No effect from humidifier.

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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palerider
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Re: No effect from humidifier.

Post by palerider » Sun Sep 25, 2022 1:30 pm

ejbpesca wrote:
Sun Sep 25, 2022 10:00 am
Chin straps could not hold the mouth shut.
Chin straps won't alleviate dry mouth, because you can easily breathe through clenched teeth.
ejbpesca wrote:
Sun Sep 25, 2022 10:00 am
One left not tried: I have not tried a cervical collar. Is that the same type used after surgery or whiplash, or is there a special one to prevent mouth breathing
Just like chin straps, cervical collars won't prevent mouth breathing, try it, clench your teeth, and you can still easily mouth breathe, because teeth aren't air tight.

Now, perhaps in combination with a non-vented boil-n-bite mouth guard.

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ejbpesca
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Re: No effect from humidifier.

Post by ejbpesca » Sun Sep 25, 2022 5:29 pm

robysue1 wrote:
Sun Sep 25, 2022 11:58 am
This
ejbpesca wrote:
Sun Sep 25, 2022 10:00 am
I have no regular sleep pattern.
Thank you for the reply and all the information.

Chronic pain from spinal injuries and all that entails is a significant reason I do not sleep well. That has been a struggle for 30 years and a topic for another forum. I do not blame my lack of rest on my CPAP machine.

Thanks again, everyone.

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ejbpesca
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Re: No effect from humidifier.

Post by ejbpesca » Sun Sep 25, 2022 5:39 pm

palerider wrote:
Sun Sep 25, 2022 1:30 pm
ejbpesca wrote:
Sun Sep 25, 2022 10:00 am
Chin straps could not hold the

Thank you pale rider, that is very good advice. I did try a custom adjustable mouthpiece my dentist had made for me. It did not help. It was hard plastic and too painful to use. I wonder though if a soft mouthpiece may have some effect. Never tried that.

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Janknitz
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Re: No effect from humidifier.

Post by Janknitz » Sun Sep 25, 2022 6:35 pm

If you mouth breathe in a FF mask, it is still going to dry your mouth terribly, even though you will have effective therapy. The cervical collar might help by supporting your chin.

There are some low key things to try, too:
1) Use chapstick on your lips when you go to bed. It has a teeny, tiny bit of tackiness that might help you hold your lips together.
2) If you feel like you could tolerate something sticking your lips together, some people use denture adhesive on their lips.
3) There are less tacky tapes, and you can fold a tab under to help with removal.
4) I have a soft, moldable U shaped neck pillow and I sometimes tuck that under my chin when wearing a FF mask, as it helps the same way a soft cervical collar will. (I usually only wear a FF mask when I have a stuffy nose, so some mouth breathing then is inevitable).

The "tongue on the roof of the mouth thing" is as follows:
First, put your tongue on the roof of your mouth, just behind your front teeth. Now plug your nose and see if you can breathe in through your mouth.

If you CANNOT get air in through your mouth with your tongue in this position and your nose plugged, this MAY work because it means your tongue position will seal off the oropharynx effectively so the air doesn't escape out your mouth. So the trick is to train yourself to keep your tongue in that position by doing it ALL DAY if you are not talking or eating. A few days of this to remember and reinforce that tongue position, and if you really work it, this might carryover into night time.

When you were a kid, did you ever play at talking underwater in the bathtub or in a swimming pool? Same principle applies here--most of us have the ability to seal off the back of the throat so we wouldn't aspirate the water when playing like that. Some people just can't do it (especially if they have had any surgeries to "cure" their apnea) and some people can't get it to stay sealed during sleep. But most people can. Even if your jaw goes slack during sleep, if your tongue is in the right position (and it seems to sort of "suction" into place), the air will not escape out of your mouth and it won't be so dry. Using this tongue position in combination with a cervical collar or tacky lip stuff will work even better.

I hope you find these suggestions helpful.
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palerider
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Location: Dallas(ish).

Re: No effect from humidifier.

Post by palerider » Sun Sep 25, 2022 6:43 pm

ejbpesca wrote:
Sun Sep 25, 2022 5:39 pm
palerider wrote:
Sun Sep 25, 2022 1:30 pm
Chin straps could not hold the
Thank you pale rider, that is very good advice. I did try a custom adjustable mouthpiece my dentist had made for me. It did not help. It was hard plastic and too painful to use. I wonder though if a soft mouthpiece may have some effect. Never tried that.
a boil and bite mouthpiece isn't going to be terribly uncomfortable like the dentist made things that aren't very effective at all.

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clownbell
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Re: No effect from humidifier.

Post by clownbell » Sun Sep 25, 2022 10:32 pm

Ejbpesca - can we return to the subject of taping for a minute?

We share some common experiences - tried several approaches without success. After trying about a half-dozen different types of tape, I have found that the cloth-based tapes and plastic tapes do the job but are painful upon removal (feels like removing a layer of skin!). As you have noted, the cure can be worse than the problem. So I kept going and finally reached the conclusion that the silicone tapes were easier and much less painful to remove. Be sure to fold over about 1/8" on the end so you have a "handle" to assist with removal. Then (critical step) run your hand in constant contact with your face -- do not pull hand outward from the face. So you are pulling the tape backward on itself, not outward from the face. MedVance silicone tape works well but is expensive. 3M silicone tapes work well and are less expensive. All this is IMO of course, and YMMV, but I encourage you to try taping with the right stuff.
ResMed AirSense 10 Autoset with built in humidifier
Resmed P10 pillow mask