Please help - central apnea on bipap

[jimmy]

I am a mouth breather and I wake up with my mouth closed and not breathing.I have tried nasal pillows but I am too congested. The full face mask leaks ten[?] times a night. I had a sleep study 1 month ago but have not seen it. 15 on inhale 4 on exhale. I sleep better without so far. Any help greatly appreceated

[zonk]

Hi jimmy - welcome
Have you tried Pad-a-cheek anti leak strap - might be useful to use with full face mask. Try a chinstrap when using nasal mask. Its not unusual to take the mask off during the night but just put it back on and keep as long as you can. Sleeping without the mask won't fix your problem. Do you have a followup with the sleep doc and see your supplier about mask fitting as fitting the correctly is very important. Try turn down humidity setting if it causing you congestion. Nasal rinse (Neilmed sinus rinse- bottle) helps relieve congestion as it clear the nasal passages and improve nasal breathing.

[cbramsey]

Welcome to the Forum. We are glad you joined us!!!!

You may want to get with your DME to see if there is a different type of mask that works better for you.

Hang in there.

[SuperSleeper]

Howdy Jimmy -

Is your congestion a temporary thing? If so, a standard nasal mask should work much better for you once your congestion goes away.

I've found that even when I have congestion, I can put the mask on and the pressure over a few minutes "punches through" my congestion and clears up much of it, at least enough to breathe with CPAP for the night. For me, the congestion was more of a psychological thing - it just felt like I couldn't breathe, when in fact, I could breathe okay if I forced myself to keep the mask on.

[trish6hundred]

Hi Jimmy, First, Welcome! to the forum.! I'm sorry you are having such a ROUGH time. If you just can't get used to the mask you are using, you might talk to the DME you are with and see about changing to a different one but I wouldn't sleep without the machine. Don't give up on your therapy and try to hang in there.

[mjbearit]

I am a mouth breather and I wake up with my mouth closed and not breathing.I have tried nasal pillows but I am too congested. The full face mask leaks ten[?] times a night. I had a sleep study 1 month ago but have not seen it. 15 on inhale 4 on exhale. I sleep better without so far. Any help greatly appreceated

Hi Jimmy!

I have to second what Supersleeper said. I have a real problem with congestion, well heck just with my sinuses in general! After a minute or two the pressure from the machine opens me right up!
It takes awhile to get used to the machine and even longer to feel comfortable with it, but the benefits in the long run are really worth it! Just keep at it and if something is not working, talk to your doc and/or DME. Don't just give up because there are a lot of alternatives out there today!

[jimmy]

I have moved from cpap to ipap this week and I am seeing this,I start to fall asleep and about the time I doze off I forget to inhale and wake up hard.I have not had any luck at all with tharapy.My settings are 15 on inhale and 4 on exhale.Should I go back for another sleep study? I have had bypass surgery3 years ago. Also nasal congestion is an issue, have tried full face mask but leaks and mouth breathing are a problem. I am getting desperate any help would be appreceated.

Thanks,sleepless in Kansa

[jimmy]

thanks for the input.

[block560]

Hi, I'm on vacation in Burlington, VT. My c-flex pro2 shut off this morning and started beeping an error message e-47. What do I do? I have another night here and have a tough time sleeping without it, well my husband does. LOL

[zonk]

Did you had BIPAP titration? Book an appointment with both sleep doc and GP - You need to get those issues sorted out asap.
Its not a problem mouth breathing with full face mask and try fit the mask at the max pressure to maintain the seal throughout the night. Some folk find a mask liner help with the seal and others like me find a nasal mask with chinstrap works better.
Do whatever works - Take the bull by the horns