Has this happened to anyone?

I'm a mouth breather so I tried using a chin strap the past 3 nights and it seems to be working in keeping my mouth closed but I keep waking up in the middle of the night feeling very nausea and gasey. When I take the chin strap off and resume sleep I feel much better no more gas and and no more feeling nausea. It's very frustrating since I don't want to be a mouth breather. :/

Any idea what I should do? When my mouth is closed does it make the pressure settings too high?

You could try using a full face mask.

Dave, you may be dealing with this fairly common situation
http://sleepdisorders.about.com/od/livi ... phagia.htm

i used CHIN STRAP for awhile until i was able to keep the pie hole shut.
good Luck
tim

A chin strap has the effect on some people of moving the jaw backwards just a little bit.
For me, with my mask, that increases obstructive events and therefore pressure requirements.
The manufacturer specifies NO CHIN STRAP.

It could be that for you that has the effect of increasing aerophagia.
Just speculation.

With a FFM, you do breathe through your mouth, that is one of the reasons for a FFM.

There's really nothing wrong with mouth breathing as long as you are using a FF mask... which I note that you are using. Without a FF, mouth breathers lose therapy air. I'm a mouth breather, and have only used a FF.

Since April 16, I have consistently had an AHI of less than 3, and the only thing different is that I started in Feb. with a pressure of 8/18. Since 4-16 my pressure is 9/18, and my upper pressure rarely goes beyond 16. I don't know if there's a correlation between mouth breathing and pressures, I only know what I see in sleepyhead... I'm not good with the technical aspects of cpap, but someone who knows more than I will probably chime in. I do not use a chin strap, and haven't seen a need to, nor do I wish to try one.

JDS74 wrote:A chin strap has the effect on some people of moving the jaw backwards just a little bit.
For me, with my mask, that increases obstructive events and therefore pressure requirements.
The manufacturer specifies NO CHIN STRAP.

...

With a FFM, you do breathe through your mouth, that is one of the reasons for a FFM.

FFM's are also known to push back the jaw and cause worse apnea for some people. Sometimes you have to work your way through the minefield of problems by trial and error.

Thanks for advice. I’ve been using a full facemask. The humidity level is set to highest level (5) and I still wake up with dry mouth when I don’t use anything to keep my mouth closed. I should mention I've also used "chin ups" tape and still have the same effect as chinstrap.

It sounds like the pressure settings might be too high.

Dave007 wrote:Thanks for advice. I’ve been using a full facemask. The humidity level is set to highest level (5) and I still wake up with dry mouth when I don’t use anything to keep my mouth closed. I should mention I've also used "chin ups" tape and still have the same effect as chinstrap.

It sounds like the pressure settings might be too high.

I solved the dry mouth problem with a big double-walled mug with a cover and a straw that I fill with water each night. I can pop the connector off the mask and take a few big sips with the straw. In my case, the connector sits directly opposite my mouth so it is easy to take a sip, but I recognize that for some people the connector and the mouth are not in line with each other, but a flexible straw would make it possible. I have found that now I am not suffering as much from dry mouth. I don't know if I have learned to keep my mouth shut or If I've just gotten used to the dry mouth to the point that it isn't bothering me as much. I suspect that I've just gotten used to it.