How to win the battle against a mouth breathing preventing you from sleeping ?

[Albatros]

Hello, I am a Newbie for 5 weeks. Diagnosis 34 IAH/h.
I spent my first 4 weeks with a face mask, pressure 8 -10, AHI level 3 - 5, but mask leakage of more than 35 l/min. So questionable results? (not yet on OSCAR sw).
These 5 weeks taught me that:
-after a few hours I had mouth breathing
-that this mouth breathing prevented me from sleeping
I was advised on the forum, among other things, to block the air leakage by putting the tongue on the top of the palate. This works very well, but I can't stay permanently and in my sleep thinking to keep the tongue on the palate ?
I have also tried to seal the mouth with a mouth tape. This works, but after a few hours, the barrier gives way.
So I had to switch to an FFM, the F20 Resmed. It solves the problem of mouth breathing. But requires a more difficult adaptation. I will do the job to adapt.

But, I would like to ask two questions:
-Is there anything I missed ?
-There are thousands of happy users of the light, nice, nasal pillow masks. Does it mean that they don't have mouth breathing ? Or that they are able to control it ? How ?

Thank you

[shimon]

I was a mouth breather and then I started taping my mouth shut at night...after about a year, I stopped using the tape and I think I've kicked the mouth breathing habit. I just use a tiny piece of 3M Nexcare micropore tape. It's about 1" long by 1/2" wide...I just tear a piece off and stick it on. I don't think you want a big piece because you want to be able to overcome the tape if you really need air. Of course, you will have to experiment to find what works for you.

I sleep much better now without mouth breathing and I guess many other do too: there was just an article in the NYT about this: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/17/well ... sleep.html

[Albatros]

Thank you Shimon.

Three additional questions, if I may:
-did your mouth breathing prevented you from sleeping ? Or was it only a dry mouth problem, when you woke up ?
-are you, now, thanks to your regular taping, close to have no problem, any more, with the mouth breathing ? Or that you can solve it, now, with a simplified taping ?
-does it mean that, thanks to your mouth taping, you have been able to avoid a FFM vs a nasal or pillow nasal mask ?

Thanks

[shimon]

Thank you Shimon.

Three additional questions, if I may:
-did your mouth breathing prevented you from sleeping ? Or was it only a dry mouth problem, when you woke up ?
-are you, now, thanks to your regular taping, close to have no problem, any more, with the mouth breathing ? Or that you can solve it, now, with a simplified taping ?
-does it mean that, thanks to your mouth taping, you have been able to avoid a FFM vs a nasal or pillow nasal mask ?

Thanks

I started with a full face mask but found it cumbersome and prone to leaks. I had read about mouth breathing contributing to poor sleep and it caused me to wake up with a dry and soar throat. Can't say that it prevented it me from sleeping but it contributed to poor sleep along with my apnea. So I bought a Wisp nose mask and started taping and after a couple of nights I noticed an improvement in the mask sealing and my restfulness. I taped for a little over a year and then went without tape and I'm pretty sure I've kicked the mouth breathing. Although I think it does come back once in a while...and I tape for about a week and then I'm good again. No way to know for sure if I'm mouth breathing other than self-diagnosing symptoms such as dry mouth. I much prefer the nose mask over a full face mask... more comfortable and less mask-to-skin sealing area which makes achieving a good seal easier.

[Miss Emerita]

I tape all the time. For a while, all I needed was one strip of tape. I liked Somnifix, but 3M Micropore also worked fine.

But then I started finding that saliva would loosen the adhesive over the course of the night. I started using extra pieces of tape to buttress the piece that went directly on my mouth. But putting all that tape on was time-consuming, and it sometimes didn't work.

Now I am back to using one strip of tape PLUS a stretchy band over it:

viewtopic.php?p=1089718&f=1&t=112758&p= ... s#p1086296

To keep enough tension on the band, I use a couple of bobby pins in back.

Although the tape alone, or the band alone, wouldn't stop my mouth leaks, using both together makes mouth leaks a thing of the past, at least for me.

[zonker]

To keep enough tension on the band, I use a couple of bobby pins in back.

i...i...i....i never thought of THAT. a very elegant solution. i've been using tinier stretch bands. i dunno what they are called but they are akin to what one would use to bundle up a pony tail, but much longer. however, they too eventually lose their stretch.

if'n i remember, i'll try to incorporate bobby pins.

[ChicagoGranny]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PBJZJWL?re ... ep+tape+st

[Albatros]

Thank you all.
Extremely useful...