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Permalink Reply by Gordon Osmond on July 15, 2010 at 1:43pm

I have an allied problem. I have Sjogrens syndrome. I have dry nose, mouth, skin, eyes and even dry innards. There is no cure of course. If I were you I would avoid anything that has a diuretic component. If you are taking a blood pressure medication, I would ask my GP if there was a diuretic component. Best of luck.

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Permalink Reply by Banyon on July 15, 2010 at 1:46pm

Mary, You got it right. However, I am with the others that say Chris is mouthbreathing with a nasal mask and that is a big No-No!!!

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Permalink Reply by Kathleen on July 15, 2010 at 4:51pm

Chris, please keep regular contact with your dentist! I found out the hard way that dry mouth is the culprit for getting gumline cavities. Mine exacerbated with medications that each cause dry mouth.

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Permalink Reply by Robert Woods Mann on July 15, 2010 at 10:02pm

William Mann said:

(1) Biotene also makes chewing gum that stimulates salivation. (I don't use it at night.)

(2) If involuntary mouth breathing while wearing a nasal mask is an issue, you might try putting a small piece of paper surgical tape over one side of your mouth, as I do. This gently reminds you not to open your mouth when you are asleep, but it does not prevent you from opening your mouth if you need to for some reason. (I found that a heavy cloth surgical tape can tear the skin on your lips when you remove it in the morning.)

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Permalink Reply by Dan Tache on July 19, 2010 at 11:26pm

I'll throw my hat in the ring and take a swing at this question: it might imply that you are breathing through your mouth and not your nose. If so, it could also mean that you CANNOT BREATHE EASILY through your nose; this may be the case if you have some nasal resistance to breathing through your nose. This could be because of allergies, infection, collapsible nasal opening, enlarged turbinates, deviated septum. If you have been told to see an ENT about your nose by your sleep physician, take that recommendation to heart.
It may also mean that you are having a lot of leaks so you are having apenic events despite wearing the CPAP...THIS IS VERY VERY COMMON. You may want to see if your CPAP is working well by taking it or the smartcard in your CPAP to where you got the maching and have the data downloaded and analyzed.
Be careful not to drink alcohol before bed because it adds significantly to airway muscle instability and you may have more profound apenic events due to increased collapsibility; if you do not have a self-adjusting CPAP, called an AutoPAP or A-PAP, the pre-set pressure of your CPAP could be insufficient to pneumatically splint your airway open, IF you had a drink or two too close to bedtime (appx. 3 hours, unless really drinking excessively). The only other things that come to mind are that you have a defective mask or if you have put on some weight, the CPAP may not be sufficiently reducing your apnea. I'll end with this: a dry mouth often means you are having apenic events which CAN happen even if you are faithfully using your CPAP!
Hope these thoughts help.
Dan Tache, DMD
Diplomate, American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine

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Permalink Reply by Kathleen on July 20, 2010 at 12:07am

Dan Tache said:

I'll end with this: a dry mouth often means you are having apenic events which CAN happen even if you are faithfully using your CPAP!
Hope these thoughts help.
Dan Tache, DMD
Diplomate, American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine

Thank you, Doctor

Did you mean 'having apenic events' due to mask leaks, or without leaks?
I believe it's possible to have events w/o leaks. I also think there is something similar going on during the day (with me), while awake. I frequently catch myself holding my breath, which goes unnoticed until I realize I'm taking a deep or gasping breath. I also take shallow breaths. I do not know the cause of these events; can I 'retrain' myself at all?

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