Dry mouth with Trilogy

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gooseberry

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My husband has been waking up with an extremely dry mouth. His air volume settings on his Trilogy have not been changed. His humidifier is working and more water is being used out of it each day as I have turned it up. Any suggestions? Thanks! Steph
 
we turned down the humidifier because turning it up just made more condensation. we have our s at 2 I think. there are also over the counter mouth sprays you could perhaps put in his mouth as well. also, check his water intake--he may need to hydrate more from the inside out.
 
I wake up with my cheeks stuck to my teeth, mouth totally dry, I would be interested in a spray.

Janie
 
Re sprays, Spry is one of the ones we used. I think Biotene makes one. There is a right flavor/formula for you but people differ. Check the dry mouth section at the drug store or on line.

Larry also sucked on a pectin lozenge at bed time and when he woke up. Obviously, don't try this if you will choke when you fall asleep. He wasn't built that way.
 
Tom keeps Biotene next to the bed, also gets up to "swish" water in his mouth over the sink. He's pretty much given up on the bedtime Trilogy. Even with the humidifier, dry mouth drives him crazy. He's only using the Trilogy during the day now,while sitting up watching TV. It worries me, his breathing is not good. But I can't force him. :-/
 
Janie - that Biotene is in a spray. On a side note, I find it ironic that Tom has such dry mouth at night, but during the day he is plagued so bad with excess saliva that he gets Botox shots once a month and constantly uses his suction machine. ALS is not only awful, it is weird.
 
EC, if dryness is keeping Tom from using the Trilogy at night, that's a big problem that will only get worse.

We never had a Trilogy, but if you have really tried everything, including all the humidifier settings since higher is not always more comfortable, I would buy a used BiPAP with better humidification (S9 with humidifier and ClimateLine tubing), or use inability to use at night as a rationale for getting an S9 ST-A prescribed. The S, Auto and ST models are all listed on secondwindcpap currently.
 
Igelb, I honestly think he uses dry mouth as his excuse for not using the Trilogy at night. I think the humidifier really helped him, but he just plain hates the mask and everything that goes with it. Thank you for your suggestions though. I realize that he is jeopardizing slower progression, but there are some things he is just plain stubborn about. When I suggest more Trilogy use, he brushes me off. When he has headaches in the morning and I tell him he needs to use the Trilogy because he has increased CO2 buildup, he brushes me off. Frustrating.
 
Even before you wrote, "he hates the mask," I was realizing I hadn't asked, "Have you tried a variety of nasal and full face masks, including my fave, the Circadiance Sleepweaver? (Cloth, not plastic; nasal but worked for a lifelong mouth breather...it's complicated.)

Seriously, you can order a mask w/ return insurance and try it! I don't even think of BiPAP as slowing progression as much as just overall quality of life.

Also, there is the different settings at night thing...
 
Is the Circadiance Sleepweaver usable for bipap/als? How about the nasal that just go in the nostrils-no mask at all?
 
we have a full face for night and a nasal for night. tried the nasal at night but his mouth kept falling open and omg the noise
 
Janie - that Biotene is in a spray.
Thanks, I will give it a try, I also have excessive saliva during the day but I would not be able to sleep without the trilogy.

Haven't been on the computer for a few days, stomach flu for Christmas!

Janie
 
>stomach flu for Christmas!

yuck -- just plain unfair! but 'fair' is a 4-letter word :) ...
 
Neil,
Yes, my husband used the Circadiance with ALS and BiPAPs. He also had pre-existing obstructive apnea from Marfan and had used a variety of CPAPs and masks before ALS, including the nasal prongs that you are referring to. With the right kind of nose, they might work -- try before you buy.
 
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