I had my titration last night and it went very well.  I used a nasal mask, and did not like the feeling that I could not open my mouth to cough or clear my throat.  I wound up kinda cleaching my jaw, as when I opened my mouth felt like a ballon leaking air.  Would I do better with a full face mask, or did I misunderstand mouth breathing?  Thanks

Cindy,

You can open your mouth to cough and clear your throat.  You simply don't want to be breathing through your mouth when you are sleeping because then you are bypassing the usefulness of your CPAP.  It is fine to do it momentarily to cough, etc.

Vicki


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

Thanks for your reply.  Don't you breath thru your mouth with the full mask? I'm a little confused.  Do most people like the full or nasal mask?

Hi Cindy,

It take awhile to get all of this fangled new stuff straight.  A full face (FF) mask is used for two purposes:

1.  People who open their mouth and try unsuccessfully to breath (more than just to cough, clear throat, etc.) when they are sleeping (like me).  With a nasal mask I would start snoring and had a dry mouth, a clear indication I was opening my mouth and defeating the purpose of my CPAP.

2.  People whose nose is physically and structurally so messed up they can't breath through it night or day (we are not talking about mucus type congestion, there are ways around that usually).

Post again if you need!!

Vicki


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

Quote:

Thanks for your reply.  Don't you breath thru your mouth with the full mask? I'm a little confused.  Do most people like the full or nasal mask?

Hi Cindy,

Yes, you can breathe through your mouth or your nose when using a full face mask.  That kind of mask covers just the mouth and nose, allowing you to get treatment by breathing either way - through your mouth or through your nose.

If you don't have nasal congestion that completely prevents you from breathing through at least one nostril all night, you might want to do a Search on the message boards for the word TAPE.

I tape my lips shut with adhesive tape every night so that I can use whatever mask is most comfortable for me to wear.  If I didn't do that, I'd have to use a full face mask every night.  A chin strap does nothing to prevent mouth air leaks for me, as the air can puff out from between closed lips even with jaw clenched tight shut.

I prefer nasal pillows interfaces rather than a nasal mask or a FF mask.  Nasal pillows, if the headgear and the pillows fit well, are generally less apt to leak air from the mask, imho.  Less obtrusive on the face too.  Some good nasal pillows interfaces are the Breeze, the Swift, and my personal favorite..the "Headrest" by Aeiomed.  That last one used to be called the "Aura."

When I do wear a nasal mask (covers the nose) just for a change, I use the ResMed Activa...seals so well with straps very loose.   It's nice to have at least two comfortable masks, different styles, to switch to on an occasional night when one mask, no matter how good it is, gets tiresome to wear.  Also keeps any one mask from pressing on the same places of your face every night, night after night.

My FF mask is the ResMed Ultra Mirage FF...another one that seals very well without having to crank the straps down very tight.

The Activa nasal mask comes only in "Shallow", "Standard", and "Large".   I'd suggest a "Shallow" for most women.  

With the Ultra Mirage FF (which comes in more sizes) I'd suggest "Small Shallow" ("small" is the cushion size, "shallow" is the cushion shape) for most women.  Even if you wear a medium in other brands of masks, I've found that the ResMed Ultra Mirage FF shallow is very roomy, and its "small" seems to fit a little bigger than "small" in, say, a Respironics FF mask.

Oh right, thanks Rested Gal, I'm a little sleep deprived.  Yes Cindy, she is right, a FF mask is so you can breath through your mouth when you are sleeping.

Vicki


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