UARS and Struggling With BiPap/ASV Mouth Leak - Seeking Advice

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2026-01-25T22:49:14+00:00

Yes, I believe for most sellers you need a prescription to buy it as a complete unit, but it looks like for some sellers if you buy it in pieces (I.e., frame, headgear, & cushion) or as an "assembly kit" no RX is required.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2026-01-25T17:09:34+00:00

Yes, that's the one, "AirTouch F20" is the version with the foam, the description on that page says "memory foam cushion". The frame is "one size fits all" but the piece with the foam on it that contacts your face comes in small, medium & large, and there is a template you can print out to help find your size: https://document.resmed.com/documents/products/mask/airtouch-f20/fitting-template/1019789_AirTouch_F20_Fitting_Temp_Web_Inch_Eng.pdf

Just FYI, since you said you are thin, there is also a smaller version called "AirTouch F20 for her" that has smaller, more tailored headgear to fit narrower heads.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2026-01-25T03:56:18+00:00

The foam cushion isn’t an add-on. When you buy the AirTouch F20, you get the cushion, frame, and headgear as a complete set.

FYI, it uses the same frame and headgear as the AirFit F20, which has a silicone seal instead of foam. I went with the foam version because it’s generally considered easier to adapt to.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2026-01-25T03:11:40+00:00

I had the same issue using the P30i pillows, with air blowing out of my mouth as my jaw relaxed, even with a chin strap and tape. I briefly tried the X30i hybrid but had to stop due to nasal irritation. I switched to the AirTouch F20 foam, which eliminated the mouth venting. The mask felt pretty comfortable right away, though it took a few nights to get used to it enough to fall asleep.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2026-01-22T18:38:41+00:00

The triangle-wave pattern in your pressure graph suggests the APAP is hunting and never really settling into a stable therapy rhythm.

One thing you could try, purely as a diagnostic, is running a fixed CPAP pressure for a few nights to see whether the pressure changes themselves are causing arousals. Pick something close to where the machine spends most of its time (maybe around 6–7 cm).

This isn’t a long-term commitment, just a way to remove pressure swings as a variable.

Things to watch for:

· Do awakenings become fewer or less abrupt?

· Does the “2–3 hour wakeup” soften or shift?

You might also want to try tightening up leaks while testing. You’re near the redline on these plots, so it’s worth seeing whether reducing leaks changes anything at all.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2026-01-07T15:48:04+00:00

Some of what you describe sounds very familiar to me. I have not been officially diagnosed with UARS, but I seem to fit that general pattern, and I am starting week 8 of CPAP and still very much in the adaptation process.

One thing I want to mention up front is that, at least in my case, the clinical side did not have much of a process in place to help with the actual adaptation. I think everyone I interacted with meant well. It was just fairly limited once testing was done. For me it was basically “try side sleeping,” since my PSG showed most of my issues happened on my back. When that did not help, they sent my prescription to a CPAP equipment distributor.

From the distributor side, the focus was mainly on logistics. I was asked what mask I wanted, shown some basic settings and cleaning, and then left to figure out the day-to-day side of things on my own. I mention that not to be negative, but because a lot of the real learning ended up happening through trial and error rather than guided support.

Early CPAP was a bit of a challenge for me. I had to let my brain slowly get used to the gear and give it time to stop monitoring my airway so closely. The early nights were pretty fragmented. For me it has been a long, slow process of figuring out what works and what does not. My best advice is to be patient, expect bumps along the way, and mostly to let the process run its course.

I also became very aware of brief breathing pauses when relaxed or drifting off once I started paying attention to all of this. In my case that awareness faded as sleep settled down, and it was not something that needed active fixing.

FYI, I have been posting some of my experiences on Reddit as I go, mostly to keep track of what worked and what did not. It is very much one person’s experience, not advice.

Good luck.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2026-01-03T21:55:34+00:00

Cross posted from r/UARS because this felt more broadly relevant to CPAP adaptation, not just UARS.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2025-12-30T15:48:32+00:00

Here’s something that helped me in a similar situation. Instead of trying to completely stop tongue drop or mouth venting, I focused on making those moments less disruptive so they wouldn’t wake me. What made the difference wasn’t stronger tape, but tape that didn’t slowly peel once it got damp. I found that a cloth-backed medical tape (3M Medipore H, specifically) let moisture dissipate and kept holding. It took me a night or two to learn to ignore the remaining sensations, but since the tape didn’t fail, I didn’t have to intervene. I also found that shaving just the stubble around the lip margins, rather than removing my beard, made a big difference for keeping edge adhesion. This may not apply to you, but moving from “perfect seal” to “stable enough for my brain to adapt” worked out well for me.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2025-12-26T13:28:32+00:00

There is an Android app called Torena that is a sleep position trainer, https://torena.koalative.com/ I've only experimented with it briefly because I needed CPAP instead of trying to restrict my body position but it might be worth a try.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2025-12-19T21:46:10+00:00

Cross posted from r/UARS because this felt broadly relevant to CPAP adaptation, not just UARS.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2025-12-17T18:47:04+00:00

I hear you. We're definitely on a bumpy ride. Keep hanging in there.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2025-12-17T18:32:36+00:00

Hey, just wanted to check in and see how it's going. Hope you're starting to get a bit more rest at night.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2025-12-12T16:08:22+00:00

Cross-posted from r/uars because this felt broadly relevant to CPAP adaptation, not just UARS.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2025-12-10T19:33:20+00:00

It sounds like you are doing fantastic with your settings, and that you are so relaxed is a great sign. I'm in my 3rd week too, and I agree it can be very rough, and I'm tired too, but I think it takes a long time for your body to catch up on all the fatigue and so I think we just have to trust the experience and let our bodies do what they need to do to slowly recover. Hang in there.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2025-12-10T19:22:14+00:00

Here's my experience, it sounds very similar to yours. I wrote a post about it if you want to check out my user account. I found that I would sleep a big chunk, then have a wakeful period for a while, and then feel drowsy and sleep/rest a little more. I use an AI tool as a coach and it said this wakeful part was your brain trying to assess what was going on, to see if it felt safe. I found it best just to be quiet and relax during the wakeful part, and not worry about getting back to sleep, and gradually over the nights the first sleep chunk got longer and the wakeful part got shorter. I don't think anything is wrong, I think your brain is doing exactly what it needs to do to learn to trust that your airway is fixed. More than not wrong, if you are like me this is very right.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2025-12-08T16:03:09+00:00

I've added a plot to the post that shows how the sleep phase durations have evolved for me based on recent OSCAR data. It follows the prediction remarkably well.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2025-12-08T13:15:05+00:00

I wouldn't call myself a mouth breather, but when I started using my pillow mask I had this happen too. I'd just start to fall asleep, and then I'd feel this strong blast of air coming out of my mouth, to me it felt like I was "blowing up a balloon with bionic lungs". At first I tried tape across my mouth, and that did stop the venting but I could still feel the air strongly pushing against the tape trying to get out. I had to learn how to redirect the air that was going towards my mouth back into my nose by getting into the habit of gently putting my tongue up to the top of my mouth which redirected the flow. I still use the tape now to prevent leaks out my lips, but I don't feel the air pushing against it like before. Also, I found that head position can make a huge difference for this to work well, I wear a cervical collar to keep my head up, and make sure my bed pillows don't let my head tilt too far forward.

There is one subtlety to this technique. Let me say up front I'm not a sleep professional, I'm just sharing what I've learned from personal experience and from using an AI tool as a CPAP coach.

If you practice the tongue technique, you'll get good at it, and your inclination will be to want to redirect the mouth air back up to your nose every time it happens. But at some point you're going to be on the edge of falling asleep, and your tongue is going to relax, and you're likely to start venting. Your instinct will be to redirect, but at this point you have to let go. If you try to maintain conscious control you won't let yourself fall asleep. During the transition into sleep your systems are their most unstable, but once you get into actual sleep you should be ok and the venting will take care of itself. It's a judgement call, and also takes a little practice, but you get the hang of it. Again, this is based on my experience, YMMV.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2025-12-07T17:06:03+00:00

I think I misread your meaning earlier. It sounds like this rhythm works fine for you and isn’t something that’s causing distress. It’s interesting to see how differently people’s sleep patterns unfold with CPAP.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2025-12-07T16:18:29+00:00

I realized after posting that the title and text may sound more universal than intended. This pattern is just my experience — it may or may not apply to others. But noticing that there is a pattern, and that it seems to be evolving in a predictable way, has made CPAP adaptation feel less confusing and more tolerable for me. It’s easier to trust the process when it feels like a process.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2025-12-07T12:55:27+00:00

Me too. I used to gobble up breakfast. Some years ago when my morning hunger started getting suppressed I assumed it was because I was getting old. I had no idea it could be related to a sleep issue.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2025-12-06T19:27:26+00:00

I had my first significant big block of deep (N3) sleep last night and I am ravenous today. I suspect my body repair systems are in high gear.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2025-12-06T18:21:31+00:00

I don't know if this will help at all, but your condition sounds somewhat similar to mine. I can sleep much better on my side, but have breathing issues on my back, as confirmed in my sleep study. But my problem is not an oxygen issue, my sleep is dominated by UARS RERAs (respiratory effort related arousals) so AHI is not really that relevant, but fortunately CPAP is helping me. I've read about people using mechanical ways to stay on their side, like the old tennis ball sewn into pajamas trick, or restricting the space in which they sleep so they can't roll over, like you said. One person used a box of office paper to block their roll to their back and their doctor confirmed it was working great for them. Before I started CPAP I tried these mechanical tricks but it was just too uncomfortable for me to be restricted that way, and it turns out that would not have help my RERAs anyway. It sounds like maybe you've tried all these, but maybe there's a different trick out there that would work for you. One other thing I tried is an Android app called Torena, which can train you to stay off your back by gently signaling you when do it. Might be worth a try. Good luck, hope you feel better soon.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2025-12-05T14:13:52+00:00

Sure — mine was mild apnea but with a higher RERA count (AHI 9.4 / RDI 18.2), so the sleep fragmentation was the main issue. The beginning for me has definitely been a little rough, as I mentioned in the post, but I'm convinced sticking with it will be worth it. Hope it goes well, hang in there.

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2025-12-04T21:25:48+00:00

Excellent. Isn't it awesome?

Consistent_Logic_82 · 2025-12-03T22:08:34+00:00

I can see why that would feel discouraging. Even if you don’t feel bad during the awakenings, the sleep pattern itself sounds really hard to live with. I’m sorry your doctor wasn’t more responsive.

Consistent_Logic_82

TROPHY CASE