Very dry mouth & throat with Liberty...HELP!

[hjjsnell]

So I've slept for two nights with the Liberty. My leak rate was going up and I kept having lip flutters and my mouth would fill with air and I was mouth breathing, so we've switched to a full face mask. The mask itself fits wonderfully. I slept fine with it, didn't seem to have any noticeable leaks, nothing like that. My only problem is waking up with an extremely dry mouth and throat...to the point that even now (several hours later) it still hurts to talk, cough, laugh anything. I have my humidifier set to three, should I set it higher? 3 was the perfect setting to prevent drooling yet still provide enough moisture with all my other masks. What do you all think? I'm trying to still breathe through my nose only even though I have the full face mask and the ability to breathe through my mouth now, is that a problem, should I be breathing through my mouth too? I feel like I'm starting all over again! GRRRRRRR...HELP!! Thanks for any tips and advice!

~Heather

[klockemy]

From what I have read, the humidity provided by the humidifier is for the benefit of your nose and not your mouth. Also, as far as I know, unless you are using an oral only mask, that you should be trying to breathe through your nose as much as possible. I use a Liberty and I wake up every morning with a dry mouth. A couple drinks of water and I am doing ok. I have read on other posts that there is mouthwash that is supposed to make your mouth say moist longer. I have also heard of people still taping/using chinstraps with the Liberty and other FFMs to keep from mouth breathing due to the intense dry mouth they wake up with.

You could do a search on the forums and see if you can find something that might work for you. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Kevin

PS I think the name of the mouthwash is Oasis and is very expensive.

[Babette]

You might need more humidity with this mask, you might need less. You just have to keep tweaking with it, until you find the perfect setting for YOU.

Sorry,
B.

[hjjsnell]

Thanks so much! I'll try the chin strap with it tonight and see if that helps. If it doesn't then I'll try tweaking the humidity setting. One thing at a time. Thanks again!!

~Heather

[roster]

Heather,

Do you have any congestion? Just a small amount of congestion can cause excessive mouthbreathing.

Too much humidity can cause congestion. I am guessing that you have the humidifier set too high. You are in central Florida in July and your ambient humidity is likely over 50% in your bedroom and the dewpoint is high. I am in NC and am not using the humidifier during the summer (I do need it in the winter when the gas furnace is running). Try a night with the humidifier set on one. If your nasal passages don't dry out, turn the humidifier off the next night.

Give us some feedback about your congestion levels and your bedroom temperature at night. There are some other ideas about mouthbreathing but I don't like to speculate too much.

Regards,

[klockemy]

Heather,

Do you have any congestion? Just a small amount of congestion can cause excessive mouthbreathing.

Too much humidity can cause congestion. I am guessing that you have the humidifier set too high. You are in central Florida in July and your ambient humidity is likely over 50% in your bedroom and the dewpoint is high. I am in NC and am not using the humidifier during the summer (I do need it in the winter when the gas furnace is running). Try a night with the humidifier set on one. If your nasal passages don't dry out, turn the humidifier off the next night.

Give us some feedback about your congestion levels and your bedroom temperature at night. There are some other ideas about mouthbreathing but I don't like to speculate too much.

Regards,

I second that. I live in NC and have my humidifier set to 1 or passover most of the time.

[harry33]

sometimes you can 'open wide' in sleep and break the mask airseal so you mostly breathe outside air, mouthbreathing outside air always causes a very dry mouth, tongue, etc

try a chinstrap , buy one or make one from elastic or pantyhose tying it together

[hjjsnell]

Thanks Rooster for your input. We actually keep the bedroom fairly warm in the evenings at almost 80 degrees. I've tried to go without the humidifier and it dries me out something fierce. I have major problems with my sinuses, always have (have already had surgery once for it...full roto rootering, turbinate reduction, the works, you name it) so congestion is always a problem. Could that be the root of all that ails me, my constant sinus congestion? I do live in Central FL and it is very humid here, very high dewpoint and humidity. Thanks for any suggestions you can give!!

~Heather

[roster]

Thanks Rooster for your input. We actually keep the bedroom fairly warm in the evenings at almost 80 degrees. I've tried to go without the humidifier and it dries me out something fierce. I have major problems with my sinuses, always have (have already had surgery once for it...full roto rootering, turbinate reduction, the works, you name it) so congestion is always a problem. Could that be the root of all that ails me, my constant sinus congestion? I do live in Central FL and it is very humid here, very high dewpoint and humidity. Thanks for any suggestions you can give!!

~Heather

Bedroom 80 degrees F, high humidity, high dewpoint - Wow - you should not need a humidifier at all.

I believe there is something here that can be improved but not sure what needs tweaking yet.

1. When you say, "it dries me out something fierce", which part(s) of the anatomy are you referring to: mouth, nasal airway, throat?

2. Which mask(s) does this happen with?

3. What is your pressure setting?

Regards,

[MurphysLaw]

I'm fairly new to the Liberty (1 month) and had those same issues at first, using a setting of 2. I turned it up gradually to 5, thinking I needed more humidity. It became worse. One night I accidentally turned it down to 0 and it worked better for me. I think, as Rooster said, I had too much humidity in the nasal area which caused the congestion. After a few days at 0 I rarely notice any dryness.

[hjjsnell]

Well I turned down the humidifier to 1 and am using the chinstrap and that seems to be working for the dryness. None last night, so that's a good sign. Now my AHI is going up and has been since I started using the Liberty. Now to figure out why? Thanks y'all!!