Newbie with extreme dried out mouth every morning

This is extremely frustrating. I suppose I have found out that I'm a mouth breather. I've been using the cpap for two weeks and every morning I wake to feeling like I have a mouth full of cotton balls. It also wakes me during the night. I'm using a full face mask and a machine with a heated humidifier that has a setting from 0 to 5. I use it set on 4. Is this just something I'm going to have to live with? My pressure setting is 13 if that matters.

Probbins wrote:This is extremely frustrating. I suppose I have found out that I'm a mouth breather. I've been using the cpap for two weeks and every morning I wake to feeling like I have a mouth full of cotton balls. It also wakes me during the night. I'm using a full face mask and a machine with a heated humidifier that has a setting from 0 to 5. I use it set on 4. Is this just something I'm going to have to live with? My pressure setting is 13 if that matters.

YES.....OR....Learn to keep your mouth closed...OR...wear a chinstrap along with your FF mask...OR...tape your mouth closed.

What is the model number of your machine? The humidifier you have chosen is a 50 series humidifier and if you got a new machine just 2 weeks ago I doubt it was a 50 series machine...let's confirm the model number.
Look on the bottom of the blower unit for a 3 digit number which might have DS, REF or P in front or behind it.
What are those 3 digits?

If you do have the new 60 series machine there are additional options available to maybe help with the dry mouth.
Either use a heated hose which allows for more humidity or maybe change to Classic Mode which will delivery more humidity.

There's no guarantee that more humidity will help the dry mouth because some people just get a dry mouth easier (maybe meds related) or they just mouth breathe more than others...but it's worth a try to increase the humidity.
Otherwise we usually recommend one of those products that is designed to help dry mouth in general.

I use a chin strap with mine. Not sure if that works or not, I don't seem to wake up with a dry mouth and the alternative, (not using it) is a damaged heart...I'll take the dry mouth. One plus is that because I now get a goodnight's sleep, I rarely get sick at all.

And....I'm guessing it's a "normal" hose, not heated. How would I know?

The bottom other humidifier says System One Htd Humid, DOM, REF DS6HFLG.

Never thought about taping my mouth shut.....Good idea

Hi, Probbins! It's the number on the main blower that people want, not the number of the humidifier. If your humidifier is correct then the blower number is probably 560P.

It's so that we can advise you what the proper choice for equipment is in your profile because your machine model is not showing up.

The heated hose has metal electrical contacts that you can see where you connect the hose to the humidifier and it's an extra cost option versus the regular old hose without the heating wires built into it.

Probbins wrote:REF DS6HFLG.

That's the humidifier code.
Look on the other unit for a silver sticker that has a 3 digit model number.
If the last 2 digits are x60 then you have a 60 series machine.
How to determine if you have a heated hose or a heated hose capable machine?....
The PR S1 heated hose has a black coupling end where it attaches to the humidifier...see this image
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/pr-sys ... -tube.html

If both ends of the hose are white/gray...non heated hose. Some PR S1 60 series machines are heated hose capable and some aren't...look at the power brick and see if it says 60 watt or 80 watt. If it is 60 watt is is not yet heated hose capable...if it says 80 watt then it is heated hose capable if the lid has the electric connection available.

3 things are needed to make it heated hose capable....the heated hose, the lid on the humidifier that has the connection for electric and the 80 watt power supply.
If you have a 60 series machine but it is not yet heated hose capable there is an upgrade kit available to fix that issue. Your DME should have one but they may balk.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/pr-hea ... e-kit.html

The reason I mention all this is that the use of the heated hose allows for more humidity delivery (either 70, 80 or 90 percent) with separate controls for warming the air to lessen chance of rain out and the non heated hose in the default mode delivers much less humidity.
Now you can change it to Classic Mode which will deliver more humidity but the chances of rain out increase.

So if you have a 60 series machine you have additional options.
If you have a 50 series machine about all you can do to increase humidity delivered is go to Classic Mode.

Once you figure out exactly which machine you have you might want to go get the manual for that machine so you know how to get into the clinical setup menu (that's where humidity % is set when using a heated hose) or where you make the switch to Classic Mode.
You can find the manual here but you need to know exactly which manual to request...hence needing the 3 digit model number of the blower so we can tell you exactly which model you have.
http://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-p ... tup-manual

Again..I don't know if more humidity will help with the dry mouth but it is sure worth trying.

The machine sticker reads REMstar Pro, DOM 460P. And, I'm using a regular hose.

Good...now we know exactly which model machine you are using.
Let's get your equipment profile fixed so that it shows the correct equipment as that will help avoid confusion later.
In the forum equipment profile this is what you choose

Machine....PR System One Remstar 60 Series Pro CPAP machine
Humidifier....PR System One 60 Series Heated tube humidifier with heated tube....you need to choose this one even though you aren't using the optional heated hose at the moment

And from this link
http://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-p ... tup-manual
choose this machine and request the manual via email for it...instructions down near the bottom of the page

Ignore the term "Remstar" placement as all Respironics machines since time began have that term and it means nothing.

Right now you can go to the clinical setup menu and change to Classic Mode and set the humidity to 5 and see if that helps the dry mouth. You may not have too much of an issue with rain out now unless your bedroom ambient air temp is on the cool side. Rain out is usually more of a problem in winter but it can happen even in summer if the bedroom temps are cool enough.

If that doesn't help you can consider adding the heated hose as it will allow up to 90 % humidity delivery and the hose temp is independent of the humidity setting.
See this product description to get an idea what I am talking about.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/pr-sys ... ifier.html
The heated hose is optional.
I know for sure that your humidifier is a 60 series humidifier because a 50 series humidifier will not work at all with the model 460 machine.

Again...I don't know that adding more moisture to the air will help your dry mouth all that much but it's worth investigating. Some people will just get a dry mouth super easy with just a minimal amount of mouth breathing. You don't have to be mouth breathing all night to get a dry mouth. I can get it with as little as 10 minutes of mouth breathing.
Some people get the dry mouth and don't even mouth breath...it just happens but mouth breathing is the usual culprit unless you know you take meds known to dry out the mouth or you have some other health condition.

Dry mouth is annoying and of course not good for the teeth and gums so we want to reduce it if at all possible.
If you are using a full face mask because your nose is afflicted with chronic congestion issues that force mouth breathing then you just deal with it as best you can but if your nose isn't congested and the mouth breathing is more out of habit or slack jaw...you could maybe utilize the standard tips for keeping the mouth shut...like tape, chin strap, etc.

So you do have options. Some cost a little money and the worst of the cost would be the $75 for the upgrade kit (assuming you need the 3 items) but unfortunately I can't guarantee that the heated hose will fix the problem.
The option is out there though but you might want to try the other options that don't cost so much first.
Like changing to Classic Mode...or if your nose will let you maybe a chin strap to encourage the mouth/lips to stay closed.

After over 4 years of CPAP therapy, I have developed the dry mouth problem on both of my machines. I am a mouth breather. I use a full face mask. I split my time between two places. I use a PR System One 750 BiPAP at one and a Remstar Auto M CPAP at the other. Both have OEM heated humidifiers. Both are running on straight heat with no humidity compensation. Neither has an OEM available heated tube. Both are using a Hybernite Rainout Control system. I typically run both on 5 (Max heat).

Chin restraints don't work. Any chin restraint tight enough to keep my jaw shut creates problems with my jaw alignment when I'm awake. I am trying some Biotine mouth wash at bed time. The only thing that seems to have some success, is to extremely hydrate before I go to sleep. I might drink three glasses of water. It will be about 4 hours before I get some dry mouth. I have a bottle of water on my night stand. Sometimes I take a sip from the bottle. Sometimes I drink some more water from the sink. By wake up time, my mouth is only a little dry. My bladder is almost empty.

Like everything else during CPAP therapy that might wake me up, I am learning to make quick decisions. Thinking about what to do or self debating as to whether or not take some action wakes me up even more. Just grabbing the bottle and drinking the water is quick enough (even if I get up to relieve myself). I go right back to sleep. But engaging in debate, keeps me awake.

Thank you all for your indepth help! This is a wonderful forum. I'll admit I did try some paper tape over my mouth while watching TV and it seemed to temporarily fix the problem. Lol. Many people would like to tape my mouth shut we live in a very Humid area, Alabama but I try to keep the air on 71. I'll look into upgrading to the heated hose and update my equipment in my profile. Thanks again!