Need help, suspect UARS. Want to try APAP - need advice and guidance.

[tan]

Sorry, if I have said this before. How do you think a person would feel if he were awakened by a banging in the next apartment 15 times an hour, all night, every night? Wouldn't he eventually be a limp mess?

I think arousal and awakening are a quite different things in terms of their effect. 15 awakening an hour is much brutal than 15 arousals

[tan]

Our findings suggest that UARS patients have increased levels of the stress component, somatic arousal, proportionate to the severity of their symptoms

Maybe you have increased levels of that stress component because your personality is the kind that gets wrapped up in endless arguments with people on the internet?

that, too

[tan]

air rushes into your mouth

If your mouth is sealed with tape, air cannot "rush" into your mouth. You could, and most likely, do, get a pressure buildup in your mouth at times. Do you feel the pressure in your mouth? Do your cheeks want to bulge out (like a chipmunk)?

This is where I'm confused! Unless there was a leak in the tape? I'm using Microporous tape which didn't stick as well as surgical tape I'd used previously, so although it kept my lips together I wouldn't exactly say it was a totally air tight seal. I don't recall my cheeks puffing up either, which is what you'd expect right? But the air must be going in my mouth, because I never ever wake up with a dry mouth anymore, and my mouth was BONE dry this morning.. How do I explain that? I 100% know full well the CPAP caused it, and it was not some anomoly. I've never ever had a mouth that dry in my life lol. And again, in the early hours I kept waking up and hearing the noise of the air going into my mouth.. How do I avoid this 'pressure build up' you mentioned? What's causing it to happen?

I had a similar experience: air buildup, puffed up cheeks, and air going out of my mouth, drying it out even with FFM. You may want to try to go the opposite direction: incomplete taping, which is mainly to pull the chin up. With reduced, not completely blocked mouth, FFM helps equalize the pressure outside and inside the mouth and helps me breathe through the nose.

[ChicagoGranny]

15 awakening an hour is much brutal than 15 arousals

Don't forget the oxygen desats that often go with those arousals.

[CountingSheep]

061EE72A-DC54-44C6-A906-AEC10015FB41.jpeg

I got into the habit of using Otrivine every night before bed.... it just made breathing so much easier. Then I had a first aid lesson at work where the gentleman said using it everyday will strip the mucous lining overtime. It says on packet 3-5 days then stop. But someone also said „Once a day no harm“ He also said there is a cortisone spray that will get you off it as it’s addictive.
So two nights ago I decided I’d stop using it and try and get a good nights sleep without my nightly squirt of Otrivine. The result was from an AHI of 7-11 to 1.4-1.7..... whether the Otrivine was the cause of my CA‘s or not I’m not quite sure.
I‘m now going to keep notes on my Oscar program to see if there’s a pattern. Alcohol, temperature of room, whether I was at home or away etc.
Last night 6.45 hours AHI 1.4 only 2 Apnea’s!

Has anyone else tried weening off Otrivine? I must admit I did try and clear my nose well before sleep. Evenings I always seem to get a bit bunged up.

[ChicagoGranny]

CountingSheep

Here's a tip on forum etiquette. Start a new post. You have posted in an old post that is 25 (!!!) pages long. Your case is not closely related to this post. You need your own post. You will get better help that way.

[CountingSheep]

I searched the word „Otrivine“... that’s why I posted here ‍♂️

[ChicagoGranny]

Has anyone else tried weening off Otrivine?

----------->

Xylometazoline (Otrivine), also spelled xylomethazoline, is a medication used to reduce symptoms of nasal congestion, allergic rhinitis, and sinusitis. Use is not recommended for more than seven days.

To wean off Otrivine, discontinue using it in one nostril. That nostril will likely be stuffed up for a few days. Just breathe out of the other nostril.

After the first nostril becomes open, discontinue the second nostril.

Evenings I always seem to get a bit bunged up.

Try a saline nasal rinse every evening. If that doesn't solve the problem, consult with an ENT. There are a lot of good treatments for allergies and congestion. An ENT can recommend a good one for you.