CPAPtalk.com

yoshi wrote:I'm super new, I started only 2 days ago--those who have used cpap longer may have better/differing opinions than me. But a couple of things I've noticed with me is that as I'm drifting to sleep I have a tendency to drop my jaw. It's just not comfortable for me to clamp my jaw shut, as I wake up with jaw pain. I suffer through year-round indoor and outdoor allergies; although my nose isn't stuffed (thanks to UPPP surgery 4 years ago) I thought I had carried on a lifelong habit of mouth breathing during high pollen counts. I was surprised when the DME told me that I don't appear to be a mouth breather, despite my history of waking up with a dry mouth and a very wet pillow. A few months ago I realized my jaw drop tendency and an experiment I've been "planting" my tongue on the roof of my mouth as I am drifting to sleep. I noticed that my jaw still can drop to where it's comfortable but I'm not a huge drool monster. On day 1 of cpap, while getting accustomed to the machine, I tried laying with my tongue relaxed at the bottom of my mouth and heard leaks, but if I planted my tongue the hiss was gone. I checked my resmed report and it was showing no leaks with the tongue plant method. Another thing I noticed while playing around is the ramp feature at 4-5 was really hard for me to exhale. But that might be a noob/mental thing for me. I felt like I had to do the deep abdomen breaths like what singers do, and then it felt like my heart was racing. Once my ramp got over 5, it felt like the breathing more natural. Night 2 I turned off the ramp, and it seemed a lot easier for me. But granted, my auto pap RX pressure is a 5-10 and the machine so far is saying my average pressure is a 9.

Pugsy wrote:Do you use a regular non heated hose or the ClimateLineAir heated hose with your AirSense machine?
If a non heated hose you might add some sort of hose cozy to help insulate the hose to maybe help prevent the condensation.
Or get the heated hose.

If you are using the heated hose then what temperature are you using? Remember warmer air will retain the moisture better than cooler air.

Dry mouth is a common complaint from full face mask users even those who are maxing out the humidity delivery. The humidifier simply can't always rehydrate the mouth that gets dried out from mouth breathing.
The oral cavity is larger and thus more area to try to add moisture to.
Add in the fact that some people's mouths just dry out easier than others even with maybe just a little mouth breathing.
You may not be able to fix the dry mouth even with maximum humidity. This is why so many people use products to aid in dealing with dry mouth like the Biotene products.
The mouth breathing is the big culprit. Are you mouth breathing because the nose is congested or just out of habit? If the nose is congested then maybe addressing the nasal congestion will decrease the need to mouth breathe.

Pugsy wrote:If you have the heated hose you should be able to increase the hose air temp and the humidity and not have the condensation in the hose and mask unless you are sleeping in a really cold environment.
Again even maximum humidity may not be enough but it's at least worth trying to see if it helps even a little.

pontifex wrote:I don't know what else to do right now. I'ts been easier to use the machine and mask but when I first go to bed, I still have this like anxiety when it's on before I fall asleep.

Also, I am getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night so i take off the mask and i find that I forget to put it back on when I return to bed.

Wulfman... wrote:

pontifex wrote:I don't know what else to do right now. I'ts been easier to use the machine and mask but when I first go to bed, I still have this like anxiety when it's on before I fall asleep.

Also, I am getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night so i take off the mask and i find that I forget to put it back on when I return to bed.

Maybe you're going the wrong way with your humidity.
Too much warm humidity can cause more nasal congestion which will make more mouth-breathing necessary.
If you're not already doing nasal cleansing before bedtime (so you can breathe through your nose), try it.
Next, try turning your heated humidity down or off........including your heated hose settings.


Den

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pontifex wrote:

Wulfman... wrote:

pontifex wrote:I don't know what else to do right now. I'ts been easier to use the machine and mask but when I first go to bed, I still have this like anxiety when it's on before I fall asleep.

Also, I am getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night so i take off the mask and i find that I forget to put it back on when I return to bed.

Maybe you're going the wrong way with your humidity.
Too much warm humidity can cause more nasal congestion which will make more mouth-breathing necessary.
If you're not already doing nasal cleansing before bedtime (so you can breathe through your nose), try it.
Next, try turning your heated humidity down or off........including your heated hose settings.


Den

.

I tend to find that my mouth is super dry with the full mask. I have humidity maxed out and temp at 86 (max). maybe i need to lower temp?