08-10-2022, 12:28 PM
Mouth Leaks and Frequent Awakenings
Hey all, hoping someone has had this same experience and can offer some advice. I’ve been using the N30i mask for a couple months and love it. I fall asleep very quickly and feel very comfortable wearing it. Very early on I realized mouth leaks were waking me up and making my mouth bone dry so I began taping my mouth which works great, but I’m still waking up throughout the night and feel tired and unrefreshed all day. For a little bit of background info: I'm an otherwise healthy 37 male, 5'-10", 190 lbs, moderately active/go to the gym 4-5 days per week, no problem falling asleep, all of my lab work is great, blood pressure is healthy, normal ECG except for sinus bradycardia, no medications.
I’ve tuned my machine settings pretty well and therapy overall is going great according to the most recent data. Using CPAP mode at 8cmh2o with EPR at 1 seems to provide me with a good balance of keeping both CAs and flow limits low while treating pretty much all other apneas. Most CAs I get are while I’m awake in the middle of the night when I take slow breaths. I will feel the pressure pulse from the machine and know it’s flagging it as a CA.
I believe (could be wrong though) that I’ve narrowed down the awakenings to air leaking into my mouth and puffing out my cheeks. I don’t have any unusual nasal congestion that would force my body to try and mouth breathe. I breathe with my nose all day and have no problem sealing my tongue against the back of my throat when I’m conscious but I think it relaxes and breaks that seal once I fall asleep. I notice this happen sometimes as I fall back and forth between awake and N1 sleep very early in the morning. Is there any kind of dental device made to keep the tongue pressed back there? Has anyone else dealt with this, and how did you solve it? Any other suggestions you have that could be causing me to wake up? My sleep doctor doesn't have any ideas to help me. Thanks in advance for your help!
I’ve tuned my machine settings pretty well and therapy overall is going great according to the most recent data. Using CPAP mode at 8cmh2o with EPR at 1 seems to provide me with a good balance of keeping both CAs and flow limits low while treating pretty much all other apneas. Most CAs I get are while I’m awake in the middle of the night when I take slow breaths. I will feel the pressure pulse from the machine and know it’s flagging it as a CA.
I believe (could be wrong though) that I’ve narrowed down the awakenings to air leaking into my mouth and puffing out my cheeks. I don’t have any unusual nasal congestion that would force my body to try and mouth breathe. I breathe with my nose all day and have no problem sealing my tongue against the back of my throat when I’m conscious but I think it relaxes and breaks that seal once I fall asleep. I notice this happen sometimes as I fall back and forth between awake and N1 sleep very early in the morning. Is there any kind of dental device made to keep the tongue pressed back there? Has anyone else dealt with this, and how did you solve it? Any other suggestions you have that could be causing me to wake up? My sleep doctor doesn't have any ideas to help me. Thanks in advance for your help!
