Sierra

You may want to try the tape only without the chin strap. My wife gets away with tape only. I have tried tape only but it does not seem to be enough for me. Also, because I use the P10 mask with the flimsy headgear I need the chin strap to keep the mask headgear in place.

No worries. The tape comes in white and blue, but not pink...

Is it a nasal mask, or a nasal pillow mask? The difference is that a nasal mask fits over your whole nose and seals against your face. The nasal pillow mask fits up against your nostrils and seals right at the nostrils. If it is the nasal pillow type try lift it away from your face to see if that helps. If it does then the straps may be too tight. The other possibility is that it is too small and is going too far into your nostrils.

If it is a nasal mask that goes over your whole nose then I am at a loss to explain how you could not breathe. You should be able to breathe whether the machine is on or off.

What is the brand and model of your mask? Did they do any kind of fit test with you? A nasal mask where you can't breath through your nose is a no-go. If the mask insert size does not fit your nose, or the mask straps are too tight the nasal pillow part can collapse and not let you breathe.

If you look at my post on mouth taping and in particular at the session times on my wife's chart you will see all of her naps. She goes in streaks with up to two weeks without, and then a week or so with a nap every day.

I would try the tape only first. My wife gets away with only the tape and no chin strap.

I frequently comment on what benefit there can be to mouth taping while using a nasal or nasal pillow mask. It think it is a very good alternative to switching to a full face mask. While a full face mask solves the air leakage from the mouth, it often encourages mouth breathing in the mask which can lead to a dry or sore throat.

My wife finally agreed to try the mouth taping as she was having major leaks and sore throat issues with her nasal pillow mask. That was about 6 weeks ago. In looking at her Overview page in SleepyHead, I noticed what sure looked like a significant reduction in her frequency of obstructive apnea. She started mouth taping on November 14, and there is a quite obvious reduction in the light blue portion of the AHI stacked bar chart, which is the obstructive part. Here is a screenshot:

I took a look at the underlying numbers for the last 6 weeks and compared them to the previous 6 weeks without mouth taping. The AHI has been reduced by more than 50%, and the obstructive apnea has been reduced by about 75%. It has made a big difference in obstructive apnea frequency. Hypopnea and central apnea are unchanged. One person does not make a study, but there sure seems to be some benefit to the mouth taping. Her machine settings have not been changed for months, so that is not a factor.

In any case if you are interested here is a link to the video by the dentist that finally convinced her to try it.

Mouth Taping for a Better Sleep

Yes, apnea and CPAP therapy are just a piece in a larger puzzle. I have had no major life transformation going from an AHI of 37 at diagnosis to my now fairly normal AHI of 2 or so. But, I had no problem sleeping with the AHI of 37. My main motivation for using it is to avoid the oxygen desaturation events and any effect that may be having on my long term health. And my snoring was annoying my wife, so elimination of snoring has a benefit too. On the other hand my wife who was diagnosed in the 80 range and now averages 1, it has been a major help. She still struggles with sleep issues to some degree, but I believe it is all of her own doing. She refuses to give up on the necessity for an afternoon nap, and that I believe is the main reason for her not being able to sleep through the night.

But, as far as it curing everything that ails you, no it is not that. When I was diagnosed with sleep apnea the sleep technician tried to tell me it would cure my diabetes. Of course that is ridiculous CPAP sales talk. I never took much of what she said seriously after she made that statement. I knew I was on my own for my CPAP support.

I don't use a DreamStation, but the link below is to the technical manual for the machine. From what I can see in the manual (page 4-5, 4-6), there are two kinds of hoses. The heated hose appears to have tabs on each side of the hose at the point where you make the connection to the machine. To remove the hose you have to squeeze the tabs in and then pull the hose off. That said your new hose sounds like it is a standard unheated hose. It should just slide over the connection and does not have tabs - just a friction fit.

DreamStation Technical Manual

This is a good manual to save as a PDF for future reference.

I would certainly agree that a CPAP does not cure the cause of obstructive sleep apnea. And, it is not a perpetual life machine and we are all going to die, the last time I checked. However, it can certainly do a good job of controlling the adverse effects of apnea. As a diabetic, I kind of see it like using insulin. Insulin does not cure diabetes, but it certainly does a good job of avoiding many of the adverse effects of diabetes. The only real serious issues that I am aware of that CPAP can cause is central apnea. In some people, the pressure used to treat obstructive apnea can increase central apnea. There are other solutions for that, but probably not with a basic CPAP or BiPAP.