having a few problems, need input.

Well I have been on apap therapy for about a month. I was having quite a few problems for the first week or so. I was still snoring, and feeling tired. I adjusted the settings for the pressure ranges, changed humidifier settings, everything I could think of. I finally ended at the prescribed pressure (5-15) but I kept the humidifier low ( like 3 or so). This has worked good so far. Then I started having a problem with the pressure blowing my mouth open. I tried taping, but I couldn't get comfortable. I bought a chin strap, and this has actually helped quite a bit. But now every couple of nights my girlfriend wakes me up because she thinks the hose has come undone. She said thats what it sounds like... A lot of air blowing. Last night I admit when she woke me up, I was on my side and my mouth WAS open. Im just wondering if me sleeping on my side is causing my mouth to come open??? Other than that I have been sleeping better and better over the past 2 weeks. Thanks for the help.

Jsmith,

Welcome to CPAPtalk and the world of CPAP.

I am glad you are sleeping better already.

I am not sure if sleeping on your side would cause your mouth to open more or less then on your back.

Thank your girlfriend for waking you and alerting you to the problem of your mouth. Any air escaping is treatment you are not receiving.

You have tried the taping and the chin strap.

There are various chinstraps. I have never used one, so I can not tell you if one is better then the other.

You can try polident strips on your lips. Some people use that.

You may try differnt tape.

You may try some Full Face masks.

My first choice to start. Is try a Hybrid. It has pillows like the swift, but a mouth peice as well, so youcan breath through your mouht or nose. There is nothing in front of your face like a FF mask.

I think your mouth must totally relax when you get in deep sleep and opens wide, from what your girlfriend is describing to you.

Dear Jsmith1984,

Sounds like your major problem is mouth-breathing, rather than anything to do with your settings.

I don't think side or back sleeping should matter when it comes to mouth-breathing, but perhaps someone else can shed light on that. When you open your mouth at night, you will lose the positive pressure on your airway and it may collapse, causing you to snore. Also it will dry out your mouth and throat pretty badly regardless of the humidity setting you use.

I found that it was eventually able to train my body to sleep while breathing only through my nose. If you can do that, you should because it gives you the most options for comfortable XPAP therapy. I think the main mechanism I have used to ensure a reliable seal has been to push my tongue forward against my teeth and gums. At first I did this too forcefully and ended up with a lot of soreness on my tongue and in my jaw mussels. (I still get sores on my tongue from this on occasion.) For the most part everything is now automatic, and I don't actually notice what I am doing. .

If you can't train yourself to breath only through your nose (and fortunately most of us can) the alternatives are tape, a chin strap, or a full face mask or hybrid interface. If you have some success with the chin strap you should may be able to use that like training wheels to gradually work yourself to being able to sleep without it.

You are still well within the adjustment period for XPAP. It is absolutely normal for there to be problems to work out and for everything to feel weird and unnatural at this stage. You probably won't know whether you are a confirmed mouth breather for a month or two. If you find out that you are, I would recommend having both a strap or tape solution for your current mask, and trying a FF or other mouth interface that you can use if you get tired of taping or strapping.