Options for when I'm unable to use my machine

zoocrewphoto wrote:If you breathe through your mouth while wearing a nasal mask, it is no different than taking the mask off.

Not totally. There can be different levels of mouth breathing I have found out by personal experience and not all levels of mouth breathing mean that 100% of the air is exiting the mouth so that 100% of the air that was supposed to go into the airway is wasted.

this image look at the very end of the night where I have circled the leak and wrote in mouth....I definitely was mouth breathing and awake during this time....can every one see the 7:30 time frame? I woke up mouth breathing gently and decided to continue doing it just to see what a known mouth breathing episode looked like and how much the leak varied...so I continued it for a little while and then turned the machine off as it was time to get up anyway.
This is a S9 report...
Also shows a good example of probably a time frame with larger mouth breathing...3 to 3:30 but still not all that much above 24 L/min and I slept through it....not all mouth breathing means the entire night of therapy is in the toilet.

Pugsy wrote:

zoocrewphoto wrote:If you breathe through your mouth while wearing a nasal mask, it is no different than taking the mask off.

Not totally. There can be different levels of mouth breathing I have found out by personal experience and not all levels of mouth breathing mean that 100% of the air is exiting the mouth so that 100% of the air that was supposed to go into the airway is wasted.

He said his nose was blocked, and he was using a nasal mask. If nothing is getting through his nose, and he opens his mouth to inhale, wouldn't that mean that the cpap is useless during that time?

I think most people who mouth breathe still have air going in the nose from cpap as they aren't blocked. This person says his nose gets completely blocked.

jencat824 wrote: I used to have chronic sinus infections, constantly. I used a saline spray, which didn't help much. Then I discovered the Neils Sinus Rinse & I rarely suffer from a sinus infection now. I've been on CPAP 14 years & most of that time I suffered with chronic sinusitis. I learned to wear my CPAP anyway & I actually think it helped. For most of those years if I had slept without my CPAP during an infection, I would have been considered non-compliant. I know its too painful, I get that, but I'm suggesting you try the nasal rinses in addition to the oral mask. They clear the gunk out & continued use keeps it out, at least its worked for me.

Good luck & let us know how these suggestions & that oral mask works for you.

Jen

Thanks, Jen.

I regularly use a steroid spray, as well as the Neil Sinus Rinse. For an extra boost, my ENT prescribed Pulmicort Respules which I squeeze into the saline rinse. This is an off-label therapy, but it works great on the sinuses! Pulmicort is an asthmatic drug inhaled through the mouth to dilate the lungs, but for chronic sinus sufferers, added to the saline solution works much better than the Neils Rinse alone. I assume the same dilating properties work on the sinus tissue like it does in the lungs. For anyone who has sinus problems, ask your ENT if it is right for you. I highly recommend this therapy.

I'm waiting on the oral mask, and I found a thread which told me how to amp up my humidity in the clinicians menu. I tried it on the weekend, and I had too much humidity! I never thought I would ever say that! So, this new mask seems promising as long as the humidity doesn't become a problem. I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks.

Some, who have Simple Obstructive Apnea, can sometimes sleep successfully by sleeping sitting up, which is one of the recommendations when the power goes out.

I use a FitLife mask, and I am never have my mouth open using the mask.

The OP should lobby the manufacturers to make a humidity tank that can include some kind of antibiotic, or something that will help with sinus infections. No doubt complicated for them, given the liability. Pounding any chemical into the lungs with pressure.

My sister has a similar sinus infection problem, but says she can not sleep sitting up.

Lastly, might help to put a good HEPA filter near your bed and machine, to get as much of the bugs out of the air before it gets into the machine as possible.

Do you use a Neti Pot?

zoocrewphoto wrote:He said his nose was blocked, and he was using a nasal mask. If nothing is getting through his nose, and he opens his mouth to inhale, wouldn't that mean that the cpap is useless during that time?

Yes, but he says

flyer1357 wrote:I agreed with your point. But from the data graphs it seems my mouth breathing is occasional and for very short durations. As such I still get treatment from the machine most of the time.

and

flyer1357 wrote: I often have a blocked nose even when I have a cold, but can usually breath with my nose during the day time. When I sleep, however, I often mouth breath when my nose is blocked

flyer1357 wrote:My average leakage rate has been around 6 litre/min, and has never exceed 24.

No where does he ever say that his nose is 100% blocked 100% of the night for 100% of the sleep nights.
It's very possible that the humidified air actually helps with whatever congestion that he might be starting out the night with. That happening is quite common.

Mouth breathing leaks will show up on the leak reports/graphs and if they are happening...and aren't exceeding 24 L/min the machine can compensate for them and even if they did (like mine above) for a brief time it isn't the end of the world.

You are assuming his nasal congestion is like yours and from what I am hearing and seeing (with the leak numbers) it isn't as severe as yours.
If the mouth breathing was significant it would be reflected in the leak numbers and on the leak line graph.

With an average leak of 6 L/min and never exceeding 24 L/min...doesn't matter where the leak is coming from because the machine can compensate for it and if someone doesn't want to use a full face mask that doesn't mean that the entire night's therapy is in the toilet.

Pugsy wrote: No where does he ever say that his nose is 100% blocked 100% of the night for 100% of the sleep nights.

I agree with that, but he did say "completely blocked" and my response said that for those times when he opens his mouth, he loses all therapy. I also mentioned that if that is a very short time, then it isn't a big deal, but if it is a long time, then it can be bad.

Mouth breathing leaks will show up on the leak reports/graphs and if they are happening...and aren't exceeding 24 L/min the machine can compensate for them and even if they did (like mine above) for a brief time it isn't the end of the world.

I wonder though if this would shop up the same way as regular mouth breathing. In those cases, the air goes in the nose and out the mouth, major leak. But what happens if the nose is truly blocked? What happens to the air flow? Is there a vent in a nasal mask? Does it just get blocked? How does that show up in a graph? Would it show up as leak or as obstructions?

You are assuming his nasal congestion is like yours and from what I am hearing and seeing (with the leak numbers) it isn't as severe as yours.

While I do have congestion on and off during the day, and I assume during the night sometimes, I am actually capable of breathing through my nose at night, when I lay down. Until recently (new doctor, new medication), I have had to mouth breathe during the day when active as I could not get enough air consistently through my nose. Even sitting,I would need to take a larger breath through my mouth every few minutes.

But when I lay down for bed, I can breathe through my nose. I just don't. I can only guess at why. Maybe habit? Once, with a full face mask on, I did intentionally close my mouth and inhale through my nose. I hated the sensation. When I have used the oracle mask, I just breathe like normal. I do put my hand in front of my nose to make sure I am not leaking air since I don't use plugs. And no problem. If I think about it, I can breathe through my nose while lying down, but it doesn't seem to be normal for me.

If the mouth breathing was significant it would be reflected in the leak numbers and on the leak line graph.

With an average leak of 6 L/min and never exceeding 24 L/min...doesn't matter where the leak is coming from because the machine can compensate for it and if someone doesn't want to use a full face mask that doesn't mean that the entire night's therapy is in the toilet.

I never said anything about the whole night. I was referring specifically to the times he was mouth breathing.

" If it is only a few minutes during the night, then it isn't a big deal. But if it frequent or a decent amount of time, then you may be having apnea events again."

Keep in mind that there are TWO people talking about mouth breathing in this topic, so two different situations.

zoocrewphoto wrote: Keep in mind that there are TWO people talking about mouth breathing in this topic, so two different situations.

I am well aware of that fact and my responses were target to the recent one where I quoted what he said.

zoocrewphoto wrote:I wonder though if this would shop up the same way as regular mouth breathing. In those cases, the air goes in the nose and out the mouth, major leak. But what happens if the nose is truly blocked? What happens to the air flow? Is there a vent in a nasal mask? Does it just get blocked? How does that show up in a graph? Would it show up as leak or as obstructions?

Did you look at the report I posted? The last segmented where I circled the leak and wrote "mouth" on it I know for sure that I was mouth breathing and no air going in or out the nose. I did it on purpose just to see what was going on. Made a point to not use my nose at all.
Would you tell me I needed a full face mask based on what is shown?
It was a "gentle" mouth breathing....no tornado of air exiting the mouth (I have experienced that as well on occasion in the past).
Mouth breathing shows up as a leak. Plain and simple but sometimes the leak is bigger than other times.
If the nose is totally 100% blocked then the air simply exits the vent holes...yes...all nasal masks and nasal pillow masks have vent holes.

Mouth breathing leaks typically look like they have a "plateau" effect...see the first "leak" at 1:30 and the larger at 3 to 3:30 and around 5:10.....those are all very likely mouth breathing times. ResMed has an example of mouth breathing leaks in the tutorial for ResScan that is available with all ResScan installs. It's really easy to see when they are prolonged a little bit.

zoocrewphoto wrote:I never said anything about the whole night. I was referring specifically to the times he was mouth breathing.

Maybe you didn't but that was the impression I got from your last comments. My apologies if I misunderstood.