Sore throat

I have been using the FF Mirage Ultra for about two months now with a short attempt with the FF Mirage Quatro (the fit wasn't right for my face even though I loved it). Occasionally I have woken up with a little sore throat. This morning the sore throat was worse. I don't understand why I would have this with a full face mask. I don't even think I mouth breath, but I wanted to try a full face because I don't think I feel as "better" than I should since treatment (two years now). Anyway, I like the full face and figure if there is any mouth breathing that would be taken care of. I just don't understand why I would have a sore throat. Any ideas? No nasal congestion that I am aware of and the way the mask fits, I don't think my mouth could come open even if it wanted to. Thanks.

What is your humidifier set at? The FFM dried my throat out more than the other masks. I need a higher humidifier setting with it. I am a mouth breather though.

I have it set on zero. I used to have it on anywhere from 1 to 3, but it caused congestion. Once I turned it to zero it stopped.

Do you also have a bad taste in your mouth to go along with the sore throat? Have you been checked out for GERD (reflux)?

I do have acid reflux, or rather I did. I used to take a Nexium everyday, but I only take one or two a week now. I still have heartburn sometimes, but haven't had any reflux. How could that be the problem? Do you think it is happening in my sleep?

Could be.... I also had reflux off and on and thought I had it under control.
I've been having crappy sleep now for about a month, but the heartburn only really started this past week. So I've started taking some strong OTC meds to reduce the acid, and I have been sleeping TONS better (although my AHI is exactly the same as before). So it seems, in my case at least, the reflux was there at night but I didn't notice it until it started to occur during the day too.
After starting the acid meds, I wake up and there's hardly and phlegm in my throat, my chest feels clearer, and I feel like I've slept tons better. I'm still getting a gastroscopy next Tuesday, and I plan on visiting a GI specialist... for me weight loss and reducing fat intake (especially together with carbs) has helped the most in reducing the reflux in the past - but now , well, I gained a lot of weight and my eating is healthy but I'm not separating my carbs and fats during meals.

Silent GERD is known to exist, so perhaps it's not as under control as you think it is? It IS known to interfere with sleep.

Here's a recent post from -SWS referring to the first posts made on the GERD-AHI link back in 2005: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=35821&p=309283&i#p309283

Thanks echo for suggesting GERD. I googled silent gerd and found some articles that mentioned sleep apnea. Here is one of them:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/516189

I am going to start taking my Nexium everyday again and see if that helps. It looks like this may also be why I have aches and pains in the morning and why I can't sleep all night even with sleep meds. Hope this works!

I just went to "Health Boards" to the Acid Reflux thread and searched "sleep apnea". I read a few posts and the people there are saying their doctors said that treating sleep apnea helps GERD. Now what?! This goes along with the fact that I have been able to cut way back on my Nexium. But which doctors do we believe? I wish this stuff was cut and dried. Everytime I think I have found an answer to a problem, I get more questions. I am still going to try my Nexium again and see if it helps.

izzyb wrote:But which doctors do we believe? I wish this stuff was cut and dried. Everytime I think I have found an answer to a problem, I get more questions. I am still going to try my Nexium again and see if it helps.

Good point! Wish I knew which doctors to believe as well. My sleep doc told me last week that GERD could not cause so many problems at night that it would cause poor quality sleep - that the reflux would only come one or twice a night but not the whole night.

Do you go to a Gastro-intestinal specialist, and regularly have an endoscopy? I'm really obsessive about this beecause my dad had reflux for many many years, and his GP never sent him to a specialist, just kept giving him prilosec and then stronger and stronger reflux meds. He ended up getting esophagael cancer from the reflux (he never smoked or had other health issues). If he had had an endoscopy once or twice in 30 years they would have identified the damage before it turned into cancer!

Looks like they don't agree on which came first - GERD or Sleep Apea. There are the two theories. And I didn't realize GERD could cause a lot of other serious problems. Guess I had better take it more seriously. I have never been to a specialist for it. Years ago I complained to my doctor about the heartburn and reflux. He prescribed Prilosec. After I moved, they made Priolsec available over the counter which meant it would cost more, so I got my new doctor to prescribe Nexium. She just keeps renewing my prescription. My Sleep Apnea doctor nor my Internist have ever suggested a link to each other. Here are some of the articles I found:

http://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/new ... ea-related

http://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/new ... eases-gerd

http://www.healthology.com/sleep-disord ... le3809.htm

http://homebasedbusinessmom.com/2008/02 ... a-licious/

http://www.medicinenet.com/gastroesopha ... /page4.htm

izzyb wrote:Thanks echo for suggesting GERD. I googled silent gerd and found some articles that mentioned sleep apnea. Here is one of them:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/516189

I am going to start taking my Nexium everyday again and see if that helps. It looks like this may also be why I have aches and pains in the morning and why I can't sleep all night even with sleep meds. Hope this works!

The article you quoted says GERD can interrupt your sleep - it does not in any way say GERD may cause sleep apnea. They actually say GERD and disrupt sleep, those disruptions should be distuguished from the ones cause by sleep apnea (that's what they mean when they say it should be part of a "differential diagnosis".

Your GERD may be acting up - despite the fact the well treated sleep apnea has made it better.
I hope the Nexium helps.

O.

[quoteSome researchers believe that obstructive sleep apnea results in airway pressure changes that can cause reflux to occur, yet other researchers believe that the reflux of acids may result in spasms of the vocal cords that can then lead to sleep apnea. ][/quote]http://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/new ... ea-related

Some doctors, like Dr. Yohei Mizuta of the Nagasaki University School of Medicine in Japan, believe that apneas probably cause reflux symptoms. Apneas (and waking up because of them) change the pressure within the lungs and gastrointestinal systems, possibly causing some stomach contents to be drawn up into the esophagus, the tube that connects the stomach with the throat.

Other doctors think it could be the other way around. Irritation of the esophagus due to reflux could cause airway spasms that lead to apneas, and preliminary studies have shown that acid-suppressing drugs for reflux also reduce the risk for sleep apnea.

http://www.healthology.com/sleep-disord ... le3809.htm


These are from two or the articles. Which came first - the chicken or the egg?