Got new masks to try

tbinbny wrote:Does it help you keep your mouth closed, make it more difficult to keep your mouth closed, or have no effect? Also, I clicked on the link you provided for cpap.com and it said that a prescription is required? I though you only needed prescriptions for machines, and not for masks? Any idea on that? Did you have to provide a script? Thanks!

It seems to help me keep my mouth closed a little better. Yes, prescription is required for full mask setups. We used to be able to buy masks with the RX but that was changed a couple of years ago or so.
Mask replacement parts don't require RX so essentially a person could buy separate parts and build a mask but not all the parts for the Tap Pap are available separately. Right now the mouth guard and nasal pillows can be bought separately but not the hose part. If you can't get a script you could probably find someone here that would work with you and get one to you.

I too am very intrigued by this mask as I am still trying to find the right one for me as a newbie to cpap.

My concerns would be:

Comfort...I have tried boil dental appliances before and could not keep them in for more than 5 minutes. They made me feel too claustrophobic.

Would my mouth open more or less than than using a nasal mask?

Drooling...I don't do this with my nasal mask, but I think I do with my FFM and my hybrid.

Some followup: After fitting the Tap Pap on Thursday and wearing it over night (and being pretty happy with it) I went to put it on Friday and it HURT! Somehow the shape had changed enough that it was trying to move my teeth. I imagine braces might feel similarly. I did notice that if I bit on it that made it hurt less, but that wasn't going to happen while I was asleep, so I gave up and decided to try the Elan ahead of schedule.

Initially that went well, but I found that it was bother my eyes. NOT with leaks ... it was riding up my cheekbones and getting close enough that it was moving things similarly to my Swift LT which has on occasion caused corneal abrasion by getting to close. So I swapped out the mask for the larger version. That doesn't get too close to my eye, but now it did leak. I got frustrated and put on the Swift LT and fell asleep.

Next day I tried hot tap water to reshape the Tap Pap, got it reasonably comfortable and fell asleep. I LOVE the fact that there are NO leaks with this mask. I *am* going to make it work. But by morning it had tightened up again

But I think I gained a clue ... it's not "flat" on my teeth. If I bite down on the front, it slides on and gets comfortable, but as soon as I let up it slides back and puts pressure on the teeth. So I am going to re-boil (not just hot tap water) and re-fit, and this time I will NOT force the front all the way down, but just the back. Thus I should have more room and be more comfortable.

I really am determined to make this work because when I fall asleep with it the sleep is MAGNIFICENT.

khauser wrote:Next day I tried hot tap water to reshape the Tap Pap, got it reasonably comfortable and fell asleep. I LOVE the fact that there are NO leaks with this mask. I *am* going to make it work. But by morning it had tightened up again

But I think I gained a clue ... it's not "flat" on my teeth. If I bite down on the front, it slides on and gets comfortable, but as soon as I let up it slides back and puts pressure on the teeth. So I am going to re-boil (not just hot tap water) and re-fit, and this time I will NOT force the front all the way down, but just the back. Thus I should have more room and be more comfortable.

I really am determined to make this work because when I fall asleep with it the sleep is MAGNIFICENT.

I just spent my third night with the Tap Pap, and I really like it. I did drool last night, but didn't the first two nights. Don't know the difference.

I had a question about when you fit the mouthguard. Did you bite down on it so its shaped like your lower teeth, too? I didn't and the bottom is flat. When I swallow, it feels very odd. I wonder if it would be better if I shaped the bottom portion too. I don't recall that being spelled out clearly in the instructions.

If I recall correctly the directions are to bite "normally" and suck, for two minutes, then to breathe with your mouth open for two minutes...

I think I might modify my bite and try again...

khauser wrote:If I recall correctly the directions are to bite "normally" and suck, for two minutes, then to breathe with your mouth open for two minutes...

I think I might modify my bite and try again...

Thanks khauser.

I went and pulled out the instructions and this is what it says..."For 2 minutes, suck on the mouthpiece while pushing up against the back of your teeth to seat the mouthpiece." I don't know how to interpret that. Since it didn't explicitly say to bite down, I interpreted "pushing up against the back of your teeth" as using my tongue against the roof of my mouth and back of top teeth.

Anyone else using the Tap Pap? How did you interpret those instructions?

Question on the Tap Pap. Once in place how hard is it to open the mouth, say to cough or to inhale deeply?

kteague wrote:Question on the Tap Pap. Once in place how hard is it to open the mouth, say to cough or to inhale deeply?

The mask doesn't hold your mouth closed, only the upper teeth are involved in the gripping part, so you are free to open your mouth anytime. On the other hand, with the cpap machine on, you have air blowing in through your nose like a normal nasal pillow mask, so opening your mouth will be met with an alarming outrush of air once you move your tongue out of the position that seals your airway *smile*. Most of the time when I cough with a nasal pillow mask, I don't open my mouth at all, sounds odd, but doesn't seem to be needed and an open mouth cough causes a noisy and weird rush of air out of your mouth.

Not sure why you would be inhaling deeply through your mouth if you air is coming in through your nose? You mean when you have the mask on without having the cpap machine on? You can certainly breathe through your mouth at that point, if you wanted to. Or cough or whatever you needed to do.

Don't know if that answers your questions?

ughwhatname wrote:

khauser wrote:If I recall correctly the directions are to bite "normally" and suck, for two minutes, then to breathe with your mouth open for two minutes...

I think I might modify my bite and try again...

Thanks khauser.

I went and pulled out the instructions and this is what it says..."For 2 minutes, suck on the mouthpiece while pushing up against the back of your teeth to seat the mouthpiece." I don't know how to interpret that. Since it didn't explicitly say to bite down, I interpreted "pushing up against the back of your teeth" as using my tongue against the roof of my mouth and back of top teeth.

Anyone else using the Tap Pap? How did you interpret those instructions?

I'm not using it, but I watched the fitting video several times on how to fit it, in addition with having re-fitted it 3 times to get the fit correct *smile* (I have a small bite, so had to do some molding during the fitting process), and what I remember was to "bite down gently" after pushing it onto your upper teeth. So whatever impressions that you get from your lower teeth by "biting gently" is what you get *smile*.

kteague wrote:Question on the Tap Pap. Once in place how hard is it to open the mouth, say to cough or to inhale deeply?

Super easy. Even to take a sip of water though tilting the glass might be a challenge but through a straw...piece of cake.
It's not going to be something that will prevent mouth opening at all in a physical sense.
It is only attached to the top teeth. There's nothing at all to hinder the lower jaw from opening or doing whatever in the physical sense.
Now mental sense in hopes that the brain will somehow recognize the mouth guard as something to remind the body to keep mouth shut..that's sort of a different thing that we can hope for as a side benefit but from a strictly physical perspective...nothing at all to even slow down opening of the mouth.

I haven't yet understood the allure of the Tap Pap, especially if someone is already using pillows like the Swift FX. The Swift's headgear is so minimal I barely remember I have it on...

I love the Swift FX and wouldn't trade it for a mask that required me to have something in my mouth all night long...

RandyJ wrote:The Swift's headgear is so minimal I barely remember I have it on...

I don't want "barely there headgear"...I want no headgear at all....that's my own personal wish list. That's why I like the Bella Loops so much.
No more of the back strap riding up...no more stuff across my cheeks...no more of anything except the most basic of needs.
Less "stuff" on my face and head is what I yearn for.
While the other "stuff" isn't bad or horribly troublesome...it's there and I just prefer it not to be there.

Finally...the Tap Pap pillows...extremely stable and much more forgiving if I get them a bit too snug. No piggy nose and no pain.

Hey Pugsy,

An update on my Swift FX situation. I gave up on the DME getting me the full headgear and ordered it online. I have had two nights with it and my leaks are almost non existent and the sleep was awesome. I find it much more comfortable than the Bella Loops. Maybe I have big ears or something, but I just couldn't get those loops dialed in reliably and it really made my sleep worse. I thought I would post it here since it seemed relevant to the current discussion. Everybody is different. Our heads, ears, noses, are all shaped differently. What we are able to tolerate is going to be different than what someone else can. For the meantime I am going to give the Swift FX a go. If that doesn't pan out I may give LT or Aloha a try. Nasal pillows just seem to click for me. Not sure TAP PAP is for me, but who knows, I may eventually give that a try as well. Thanks again. You and Kevin (and others) have been a big help for me on the beginning of this journey.

Pugsy wrote:
I don't want "barely there headgear"...I want no headgear at all....that's my own personal wish list. That's why I like the Bella Loops so much.
No more of the back strap riding up...no more stuff across my cheeks...no more of anything except the most basic of needs.
Less "stuff" on my face and head is what I yearn for.
While the other "stuff" isn't bad or horribly troublesome...it's there and I just prefer it not to be there.

I guess I can understand that. But the trade off of having a mouthpiece all night would be too high a price to pay for me. I have little trays that were made especially for my teeth by a dentist for when I want to whiten them, and I can barely stand them in my mouth for 30 mins without gagging.

But what bothers one person doesn't bother another...

NotLazyJustTired wrote:Everybody is different. Our heads, ears, noses, are all shaped differently. What we are able to tolerate is going to be different than what someone else can. For the meantime I am going to give the Swift FX a go. If that doesn't pan out I may give LT or Aloha a try. Nasal pillows just seem to click for me. Not sure TAP PAP is for me, but who knows, I may eventually give that a try as well.

Yes, everyone is different. I did pretty good with the Bella Loops but sometimes my left ear would give me grief and no matter what I did it would get pinched. Never the right ear...only the left...and not all the time either. So now you know why I used the traditional headgear for the FX about half the time and the other half I used the Loops and why the Tap Pap with no headgear was so tempting for me.

If you do want to try either the Swift LT or the Aloha later...try the Aloha first. It's pretty much a better version of the LT...or what the LT would/could have been with a few improvements.

Concentrate now on just getting used to sleeping with the mask and machine....you have lots of time for experimentation later.