcap."
No chin strap keeps me from breathing (and/or leaking) through my mouth.

As kempo said, "It comes down to taping or not getting the therapy we need."

I consider that putting tape over my mouth is safe for me to do.

There have been power outtages. I woke up. Noticed the machine was not running. Calmly took the tape off. Calmly took the nasal pillows mask off.

On one occasion in my seven years of using tape, I woke up one night feeling unmistakably nauseated. Calmly took the tape off. It was many, many LONG minutes later (lying there wide awake with the tape already removed) before the nausea had increased to the point of my getting up and heading for the bathroom just in time to throw up.

As ozij said, nothing in life is 'safe.' As with so many things in life, each person has to weigh the risk/reward inherent in everything we choose to do.

Choices. Risks. Rewards.

Getting on an airplane... driving a car... stepping into a bathtub... walking into a hospital... taking a bite of food...

Rule #1 of survival is you don't want to mess around with your airway or block things.

Right. Obstructive Sleep Apnea messes around with my airway and blocks things.

Taping mouth shut sounds like a REALLY BAD idea.

For some people, it would be. Sounded like a REALLY BAD idea the first time (years ago, on another apnea forum) I ever read about someone doing that. Turns out that it's not only been a good idea, but the best idea I ever tried -- for me to get effective CPAP therapy wearing a type of mask that's comfortable enough to let me actually sleep.

[2flamingos]

When I told the guy at my DME supplier about taping he acted like he had never heard of it. He thought I was kidding. When I explained to him the different masks and chin straps I had tried, and the difference in my therapy with the tape - he basically said whatever works for you. I am not advising anybody to try it, I am simply explaining how it works for ME. It is a choice, and we all have to make our own choices and decisions in life.

[kempo]

People who tape, like myself, has tried everything else. Do you think we haven't thought of the " what if this happens or that happens". We tape because we have to. It comes down to taping or not getting the therapy we need. Understand?

Besides we love living dangerously.

(sarcasm off)

Why do you object to me telling the newbies about what the risks are?

I don't object. I believe in free speech. I am sure you are trying to give good advice. I just disagree with your assessment from personal experience.