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Some nights are great, and some.... well, could be better.
#1
Some nights are great, and some.... well, could be better.
So here's the thing: I have gone through a number of nights of wonderful, restful, can't-get-enough-ful sleep. Using the Air P10 pillow mask and a chinstrap, all has been fine. AHI maybe @ .5, leaks? 95% at no big deal or less. It's been grand.

Then there was last night. I woke up in the night with my right ear and the stupid little gland in between it and my jaw hurting like crazy. I've done this before, and I know it's because of the chinstrap. So if I loosen the chinstrap more than it was, it's too loose and I can't keep my big mouth shut when I go back to sleep.

Finally I have to give up on my cute and darling pillow mask and go to my Quattro Air full face mask for the rest of the night. Sure enough, after a few minutes the pain subsided. The good news is the ff mask worked very well. I think it did it good to be "benched" for awhile. Now, my pillows mask is benched and it's not even it's fault.

The question becomes, short of "tapeing" which I do not believe in, what ideas, suggestions, cures do you guys have for this? I really have to use some sort of chinstrap or something when I use a nasal or pillows mask.

Maybe a couple of fish hooks and a rubber band?
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#2
RE: Some nights are great, and some.... well, could be better.
(04-12-2014, 06:25 PM)retired_guy Wrote: The question becomes, short of "tapeing" which I do not believe in, what ideas, suggestions, cures do you guys have for this? I really have to use some sort of chinstrap or something when I use a nasal or pillows mask.

Maybe try another style of chip strap?

If I were looking for a chin strap I would favor one which (as much as possible) pulls my chip up toward the top of my head, rather than one which to any significant degree pulls the chin back toward the back of my head (which would shift my jaw and make my obstructive apneas worse).

I don't have much experience with chin straps. I can't breath well through my nose, so I use a Full Face Mask.
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#3
RE: Some nights are great, and some.... well, could be better.
Your chin strap may have cut off a blood vessel to/from the Parotid gland.
If the chin strap only works when tight, then perhaps your best choice is the FFM.

BTW -- only wives suggest taping our mouths.
BTW2 -- "fish hooks and a rubber band" -- sounds like an Oregon solution.
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#4
RE: Some nights are great, and some.... well, could be better.
Sorry you're having a rough time of it retired_guy. I also have trouble keeping my mouth shut except when my wife gives me that look. So, I'm using a ffm and a not-so-tight chin strap. The chin strap should not be so tight it makes your organs hurt. I think the chin strap is more of a reminder than an enforcer. Anyway between the ffm and the chin strap, I have achieved a bearable solution. Tape is not good...it makes me panic.
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#5
RE: Some nights are great, and some.... well, could be better.
Thanks guys. I'm going to revisit how I use the chinstrap tonight. Make sure it's a "reminder" as Jim says. Thinking about it this afternoon, I think the problem comes when I'm sleeping on my side. I sleep on my left side probably 60% of the time and on my back the rest of the time. I never sleep on my right side of course. Anyhow, I think the problem may be the chinstrap is pulling my jaw down and to the left when I'm asleep causing the consternation. So I need it to not do that. I'll work on it. Maybe I'll use one of the miserable cats as a counter-weight. Or put him under my chin as an extra pillow sort of thing.

But I'll keep my nifty ffm handy just in case.
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#6
RE: Some nights are great, and some.... well, could be better.
(04-12-2014, 08:27 PM)justMongo Wrote: Your chin strap may have cut off a blood vessel to/from the Parotid gland.
Very impressive justMongo. Who knew a tight chin strap could mess with so many functions. I had to look up Parotid to get any idea so I will share what I learned:

In addition to numerous small glands in the tongue, palate, lips, and cheeks, human beings have three pairs of major salivary glands that open into the mouth through well-developed ducts. The parotid salivary glands, the largest of the three, are located between the ear and ascending branch of the lower jaw. Each gland is enclosed in a tissue capsule and is composed of fat tissue and cells that secrete mainly serous fluids. Each gland’s major duct (Stensen’s duct) opens in the rear of the mouth cavity near the second upper molar. The second pair, the submaxillary glands, also called submandibular glands, are located along the side of the lower jawbone. The major duct of each (Wharton’s duct) opens into the floor of the mouth at the junction where the front of the tongue meets the mouth’s floor. A capsule of tissue also surrounds each of these glands, which give off mixed secretions mostly serous in nature. The third pair, the sublingual glands, are situated beneath the mucous membrane of the floor of the mouth, near the chin region. They are not covered by a capsule and are therefore more dispersed throughout the surrounding tissue. They have many ducts (Rivinus’s ducts) that empty near the junction of the tongue and the mouth’s floor; several unite to form Bartholin’s duct, the major duct of the sublingual gland, which empties into or near the submaxillary duct. These glands secrete a mixed fluid that is mainly mucus.

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#7
RE: Some nights are great, and some.... well, could be better.
I have taped, but I (hate to say it) dribble and it comes off. I am using the chin strap now, and it's pretty loose so try that? I actually prefer taping because I know I can breath through it if I need to, I don't make it tight, just a quick small strip across my mouth, now, if it would only stay on all night. The less "stuff" over my ears and chin the better I feel. I use cloth tape and it's very easy to breath so I don't panic there.
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#8
RE: Some nights are great, and some.... well, could be better.
Last night was a bit better. Still not back to where I belong, but I'll get there. I kept the chinstrap pretty loose. So loose that the leak numbers came up a bit too far. I think the problem is the regular chinstraps have a "pod" where your chin is supposed to go. If not careful, when you tighten it down the strap has a tendency to pull the jaw back rather than encourage it to stay in it's proper place. That creates stress on the somethings and others that end up resulting in a bad pain.

So a different design would be a good thing. I'll look around.

I still like the fish hook and rubber band thing. If I could only figure out how to get them out in the morning.
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