Clenching jaw while using CPAP

[jpek]

Okay, so I have now managed to fall asleep with the CPAP while lying in my bed several times. I don't sleep with it anything like through the night. Sometimes it's just half an hour and sometimes a two or three hours, but that's still a huge triumph.

However, I'm having a big problem waking up with very sore and tight muscles on the sides of my neck. I have repetitive strain injuries that make this a vulnerable area anyway, and once those muscles grab it's hard to get them to let go. The last several times I've used a CPAP and have woken up with this pain, (sometimes in the middle of the night) I've had to resort to taking Ibuprofen.

In trying to troubleshoot this, I've figured out that part of the problem is what I do with my jaw. When I sleep without my CPAP I usually have a semi-stuffed up nose. It's uncomfortable to breathe only through it. Also, in the last year or so I've started snoring when I try to breathe only through my nose (still with no CPAP) and then I wake myself up. So, I' have a strong habit of trying to keep my mouth and jaw as loose as possible and keeping a corner of my mouth slightly open -- enough to breathe partially through it but not enough to dry me out.

Enter the CPAP which, as we know, doesn't allow you to keep your mouth open much, unless you have a full face mask. So, now I'm consciously trying to keep my mouth closed. Since I already have a propensity for tension in my jaw and for grinding my teeth at night I think trying to keep my mouth clamped shut just adds to this, and I wind up clenching my jaw. I believe the neck ache comes at least partly from that.

Has anybody else experienced this kind of problem and what do you do about it?

[jpek]

by the way, I forgot to say that I don't think a chin strap will not work for me. I'm WAY too sensitive to stuff touching my neck and lower chin and I also need to be able to drink as I'm going to sleep.

[chunkyfrog]

Chin straps cause me extreme discomfort--and don't work.
A vertical strip of medical cloth tape works very nicely--when it doesn't pull off (longer tape helps.)
Then I can relax my jaw, instead of trying to hold it a certain way all night.

[jpek]

What is a vertical strap and how does it work? And what happens if you need a drink of water?

[Julie]

Talking about a 2" long strip of either 3M Micropore tape (at most drugstores) or blue painters' tape that you apply horizontally (tho' some do it vertically) across your mouth when asleep - those two come off easily - to keep your lips from opening when asleep, so as not to lose therapy air that way.

[jpek]

So, we're talking about basically taping your mouth shut? Hard to take a drink of water that way, I guess....

[Julie]

Obviously the point is to apply the tape at lights out/Cpap on.

[Sclark08]

I clench my jaw so tightly my face hurts some morning. Dentist suggested a bite guard. Don't know if I can put any more equipment on my face or in my mouth and expect to sleep!

[JDS74]

You might consider a soft cervical collar that would support your jaw without anything interfering with your mouth directly.
This might trigger some problems if you are sensitive to things around your neck though.

When I first started with the Oracle 2 mask, I clamped down on it and damaged the inner part requiring early replacements on my dime. That was incentive enough that I learned to not do that so it is possible to 'learn' not to clamp down while you are asleep.

I am claustrophobic but after almost 3 years on CPAP, my claustrophobia has lessened to the degree that I can tolerate a cervical collar without a panic attack.

[Stormynights]

You can get 2 youth boil and bite mouth guards and mold one for the top and one for the bottom. I bite pretty hard when molding them. It helps me with teeth grinding and dry mouth. They are cheap and easy to fit.

[Katana]

I had a lot of tension in my jaw, face, neck, and upper shoulders when I first started.

As my body got used to the machine, the idea of the mask, and started to accept the changes, the tensions started to subside and things corrected. During the acclimation, I did use some ibuprofen to reduce the pain.

I'm in my 7th week and still wake up sometimes with small, odd pains...but they have decreased to almost gone.

Maybe your body just needs time to aclimate?

[M'ohms]

I developed TMJ from using one particular mask (which I don't use any more). The best way I have found to keep my jaw from dropping is using the cervical collar. I thought "no way will I add another thing to my head to sleep!", but I was unsuccessful with a chin strap and getting desparate. The collar is surprisingly comfortable, especially in the winter. It keeps my jaw from dropping and allows me to relax my jaws. As an added benefit, it also has lowered my AHI. I use it every night.

[tattooyu]

I developed TMJ from using one particular mask (which I don't use any more). The best way I have found to keep my jaw from dropping is using the cervical collar. I thought "no way will I add another thing to my head to sleep!", but I was unsuccessful with a chin strap and getting desparate. The collar is surprisingly comfortable, especially in the winter. It keeps my jaw from dropping and allows me to relax my jaws. As an added benefit, it also has lowered my AHI. I use it every night.

What brand/type of collar do you use?

Hey, how about one of these!

[SuddenlyWornOut45]

CPAP decreased a lot of my sleeping jaw clenching. I suppose since Im not desaturating as badly as before CPAP, my muscles are more relaxed now in my sleep than before CPAP. I used to weak up with severe headaches on the back of my head PLUS wake up with sore jaws every morning for years and years before CPAP. That went away very quickly after starting CPAP therapy.

Eric

[M'ohms]

This is the collar that I use. It was inexpensive and you can find one at any drug store. I thought that, if I didn't like it, like it, then the investment was minimal. I am very happy with it.

://www.ebay.com/itm/cervical-collar-CAREX- ... 190841[url][/url]