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About "tongue training", most think about the tip of the tongue,
the smallest part of it, and try to force it up behind the teeth.
I prefer to think of the back part of the tongue as a very effective plug
for the back of my mouth, the throat in effect.
It works while soft and relaxed.
Much easier to sleep while relaxed.

Just throwing my experience out there. I've been on CPAP for about a month. I had terrible "chipmunk cheeks" in the beginning. I tried Somniflex tape, different sleep positions, and a chip strap, however, no matter what I did I still had a ton of air that would escape to my mouth and cheeks. It was miserable trying to sleep this way, and would wake me up many times during the night. Thanks to members on this forum, I was given the advice to practice placing your tongue to the roof of your mouth (during the day), and to put your tongue in this position at night when you go to sleep. It took about a month. Now the chipmunk cheek moments occur a lot less often.

I'm only 30 days into CPAP, still in the experimentation stage, and am not as well versed as many folks on this forum. From what I've seen on this forum, many people do best with APAP. For me, thus far, I've had a lower AHI and slept better on a steady, low pressure. I still need more experimentation to challenge my initial findings but it looks like I may be one of those few who does better on a low, consistent pressure. Everyone is different.

1speechpick, that's pretty much exactly what happens to me. I've had my best AHIs with a steady pressure of 5 or 6, no more than that! Although surprisingly, last night I had an AHI of 1.6 with the pressure at 8-12 with no EPR... It really seems totally random hahaha

Djonne wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 20, 2021 9:20 pm

1speechpick, that's pretty much exactly what happens to me. I've had my best AHIs with a steady pressure of 5 or 6, no more than that! Although surprisingly, last night I had an AHI of 1.6 with the pressure at 8-12 with no EPR... It really seems totally random hahaha

Djonne: The forum members here are so right. It just takes time and experimentation to find the right combination that works for you. My flow limitations are higher if the pressure is too low, so I'd likely benefit from higher pressure to decrease the flow limitations.

I've never really looked ay my flow limitations.. I should do that! But all I know is that I had my best nights and AHIs with lower fixed pressures, but I have no idea about the flow limitations on those night, I'll check that out!

EDIT : I just checked and the flow limitations were lower on those nights too.

See here if we compare both dates, I had a slightly better AHI and much less leaks with 4-10 compared to 8-15. Still had a few hypopneas and stuff so maybe I could tighten it up to 6-10 or 8-10? All I know is that it really seems that whenever I allow it to get higher than 10, all hell breaks loose... sort of!

Any clue about that? I'm leaning towards keeping it to pressures that give me less leaks for a while as I train my mouth to stay shut using the tape and then progressively increase it until it can deal with all my events... does anyone think that idea makes sense?

The Autralian ''CPAP Review'' guy on Youtube says that we should start on a low pressure and get used to it until we can reach pressures that can really treat our apneas.. Maybe it's true for people like me while many are lucky enough to be able to handle the proper pressure from the get-go? I have a friend who got started on a fixed pressure of 15 and never had any leaks or central apneas caused by it.. If I had a pressure of 15, I'd just leak and never sleep hahaha

just went back through this thread. 2x people have recommended cervical collars. so i'll make it three.

you can get them at the drugstore or on amazon. here is the one i use from amazon-

https://www.amazon.com/Coreline-Cervica ... 126&sr=8-8

it's likely your jaw is dropping and contributing to your problems. as i say, i use this. and i use it in conjunction with this-

viewtopic/p1089718/viewtopic.php?f=1&t= ... s#p1086296

i made a lot of modifications on jay's rig which i'll be happy to share if you are interested in trying it. scunci headbands would be at your grocery or drugstore in the hair accessories section.

using these two things together stopped any air entering or exiting my mouth during sleep and dropped my ahi by one full point. i also use a nasal pillow mask.

let me know if i should be typing some more about the scuncis.

Hey thanks for replying Zonker! I'll try these things if what I'm doing now fails.

Actually lately I've set my machine to 8-15 pressure with EPR level 2, and I've been using Hypafix tape to tape my mouth shut along with training my tongue to stay on the roof of my mouth and I've had a few consecutive nights with much less leaks the last days, so there may be hope!!

I saw my pulmonologist yesterday and she told me to keep the same settings for a while, told me NOT to look at my data at all for a few days or weeks and to stop stressing like crazy over my treatment. I think she got a clear picture of what kind of person I am and I think she may be right!

So I'll keep these settings for a while and post an update with OSCAR charts soon!

Djonne wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 28, 2021 3:05 am

Hey thanks for replying Zonker! I'll try these things if what I'm doing now fails.

Actually lately I've set my machine to 8-15 pressure with EPR level 2, and I've been using Hypafix tape to tape my mouth shut along with training my tongue to stay on the roof of my mouth and I've had a few consecutive nights with much less leaks the last days, so there may be hope!!

I saw my pulmonologist yesterday and she told me to keep the same settings for a while, told me NOT to look at my data at all for a few days or weeks and to stop stressing like crazy over my treatment. I think she got a clear picture of what kind of person I am and I think she may be right!

So I'll keep these settings for a while and post an update with OSCAR charts soon!

well done, you!

yeah, i can understand the stressing over numbers bit. was like that myself, looking every morning. it wasn't actually until this year that i stopped looking every day.

(but i still look once per week.)


look forward to seeing how you make out.

Ha! But how long have you been on CPAP?

Djonne wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 29, 2021 1:36 am

Ha! But how long have you been on CPAP?

just over six years.