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Help! Newbie! Can nasal only work for 30 yr mouth breather
#1
Help! Newbie! Can nasal only work for 30 yr mouth breather
New user here! I received my Resnet S9 two days ago and was supposed to receive "training" at the facility where I picked it up. After reading these blogs I realize I was told NOTHING except turn it on and fill it with distilled water!

Tried full mask two nights.

Settings are on 4 min and 20 max preset by technician

I am 1 year post sinus and throat surgery so my airways are open now and in the few hours of sleep I get a night I breathe through both my nose and mouth.

QUESTION?
If I have spent 30 years in the habit of breathing through my mouth can I get ANY benefit from a nasal only or nasal pillow mask because I can't handle the feeling of breathing back the air in the full mask. I am a diver and an inspector that wears a respirator so I am alright when the air vents continuously allow the flow out from the mask but the Auto Pap mask does not vent enough for me. I tried reducing the humidifier because I felt too much breath back on my face.

Please help I want to give up because I REALLY don't think I can use the full mask but feel the nasal only won't work because I will just open my mouth. I know there is a chin strap but I really want advice on the mask first.

Need to sleep....Mike
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#2
RE: Help! Newbie! Can nasal only work for 30 yr mouth breather
How about trying a chinstrap to hold your mouth closed? They aren't very expensive and some of us have good results with them. I mouth-breathe when I sleep and a chinstrap allows me to use nasal pillows with no problem.
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#3
RE: Help! Newbie! Can nasal only work for 30 yr mouth breather
I have a hard time believing that the nasal will deliver enough air alone so my struggle has begun. Have a full mask and such a pain to get just a nasal! Not sure if the pressure is right either? Why did you go to pillows instead of full?
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#4
RE: Help! Newbie! Can nasal only work for 30 yr mouth breather
I gave up on the nasal mask because of the air gushing out my mouth. I opted for a full face mask and a single strap chin restraint placed beneath the mask harness. It is also helpful to narrow the pressure range to your specific need. A range of 9-14 works for me and I know that because I view my results on Sleepyhead.
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#5
RE: Help! Newbie! Can nasal only work for 30 yr mouth breather
The full mask makes me feel claustrophobic and I was having trouble with leaks (of course, that was before I found the forum - so didn't know how to deal with them). I also had the UPPP surgery and a septoplasty - the net effect was to lower my needed pressure from 13 to 9. I prefer the pillows to the nasal mask because I have less stuff touching my nose and it is easier for me to deal with the mask leaks.

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#6
RE: Help! Newbie! Can nasal only work for 30 yr mouth breather
(08-01-2014, 08:45 AM)Needtosleep Wrote: QUESTION?
If I have spent 30 years in the habit of breathing through my mouth can I get ANY benefit from a nasal only or nasal pillow mask because I can't handle the feeling of breathing back the air in the full mask. I am a diver and an inspector that wears a respirator so I am alright when the air vents continuously allow the flow out from the mask but the Auto Pap mask does not vent enough for me. I tried reducing the humidifier because I felt too much breath back on my face.

Please help I want to give up because I REALLY don't think I can use the full mask but feel the nasal only won't work because I will just open my mouth. I know there is a chin strap but I really want advice on the mask first.

Need to sleep....Mike

I have the same feelings about having fresh air in the mask. I got rid of a nasal mask because I did not feel that there was enough air vented out of the mask. I did some rough calculations and found that the published vent rate for that mask was probably sufficient to not allow CO2 to build up significantly but still was not happy with the venting of that mask.

My Mirage Quattro full face mask vents at 54 l/min at my therapeutic pressure of 20 cm/H2O and I am quite happy with it. All of the Resmed full face masks vent at this rate according to their published data.

It would seem to me from what you say that the thing that may bother you most is the temperature of the air in the mask. The CPAP mask can not give you the nice cool "fresh" feeling air that self contained breathing apparatuses give you because it does not have highly compressed air expanding and cooling for you to breathe. This does not mean that the air is not as good just that it is not as cool. I too like to breathe cooler air but I have adapted. I am waiting for winter to get somewhat cooler air.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

Admin Note:
PaytonA passed away in September 2017
Click HERE to read his Memorial Thread

~ Rest in Peace ~
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#7
RE: Help! Newbie! Can nasal only work for 30 yr mouth breather
(08-01-2014, 08:45 AM)Needtosleep Wrote: QUESTION?
If I have spent 30 years in the habit of breathing through my mouth can I get ANY benefit from a nasal only or nasal pillow mask because I can't handle the feeling of breathing back the air in the full mask. I am a diver and an inspector that wears a respirator so I am alright when the air vents continuously allow the flow out from the mask but the Auto Pap mask does not vent enough for me. I tried reducing the humidifier because I felt too much breath back on my face.

Please help I want to give up because I REALLY don't think I can use the full mask but feel the nasal only won't work because I will just open my mouth. I know there is a chin strap but I really want advice on the mask first.

Need to sleep....Mike
Hi Needtosleep
The S9 have EPR feature, drop pressure during exhale, some find more comfortable to breathe out at lower pressure
Here how EPR works http://www.resmed.com/epn/patients_and_f...c=patients

As you said mouth breathing is a habit and habits can be broken. You need to persists to breathe through your nose during the day so it becomes a habit to breathe through your nose while asleep too. Chinstrap can helps keeps mouth closed and minimize mouth leaks. Our masks choices are only limited by our imagination, not unusual to try few masks until we find one we like and feel comfortable

Did you had CPAP titration after the sleep study or they gave you APAP instead on default settings 4-20. Whats the model of your S9 (AutoSet or Escape Auto) model name printed next to on/off button. I suggest learn as much as you can about the machine and how to read the data on the screen and software. The clinical manual available via email from here http://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-pr...tup-manual
S9 pictures and setup video http://www.apneaboard.com/resmed-s9-cpap-setup
SleepHead software link is at the top of the page

We don't want you to give up, CPAP can only helps you if you,re using it all night every night and naps too
Often said "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"
Best of luck on your journey
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#8
RE: Help! Newbie! Can nasal only work for 30 yr mouth breather
Hi Needtosleep,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Masks are such an individual thing and it's trial and error. If you try nasal pillows, you might try a chinstrap to see if that will help you keep your mouth closed.
I know you want to give up, but I encourage you to stick with it, start using your machine and finding a mask that will work for you.
Do you know what your pressure is?
Hang in there for more suggestions and best of luck to you with your CPAP therapy.
trish6hundred
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#9
RE: Help! Newbie! Can nasal only work for 30 yr mouth breather
(08-01-2014, 08:55 AM)Needtosleep Wrote: I have a hard time believing that the nasal will deliver enough air alone so my struggle has begun.

That's what the pressure is there for Smile

Most folks prefer pillows or nasal if they can use them without lots of leaks/mouthbreathing, because they're just more comfortable on the face.
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#10
RE: Help! Newbie! Can nasal only work for 30 yr mouth breather

First things first: As I have said many many times before (twice I think) 4 and 20 is only good if you're counting blackbirds to make a pie.

That's too big a range to work with unless you're mask usage is perfect, your sleeping position is always the same and perfect, and the cat never comes into the house.

In my humble opinion, 4 is always too low a low. If you do not have any specific recommendations from your sleep doc about what your pressure should be, you'll have to find out on your own. So install the Sleepyhead software from the link at the top of this page and figure out how to use it.

Then set your machine to a bigger than I'd like to see range, such as 6/15 to start with. Run a day or two and see what the results look like. Then slowly tighten up the range from the bottom or the top depending on what you're seeing. Check in with us so we can help give you ideas as to what to do.

As to the mask: Forget worrying about it not giving you "enough" air. It will do fine if the set pressures are not too low. Once again you are starting at a low of 4, and that's too darn low (in my opinion). Also, you're probably using a ramp time that starts too low and rises for too long a period. Turn the ramp off. Once you get established a little then you can think about a different mask type. I personally very much like the nasal pillows. But I don't think you want to go there yet. You do want to get a chinstrap to GENTLY tell your jaw to stay forward and your mouth to stay shut. It'll take a little practice but very soon you'll get beyond breathing through your mouth.

Finally, regarding the "I want to give up" thingy. Sorry, that is not authorized. That would be like wanting to go have a car wreck. It might seem like a good idea right now, but it is not recommended for your long term health.
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