After a year of bliss - now my mouth opens. Help!

[kirstena]

Okay, gang - I need some help. I've been using my machine with nasal pillows successfully for almost a year now. Love the mask. Minimal pressure on my face, minimal irritation, good headgear - love it. I also have a hybrid mask...Opus 360, I think it's called [Wrong - the 360 is the one I like. The hybrid is a Mirage mask. The following has been fixed.], for if I get congested. I'm not that fond of the Mirage - too much pressure on too much of my face, gotta have it tight or it does the fart-face thing, headgear rubs on my neck - but it gets the job done.

Last week, I started waking up with a horrible dry mouth in the middle of the night. I mean, cracks-in-the-tongue, sore gums, leather cheeks dry. And the next day, I felt as though I had been sleeping without CPAP at all - groggy, headache, all the rest. After a couple nights of messing around with tying a scarf around my chin, taping my mouth shut with bandage tape, etc. without success, I switched to the Mirage. I'm not happy. I tried the nasal one again Saturday night and didn't have the dry mouth problem, but it happened again Sunday night, so I'm back to the Mirage. What I want to know is, what can I do to enable me to use my favorite mask again? Understanding "why now?" would be nice too, but I can live without knowing if it's fixable. If I can't keep using the nasal one, I need some suggestions of mouth-covering masks that might be more comfortable for me to try. I don't have a ton of money to spend on one, but I need my sleep.

Thanks in advance,
Kirsten

PS - background info: I'm on the South Beach Diet and joined a gym, preparatory to having bariatric surgery sometime before Christmas. I've lost 35 lbs in the last couple months. Might have something to do with it. To be honest, I have occasionally awoken with a sort-of dry mouth in the morning, but nothing regular and nothing as bad as last week.

[apneawho]

It does sound like your mouth is coming open during the night. I alternate between a chin strap, taping my mouth and Chin Up Strips. I use nasal pillows and my mouth does come open when I sleep unless I use one of these measures to keep it closed. Lately, taping with Nexcare paper tape has worked the best. I have zero to minimal leaks with that for now.
Do you use a humdifier?

[tangents]

Hi Kirstena,

I recently had the same situation going on. Mouth so dry there wasn't a molecule to start salivating with. Mine was due to a malfunction in my Puritan Bennett 420E pressure sensor line. The machine was pumping its little heart out! Here's what I suggest: check your machine carefully (what kind of machine do you use?), and if you think that's working OK, try sleeping with a boil 'n' bite mouthpiece. The mouthpiece does a great job of sealing your mouth.

Good luck!

[kirstena]

Yes I do use a humidifier- it's the integral one that goes with my machine. I'm using it on either 2 or 3 right now, and it's been a godsend (that and the Mucinex every night before bed) in preventing my frequent sinus infections.

Paper tape, huh? I tried some 2" wide Transpore (plastic with bitty holes) that I had sitting around, and I drooled it open. And kept finding stickum on my face for two days afterward. Where do you get the Nexcare?

And a mouth guard...hmmmm...never thought of that. That's a pretty good idea too... I don't think the machine is blowing too hard, because I can set it myself and set it too high one time to feel what that was like. It's in the range I'm used to, just coming out the wrong orifice.

[CrystalLady]

I use a nasal pillow mask (Swift FX for her) and I found the paper tape works for me too.
I don't cover my mouth completely. I cut the one-inch wide tape in half lengthwise, making it just a half-inch wide. Then I take a 1 1/4 inch long piece of it and place it lengthwise over the center of my lips, from the bottom of my nose to about halfway down my chin. This leaves the sides of my mouth able to open to breath if I really have to.
I also turn or tape back a little bit of the tape at the bottom for easier removal either in an emergency (if I have to cough) or in the AM. Hope this helps

[Breathe Jimbo]

As I lost weight, my mouth started popping open and I started to awake with a very dry mouth. Lowering the pressure helped for a while, until I lost more weight. Eventually, I solved the problem with a PapCap and, at bedtime, mouthwash for people with dry mouth. The PapCap is a fancy chinstrap which does a good job of pulling the lower jaw UP, thereby pressing the lips together, without pulling the lower jaw BACK. The latter may worsen OSA.

[apneawho]

The Nexcare tape is available at Walgreen's and I think is on Amazon.com.

[Bright Choice]

You could also try blue painters tape 2080EL. It is pretty gentle on the skin. I use 2" wide. I also use Ruby Puresom chin strap which I like..

How is your nose? You mentioned mucinex and it made me think stuffy nose. That surely will make you open your mouth. I can't get along without neti pot twice a day. Also search here for links to Dr Krakows nasal breathing videos plus Dr Parks article on unstuff your stuffy nose.

Just some thoughts. Good luck!

[moresleep]

I use 2" 3M Micropore/Nexcare, which I generally buy online by the box of 10 or 20 (a lot cheaper than at Walgreens). This is a paper tape. I have tried many other kinds, but it is the best for me in terms of working but being easy on the skin and not leaving much residue. I fold tabs on the ends to make it easy to take off. If I need to reduce the stickiness (some rolls seem to have more) I apply and remove a few times lightly before applying for the night. Note that most (all?) sleep doctors will probably advise against using tape; but, for me, it was the only thing that worked.

[DadscreepyCPAPmask]

The Ultimate Chin Strap

[Samba]

Same thing happened to me after a year probably after getting my deep sleep back. So I switched to an FFM.