Chipmunk cheeks with full face mask

I have chipmunk cheeks while wearing a full face mask. I have a deviated septum, scar tissue and frequent inflammation in my sinuses so even with anti-contestants I have trouble breathing through my nose. Nasal sprays cause drainage and that leads to vomiting. So the question is is there anything that can be done about it or like my father did and my mom’s father did?

Sorry leo...I don't know what your father or mother's father did to solve the problem.

If you open your mouth, does that relieve the problem?

Chipmunk cheeks is caused by air going up the nose and down the airway and it enters the mouth via the airway because there's an opening for it to enter the mouth. That's just what air pressure does. It enters the mouth and the lips are closed so there's no where for it to go so it inflates the cheeks.
The prevention fix for chipmunk cheeks is to close that back door so that air doesn't enter the mouth.
Easier said than done.
The after the fact fix is just open the mouth and let the air out and the cheeks will deflate. If you do it a lot with a nasal mask then your therapy effectiveness could be affect. If you do it with a full face mask no therapy pressure is lost and it won't affect your therapy.
Now it might affect your sleep quality though...and that in itself is unwanted. Anything that messes with our sleep is unwanted.

I can open my mouth wide...stick out my tongue...talk...blow raspberries ...with the mask and machine on and not have air try to enter my mouth. It's a reflex action that enables me to keep that backdoor closed. I wish I could tell people how I do it (many others also can do it) but it's a reflex and I don't know how I do it. The reflex has become a habit...such a strong habit that I have to make a concerted effort to relax that back do to have air even enter my mouth.

I puts the full face mask on and turn in the machine and my cheeks get puffy. My mouth is open I’m wide awake sitting there and my cheeks are puffy and there is no way for me to adjust my breathing to fix it.

If you have trouble breathing through your nose, see an ENT.
An allergist might also be helpful.
Chipmunk cheeks often go away after several weeks of using cpap.
Your internal and tongue muscles learn how to block the air from filling your mouth.

leo*30 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 22, 2020 1:16 pm

I puts the full face mask on and turn in the machine and my cheeks get puffy. My mouth is open I’m wide awake sitting there and my cheeks are puffy and there is no way for me to adjust my breathing to fix it.

If you let your lips part slightly, the cheeks will deflate.

Practice holding the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth. If you awaken during the night follow the same procedure.

Assuming you are new to CPAP, the puffed cheeks problem may go away as you become more relaxed with CPAP.

leo*30 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 22, 2020 9:37 am

I have a deviated septum, scar tissue and frequent inflammation in my sinuses so even with anti-contestants I have trouble breathing through my nose.

Get to an ENT for a consultation and examination right away. The condition you describe can make it very difficult to be successful long-term with CPAP.

My lips are open and my cheeks are still puffy and if I hold my tongue to the top of my mouth I can’t breathe through my mouth. I need to be able to breath through my mouth because I can’t breath through my nose most of the time so if I hold my tongue to the top of my mouth I can’t breath at all. Please read my comments in full before responding with a possible solution I already tried and doesn’t work.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 22, 2020 1:37 pm

leo*30 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 22, 2020 1:16 pm

I puts the full face mask on and turn in the machine and my cheeks get puffy. My mouth is open I’m wide awake sitting there and my cheeks are puffy and there is no way for me to adjust my breathing to fix it.

If you let your lips part slightly, the cheeks will deflate.

Practice holding the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth. If you awaken during the night follow the same procedure.

Assuming you are new to CPAP, the puffed cheeks problem may go away as you become more relaxed with CPAP.

leo*30 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 22, 2020 9:37 am

I have a deviated septum, scar tissue and frequent inflammation in my sinuses so even with anti-contestants I have trouble breathing through my nose.

Get to an ENT for a consultation and examination right away. The condition you describe can make it very difficult to be successful long-term with CPAP.

leo*30 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 22, 2020 7:43 pm

My lips are open and my cheeks are still puffy a

That makes no sense. If your lips are parted, the pressure would not be able to blow out your cheeks.

What model mask are you using? How tight do you have it?

Please fill out your equipment profile - https://www.cpaptalk.com/ucp.php?i=prof ... pment_info

I think they just have the pressure set too high, and for whatever reason they think it needs to be that high when I’ve Told them before they are suffocating me with air. The mask is a F&P Simplus Full Face Mask and I make it as tight as I was told to make it when I first got it.

leo*30 wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 23, 2020 5:43 pm

I think they just have the pressure set too high, and for whatever reason they think it needs to be that high when I’ve Told them before they are suffocating me with air. The mask is a F&P Simplus Full Face Mask and I make it as tight as I was told to make it when I first got it.

I think people are assumingyou are trying to breathe through your nose as many people do and haveair escape through their mouth.

'I am a mouth breather, and I sleep with my kips slightly open. Most of the time, I am on my side, and the pressure is in the 11-13 range. If I roll onto my back, the pressure goes up higher, and the bad part, my mouth falls open much wider, and then my cheeks flap, and THAT wakes me up. I roll back onto my side, and everything is fine.

I don't know if you have that issue or not. It may also get better as you get used to sleeping with a cpap.

I will also add that I didn't know I had a deviated septum and enlarged turbinates until last December. I got them fixed in January. I am still a mouth breather at night as I am 47 years old and I am simply not used to sleeping with my mouth closed or air blowing through my nose with the cpap. But I do breathe through my nose almost all day now instead being a mouth breather all day. So, it has improved a lot for me. I may change my sleep habits as I get used to it. I know right now, with the covid virus, elective surgeries are on hold, but you might look into it and consider it later if looks like a good option for you. I did not have to have my nose packed afterward, didn't have any pain, just some pressure and discomfort for a week or so. I'm glad I did it. I wish I had known something was fixable years ago.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 23, 2020 2:40 pm

. . .
That makes no sense. If your lips are parted, the pressure would not be able to blow out your cheeks.
. . . .

One can open the lips while blocking airfllow through the mouth with tongue and teeth.
A grinning chimp comes to mind . . .

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 23, 2020 11:47 pm

One can open the lips while blocking airfllow through the mouth with tongue and teeth.
A grinning chimp comes to mind . . .

In such a case, with the Simplus FFM, the area on the cheeks inside the mask would have a pressure equal to the pressure in the mouth.

Then, there are the straps of the Simplus that cross right across the cheeks. It's a mystery to me how he is getting chipmunk cheeks. I bet that while sleeping, he doesn't have them.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:29 am

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 23, 2020 11:47 pm

One can open the lips while blocking airfllow through the mouth with tongue and teeth.
A grinning chimp comes to mind . . .

In such a case, with the Simplus FFM, the area on the cheeks inside the mask would have a pressure equal to the pressure in the mouth.

Then, there are the straps of the Simplus that cross right across the cheeks. It's a mystery to me how he is getting chipmunk cheeks. I bet that while sleeping, he doesn't have them.

Right. He notices it while awake, then assumes it is all the time.
Needs to just get the damn septoplasty.
All anyone can do is wait until non-emergency procedures can be done again.
Elective, my flipper!

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:29 am

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 23, 2020 11:47 pm

One can open the lips while blocking airfllow through the mouth with tongue and teeth.
A grinning chimp comes to mind . . .

In such a case, with the Simplus FFM, the area on the cheeks inside the mask would have a pressure equal to the pressure in the mouth.

Then, there are the straps of the Simplus that cross right across the cheeks. It's a mystery to me how he is getting chipmunk cheeks. I bet that while sleeping, he doesn't have them.

Wrong again, I know I have them while I sleep because I’ve already been woken up because I can’t breathe because of the amount of air in my checks.