Chinstrap failure

Failed chin strapping. First and last night. Done. Itchy-uncomfortable. Finally removed it at 3am. Am getting less sleep now since I started cpcp than I was before it started. Dr. says he "trained" his mouth to stay shut. Hmmmmm

A MESS wrote:Failed chin strapping. First and last night. Done. Itchy-uncomfortable. Finally removed it at 3am. Am getting less sleep now since I started cpcp than I was before it started. Dr. says he "trained" his mouth to stay shut. Hmmmmm

I've been told the same thing and am trying. The other solutions folks here have used border on BDSM equipment - tape and chin straps that also cover the mouth...

There are various chin straps out there and one may fit you better.

The other thing many do is use a soft cervical collar that keeps their heads up - and therefore airway more open, and jaws (if not lips) closed. Certainly worth trying.

My solution was to wrap an ace bandage around my chin and over the back of my head. It doesn't always stay in place (depends on your sleep position and the tightness), but it's worked for me very well. My pressure no longer varies as much and my AHI has stayed under 1.0, usually around .2.

I noticed that some of the other chin straps were too loose for me. Try this, cheap solution.

An ace bandage. Wow never though about that. Might work. OMG more junk on the face

A MESS wrote:An ace bandage. Wow never though about that. Might work. OMG more junk on the face

How to not mouth breathe.

Stick your tongue on the roof of your mouth with the tip just touching your front upper teeth and........... suck in . You will find your tongue sticks to the roof and you will not be able to mouth breathe Therefore, no longer need all that crap on your face. Practice this method all day long, every time you feel yourself mouth breathing... go for it. If your nose is the kind that is "stuffy and blocked"... use a neti pot every night before bed to keep it clear.
Simple, no need to be crabbing all the time about "stuff". This info has been posted many times, if you would use the "search" function at the top of the page you would have found it in no time.

3458: No need to be nasty. I am new here and learning just like you

A MESS wrote:Failed chin strapping. First and last night. Done. Itchy-uncomfortable. Finally removed it at 3am. Am getting less sleep now since I started cpcp than I was before it started. Dr. says he "trained" his mouth to stay shut. Hmmmmm

If you are going to document all your failures one by one, the Forum is going to need another bank of hard drives. It might be more useful reading the forum and finding out the best things that work, and the odds of it working. Jim

3458 wrote:

A MESS wrote:An ace bandage. Wow never though about that. Might work. OMG more junk on the face

How to not mouth breathe.

Stick your tongue on the roof of your mouth with the tip just touching your front upper teeth and........... suck in . You will find your tongue sticks to the roof and you will not be able to mouth breathe Therefore, no longer need all that crap on your face. Practice this method all day long, every time you feel yourself mouth breathing... go for it. If your nose is the kind that is "stuffy and blocked"... use a neti pot every night before bed to keep it clear.
Simple, no need to be crabbing all the time about "stuff". This info has been posted many times, if you would use the "search" function at the top of the page you would have found it in no time.

Yep. Took me about a month to train this way [tongue up on roof of my mouth as I type] ... you have to be consistent about it at all times while awake and keep the tongue up there and the mouth closed. Became daily habit and has worked for me for over 10 years now but hey, I'm just weird.

For stuffy nose, I discovered that cutting way back on carb intake (water fasting is even faster and stimulates/strengthens immune system) reduces glycoproteins that make the nose stuffy ... just cut out the source of the mucous and sinuses stay clear even with an upper respiratory infection. People should be eating way way way less carbs than most people do ... but that too is a broken record that many around here refuse to hear and would rather crab about their health problems.

DreamStalker wrote:

3458 wrote:

A MESS wrote:An ace bandage. Wow never though about that. Might work. OMG more junk on the face

How to not mouth breathe.

Stick your tongue on the roof of your mouth with the tip just touching your front upper teeth and........... suck in . You will find your tongue sticks to the roof and you will not be able to mouth breathe Therefore, no longer need all that crap on your face. Practice this method all day long, every time you feel yourself mouth breathing... go for it. If your nose is the kind that is "stuffy and blocked"... use a neti pot every night before bed to keep it clear.
Simple, no need to be crabbing all the time about "stuff". This info has been posted many times, if you would use the "search" function at the top of the page you would have found it in no time.

Yep. Took me about a month to train this way [tongue up on roof of my mouth as I type] ... you have to be consistent about it at all times while awake and keep the tongue up there and the mouth closed. Became daily habit and has worked for me for over 10 years now but hey, I'm just weird.

As are the rest of us who paid attention and made it Work. I confess I still mouthbreath in my sleep at times, but I monitor the leak rate total as well as my AHI, even with a slight mouthleak my treatment is great. If and when it degrades, I will go back to my FF Mask, and start Retraining. Weird but Smart! Jim

3458 wrote:

A MESS wrote:An ace bandage. Wow never though about that. Might work. OMG more junk on the face

How to not mouth breathe.

Stick your tongue on the roof of your mouth with the tip just touching your front upper teeth and........... suck in . You will find your tongue sticks to the roof and you will not be able to mouth breathe Therefore, no longer need all that crap on your face. Practice this method all day long, every time you feel yourself mouth breathing... go for it. If your nose is the kind that is "stuffy and blocked"... use a neti pot every night before bed to keep it clear.
Simple, no need to be crabbing all the time about "stuff". This info has been posted many times, if you would use the "search" function at the top of the page you would have found it in no time.

For me it has NOTHING to do with mouth breathing - I just don't mouth breathe. It's the increased pressure in the airway versus the air pressure on the other side of your lips (with a nasal mask). For me it's my mouth blowing open from the inside like a pressure relief valve. I have noticed it increasing as my pressure goes up - it's a freakin wind tunnel at 12 and above for me.

Maxintj

I have this problem to. At night, I am a grinder. My jaw is tightly clenched. Much to the dismay of my teeth. But the pressure gets into my mouth. At that point my choices are to swallow the air or let it escape. Either way it is a leak. And 12 seems to be my leak point also.

I can control it, while awake, by concentrating on nose breathing while using my tongue to fill up the area behind my teeth and keep my cheeks close to my outer side of my teeth. This prevents air getting into my mouth.

I am hoping this will eventually train my mouth in time.

So far I am not getting large leaks.

Cpapian wrote:Maxintj

I have this problem to. At night, I am a grinder. My jaw is tightly clenched. Much to the dismay of my teeth. But the pressure gets into my mouth. At that point my choices are to swallow the air or let it escape. Either way it is a leak. And 12 seems to be my leak point also.

I can control it, while awake, by concentrating on nose breathing while using my tongue to fill up the area behind my teeth and keep my cheeks close to my outer side of my teeth. This prevents air getting into my mouth.

I am hoping this will eventually train my mouth in time.

So far I am not getting large leaks.

Exactly the same here - while I'm awake, I can keep all the pressure out with my tongue forward. However, I've caught myself just falling asleep where my tongue slips just a little and I can feel my cheeks puff out then WHOOSH - out it goes.

I think my dry mouth has actually gotten a bit better in the last week or so, so hopefully my tongue will eventually learn to just stay forward.

A Mess: I have my own set of issues, as we all have: However, I would like to offer something: Opening my mouth was the very first problem I encountered when I started on CPAP 3 years ago with dry-mouth that would make the Sahara Desert look good. I tried with no success these things: cervical collar, expensive mouth guard, expensive Somnodent oral device, (bad for me), tape on my face, tape on my lips, tape on my cat (LOL) tons of different masks, sizes, nasal masks, nasal pillows, and full masks (this was the worst for me), and different chin straps. Not only did my mouth still open in the middle of the night, but now the "experimental" masks didn't work for me. I had the chin strap (can't think of the name) that is a big white bandage type (expensive) you wrap around your head, and that didn't work, Ruby Chin strap (for me this did not work) and finally the black Phillips chin strap (name brand only). I didn't/don't make it super tight but it is not super loose either. And it works like a charm at keeping my mouth closed. Because I am on CPAP for 3 years, I thought maybe I can remove the Phillips chin strap, and not use anymore. And it doesn't go over my ears that seem to ache at night sometimes. No such luck!! Mouth opens without it! Have you tried the Phillips black Chin Strap?

"Training" your mouth to stay shut sounds like a load of beeswax.
I believe what really happens is cpap reduces your need to mouth-breathe,
gradually, by propping open your "normal" airways.
Eventually, the message gets around to the pie-hole--by itself.
You can't hurry it; but it gets there. Makes it a bummer until it does, though.
Chin straps, tape, poli grip strips, or foam collar--hopefully it will be temporary--it was for me.