I'm new to all of this, having received my equipment a whopping 2 days ago.  Several of you answered my many questions and got me pointed in the right direction (thanks ChronieToo especially).  I'm on BiPAP at 15 over 11 pressure, and using a Resmed VPAP Auto, with Resmed Quattro Full Face mask, currently halfway through night two.  I'm waking up with an extremely dry mouth.

I just woke up after about 3.5 hrs of sleep and my mouth was so dry that I couldn't put my lips around the straw in my water glass on my bedside table.  I've got the humidifier cranked up to the max and have gone through almost half of the tank of water on it.  After the first night the bridge of my nose  is red and sore.  A coworker recommended some cloth first aid type tape.  Tonight I tried to adjust the mask so that the weight of it wouldn't rest on my nose and that just made sealing it a worse pain.

My biggest complaint is the dryness.  The DME people had their secretary call to followup and I complained of dryness and she tried to sell me a tube wrap.  Last night I made a point of running the tube behind my pillow to insulate it.  It was no better. The tube was dry, no condensation in it.  I also made a point to drink lots of water yesterday evening as well.

My second is the mask.  I'm a mouth breather which complicates things too.  

Any advice?

--Matt

No advice on this?

I switched to a Hybrid mask.  Only one night on it so far and none better.  The DME folks say a tube wrap will help but I'm seeing NO condensation anywhere in the tube.  What do you think?

--MAtt

Made my own tube wrap out of an old towel and that doesn't help.  I'm desperate for any solution to this problem so if anyone has an answer PLEASE post.  Is this sort of dryness typical and something I'm just going to have to deal with?  If so, is it going to mess up my teeth and gums?  I was told once by a dentist that my gums were receding because of drying out at night adn that was WAY more minor than what's happening nightly now...

--Matt

I am sorry your having this problem.  I don't have any experience with this issue but noticed your not alone with your problem and there are some pretty good "alternatives" on this form if you don't mind doing some searching.  Good luck.


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Machine: Respironics Series M Auto CPAP with C-Flex and heated humidifier
Mask: Ultra Mirage Full Face

It sounds like you had a dry mouth problem before starting cpap.  Are you taking any meds that might dry out your mouth?  It's important to keep the leaks as low as possible.  I'm not sure , but you should be able to access the data from your machine. Just hold down the left and right buttons down a few seconds until the effieciency data appears. Then you just scroll with the down arrow key,  this will tell you your leak rate, ahi, ext.  Your leak rate should be lower than .40s. Some doctors don't enable the data for you, so you might have to ask them to do that for you.  If you have dry mouth, getting it as close to zero as you can will help.  I take dilantin before bedtime, which sedates me, so I don't wake up from the leaks. I use the quattro ff also, and have to retro fit it with macks silicone ear plugs to keep the leaks down.  Good luck  , Virginia


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Resmed elite , 17, mirage quattro ff . 25 + years of untreated OSA

I have had a similar problem with dry mouth. I usually breathe through my nose but I have found that I get congested due to the dryness of the air through my CPAP’s humidifier (set at maximum). At that point I begin breathing thru my mouth & dry up very quickly. I am also new to all this Apnea stuff and am still struggling to get the leaks under control. I am sure the leakage is at least part of the reason the humidifier is going dry and I snatch that mask off in the middle of the night feeling like I am suffocating. I now have a small plant water can with a long spout that I use to recharge the humidifier. I'm awake anyway so I figure I might as well do something. The next challenge is getting the leaks under control. Could your difficulty be at least partially due to mask leakage?


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Machine: ResMed S8 Elite
Humidifier: HumidAire 3i

It could be a problem with mask leakage.  It's usually at .60  (or has been the last couple of times I checked).  I now have a Resmed Hybrid mask.  Not much better than the full faced but a little (at least the bridge of my nose isn't sore.  I did have a problem with dry mouth before CPAP due to sleeping with my mouth open, but not nearly as bad and I am on no meds.  

Could leaks really be causing this?  I have a goatee that I'd rather not shave. I've had it for over 10 years. I keep it trimmed pretty close.  I'm willing to try it though if I have to...

--Matt

Matt, I don't see how leaks could be causing the dry mouth.  It seems to me that breathing through your mouth at a pressure of 15 is bound to cause a dry mouth.  My husband uses a full face mask and also breathes through his mouth a lot and he also complains of dry mouth but his pressure is only 8.  Heck, I get dry mouth when I sleep on my back and my mouth falls open, and I don't have OSA.  Is there any way that you can keep your mouth shut?  A different sleeping position, or a chin strap?  I can keep my mouth shut when I'm sleeping on my side because the pillow pushes on it.  Otherwise, no ideas.

Matt,
There is a medication called Evoxac that you might ask your doctor about. It is supposed to increase saliva.  I took it for a couple of days because my doctors thought it might help my dry eyes. It didn't do anything for my eyes, gave me a short term headache and seemed to wear off quickly. But it definitely did a nice job of increasing saliva. It was actually a pleasant feeling, not drooly or anything.  It might help you.  You can just take it at bedtime if you don't have a dry mouth problem during the day.
Grandma


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ResMed Quattro Full Face Mask
ResMed S8 Escape with heated humidifier
Pressure set at 11

Frances wrote:

Matt, I don't see how leaks could be causing the dry mouth.  It seems to me that breathing through your mouth at a pressure of 15 is bound to cause a dry mouth.  My husband uses a full face mask and also breathes through his mouth a lot and he also complains of dry mouth but his pressure is only 8.  Heck, I get dry mouth when I sleep on my back and my mouth falls open, and I don't have OSA.  Is there any way that you can keep your mouth shut?  A different sleeping position, or a chin strap?  I can keep my mouth shut when I'm sleeping on my side because the pillow pushes on it.  Otherwise, no ideas.

Unfortunately no. Ihave a small nose and can't breate through it very well. Felt like I was suffocating using the nasal mask alone.  The DME insists it's the leak.  They used ot insist that I buy a hose wrap until I made one using a towel and it didn't help...  I get the feeling they don't know/care about it.  Maybe I need to talk to someone else there.

--Matt

It's been my experience that people who fit us with machines and masks are quite unimpressed by the leaks.  I have shared this in the forum before but have to say that the respiratory therapist I have to work with told me to take a sleep aid such as Tylenol PM and drink a glass of wine so I won't notice the leaks. I do not understand this attitude because it seems to me that the leaks lower the pressure we are getting and therefore our airways are not staying open.  
Grandma


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ResMed Quattro Full Face Mask
ResMed S8 Escape with heated humidifier
Pressure set at 11

What a terrible suggestion.  It is known that taking any type of sedative increases the change of apneas.  Of course, we have the machines to help us, but anything we can do to decrease them seems like the right thing to do ...  interesting is all I can say.

I honestly have to wonder just how well these humidifers for CPAP machines really work.  In fact, I think I'm going to start a poll in another thread.

Mundele,

I wish I could help you, but I use a FF mask and no humidifier and I never have a dry mouth.  I keep myself very hydrated though.  Do you drink a lot of liquids?

Vicki


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That which does not kill you makes you stronger-Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich must of had apnea.

Vicki wrote:

Mundele,

I wish I could help you, but I use a FF mask and no humidifier and I never have a dry mouth.  I keep myself very hydrated though.  Do you drink a lot of liquids?

Vicki

Yes I do try to drink a lot of liquids.  Maybe if I drank even more and had to get up to go pee all night I'd have plenty of opportunities to top off the humidifier tank.