Diagnosis mild copd. Mouth breathing
Hi everyone. Diagnosised 6-8 months ago. Use trielogy daily. 2nd chest X-ray was good. I also have sleep apnea and had septoplasty about 2 months ago. I still notice I breath a lot thru my mouth and when I do a hoarseness. I'm breathing much better thru nose. I asked my ent dr months ago and he said it's the copd. Anyone exp above? Does it matter if I do breath thru mouth? Appreciate any input. Tom
Hi, I know exactly how you feel. I am a mouth breather, I feel like I I don't get enough oxygen through my nose. I have terrible allergies and I'm stuffy must of the time
Hi
. Has your doctor ever offered you anything to help with your stuffiness? - Lori (Team Member)
Hi
. I am a mouth breather as well, mostly when my allergies are acting up, but also due to mild sleep apnea. My doctor has warned me of two issues that can stem from mouth breathing. First, we don't pull air as deeply into our lungs when we breathe through our mouths. Second, mouth breathing can lead to dry mouth and bacteria growth, which can cause tooth and gum damage.
To prevent tooth decay, I keep a bottle of dry mouth melts made with xylitol on my nightstand. I am working on weight loss to rid myself of the mild sleep apnea. I hope this helps. Best wishes. - Lori (Team Member)Life long mouth breather here. I realized with my COPD diagnosis I never learned how to breathe through my nose due to having enlarged tonsils/adnoids until they were removed at 10 yrs of age (I'm 60 now). I literally have to remind myself to breathe in through my nose!
Years and years of breathing, sinus, general respiratory problems, no one has ever asked/evaluated if I can or do breathe through my nose until I mentioned it while in hospital after my last exacerbation!
So now I'm on a mission and have scheduled to see an ENT as my first session at pulmonary rehab I learned nose breathing is essential for particularly two reasons; one is we get more oxygen through the nose than the mouth and two is, in layman terms, breathing through the nose helps keep open the littler airways/airsacs in our lungs while mouth breathing closes or over powers them.
So I'll be inquiring more when I see my pulmonologist this week and offer to others self advocate at your appointments because in my experience they assume we know these things!I hope the appointment goes well and that you and your doctor can come up with a solution together. Self-advocacy can make such a huge difference in treatment and in quality of life. Thanks for the reminder! Let us know how your appointment goes, if you don't mind. Warmly, Lori (Team Member) 
Hi! I'm frustrated for you that your nose was never evaluated despite all you've been through, but it's fantastic to hear you're full speed ahead about it now. I will keep my fingers crossed that you learn a lot about your specific issues and hopefully can get some relief! Did you go to your pulmonologist appointment? How did everything go with that? Have a great weekend and keep advocating for yourself. -Melissa, team member
Update: I had my first Pulmonary Rehab session and saw my Pulmonologist this week. Rehab went very well. I was looking forward to starting so I could start learning how to do things correctly. They let me keep an easy pace for that first session. After seeing my numbers, I have a lot more confidence I can start pushing myself more with their help.
Pulmonologist doesn't think I need to see an ENT. I love him, he knows the lungs and how to treat them .... but I'm keeping my appointment with the ENT HA HA HAGood for you! It can take forever to get an appointment with an ENT. Why waste the opportunity, especially when this doctor might provide a new perspective. I am thrilled to hear your rehab session went when and that all is going so well. Fill us in on the ENT appointment, if you don't mind. I hope it helps. Best wishes. - Lori (Team Member) I agree completely. Worst case scenario, you go to the ENT and are pleasantly surprised to learn you have no ENT issues and you can go on your way. But clearly you have a lot of good reasons to want to investigate more, and you are the expert in your own body! Good to hear that you're enjoying rehab and I hope it's still going well. Cheering for you! -Melissa, team member
