Feeling like I'm suffocating.

Hi. I have a Resmed Air 10 with an AirTouch N20 Nasal mask . My pressure settings are 5-18cm auto adjusted. I do not have ramp time turned on currently. I started therapy a couple of months ago. Everything was going great but about a month in I started sleeping with my mouth open and getting dry mouth. I got a chin strap recently. About 30 minutes or so after I fall asleep I start to feel like I'm suffocating and wake up. Sometimes it happens when I'm not wearing the chin strap as well. I don't feel like I'm getting a perfect seal around my nose in a medium mask either. I do have a follow up with my sleep doctor in a few weeks but I was hoping you guys might have some ideas to help me until my appointment.

Your starting pressure is kind of low. Some people feel like they are suffocating with pressure less than 7 0r 8 cm. Try raising your pressure to 8 and see how you do.

Chin straps don't keep your mouth closed enough so air doesn't escape... tape does (do a search here for various kinds that work without killing you when removed).

I agree that you might feel better with a starting pressure of 7 or so. I know I did! One kind of tape to try, just to see whether you like the idea, is Somnifix. These strips are very gentle on the skin and will help you keep your lips closed. They are a little pricey, so if you think tape might work for you, you can easily try a cheaper kind of tape down the road.

Thank you for your replies! I thought I would get an email when someone responded like on reddit but that's not the case.

That's a really low, low end pressure you have.

I am a full face mask mouth breather. Chin straps and tape have not worked for me. I fit for M but have to use size L masks because I open my mouth so wide to breath in sleep. I've never been able to correct dry mouth.

Getting use to CPAP was quite a challenge. It took me months. 15 Years in, I still wake from it at times. Funny that that loss of good sleep can be due to the therapy for good sleep. I also sometimes move a bunch in my sleep breaking the seal of the mask. My OSCAR reports show when this happens. I do a lot of mask and headgear adjusting trying to keep a seal on the masks. My F10 masks lose their elasticity so I install a new one each month.

AirSense 10 has been the best of my five machines. I just returned an AirSense 11 for another 10. The 11 produced a chemical smell which is off gassing of something in the new machine. I'm not sure if the gas producing the smell is toxic but it definitely is strong. My ability to smell things is low, but I sure smell something from the AirSense 11. It reminds me of overheated electrical circuitry. The 11's filter fibers are loose and come off the filter easily. I see my new 10's filters are similar. Why the membrane that holds the fibers together on filters is not present now is a mystery. I wonder if a loose fiber can make it from the filter to the mask and be inhaled.