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Re: Mouth leaks

Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 10:48 am
by Jackiep
I have nasal pillows Airfitp10...at first encountered cheek puffing. Tried taping ...3 inch tape horizontally across lips...didn't really like it but it worked. Progressed now to 1/2 " Nexcare tape vertically from upper lip to just under chin. Problem solved...no cheek puffing ...no dry mouth. It is also important to train that tongue to remain on palate and close off airway. Someone on this forum gives a perfect explanation of how to do that...check it out. Good Luck !

Re: Mouth leaks

Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 6:49 pm
by Allessio77
I spent over a month taping my mouth, cervical collars, and chin straps and decided the struggle was not worth it.
I tried a full face mask which eliminated the problem and and not turned back.
Good luck.

Re: Mouth leaks

Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 8:15 pm
by Mikebear
bod wrote:Greetings to you. First message here.

I am primarily a nose breather and I use a nostril mask (brevida). I believe that there is no leak with this mask. Nevertheless there are major leaks shown on Sleepyhead, some times associated with dry mouth.

My understanding is that my tongue gets relaxed during the night and opens an airway to my mouth. Therefore the air leaks.

I am now very tired. I tried a warm hose (Resmed) and a lot of humidity (highest temperature and humidity index 5, above I face water in hose/mask issues). This helps, I have much less dry mouth issues. Nevertheless I still get a lot of mouth leaks. This makes a lot of noise and is a nuisance for my spouse.

I believe that no close mouth device will help as the issue is not with my mouth opening but my tongue making an airway possible. In fact, my mouth remains closed and my cheeks suddenly get all puffed during the night.

I tried an full face mask, but I get a lot of air leaks in my eyes. Never dared to go to sleep with this mask.

What can I do to prevent the mouth leaks ?

I tried to lower the air pressure. This reduces the air leaks but I loose efficiency on AHI.

Thanks

bod,
ResMed 10, Brevida, hot hose
Maybe try one of these to hold your tongue in place? https://www.amazon.com/Pacifier-Tongue- ... e+retainer

Re: Mouth leaks

Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 10:44 pm
by TedVPAP
Mikebear wrote:
bod wrote:Greetings to you. First message here.

I am primarily a nose breather and I use a nostril mask (brevida). I believe that there is no leak with this mask. Nevertheless there are major leaks shown on Sleepyhead, some times associated with dry mouth.

My understanding is that my tongue gets relaxed during the night and opens an airway to my mouth. Therefore the air leaks.

I am now very tired. I tried a warm hose (Resmed) and a lot of humidity (highest temperature and humidity index 5, above I face water in hose/mask issues). This helps, I have much less dry mouth issues. Nevertheless I still get a lot of mouth leaks. This makes a lot of noise and is a nuisance for my spouse.

I believe that no close mouth device will help as the issue is not with my mouth opening but my tongue making an airway possible. In fact, my mouth remains closed and my cheeks suddenly get all puffed during the night.

I tried an full face mask, but I get a lot of air leaks in my eyes. Never dared to go to sleep with this mask.

What can I do to prevent the mouth leaks ?

I tried to lower the air pressure. This reduces the air leaks but I loose efficiency on AHI.

Thanks

bod,
ResMed 10, Brevida, hot hose
Maybe try one of these to hold your tongue in place? https://www.amazon.com/Pacifier-Tongue- ... e+retainer
Have you tried this?

Re: Mouth leaks

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 7:32 am
by Mikebear
TedVPAP wrote:
Mikebear wrote:
bod wrote:Greetings to you. First message here.

I am primarily a nose breather and I use a nostril mask (brevida). I believe that there is no leak with this mask. Nevertheless there are major leaks shown on Sleepyhead, some times associated with dry mouth.

My understanding is that my tongue gets relaxed during the night and opens an airway to my mouth. Therefore the air leaks.

I am now very tired. I tried a warm hose (Resmed) and a lot of humidity (highest temperature and humidity index 5, above I face water in hose/mask issues). This helps, I have much less dry mouth issues. Nevertheless I still get a lot of mouth leaks. This makes a lot of noise and is a nuisance for my spouse.

I believe that no close mouth device will help as the issue is not with my mouth opening but my tongue making an airway possible. In fact, my mouth remains closed and my cheeks suddenly get all puffed during the night.

I tried an full face mask, but I get a lot of air leaks in my eyes. Never dared to go to sleep with this mask.

What can I do to prevent the mouth leaks ?

I tried to lower the air pressure. This reduces the air leaks but I loose efficiency on AHI.

Thanks

bod,
ResMed 10, Brevida, hot hose
Maybe try one of these to hold your tongue in place? https://www.amazon.com/Pacifier-Tongue- ... e+retainer
Have you tried this?
No I haven't, as I've been on cpap for 20 years, (same cpap machine all that time. Just switched to new machine) and have had turbinate reduction, septoplasty, & a UPPP way back then. I just thought this tongue retainer could help for people that can't keep their tongue in place when sleeping.

Re: Mouth leaks

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 10:04 am
by DeeCPAP
I tried tape for the first time in a long time. Got tired of seeing all the leaks showing up sporatically. I always wore a chinstrap.

Results: I slept for almost 5 hours and when I woke up I found I'd pulled the gear off my head. My AHI went up to 6.7 according to my ResMed machine -- happy face tho. When I looked at the SleepyHead data DAILY results, there were no graphs, only the left side of the screen had data ALSO the data didn't correspond to the data the machine gave me. So, the data card is either too old, or there's too much data on it. So, something's wrong there, too.

So, things aren't working out for me even though I tried a lot, gave up, tried again, gave up. It just isn't working for me. My doc is a lung specialist. He knows about the leaks and accepts the low AHI with the high leak rate and accepts it. I'm changing docs. He's another lung specialist. MAYBE a new doc will help.

Re: Mouth leaks

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 10:31 am
by nicholasjh1
bod wrote:Thank you all for your answers.

I taped my mouth and had wake ups due to my cheeks puffing up. I got rid of this issue by puncturing the tape with a toothpick to make a small hole between my lips.
During the night if pressured air comes into my mouth, it does escape slowly through the little hole.

Two advantages :
-pressure reduces to atmospheric pressure avoiding
-because of the tape small air leak, when my cheeks are puffed up, I breath in with my nose (can't breath in with my mouth due to tape) then my mouth closes again.

You can try for yourself (when awake), it is really more comfortable.

Bod
I'll have to try that. Thanks!

Re: Mouth leaks

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 10:33 am
by nicholasjh1
DeeCPAP wrote:I tried tape for the first time in a long time. Got tired of seeing all the leaks showing up sporatically. I always wore a chinstrap.

Results: I slept for almost 5 hours and when I woke up I found I'd pulled the gear off my head. My AHI went up to 6.7 according to my ResMed machine -- happy face tho. When I looked at the SleepyHead data DAILY results, there were no graphs, only the left side of the screen had data ALSO the data didn't correspond to the data the machine gave me. So, the data card is either too old, or there's too much data on it. So, something's wrong there, too.

So, things aren't working out for me even though I tried a lot, gave up, tried again, gave up. It just isn't working for me. My doc is a lung specialist. He knows about the leaks and accepts the low AHI with the high leak rate and accepts it. I'm changing docs. He's another lung specialist. MAYBE a new doc will help.
low leak rate with a high AHI may actually be a sign of a certain amount of success. sometimes going into a deeper sleep raises AHI. It could mean that a different starting pressure is needed.

Re: Mouth leaks

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 11:24 am
by DeeCPAP
nicholasjh1 wrote:
DeeCPAP wrote:I tried tape for the first time in a long time. Got tired of seeing all the leaks showing up sporatically. I always wore a chinstrap.

Results: I slept for almost 5 hours and when I woke up I found I'd pulled the gear off my head. My AHI went up to 6.7 according to my ResMed machine -- happy face tho. When I looked at the SleepyHead data DAILY results, there were no graphs, only the left side of the screen had data ALSO the data didn't correspond to the data the machine gave me. So, the data card is either too old, or there's too much data on it. So, something's wrong there, too.

So, things aren't working out for me even though I tried a lot, gave up, tried again, gave up. It just isn't working for me. My doc is a lung specialist. He knows about the leaks and accepts the low AHI with the high leak rate and accepts it. I'm changing docs. He's another lung specialist. MAYBE a new doc will help.
low leak rate with a high AHI may actually be a sign of a certain amount of success. sometimes going into a deeper sleep raises AHI. It could mean that a different starting pressure is needed.
Thanks! I asked my doc if I was getting any REM sleep. He said he didn't know. I think you're right about deeper sleep (REM) and opening the mouth during deep sleep. I was told I look more rested today. Coincidental? I doubt I've had the optimal benefit from using the CPAP (for years).

I just lowered the minimum to 8.2 and changed the max to 11. Maybe the complete data report will show up in SleepHead tonight. If not, I'll have to wait until I get my new machine. I'm TEMPTED to get one of the Dream Station since they check the data remotely and will contact the patient if things don't look right (unless I was told incorrectly). I'll do a search on the site. My current machine is a ResMed 9 and is about 7 years old.

Re: Mouth leaks

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 12:53 pm
by zinnia
I didnt notice leaks in my masks but my reports showed significant high leaks nightly. I tried a pillow mask and a nasal mask but no improvement. I went to a full face mask which I am still getting used to but the leaks have been eliminated . I never showed mouth breathing during my sleep studies.