Mouth Breathing (mouth leaks) with Nasal Mask- Waveforms

Julie wrote:Oh, grow up!

most likely tlohse has reached the maximum level of maturity he's capable of exhibiting, just like that 'uncle_bob' character... both seem to be stuck in grade school as far as cognitive ability and response level.

Cognitive... is that like in gears?

Julie wrote:Cognitive... is that like in gears?

are you saying his gears don't mesh?

Well they might if they were both blue, or both red or ... you get the point.

I have used those stretchy headbands for a little extra stability for my masks for years now. The Dollar General did have some that were looser fitting. I am not sure they still do. You might check. They didn't have a seam so if you need bigger ones just look to see if it has seams.

I get short bursts (1-20 breaths) of identical waveforms to the first post few times a night at various pressures. Usually they end in what looks like recovery breaths of an arousal. Leaks are generally zero at the time. The thing is, I double tape the mouth with two layers of Micropore which is impossible to breath through. The tape is very sticky and stays intact during the night.
My mouth is closed... it can't be mouth breathing... what else could this be?

Pressure 8/15, only one such breath at 01:50:45, with Oximeter and mask pressure
(Oximeter timing may be a bit wrong relative to the VAuto timing)


Pressure 8/13


Pressure 8/15


Pressure 11/14


Pressure 13/16


Pressure 14/15

Reviewing last night and previous data, with lower EPAP these waveforms sometimes end in OAs... Mouth double-taped as usual.
Are these expiratory apneas?

EPAP=7, IPAP=14


EPAP=7, IPAP=14


EPAP=8, IPAP=13


EPAP=8, IPAP=14

Mystery solved! discussion in new thread, viewtopic/t171982/Mystery-solved-ever-h ... ticle.html.

yrnkrn wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 28, 2018 3:01 am

Mystery solved! discussion in new thread, viewtopic/t171982/Mystery-solved-ever-h ... ticle.html.

Thanks, Yaron. Palatal prolapse as described in the linked article would explain the occurrence of expiratory apneas while wearing a nasal mask with the mouth taped and no leaks being detected. It seems to me this condition would almost certainly result in an apnea with an arousal and disturbed sleep.

I'm wondering if one suffering from palatal prolapse might be better off to wear a Scunci as I described earlier in this thread rather than tape, as the Scunci would allow some expiratory flow through the mouth in the event of a palatal prolapse. Some flow, rather than a complete apnea, might be less disturbing.

I absolutely hate mouth leaks, wake me up with a dry cotton mouth that is such a terrible feeling... even the humidifier can't deal with such leaks.
My current combination of Dreamwear Gel Pillows + mouth taping works very well. It is convenient and zero leaks even at high pressures (18cm at least), and thus very hard to beat. A full face mask may work better with regard to expiratory flow limitation but all full face masks leaked terribly at various directions. It's very challenging to stop leaks with such large contact area. Will try the new DreamWear full face sometime, though.
Meanwhile I'm still going the pressure route, from 8/14 to 15/17. That's high but there are forum members with more than 20.
I'll update in the other thread how this works out.