CPAP STILL CAUSING ASTHMA

[Jwicks1995]

Have already posted on this topic but am now posting in somewhat desperation. Since starting cpap my underlying asthma has become extremely severe. Before starting cpap i barely ever reached for my reliever. 6 months in it has slowly gotten worse and worse to the point where im on oral steroids and many other asthma meda. I have played around with humidity settings and epr settings. My sleeping environment in free of allergons. I use hypoallergenic filters, clean all my equipment etc. My pressure is 6. Havent experimented with different pressures. What i find interesting is the fact i nevet have a cough. Never congested. ONLY a narrowed airway. It's not signature wheezy. My pulmonolgist fails to see what it could be. Numerous tests done. At one stage hr said my results on paper technically didnt aay i had asthma due to an only 11% increase in lung function upon ventolin use as u technically need 12. Alllll of these meds barely do anything also. I really need some kind of idea or thought as to what route to take. I have tried gluten free, dairy free. Ive even thought perhaps it could be silent gerd as i had bad relux as a kid and occasionally get heartburn so ive started taking nexium. This is because perhaps my low oesophagus fails to keep down stomach acid due to the cpap pressure. Just a theory, as theories is all i have. I have wakeup minimum 3 times a night having to reach for my reliever. HOWEVER, once in a blue moon ill wakeup and feel completely energized like i didnt have asthma all night... this is just plain confusing..additionally i am 100% compliant amd always have been. One time in general where i felt really good i was waking up every 2 hours with a high heartrate. In the morning i had 0.0 ahi, which i had never gotten. This day i upped my pressurw to 6.4 from 6. However the next night back to the same story. My average ahi never goes above 0.8. These are all clear airway events. I just dont know what route to persue at this stage. I have a feeling it has to due with the areas of co2 and breathing patterns etc maybe hyperventilation while im asleep. Even though i practice trying to slow breathe on a daily basis. If someone is willing to help me by all means any request for a certain stat or sleepy head screenshot i will more than happily deliver. For i have extremely high gratitude for anyone that would stride to attempt to bring me out of this debiliating state of never being able to breathe. P.s i have another thread related to this with screenshots if it helps. I can also put in screenshots of that night i wokeup feeling completelt free of fatigue amd brainfog for which i now live with. P.s i am 22, fit and healthy apart from what ive mentioned. Much appreciation for anyone willing to offer any thoughts ideas or routes of experimentation. - cpap s9 auto. 27 degrees heated hose. Resmed nasal pillow. - distilled water, all clean etc et. Av 0.5 ahi - epr off. Preasure atm 6.2. - 6 months of use.

[Jwicks1995]

I also need to add that when attempting to use oral devices my asthma noticeably reduces. Although Upon waking feel that headache fog from the obstructive events... can win. Lol

[zoocrewphoto]

Unfortunately, I don't think many of us have experience with what you are dealing with. I have asthma, allergies, and gerd. But all 3 are better with cpap, so I can't even guess what cpap might be doing to make it worse.

Can you tell us what you are feeling? For example, when I have gerd at night, I will wake up, sometimes coughing or choking, and my throat burns. It can take hours to improve. Fortunately, for me, it has never happened while using cpap. I do still take meds since I have trouble during the day when I eat certain foods. With asthma, I usually only have it at night if my allergies are bad or I have a bad cold. Sometimes, my throat will hurt, but usually, I feel it is hard to breathe.

Does your problem happen only at night. Does it wake you up? What do you feel? What helps it go away?

[Jwicks1995]

My symptoms is that its allllways hard to inhale air. Like my chest feels tight all the time. Im also always bloated. I also feel as if there is dried mucus in my throat and i frequently do the old " ahem " before i know im about to speak. And my symptoms are equally as bad day and night but affect me more in sleep as im guessing my airways become more tight when im relaxed. I do have allergies to dust mold and pollen but i fail to see why my cpap would make my asthma worse based on this. I have used a tongue retaining device which actually works for an hour or two if i have it on tight enough but always ends up loosening. I can verify this with my fitbit sleep stats. Additionally i stay in light sleep most kf the night each night because my breathing suffers the deeper sleep i get into it seems. Would u see any reason that increasing pressure to say 6.6-6.8 may see an improvement in asthma symtoms? Perhaps the low pressure may have something to do with it as everyone who seems to gain benefit are mostly on higher pressures than i am?. Im seeing my doctor monday and think of getting a referal for a gastrointestinalist. Oh yeah, not sure if related by i also get bleeding gums frequently.

[zoocrewphoto]

My symptoms is that its allllways hard to inhale air. Like my chest feels tight all the time. Im also always bloated. I also feel as if there is dried mucus in my throat and i frequently do the old " ahem " before i know im about to speak. And my symptoms are equally as bad day and night but affect me more in sleep as im guessing my airways become more tight when im relaxed. I do have allergies to dust mold and pollen but i fail to see why my cpap would make my asthma worse based on this. I have used a tongue retaining device which actually works for an hour or two if i have it on tight enough but always ends up loosening. I can verify this with my fitbit sleep stats. Additionally i stay in light sleep most kf the night each night because my breathing suffers the deeper sleep i get into it seems. Would u see any reason that increasing pressure to say 6.6-6.8 may see an improvement in asthma symtoms? Perhaps the low pressure may have something to do with it as everyone who seems to gain benefit are mostly on higher pressures than i am?. Im seeing my doctor monday and think of getting a referal for a gastrointestinalist. Oh yeah, not sure if related by i also get bleeding gums frequently.

It might be post nasal drip, which is very common in those of us with asthma, allergies, and gerd.

I would definitely raise it and see if that helps. Most people feel like they aren't getting enough air below 6 or 7. Mine starts at 11, so I have no idea what 6 feels like.

[Jwicks1995]

Post nasal drip, can't say iv'e looked into it. But i will. Iv'e had nasal polyps removed and tonsils. Ive also used full face mask and that makes my asthma even worse. I suspect due to mouth breathing. I have zero leak, use mouth tape and chin strap also. I will experiment with 7 pressure tonight. And then advise results afterward.

[Jwicks1995]

Regarding pnd, i never have any symptoms of runny nose or coughing. But i'll look further into it.

[Julie]

I would stick to addressing one thing at a time... just because someone else mentioned the 'drip' business is not a reason to chase that problem if it is not one of yours and doing that could confuse the issue you are dealing with. I do agree that if your pulmonologist doesn't know what to tell you that we aren't in a position to do that either. Asthma is normally not made worse by Cpap - just the opposite if anything, but if you have problems inhaling raising your pressure just a little is one thing to try. If it doesn't work, you may even consider - not yet tho' - going to a machine that specifically addresses central events, but be sure in fact that they're a problem... many people, if not even most, do have a few clear airway/central events on first going to sleep and prior to waking. Those are called 'sleep-wake' junk, and do not mean you have 'central' or even mixed apnea, but you need to explore those one at a time with your doctor's input and not decide alone if that's the problem. Provide Sleepyhead graphs so we can see what things look like and possibly advise.

[DreamStalker]

My symptoms is that its allllways hard to inhale air. Like my chest feels tight all the time. Im also always bloated. I also feel as if there is dried mucus in my throat and i frequently do the old " ahem " before i know im about to speak. And my symptoms are equally as bad day and night but affect me more in sleep as im guessing my airways become more tight when im relaxed. I do have allergies to dust mold and pollen but i fail to see why my cpap would make my asthma worse based on this. I have used a tongue retaining device which actually works for an hour or two if i have it on tight enough but always ends up loosening. I can verify this with my fitbit sleep stats. Additionally i stay in light sleep most kf the night each night because my breathing suffers the deeper sleep i get into it seems. Would u see any reason that increasing pressure to say 6.6-6.8 may see an improvement in asthma symtoms? Perhaps the low pressure may have something to do with it as everyone who seems to gain benefit are mostly on higher pressures than i am?. Im seeing my doctor monday and think of getting a referal for a gastrointestinalist. Oh yeah, not sure if related by i also get bleeding gums frequently.

Yes. In general, it is difficult to breathe (starved for air) suing pressures of less than 7 or 8. I would move pressure to minimum of 8 or 9.

As for other symptoms of allergies / asthma / bleeding gums ... you seem to have other issues unrelated to sleep apnea ... perhaps more auto-immune related? Hope you get them all figured out.

[AMESS]

Congestion-congestion-congestion. Cannot get away from it, and dont know what to . Allergies were a lot better this year. But CPap causing me to feel like allergies are back when they r not.

[Pugsy]

cpap s9 auto. 27 degrees heated hose. Resmed nasal pillow. - distilled water, all clean etc et. Av 0.5 ahi - epr off. Preasure atm 6.2. - 6 months of use.

EPR is off
Have you ever tried turning EPR on...like using 2 or 3 EPR?

[Julie]

He said his environment is FREE of allergens, not FULL of them - you have hereby been shown clearly to make mistakes. Own up to them once and for all and maybe you'll start to be accepted and taken seriously. Otherwise...

[TASmart]

He said his environment is FREE of allergens, not FULL of them - you have hereby been shown clearly to make mistakes. Own up to them once and for all and maybe you'll start to be accepted and taken seriously. Otherwise...

That's OK Julie, it's a minor typo(not). The OP AHI of 0.8 is in no way indicative of the need for an ASV, nor is a pulse oximeter used to detect hyperventilation. But xxyzx will claim these are immaterial nits to pick or simple typos. Life continues, free advice is worth what it costs. Johnny wants a free and open forum where all are free to express both opinions and demonstrations of the inability to notice details in their reading. Novice users will eventually figure it out and go to different forums, and those of us who stick around will treat this as the circus of fantasy and delirium that it has become.

[49er]

Forgive me if that has been mentioned who is monitoring your apnea treatment? If it isn't a sleep specialist who is a pulmonologist, perhaps you might consider consulting that type of person for a 2nd opinion because of your asthma and related issues.

Other apnea boards to check out for assistance in case this thread starts to unravel which it is threatening to do.

http://freecpapadvice.com/forum/
https://myapnea.org/
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Forum- ... oard-Forum

You can also PM folks on this forum who you feel might offer good advice.

49er

[zoocrewphoto]

I would stick to addressing one thing at a time... just because someone else mentioned the 'drip' business is not a reason to chase that problem if it is not one of yours and doing that could confuse the issue you are dealing with. I do agree that if your pulmonologist doesn't know what to tell you that we aren't in a position to do that either. Asthma is normally not made worse by Cpap - just the opposite if anything,

I mentioned the post nasal drip because he referred to the need to clear his throat. And I suspect that what he is suffering with cpap is NOT asthma. It is very easy to blur the lines in the sensations we feel between these things. For example, I get the same burning sensation in my throat with gerd AND asthma. I also get out of breath with BOTH of these. Using my inhaler will not do any good if it is gerd.

A few years ago, when I started cpap, I kept getting a bad cough. It took over 6 months to figure out what was causing my cough. My doctor had no clue. It turned out to be allergies causing asthma cough withOUT the asthma attack. It had never occurred to me to use my asthma inhaler since I wasn't showing signs of asthma. A couple years later, my new doctor told me that there were 4 main causes of cough when not sick - asthma, allergies, gerd, and post nasal drip. I frequently have all 4. Cough is the same, but the treatments depend on the cause.

This is why I suspect he may be dealing with something other than asthma. The symptoms tend to overlap. The asthma medication ins't helping much. And cpap is not known for making asthma worse.