I have been diagnosed with mild to severe OSA (38 incidents/hour in my study).  I have been on the CPAP for a little more than a week.  After several days, I had to change from the Fisher & Pakel 470 to the Opus 360 (nose pillows) due to the horrific oozing wound forming on the bridge of my nose.  I am two nights into the new mask, and am becoming fairly comfortable with it (not too tight, no real leaks).  I am a mouth breather, so I really have to concentrate on keeping my mouth shut and breathing through my nose.  Listening to my breathing makes it difficult to fall asleep, and I assume I am opening my mouth at times during the night, which may be what wakes me up.  I am waking up at roughly the same intervals I used to wake up before starting on the CPAP (pretty close to once an hour).

Any thoughts as to what is causing this?  Is it just a matter of relaxing and getting used to the equipment?  

The pressure on my CPAP is 8 cm.

One more question, I am using a loaner M Series right now, but I think I am going to buy the de Vibliss IntelliPAP Standard CPAP with the heater/humidifier.  Based on the reviews the machine is relatively small and very quiet.  Any thoughts on that unit?

Thanks for all of your help and support.

Cody...I will let others comment on the majority of your post.  I just wanted to clarify the levels of SA.  5 AHI to 15 AHI is mild.  15 to 30 is moderate and 38 is severe.  Your SA is severe...though on the mild/lower side of severe.

If you are a mouth breather then a nasal mask will not do the trick.  You can try a chin strap or taping your mouth shut but that does not always work.  It usually only works for nose breathers who once in awhile in the night opens their mouth slightly.

Best of luck!


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I am A ZOMBIE! 20 years+ undx'd. BiPAP Auto M 14/9. Nasal Swift&F&P Flex Fit 431 Full Face. RLS/PLMD, Primary CNS Hypersomnia, Sleep Paralysis, Parasomnia, Degenerative Disc Disease, Clinical MS, Fibromyalgia, COPD plus other past dx's..what's next?

Of course, "mild" was a typo.  I meant to say that I am on the low end of severe.

On the mask issue, I had to switch from the nasal mask due to the nose bridge problem.  Do you (or others) know if I will be able to train myself not to breathe through my mouth, or is this something that I am always going to be fighting?
Would this explain my waking up frequently during the night?

Cody,

My husband has been using the nasal pillows ever since he began treatment (approximately ten years ago) and he was predominantly a "mouth breather".  He used a chin strap for the first month or so and then "learned" not to open his mouth anymore.  So it's possible if you try a chin strap for a while, you'll eventually "learn" to breath through your nose.  The "mouth breathing" may be waking you up since the air pressure comes out of your mouth and you can't really breathe that way on a CPAP.  I hope this helps.  Good luck!

Donna

Cody,

One more thing...

My husband and I keep a floor fan running all year long (you have to turn it around backwards in the winter), but it helps damper the sound of your machine and your breathing.  'Hope this helps.

Donna

I cannot vouch for the effectiveness or quality of hybrid masks as I've never tried them (or one like it) but perhaps one of those could potentially help solve your problem?  They cover your mouth and have nasal pillows.

I've been a mouth breather my entire life due to allergies. (43yrs)  It took some time, but after a while I eventually relearned to sleep with my mouth closed. I meditated by focusing on breathing in and out of my nose with deep breaths every night before I went to sleep. At first, when I woke up in the morning I noticed "dried drool". but after a couple of months, that reduced significantly.  Hope this helps..

Thanks for the advice and encouragement.  I will keep an eye out for the dried drool.

I decided to go with the Fisher & Paykel Opus 360 nasal pillows, which I am becoming very comfortable with after about a week.  I bought a chinstrap, but have not started using it yet, as it seems like one more thing to keep me from sleeping.  I'm hopeful that I can follow XXStar and train myself to breath through my nose.  If not, I'll strap on the strap and see if that helps.

By the way, love my new deVibliss IntelliPAP machine.  Unbelievably quiet.

I wish you all the best! Relaxation was the key for me, and welcoming a machine that would improve my quality of life.

When I first started using the cpap last year, I was so happy and excited regardless of the contraption I had to get use to. during the sleep study, I woke up and felt a difference just from that minor useage. I avg 89 apneas per hour, and my oxygen dropped to lower 70's without the cpap.  When I woke up after using the cpap that morning, I felt better that fast. I guess it was just the best restful sleep I had in a very long time.

I am using nasal pillows.  I have only been at it less than a week.  It's odd - the first couple of nights went fairly well.  The past couple have not.  Last night, I noticed that the pressure which forms inside of the mouth was forcing my mouth to pop open after a period of several minutes or so.  With the pressure relieved, my mouth would stay shut until the pressure began to build again, and the process would repeat itself.

Also, I am now removing the device in my sleep, which did not happen the first two or three nights.  Also, I am waking up at least every two hours, sometimes more often than that.

I am going to explore a nasal mask as soon as possible.  I thought the pillows were what I wanted - now I'm not so sure.

Pdmike:  you and I are on the same track with the same issues. I just started last night with a chin strap. We'll see if that helps.  I much prefer the nasal pillows to the mask. I can sleep on my side more easily and they don't leave the nasty sore on the bridge of my nose.  I am also hoping that the previous post about training yourself to keep your mouth closed will work for both of us.  

We shall see.

Good luck.

Cody - The reason I went with the pillows was that, during my sleep study, the gal stuck the nasal mask over my nose and I felt like I was being water boarded.  I suspect, she didn't have the unit set properly when she did it, but I didn't know that at the time.  The nasal pillows seemed better to me, so I went with them in the sleep study.

When I went to get fitted, I told the guy I didn't even want to try any of the masks because I remembered how unpleasant the nasal mask had been for me during the sleep study.  So I walked out with the nasal pillows and that's what I have been using for the past 5 days.

Tomorrow, I am going to phone for another appointment at the fitting center, so I can try the nasal mask one more time, hopefully with proper settings.  A pal of mine uses the mask and can't understand why I didn't like it.

Sorry about the sore on your nose.  That's a bummer and a whole different issue.  I can see why you couldn't use a nasal mask with that type of problem.

I'll keep in touch.  You do the same.