BrainsNeedSleep

you might check the humidification level, it might be set too high? My machine also weirdly ran out of water too soon and I woke with dry mouth, but when I dropped the humid. level it got a little better. Now to address the mouth breathing...

@DanM has offered a solution to that issue, but I'd like to add that you should check your sleep study -- if you have nothing but obstructive events that device may well be hugely helpful for you. If, however, you have a mix of centrals and obstructions, it may well NOT be so useful. Be certain to get it checked and make sure your events are all being addressed. Good luck!

My understanding is that when the machine is registering HIGH LEAKS that it is UNABLE to accurately record events. For a while I believed I was doing better with the "lower pressure" I was receiving with the leaks, but quickly was corrected on that point. HIGH MASK LEAKS MEAN LIKELY INACCURATE EVENT RECORDING! Do you have SleepyHead software? Can you see your own breathing waveform? I wonder if that would help you tell...

Some machines actually have pollen filters as well as the foam "large particle" filters. I found I slept better when I obtained the pollen filter and installed it as well. My dog sleeps in the room with me -- this PAP air is the cleanest I breathe all day.

I'm laughing....I have a collection of hoses and am wondering what sort of art project I can do with them. Part of the reason, I think, for the replacements is getting reimbursed for them; but hoses can develop small cracks and leak pressured air, and if they aren't cleaned well and regularly, those little corrugations I think can harbor tiny nasties -- which can in turn inflame your airways, even a little, and that might be enough to contribute to events. At least that's what I have gathered thus far. You CAN decline to have things replaced so often.

It makes some people feel better immediately, and it takes longer in others -- so be patient but persistent. come back with questions!

Yikes! Mike, open to a discussion? Could use a wee bit more information from you to respond effectively: first, what kind of machine are you using -- CPAP, APAP, bi-level? Second, what KIND of apneas are you diagnosed as having? Is it a mix of centrals and obstructives, or only 100% obstructives of one sort or another? This can make a HUGE difference in what treatment will work for you. I'll check back here and see if you reply.

Dan, again that seems counterintuitive. Can you elaborate? Would that be a good "learn" topic? Thanks.

The fact that it takes so long to (a) get properly diagnosed, (b) properly set up with pressure, mask,, etc, and (c) figure out all the small things that make a huge difference is IMO outrageous, especially for something so incredibly fundamental to our health as sleep. It took from 2008 to 2015 for me just to get the right treatment, and now I am, finally, seeing significant and sustained improvement. The intervening years were a nightmare. If you are NOT feeling better after all this time, (and I see you posed 9 months ago, you may be long gone by now, sorry) you need a new sleep doctor or you need to find others with the issue and learn from them. I have my fingers crossed you haven't just thrown out the mask and machine and are now somewhere on the planet feeling lousy.

I was reading someone else's post about aerophagia, and I started wondering. If we have a hemi-hurricane blowing up our noses/in our mouths at night, and we have an obstruction of any sort, is that when we get air in our stomachs instead? There are only three places for air to go with a PAP mask: (1) leak out of the mask, (2) go in the trachea and the lungs, where it's supposed to go, and (3) down the esophagus and into the stomach. IS the place in the throat that tends to collapse in an obstruction somewhere that would redirect the air? If NOT, then WHY do we get air in our stomachs, and what can we do to prevent it? (My guess: chin straps, not a good option for a claustrophobic) And what can we do to ameliorate it?