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New here, experiencing really dry mouth issues. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea back when my friends had even heard of it. Having my CPAP machine changed my life. I only wish I'd been diagnosed earlier. Any way I'm on my 2nd or third machine-they keep getting smaller, and I have tried various masks over the 20ish years. My original mask was the best fitting but it is no longer made :(. Glad I found this site.

Dry mouth is a med issue and can have effects beyond just annoying. I tried all the Biotene products and their mouth wash has helped a bit over time but I recently was tipped off to Xylimelts which are little lozenges you place next to your molars and against your cheeks at night. They disolve VERY slowly and last all night and have really made a huge difference with dry mouth in my case. I bought a pack at CVS pharmacy to try them and will end up buy via the internet as they are pricy but very effective. The initial pack I bought were mint flavored but the mint is faint and not obtrusive and I am hooked. First time since on PAP therapy I haven't had super dry mouth in the morning!

http://www.oracoat.com/products/xmdm

Xylimelts are a very interesting concept, glad you are receiving some help with the dry mouth Wiredgeorge.

I can now kiss my pretty young wife after removing my mask where before it took at least 10 minutes to get the lips working! A+ product+ Much more effective than Biotene toothpaste or mouthwash. They work decently but the Xylimelts last through the night and I haven't had them fully gone, even after 7 hours of sleep.

Hello! I'm just starting my treatment (8 days on CPAP, being switched to APAP now). I was looking up information on what to do when running into a treatment problem, and this seemed to be a very nice, helpful forum. Nice to meet you all.

Hi, folks. I've had sleep apnea for years, but didn't learn about it until this summer. I went to my doctor in February because I was down to two hours of sleep at a time. His usual course of healthcare is pills. I am now probably addicted to Ambien. I can't go to sleep without being on it. Then, I had an oxygen test where I wore a sensor clamped on my finger overnight until it came off, and they took a reading from that machine. Then I went for an overnight sleep study at the hospital. They discovered I was having 50.2 AHI. They put in motion the process of my getting a CPAP machine, which turned out to be an APAP machine - ResMed AirSense 10. I've been using it for two weeks.

Last Friday, they had me in for a second sleep study, wearing the full face mask this time. I won't find out the results of that until I see the sleep doctor at the end of September. My fear is that I take an Ambien to go to sleep, wait for it to start to work, go to bed, put my mask on and become sedated enough to fall asleep. At some time between an hour and a half and five hours, I take the mask off, but I have no memory of doing it. I'm not having any leak issues or a bad fit, there's this thing strapped on my face. At some point in my drug-induced state I take off the mask because it bothers me. At this point I know I have REM sleep, because I remember my dreams. So I get between 2 and 5 hours of use of the mask. My experience seems to be making me more tired; than I've ever been. I go to work and have to fight the urge to close my eyes all afternoon, or I know I'll fall asleep sitting at my desk. If if's so bad that I have to take a nap when I get home, I have to take half an Ambien, or I'll just lay there for an hour or more, not able to fall all the way asleep. I know the object is to be able to go to sleep without drugs, but I'm afraid I'm not there yet; I wonder if I will ever be there. This is also going to mess up my Ambien prescription because I'm going to run out of pills before I'm eligible to get more. That's going to be a problem.

Last night, I slept for 5 1/2 hours with the mask on, and two more without it, but I was still fighting sleep all day, and that was a good night for me so far. I can't properly articulate what I'm asking. I guess I want to know if it gets better. Another thing: when I started with the nasal pillows, I was aware that the incoming air was warm. With the full-face mask, it seems to be blowing cold air up my nose, which is making it harder to go to sleep- even though I have warming turned on. Does anyone have any words of encouragement? I would give just about anything not to be so tired all the time. I don't want to have to fight narcolepsy, too. I don't know, if I could get prescription amphetamine-type drugs I could see that helping me to stay awake. But it would also make me dependent on uppers and downers, and that's a road I don't want to have to travel on. I just need to be asleep at night, and awake during the day. I wonder if I'm ever going to get there... I'm sorry if I sound discoruaged, but I guess I am. Does it get better?

Hey there. Glad to have found this place. Hope to get some answers to my queries. I suspect I may have sleep apnea and hope to get it figured out. Thanks in advance for the help!

Hi Im kinda been lurking around the site reading the forums . Ive been diagnosed with sleep apnea and ive been useing a cpap machine for about 2.5 years ans the cpap therapy has help alot with my apnea .

Hi ,Norine here! I just got my CPPAC. 3 nights in and having a had time adjusting. Hard to get to sleep, waking up with mouth full of air, leaking mask, severe dry mouth ! My sleep quality is far worse!!! Please tell me this will improve

MBT7858 - Try looking through the many threads on the subjects you find you need info on. Lots of discussion. It will get better as you figure things out!

Hi there! I'm Vallery. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea in July 2016. Dr. says I quit breathing 63 times the night of my sleep study. I am starting to feel better already. So far so good on the cpap machine. I've actually been surprised at how easily I've adjusted to it. There have been a few nights when I could tell I didn't sleep as well. Glad to find this site!

Hi! My name is Janette. This is my first time visiting this website. I live in the Chicago area, and I'm 57 years old. I was diagnosed with mild to moderate sleep apnea at the end of July 2016, and started CPAP Therapy on August 8, 2016. I use the nose pillows, and it took me only two days to get used to using the machine. This is the reason why I'm doing the therapy: On May 15, 2016, I woke up to a little blurry vision on the corner of my right eye. It took twelve days to lose my vision on my right eye. The worst part? It occurred during the week of my 25th Wedding Anniversary. I was diagnosed with "Ischemic Optic Neuropathy", also known as a stroke on the optic nerve. After all the tests that they performed in the hospital came back negative, it was suggested that I get a sleep study done. Guess what??? The results came back positive for sleep apnea. I stopped breathing 13 times each hour for a period of three hours. I do believe that my condition caused my eye stroke. I'll do anything in my power to save and protect my good eye. Last night, I had my follow-up appointment. The therapy is working. The report showed an average .2 in a period of six weeks - that is, I stopped breathing .2 times per hour using the CPAP machine, as opposed to 13 times each hour without the machine. The doctor didn't want to change anything. Is there anyone else that has experienced an eye stroke caused by sleep apnea? It was very devastating for me. My vision won't come back because the optic nerve was damaged. Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to share my story.

Hello. I've snored really loud for the past 10 years, and finally decided to request a sleep study. I was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea two weeks ago, and have been on the therapy for a week now. Slowly getting used to being on this.

Hi and I'm glad I found this site. I was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea in March of this year. My symptoms have been going on for around 15 years and I got progressively worse over time. My initial symptoms started with moodiness, irritability, and crying spells. Of course I was diagnosed with depression. I was in my mid thirties and a new mom. I knew I wasn't depressed and my search for a diagnosis began. Over the years I saw 12 doctors and not one ever brought up sleep apnea. I was sent from one doctor to another and no one could see the whole picture. I finally decided to go see a neurologist who specialized in sleep studies on my own and bingo. My doctor told me my oxygen levels dipped into the mid 70s at night. I was started on the Resmed Airsense 10 about 7 months ago. I've taken baby steps. I guess at about 5 months in I really started noticing some improvements. I know I have a long way to go to get my health back but I'm so thankful for a diagnosis and this cpap machine.

Hi I'm Aimee I'm 47 and just had my 2nd night of cpap last night tuesday.

Hi Aimee! Welcome and self-educate. The medical profession is a lot more useful if you are armed with info about what is going on. Hope your therapy brings you some sound sleep and alert days!

AnnR, I was in the same boat as you as far as low O2 levels. I am not sure if I was more irritable back before therapy as I am still a big ol' grump if you ask my missus. The therapy really did help the brain fog and nodding off during the day. Therapy is one challenge after another and seeking help from the right sources (such as this forum) and your doc and self-educating helps jump the hurdles as they come up. I went almost a year and my jaw started to go slack at night and the bottom of the mask would end up in my mouth... talk about mask leaks! I am still working on getting this issue 100 percent tamed but I am sure it can be done. Anyway, therapy isn't like setting a broken bone... more like a board game... 3 steps forward, 1 step back kind of deal. Good luck!

Hi I was first diagnosed with severe sleep apnea back in 09 and again this year. I used a ResMed Escape II for about 2 years and then had a sinus infection so I stopped and then I lost weight so I felt I was sleeping well enough. During the next 5 yrs, I went thru menopause, gained my weight back, and had to change my insurance. So this year I wanted to start using my old CPAP but had a hard time finding a supplier here that used my insurance, and I doubted my first study. My Dr. agreed we should do another sleep study since it was more accurate today. I had my sleep study a few months ago and just this last week got a new Dream Station Auto CPAP with Respironics. I am not doing as well this time. I feel the c-flex is too low and find myself wanting to gasp for air, so that needs to be adjusted at my check up next week. But I also feel dead tired when I wake. I sleep thru my snooze button and find it hard to wake up at 6AM. I do wake fine around 3AM and then find it hard to want to continue wearing the mask. I have to use it 4 hours min. for the insurance to pay for it. I hope the morning tiredness is temporary. So that's my story. Thanks. I am glad to find this site.

Welcome Natalie! The issue may not be the machine/pressure setting but may also be the mask. I CAN NOT wear a nasal mask like the Wisp as the exhale holes are insufficient and I feel like I can't breathe with my Bipap machine on OR off. The mask also gets filled with moisture where my full face masks do not share this issue. I only mention this because you didn't mention mask type or pressure setting(s). Good luck and let us know how the sleep doc visit goes!

Hello fellow cpap users. I'm Al, found you all on Google, searching dry mouth cpap. Been using my machine for over 6 months now, can't immagine sleeping without it even though I want to shoot it with a shotgun, w/ birdshot! It's a love hate relationship, but I haven't felt this good in years. Was suffering with waking up with migrants for over 20 years, probably 2 to 3 a week. My wife a RN, kept telling me I needed a sleep study for 10 years, and I refused. She made appointment , I went, Dr. told me I was the worst case she ever saw. I was getting headaches because my brain was starving for oxygen. Dr. said if my wife did not make appointment I would not live long, was only a matter of time, my desaturation was bad. I stopped breathing over 100 times in an hour. Probably tried on a total of 10 different masks, its hard because pressure is so high. Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Happy Turkey Day!

Al, First, welcome aboard! Go up to the pulldown menu next to the search ICON and change your user name to something that better suits a human!

My story was bit similar to yours. My blood oxygen dropped into the low 70s when I quit breathing for long periods. I didn't believe there was anything wrong till my wife took a video with her phone of my breathing stopping and then me gasping for air; all while I was still asleep. The therapy fixed that. The pressure I got set up with is MAX 25/20 on a bipap with the 20 the exhale pressure to make the machine easier to live with.

Dry mouth is usually caused by air getting out your mouth. You will find your waster reservoir also dry in no time. The problem can be fixed so if the dry mouth is the main issue, just holler for help!