Very Bad Cold and CPAP Therapy

[ringo728]

I've now been on CPAP therapy for over a month and I am beginning to see slight progress and a light at the end of the tunnel. My daytime lethargy has diminished considerably and the stomach bloating that has been haunting me for this long month is slowly disappearing. I purchased a wedge pillow last week at Bed Bath & Beyond and I'm sleeping in a more inclined position which has really helped. I hope it keeps up. My only problem now is that I came down with a horrible cold and my nose is running constantly. I have both the Swift FX nasal pillows which I prefer and the Eson nasal mask which I can't stand. Until this horrible cold gets better... can I stop therapy temporarily and force myself to sleep on my side? I have moderate sleep apnea and my recent sleep test this March revealed that I had rarely had instances of having apneas and hyponeas while on my left side. All were on my back. Would a night or two hurt me without CPAP? I tried to sleep last night and was constantly removing the pillows to blow my nose which ran constantly and the drainage was going down my throat and coughing was also a problem. It was a real pain in the butt and today I am really vert tired. Anybody out there had this same problem while on CPAP?

[LSAT]

If you can't breathe with the mask you will have to take it off. You should be using a nasal rinse and a full face mask when you have a cold. It happens to everyone eventually.

[ringo728]

I have claustrophobia pretty bad and tried a full face mask at the hospital sleep study and it was pretty bad. The nasal mask wasn't as bad but still had those trapped and confined feelings. It's a phobia I know but can't help it. I felt like I was in a trapped in a dark room or something. Just can't do it. I'm doing the Neil Med nasal rinse regularly to flush but I can't take anything to dry me up because of increasing blood pressure. I know it will pass but blowing my nose constantly is a real pain.

[chunkyfrog]

Some people find the total face mask better for claustrophobia. It may be worth a try--wide field of view.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/respir ... dgear.html
Now if they'd just find a solution for kleptomania; I got out of the optical place,
and realized I had an extra (very old) magazine!