my dad has sleep apnea please help3

nbow77 Can someone please help my dad has got sleep apnea and at the sleep clinic he stopped breathing 39 times in one hour. He has the machine but it keeps losing air dad has no teeth which makes it diffuclt and he is resdy to give it up. He just had a quadruple bypass and Im worried will extra pillows help with keeping the mask firmly on his face or any hints please Im so worried about him we have tried4 masks and the chin strap is no good help.

Hi rainbow, sorry to hear about your dad.

Can you tell us specifically which mask he's currently using? And which ones has he already tried? (Brand name, nasal or full face, size, ....)

Can you be more specific about " losing air" : Is the mask leaking during his sleep, or is the air coming out of his mouth, or something else?

Do you have a DME (equipment supplier) that you can go to try out masks? It could be that the mask is just not a good fit for his facial anatomy, or the size is incorrect, or something else. It could be that the hose is pulling on the mask while he sleeps, causing the mask to move around and leak.

If you give us some more details, we can try to help.

He may not have much of a choice but to use a full face mask. With a full face mask air goes in the nose and mouth. I know a lot of people don't like them because they are large and a bit harder to keep sealed but they sure work when you need them.

I have been on cpap for two years and am 2 months into a heart attack and bypass surgery so I know what he is going through. Cpap has been hard after the bypass because it restricts sleeping positions so much. It is just now getting a bit better. Tell him to hang in and don't give up. As hard as it is his family still wants him around.

Jerry

Toothless patients often do well with a nasal pillow system. The Breeze system is good and not expensive. Swift LT is expensive and generally considered to be top notch. An early Christmas present might be in order.