CPAPtalk.com

In another forum a new user of CPAP mentioned as he was dozing off he had problems w/his mouth filling w/air and puffing his cheeks out like a chipmunk.

I haven't run into that in quite some time but I did experience it on more than a few occasions at first.

Another member of that forum stated that if you aren't breathing in for a moment your cheeks expand like a balloon until you breathe in again.

Is that the case? Mind you, I'm using just a straight CPAP. I'm not sure which type xPAP that forum member who asked was using. Is being slow to inhale at times the cause of the mouth filling w/air and cheeks puffing or what is the cause?

I got sick of fighting it so now I just let the cheeks puff out constantly- I don't even think about it anymore

Well, when I encountered it I would just let the air expel slowly thru parted lips. I wasn't interested in swallowing that air.

Bumping for more input

I'm having this problem myself. Even with tape and polident strips. I wake up as my chipmunk cheeks fill up or deflate. It is a very strange sensation.

I prefer a nasal-only interface because of comfort, but between this, the mouth breathing issue and aerophagia I broke down and put in an order today for two ff masks. I believe I even did this when wearing ff, but it is hard to say because I was only able to wear ffs for a couple of hours in the beginning. Now I'm up to a 7 hour average with my optilife. But I'm still waking up because of mouth issues, so that is cutting into overall sleep optimal-ness.

Because I have tried the ultra mirage ff, comfortful, flexifit and hybrid I am trying the Hans Rudolph and the Liberty this time. Also bought a different style of chin strap to try that. Arg. This is one expensive affliction. Luckily the insurance has paid for all the other stuff. And I got a few free interfaces. But finding the perfect one is so annoying.

I seriously need to think about inventing some interfaces myself!

Jen

My honeymoon with CPAP is over. For about two weeks, I've awakened, usually on my back, with flutterlips. This is with an Activa, the only mask I've ever used. Three days ago, I started mouth taping, but now I wake up several times during the night with chipmunk cheeks. (I haven't received my card reader yet, so I can't check much data.) Could this mean that I'm having SA episodes? This really concerns me.

I've been increasingly more tired lately, and I'm try8ng to figure out what's going on and what I can do about it.

A lot depends on the mask you're using. I find that with the F&P 432, the side straps hold my chipmunk cheeks in. For many other reasons, I don't like the 432. I've since switched to the Optilife, and I find that its side straps hold my cheeks in perfectly.

[quote="gasparama"]My honeymoon with CPAP is over. For about two weeks, I've awakened, usually on my back, with flutterlips. This is with an Activa, the only mask I've ever used. Three days ago, I started mouth taping, but now I wake up several times during the night with chipmunk cheeks. (I haven't received my card reader yet, so I can't check much data.) Could this mean that I'm having SA episodes? This really concerns me.

I've been increasingly more tired lately, and I'm try8ng to figure out what's going on and what I can do about it.

I have an Optilife, but have never used it because the chin strap won't stay in position. My receding chin seems to be the problem. I may just have to get creative with Velcro, tights, and a little duct tape so that I can try it. I will also order a ff just to see if that helps.

My biggest concern is that the puffy cheeks and flutter lips could be a sign of regression. Since I started cpapping in the middle of June, my health has had amazing improvement.

New definition to go along with "pillow snorkeling". How about "fugu cheeks". To save you the Google, that's a Japanese puffer fish. Very apropos.

I was having some trouble with waking up in the middle of the night with puffy cheeks or pushing air between slightly open lips. Around that time I started wearing my mouth "splint" again (to protect my teeth from tooth grinding) and haven't woken up with the same problem since then. It does make it easier to keep my mouth closed.

Mindy

I take it our sleep pros don't know the answer to this one either! *sigh* I'm glad it is no longer a problem for me. Hopefully, this too will pass for those of you who are encountering it now.

I've experienced something like this from time to time. I think it's basically the same problem as mouth breathing and it has to do with the seal at the back of the throat. Sometimes I get little puffs of air through the back of my throat into my mouth. If your lips are closed or otherwise sealed, the cheeks puff out due to the pressure.

I've wanted to make one of those DIY mouthgards with the boil and bite parts but haven't gotten around to it. There are some good (older) threads on how to do this (just do a search). This sounds like an excellent solution to mouth breathing generally and to Pufferfish Mouth specifically.

gasparama wrote:I have an Optilife, but have never used it because the chin strap won't stay in position. My receding chin seems to be the problem. I may just have to get creative with Velcro, tights, and a little duct tape so that I can try it. I will also order a ff just to see if that helps.

My biggest concern is that the puffy cheeks and flutter lips could be a sign of regression. Since I started cpapping in the middle of June, my health has had amazing improvement.

Gasp,

Before you spend a lot of money on a ff mask, I would try a few in person if you can. I have a receded chin and I have tried most of the ff on the market. The only one that comes close to fitting is the Hans Rudolph. I have three sizes, and would be glad to send it on to you to try when one of my triallers is done with it. I can wear it without leaking (all the other ff's leaked like crazy) but the geometry of a receded jaw puts a lot of pressure on the nose of any ff mask (or in the case of the liberty, the upper lip) and after a few hours I find it pretty painful.

My .02.

Jen

Here's a link to how to make a "boil and bite" mouthpiece that presses the tongue just enough to seal the back of the throat so you don't get air leaking through your mouth.

I haven't done this but would if this was a big problem for me.

viewtopic.php?t=7701&highlight=boil+bite