Full face mask, itchy nose

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
R1200ST
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Re: Full face mask, itchy nose

Post by R1200ST » Sat Oct 03, 2015 12:28 pm

4 hours of sleep, then a bought of itchy nose woke me up. Turns out my humidity was set to 3 which rained out my mask! LOL

I will try again on Sunday night. But the Benadryl did help out on the itchy feelings for the 4 hours. That was the most sleep I have had with the mask on.

R

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ChicagoGranny
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Re: Full face mask, itchy nose

Post by ChicagoGranny » Sat Oct 03, 2015 12:42 pm

Is the itchiness where the mask touches your nose? Or under the mask but not where it is touching? Or both?

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Full face mask, itchy nose

Post by chunkyfrog » Sun Oct 04, 2015 11:22 am

Sometimes an itch is merely a test of your mental control.
Anyone who has experienced a fractured bone, plaster cast,
and THE ITCH THAT CANNOT BE REACHED, has been forced to try to learn
how to handle an itch with sheer will. Once mastered, it is not an issue.

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The Choker
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Re: Full face mask, itchy nose

Post by The Choker » Sun Oct 04, 2015 12:54 pm

chunkyfrog wrote:Anyone who has experienced a fractured bone, plaster cast,
and THE ITCH THAT CANNOT BE REACHED
... or a hemorrhoid in church.
T.C.

R1200ST
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Re: Full face mask, itchy nose

Post by R1200ST » Sun Oct 04, 2015 2:38 pm

The nose cup on this mask touches my nose. in some areas but the itch can be in areas that are not in contact with the mask. In general it is an itch that is kicking my ass. I understand the need to get through this, and I wake up, take off the mask, scratch, put the mask back on and get on with my night, but I don't understand the fact that it itches so bad that it wakes me up.

I am seeing that this is happening right at the times that I have the most issues with Apnea at night. So far it looks like my pressure will peak out at 12 and stay there for a while, then come down, go back up and peak out at 12 again, then usually I will end up getting woken up with this itch.

So what would be the correlation between high pressure (for me) and the itch / wake up scenario?

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LSAT
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Re: Full face mask, itchy nose

Post by LSAT » Sun Oct 04, 2015 4:59 pm

Make sure that you clean your nose with soap and water before bed. It will make for a better seal and possibly stop the itch. Also..long hair in your nose can tickle when the air blows it.

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zoocrewphoto
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Re: Full face mask, itchy nose

Post by zoocrewphoto » Sun Oct 04, 2015 5:02 pm

R1200ST wrote:The nose cup on this mask touches my nose. in some areas but the itch can be in areas that are not in contact with the mask. In general it is an itch that is kicking my ass. I understand the need to get through this, and I wake up, take off the mask, scratch, put the mask back on and get on with my night, but I don't understand the fact that it itches so bad that it wakes me up.

I am seeing that this is happening right at the times that I have the most issues with Apnea at night. So far it looks like my pressure will peak out at 12 and stay there for a while, then come down, go back up and peak out at 12 again, then usually I will end up getting woken up with this itch.

So what would be the correlation between high pressure (for me) and the itch / wake up scenario?
You are probably closer to being awake due to the apnea events and being aware of the higher ressure. So things you might normally sleep through will be enough to wake you up. As you get more used to the mask, pressure, etc; you will probably sleep deeper and not be aware of things like this. '

That said, how much is your pressure going up and down? Does it have a wide range that it travels? This could be disturbing your sleep. You may need a smaller range or a straight pressure. And how is your ahi? If you are still having a lot of events, then you may need to adjust your pressures to treat you better. If either of these things is bothering you, it will make it harder to sleep and get good therapy.

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R1200ST
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Re: Full face mask, itchy nose

Post by R1200ST » Mon Oct 05, 2015 7:52 am

Thanks for the comments. AHI last night was up to a record high of 7.06 and I was asleep with the mask at a record low of 2.16 hours of total time last night. Pressure varied from 6 to max 12 and peaked at 12 and stayed there from 23:20 through 23:40 when I woke up. AHI's started climbing at 22:40 and peaked at 15+ starting at 23:10 through 23:40 which is when I woke up.

So it appears that I am not at a high enough pressure to keep me from going into the Apnea events and that is what is waking me up, or partially waking me up, and then the damn itchy nose is waking me up the rest of the way.

R

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ChicagoGranny
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Re: Full face mask, itchy nose

Post by ChicagoGranny » Mon Oct 05, 2015 1:34 pm

This base was the first "guess" by the Dr. so if 6-12 is too low, then they will bump it up based upon my nightly results. (From earlier thread.)
R1200ST wrote:Pressure varied from 6 to max 12 and peaked at 12 and stayed there from 23:20 through 23:40 when I woke up. AHI's started climbing at 22:40 and peaked at 15+ starting at 23:10 through 23:40 which is when I woke up.
It certainly looks, http://i.imgur.com/wf7dfNL.png, like your doctor's first guess on pressure needs was way too low. Is this the week you see a doctor and maybe can get it adjusted? I would like to see a night at min 10, max 20 and look at the results.
R1200ST wrote:then the damn itchy nose is waking me up the rest of the way.
Did you use the Benadryl cream again last night?

Itchy nose under a FFM is not uncommon, but usually not to the extent you have itchiness.

Since it is my personal favorite, I feel biased in recommending the Innomed Hybrid. But it would be interesting to see if the itchiness persists with the Innomed.

R1200ST
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Re: Full face mask, itchy nose

Post by R1200ST » Mon Oct 05, 2015 3:26 pm

I see the technician tomorrow and am taking my results with me. I will ask for the 10/20 setting on my unit and see what they say.

I am also looking at whatever hybrid unit they have to offer. If they have the Innomed Hybrid then I am in luck. I took a look at that on the website and it looks pretty good. I remember they had a hybrid unit there, I just don't remember what / who the manufacturer of the equipment was.

Benadryl got me 4 hours of sleep. Last night I tried the Lanolin cream and the 2 hour wake up. Could have been the pressure / Apnea that woke me up, but I don't think the lanolin did anything to alleviate the itch. I will try the Benadryl again tonight.

What an exhausting issue this is to try and get dialed in. Just makes everything a pain in the ass all day long, when I am just tired from lack of good sleep.

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Sheffey
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Re: Full face mask, itchy nose

Post by Sheffey » Mon Oct 05, 2015 4:57 pm

R1200ST wrote:If they have the Innomed Hybrid then I am in luck.
A decent supplier that doesn't have it in stock will order it for you from the distributor and have it shipped to your home.

I'm a fan and user of the Innomed Hybrid. But, you are probably eager to bring home a mask tomorrow. If they don't have an Innomed, but they can fit you in a ResMed Liberty (the other brand of hybrid mask), you could go with it.
R1200ST wrote:I will ask for the 10/20 setting on my unit and see what they say.
You can always get instructions here and make the changes on your own. I don't let anyone touch my CPAP.
R1200ST wrote:Just makes everything a pain in the ass all day long, when I am just tired from lack of good sleep.
"Everything" is right.

Most of us wish we had went for a study and started using CPAP years earlier than we did. The medical profession is starting to do a better job, but they are not yet where they need to be.
Sheffey

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ChicagoGranny
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Re: Full face mask, itchy nose

Post by ChicagoGranny » Tue Oct 06, 2015 11:32 am

What??? All of this discussion -
R1200ST wrote:The nose cup on this mask touches my nose. in some areas but the itch can be in areas that are not in contact with the mask. In general it is an itch that is kicking my ass. I understand the need to get through this, and I wake up, take off the mask, scratch, put the mask back on and get on with my night, but I don't understand the fact that it itches so bad that it wakes me up.
--- and -
R1200ST wrote:I use a gecko cushion and it works well for me. No leads. Box shows that it is by Resmed, but I am sure CPAP has it on their website.

R

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=108068
--- you didn't tell us you use a Gecko Nasal Pad????

You think that might have something to do with the itching??? You think?

R1200ST
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Re: Full face mask, itchy nose

Post by R1200ST » Tue Oct 06, 2015 11:58 am

--- you didn't tell us you use a Gecko Nasal Pad????

You think that might have something to do with the itching??? You think?

ROFL.

The itching started the day I started using the mask. The Gecko nasal pad showed up on Wednesday this week as a special surprise from the VA as they knew I had a busted up nose and the ffm was going to cause some issues.

Meeting today went well. I am now the proud owner of a InnoMed Hybrid mask! (And a whole new set of issues to get used to wearing it I am sure).

Pressures adjusted to 9 - 16 as I am averaging 10.9 per night for pressure.

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ChicagoGranny
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Re: Full face mask, itchy nose

Post by ChicagoGranny » Tue Oct 06, 2015 2:01 pm

R1200ST wrote:Meeting today went well. I am now the proud owner of a InnoMed Hybrid mask! (And a whole new set of issues to get used to wearing it I am sure).

Pressures adjusted to 9 - 16 as I am averaging 10.9 per night for pressure.
Good.

You might get some help in adjusting the headgear from the manufacturer's video - https://www.cpap.com/productpage/RespCa ... -Mask.html