dangers of Waltussin, etc?

I'm pretty stuffed up and I normal take Waltussin in a situation like this. However, I haven't fully acclimated to using my new CPAP machine; and probably wasn't going to use it tonight. From my research, I gather that it poses a great danger, perhaps even a fatal one (as in the case of some rapper a few years ago), for those with apnea to use these sorts of decongestants.

Can anyone shed any light on this? Is there a "safe" amount of decongenstant I can take if I do use the mask? Is there a "safe" amount of decongenstant I can take if I do not use the mask?

Thanks.

It's dangerous to take a depressant like an antihistamine because it will reduce your ability to wake yourself up and start breathing again—which is preferable to having an apnea and *not* waking yourself up to breathe. Most decongestants are stimulants so they're not dangerous in terms of the apnea, although you won't sleep as well after having taken them (which is why Day-Quil has one but Ny-Quil does not) ... but Wal-Tussin from what I can tell is neither an antihistamine nor a decongestant, but rather a cough suppressant. I'd guess that cough suppressants are also depressants, though--if it's suppressing coughing, it may well also suppress breathing.

No dose of a depressant that's strong enough to be effective is safe with untreated apnea. Any dose is safe with the CPAP (assuming no other medical problems).

The best decongestant in the world is a CPAP with the heated humidified cranked all the way up, btw.

Unless you drink the entire bottle, you should be fine.

I don't use "Tussins" anymore. They really didn't help my congestion. I try to avoid pseudoephedrine, because it messes with my sleep. Only take it when all else fails.

I AM a big fan of Mucinex. I take the generic version (tablets), twice a day. I've stayed REMARKABLY clear of congestion through the fall.

Good luck!
Barbara

Plain Wal Tussin is just guiafensin, which is the active ingredient of Mucinex. It is not technically a decongestant; it merely thins mucous, whether in the head/sinus or chest. It is neither a depressant nor stimulant. HOWEVER, I did find other items labeled as Wal Tussin cough, etc, that had other things in them. Walgreens seems to have stuck the "Wal Tussin" labels on all their cough / cold medicines. If you post the drug name of what you are asking about, you could get better / specific answers.

Hope you start feeling better soon.

The store brand -tussins are Robitussin knockoffs and usually have some sort of suffix that indicates added ingredients.

All versions of traditional OTC Robitussin contain guaifenesin and one or two other ingredients.

Quaifenesin , an expectorant and won't affect the use of CPAP.
Dextromethorphan, a non-narcotic cough suppressant and won't affect the use of CPAP.
Pseudoephedrine, a decongestant and a stimulant; and it can affect sleep.

There are some newer Robitussin products, such as Robitussin Extra Strength Total Cough, Cold & Flu Nighttime; which contains several ingredients and is different from the traditional Robitussin formulas.

I have no idea why Mucinex helps keep me congestion free, but it does, and it greatly reduces my coughing, which the Dextromethorphan never did do. I don't question. I just take these little magic blue pills twice a day and life is gooooooooood.

LOL,
B.

Call me crazy, but I just spent 40 hours in bed with a respiratory infection. I've been on CPAP for 6 years. Prior to this week; when I would try to take a 20-minute "power nap," without the CPAP I would wake up gasping. When this infection started, I started taking Dextromethorphan and guaifenesin. About 12 hours in, I just couldn't tolerate the mask anymore so I took it off. My nose was clear, I went to sleep and woke up three hours later without having any apnea. I felt kind of strange because I worried that I would wake up in a panic. I went back to the CPAP and slept the rest of the time with it on.

How do you know you had 'no apnea'?

Hi Julie:
Consistently when I don't use my CPAP, I will go maybe 5 minutes and "wake up in a fright". That's how it was for years before CPAP.
The fact that I slept peacefully for three hours makes me wonder if the Dextromethorphan somehow affects the collapse of my trachea.

I know, it sounds crazy. It could just be the 101.9-degree fever.

Coder1959 wrote:Call me crazy,..., I went to sleep and woke up three hours later without having any apnea. .

ok, you're crazy.

just because you were drugged and slept through it does not mean you had no apnea.

now, if you had a sleep test going on, or at least someone watching your breathing the hold time, then you'd have some evidence that you didn't have apnea.

Read the labels of any OTC meds.
Download Sleepyhead, use it, and read your treatment results.
Try to understand the connections that can help, or harm you.
Or hire someone smart to do it for you.