Newbie

Help! I just received my machine and struggling. I have some questions maybe someone can help me with. I can handle it for about 2 or 3 hours. I have a full face mask and I have gotten sever dry mouth. I have raised the humidity from 4 to 5. Do you think I should go higher? How high is too high? Another question is should I hear myself breathing? I feel like it's super loud. Last question for now is can the pressure be too high? I feel like when I wake up with my dry mouth, I can't breath using my mouth. I feel like my cheeks puff up and it's difficult.

Sorry for all these questions. I tried calling the company I got the equipment from and they are closed for the Holiday.
Thank you in advance!!
Happy Holidays!
J

First, start reading some of “Pugsy’s Pointers” to better understand how to post information such that those knowledgeable can help. Pay particular attention to posting OSCAR data.

https://www.cpaptalk.com/viewtopic/t17 ... STING.html

Without more information it’s almost impossible to give good advice. Start with the basics:

CPAP machine type
Mask type
Machine settings for pressure, humidity, temp
Machine settings for EPR/CFLEX/PS
Any sleep study data with personal information redacted

Having that information coupled with a few OSCAR screenshots the smart kids can offer help. One point I’ll make as a fellow newbie is that it takes time to adjust to using CPAP and wearing the mask. Very few have a magical moment where things just work, it takes weeks to months of fine tuning to get comfortable. Fortunately the folks here have years of experience and can help you be successful.

Hi

I am new to this, also, so I have the sames kinds of problems you do. Sadly, I don't have a lot of answers.

My cheeks puff out and it's hard to exhale when the pressure is high. The machine is supposed to self-regulate, and only increase the pressure when it needs to. Also, the pressure drops automatically when I start to breath out. Both the pressure range and the expiratory pressure drop can be configured, although (in my limited experience) the equipment manufacturers don't always document how to do this. In general, I think these machines are supposed to be set up by experts, in lab conditions. I only got vague advice from my doctors, so I'm essentially working out the settings myself. I have mine set with a pressure range of 5-15 cm, and an expiratory pressure relief of 3 cm. I find that it the pressure goes up to more than about 12 cm, it's quite uncomfortable. I understand that some people use much higher pressures, but perhaps that's something you have to work up to?

I certainly hear myself breathing, but I think that's just the change in pressure created by the pump when I breathe in and out.

I don't have a problem with dry mouth, even with the humidifier set really low. At the risk of being rude, are you sure that the humidifier is set up properly, and is filled with water to the right level, etc?

If you say what equipment you've got, I'm sure somebody more expert will be able to advise.

Best wishes
Lars.

Lars, similarities or not, it's best to start your own thread so we can keep track of what's what with each of you properly and suggest any possible fixes.

Hi not sure the answer to all of that...
I live in Houston, TX
Machine ResMed Airsense 10
Mask is F20
Pressure 6-18 cm H20 ???
Humidity was 4 and last night change to 5
sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome G47.33

Hopefully this will help with some answers.
Thanks!
J

Dry mouth is a common complaint of people on cpap. Sometimes it's fixable with more humidity added to the air but sometimes it isn't fixable with more humidity. Doesn't hurt to try more humidity though...might get lucky and there really isn't a "too high" setting for humidity as long as the added moisture doesn't itself cause nasal congestion.

These humidifiers on these machines weren't ever really designed to hydrate the oral cavity. They were designed to hydrate the much smaller nasal cavity.

Potential causes of dry mouth
1..Mouth breathing
2..Medication side effects
3..Other health conditions

Welcome, Fuzzel. Do you breathe through your nose during the day? If you do, you might be able to use a nasal interface rather than a full-face mask, and that might be a little more comfortable for you.

It's hard getting hold of stuff at the holidays, but see whether you can find some Zylimelts. They are discs that adhere to your teeth or gums and slowly dissolve over the course of the night, stimulating the production of saliva.

It's normal to hear your breathing to some extent. Some sound in the hose is what I mostly hear, and it's mostly when I inhale. Do you think the sound you're hearing is loud? Can you tell where it's coming from?

You have an excellent machine there, and with some patience and experimentation, I'm betting you will do well with it.

Fuzzel wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 24, 2021 11:35 am

Hi not sure the answer to all of that...
I live in Houston, TX
Machine ResMed Airsense 10
Mask is F20
Pressure 6-18 cm H20 ???
Humidity was 4 and last night change to 5
sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome G47.33

Any chance you could use OSCAR to post some results? You will need to put an SD card 32 GB or less (or a larger one with a 32 GB partition) into the machine overnight so it can record usage data. Look through “Pugsy’s Pointers” for more information on OSCAR.

https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/

And for more info on CPAP in general LankyLefty27 has a number of helpful videos including some on using OSCAR.

https://youtube.com/c/Freecpapadvice

Miss Emerita wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 24, 2021 12:31 pm

It's hard getting hold of stuff at the holidays, but see whether you can find some Zylimelts. They are discs that adhere to your teeth or gums and slowly dissolve over the course of the night, stimulating the production of saliva.

ooooh, so close!

xylimelts.

to the op: i swear by these. it's a step to take while trying to figure out why the dry mouth. they can be found at your local drugstore. i know for sure that they can be had at cvs and at riteaid. look for them in the oral care section.

if none found at your local drugstore, then certainly at amazon-

https://www.amazon.com/XyliMelts-Dry-Mo ... B001A42R1A

good luck!

So close and yet so far! Thanks for the correction, Zonker.