My dry mouth problem is better with one Full Face Mask

[Pugsy]

I know this won't be much consolation for you but the mouth breathing doesn't have to be a huge prolonged deal to dry out the mouth. Sometimes it takes just a few minutes.
I use the nasal pillow type of mask and normally I don't have dry mouth issues at all but sometimes I wake up with my mouth feeling like the Sahara desert. I know what it is because I usually wake up on my back when this happens and I have woke up with my mouth open. I know it is mouth breathing...so I go check my software reports and much to my surprise there really isn't any huge leak showing that one might suspect with dry mouth and mouth breathing. It just doesn't show up on the reports as any significant leak. Certainly no where near impacting therapy.

So I think that my periods of probably mouth breathing are relatively brief and not prolonged at all or I would see something on the leak reports. Apparently dry mouth can happen with just a brief open mouth breathing excursion.
You have pretty much tried all the standard suggestions for dealing with it.
May I offer one other?
Your PR S1 machine offers 2 modes of humidification. The default mode is the new humidification system based on sensor in the machine. There is another mode called the Classic mode which uses plain ordinary heat. It will provide more added moisture than the new humidification system does. Drawbacks are that it uses more water (might run out during the night) and the chances for rain out increase but there are ways to deal with rain out if it should occur. A setting of 2 using that mode might give you a little more moisture than the setting of 2 with the new mode...and maybe less than the setting of 3 which causes increased congestion. Just a thought...if you could tolerate higher settings then that might help. It might not...I don't know but it wouldn't hurt to try. You can access the classic mode setting in the clinical setup area on the machine.

You could also add a chin strap to help remind mouth to not mouth breathe unless absolutely necessary. Doesn't have to be tight...just a little tension.
People wear them using full face masks for the sole purpose of trying to limit the mouth breathing to only times when absolutely necessary. Lots of people have the dry mouth problem with full face masks. The humidifier just can't adequately moisturize the oral cavity like it can the nasal cavity and some people just need more moisture to prevent dryness.

Why one full face mask creates more dryness than another full face mask? Unknown really, maybe one mask encourages the mouth to stay closed better.

[DreamStalker]

Has anyone attempted to help the OP? This argument is getting out of hand. Focus, please!
Julius, dear, welcome to the forum.

You're absolutely right ...

Julius, welcome and sorry for the disruption.

Have you always had problems breathing through your nose?

You should try to resolve any issues you may have breathing through your nose. Humans are not meant to breathe through their mouths except under temporary conditions.

If you just have allergies or a cold, try saline nasal rinse techniques. If it is a more permanent condition, visit an ENT specialist to see what they can do.

If breathing through your nose is not a problem, a chinstrap will help keep you jaw in place and your mouth closed.

Sorry, I did not mean to create such a commotion with my post, I was only looking for some input from other people with their experience with dry mouth problems wearing masks.
I have been having nasal congestion problems for the past several years, worse when allergy seasons are here in California. I have been using Saline spray 4-5 times a day for a long time. Helps but does not resolve my nasal congestion so I have been using Flonase also at bedtime.
During the day I do not have any problem breathing through my nose, at night I probably slightly open my mouth subconsciously and breathing through my mouth as well. I do not know, all I know that when I did not wear any mask I did not have any dry mouth problem. My dry mouth problem started when I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea and started to wear masks, beginning with nose mask which I still have, then Full Face masks which I prefer to use.
So far as I understand there is no solution for the dry mouth problems wearing any kind of masks and it appears, so I just have to keep on doing what I have been, trying various mouth moisturizing products and hope for the best as time goes by it may improve (if I cross my fingers and being lucky enough)
Thank you people for the inputs, I have been definitely learned from them, at least I know what to expect and what not to. Just keep those inputs coming I really appreciate that you take some time to respond with your experience.

Flonase is not a good option as it creates a rebound effect making the congestion problem worse in the long run.

When I mentioned saline rinse I meant an actual irrigation not a spray, sorry. Google "nasal irrigation" ... lots of videos on how. There are a couple of products like Nasaline and Grossan Hydro Pulse that do wonders. I've tried both and the Grossan is more expensive with nice pulsating massage but both will do the job. Of course there are also the more gentle neti pots ... but if your stopped up they are a bit more difficult to make work IMO.

The chinstrap suggestion may also help keep you mouth closed even with FF mask. The lower strap on a FF mask will generally leverage your lower jaw open, the chinstrap help counter that.

[Wilmie]

Flonase is a good product for relieving nasal congestion and allergies. It does not cause rebound congestion. I see my allergist once per year and he gives me a prescription that lasts for a year.

I have been doing this for seven years and the allergist and my family doctor both tell me the side effects are minor and longterm use is not harmful.

[avi123]

Julius, are you from the famous Roseville in CA? If yes then your dry mouth could be caused by Aliens.
There are no aliens in my house except me myself being a past U. S. Alien.

I also get dry mouth from time to time. In my case it could be from medicine that I take.
Recently, I had a couple of nights when I awoke up with dry mouth. I used Biotene spray to to care of it.

You can have a dry mouth even if you use a full face mask. This is because you can always inhale and exhale thru
your mouth inside the FF mask. In such a case it should not interfere with the machine calculations of the leaks
but give you a dry mouth. Boosting up the the humidifier to the max could be futile b/c it never reaches the normal
dampness in the mouth.

[Guest]

I couldn't find where the OP revealed what humidifier setting they were using, but too much (heated) humidity can actually make nasal breathing more problematic and the user resorts to mouth-breathing.......which leads to dry mouth (even in a full face mask).

Julius,

My suggestions:
Try turning your humidifier setting to Off and use "passover" humidification (water in the tank but no heat). If it's hot in your area, try cooling the water you use in your humidifier tank.
Try to make sure your nasal passages are pretty clear before masking up at bedtime.


.

[chunkyfrog]

It is probably a good idea that any hoser have a full face mask available, should the nose be stuffy due to allergy or illness.
It's bad enough to be sick; but to make it impossible to use the machine is just plain sadistic!

[tiredmama]

I love the extra humidity from my machine. It's far better than sleeping with my mouth open without my own personal humidifier right there

I was physically unable to breathe through only my nose until earlier this year. I wouldn't have had surgery to correct it unless there were other problems because of it, like constant sinus issues and pressure. I have found that the nose does do a nicer job of filtering than the mouth did...as my ENT said, it's doing what it's supposed to do now!

Not everyone can use a nasal mask. Sometimes when you technically could use one, it's still more comfortable to wear a full-face. (The lengths some must go to in order to keep their mouths shut...to me far less comfortable than a bigger mask.)

As for a dry mouth, I've found the biggest factor for how dry my mouth gets is my overall hydration level. This holds true now and before CPAP. If I'm not adequately hydrated at bedtime, I notice it so much more in every way by morning. Downing a few glasses of water before bed and having to get up and pee is usually better than ignoring the realization that I've sweated out most of what I drank that day and need to drink more.

[teachcsg]

Pugsy...very well said. The Syst 1 has the classic and the new humidification modes and they CAN make a difference. Give that a try and let us know if it works. If you need to access the humidification mode here are the steps:
1. On the main screen you will see 4 menus/windows they are Therapy, C-Flex, Setup and Info
2. Using the "on/off" dial scroll to the "setup" menu (it will be highlighted in black) and press the "on/off" dial to Enter that menu
3. You will see many options and most default options are fine but find the one that says System One Humidification...I think its the 2nd option
4. You will see that it says "On"
5. Again, using the "on/off" dial scroll and highlight this option, press the "on/off" button to highlight and change the "on" to "off"
6. Scroll to "Back" and it should take you back to the main menu or simply wait a few seconds and the system will default to "therapy" on its on.

Also, in dealing with patients that face the "dry-mouth" issue...some can be caused by medications or by lack of adequate hydration. Try those things since they tend to be "easy/quick" fixes.

Good luck!

[chearyshe]

I also have the dry mouth problem and I have a Mirage Quattro FF mask. Luckily it's not dry every night...PHEW!

Someone told me, long before CPAP land, that I shouldn't breathe through my mouth. Okay, fine, so what happens when I'm asleep and my mouth opens? Do I have any control over the situation? NO! I'm ASLEEP!

Kzillion years ago, when I had an s6 Elite CPAP and a nasal mask, my lips flapped something awful and made vulgar noises. and of course air escaped my mouth. Fast forward to a new generation of machines and masks, I still mouth breathe on occasion during the night, probably when I'm on my back. I can try the tennis ball in the back pocket thing but that's uncomfortable. When I finally get a new cpap and a new humidifier, I presume the problem will be less annoying!

We have an interesting system here...after the sleep study I have the opportunity to get a cpap for a week trial (from ResMed). The technician came to the sleep clinic with machines and masks, sets it all up, helped find the best fitting mask and sent me off to one of the rooms to test out the equipment. The next week we discovered that the pressure wasn't high enough...raised the pressure to 10-6.....fine. That lowered apneas but not the hypoapneas, leaks were minimal, etc. Meanwhile, the pulmonary specialist said to open it up...so that's what she did, only because she couldn't contact the dr. She agreed with me that the top pressure would be to high...Monday I go back to the tech to check things out. At one point I felt like a Thanksgiving Day Macy's Parade Balloon! Cheeks all puffed out/almost gulping air! a MAJOR leak from everywhere!

Even with these tales of woe, I'm adjusting to CPAP Therapy.....YAY! I thought It would take longer adjusting to falling asleep with a big chunk of plastic strapped to my face. EPR is a good invention and I don't have any difficulty exhaling.
I even slept 4 hours straight last night, instead of waking up every hour or so. coming along, coming along.

Cheary!!