Stuffed Up Nose Problem? New CPAP users having problems?

Rarely read these forums but looking for an answer to someone else's problem I just noticed quite a few new CPAP users complaining of stuffy noses leading to problems with CPAP.

Have gone from Severe Sleep Apnea with nightly 57+ events, 13 pressure to 4 out of 5 nights having ZERO events and one night of 5 having an 0.23 event reading.

1st, are any of you Smokers?
Here's my story if it will help even one person....Things I learned along the way...(long but my style and worth reading iF it helps you)


Diagnosed with Severe sleep apnea of 57+
As of 3 years ago I can only now sleep on my back
went through 4 months of hell
almost gave up many times as I slept like a baby before the diagnosis
no problems I was aware of
was diagnosed by mistake, as had no symptoms, slept well, was thin, was all one wasn't supposed to be
but here it was, I was diagnosed and it seemed my once perfect sleep at night was turned into hell...

Mouth breather but in my first month of CPAP, I made the mistake of joining a different forum than this one.
Was given all the regular hints to combat stuffy nose, none worked
every night in a deep sleep i would take off my mask 45 minutes in, without being aware i was doing it
someone on another forum told me I needed a Nasal Mask
why would I question that advice? I had no reason to do so and yet no one contradicted it
Spent 4 months with a Nasal Mask and high numbers-therapy was obviously not working
tried many times to get more answers, or at least ONE answer that might lead me towards help
was given same answers over and over,

started to become angry at what I felt were too many people throwing up answers that were of no help whatsoever,
even had one woman in another forum, not here, PM me one day and ask me if i were possibly a heroin addict taking methadone
very amused by the comment that followed that question, which said "ssh, this is between you and I" I said yes
i just had to hear what would follow.
When I did, I realized perhaps forum help wasn't for me
because it was stated that my Obstructive Apneas were higher than they should have been
as it turns out, I believe there was 1 or 2 nights that this was vaguely correct only..

Pleaded one last time for any new ideas to stuffy nose problem
was told to simply "Get On With It"...lol
About as effective as suggesting an alcoholic just stop drinking

Time to move on,
came here
IMMEDIATELY, it was determined that one big mistake was in having gone to a Nasal Mask and explained why
some forum regulars (anywhere) often forget that in the beginning, there is no reference point for a new CPAP patient to grasp onto
info in one ear and out the other, UNTIL that right bit of info hits and sticks because there IS a reference point or something that just "clicks" that makes your intuition realize that this might pertain to you
everything else is like throwing garbage against the wall to see what sticks..

I was very fortunate in that i had 2 people in particular here, on this forum help me
1 was Pugsy and the other, the name of whom escapes me but she's a mathematician (others will know who I mean)
both were life savers, or, CPAP savers
without either, I likely would have just walked away from CPAP and I have no doubt many do without such well thought out help

Went FF and numbers dropped quite a bit at first. Soon enough to know the advice was better than just good,
more importantly, the delivery of said advice was what counted and resonated....
I have learned that one, without the other can be a critical failure, both I believe capable due to great patience, a trait few possess,
but those that do, can provide help far better than most medical professionals for a 3rd reason as well, I will later mention.

Continued:

those not so good, would likely responded to the idea that a FF should have been #1 from day #1 with a sarcastic post suggesting that that was a given...
never grasping the damage of bad advice.

My numbers went down but still not enough that the full answer had arrived.
The answer came by sheer mistake, albeit an excellent one
but never could I have expected a non-smoker to have thought of it
but I am forever surprised on the first forum, that several of the grumpier male posters that were smokers, never did
after ending a stressful situation having allowed a house guest to stay for a week that turned into a month and a resolution next time to direct such to a hotel
i was otherwise, newly stress free,
so I gave up smoking, immediately
and took up vaping..

I won't bother to get into the idea many have that both are the same
they are not
and medical tests, along with my general well being has proven but that is a whole other discussion,
but for now, Vaping proved to be the only successful way to quit smoking after many failed attempts to do so using + failing with any and all other methods.
Not just I but my partner
Both quit the same day, or rather, transitioned to Vaping from Smoking.
Within 1 week at the very most, I slept through the night for the first time with my mask on and never once did I take it off.
It's been around 14-18 months now and I have NEVER, EVER had a stuffed up nose at night time again...

I will forever wonder how many other CPAP patients suffering stuffy noses, forced to use Nasal Rinse nightly, let alone some of those that went as far as being operated upon
are smokers today???!!!
Not just I but my husband as well has had numerous small medical issues, we put down to our having turned 50+ that have all gone away...poof, just like that.
2 of which he saw specialist after specialist for to no avail........and with vaping.....all gone away...

No one made the connection to smoking.
I understand why a non smoker would have not have done so
which leads me to wonder if those with stuffed up noses short of any other medical reason for such, are smokers.
Remember, it's not the nicotine that hurts you, other than its addictive qualities but the thousands of chemicals in each cigarette, hence
it almost seems like a no brainer to presume that one can very easily become allergic to at least one of those chemicals.

Indeed it would become one of my top #5 questions asked of someone having CPAP problems.

I read somewhere here on the forum I believe, to be aware of doctors that have a tendency at times to write off too many potential health problems to smoking.
My guess would be that the person that wrote that or those that feel that way, are likely smokers.

In any event, just likely something to consider if you are having problems with your breathing at night due to a stuffy nose.
I suspect many smokers themselves will not have made the connection and might want to consider it.

I should also add that not only do I NOT have a stuffed up nose anymore, or rip off the mask, but 4 out of 5 nights my SleepyHead reports have me at 0 percentage of events.
The one night here or there I will be very low, at around 0.23.

Not bad considering I was apparently a "methadone" using CPAP patient whose best advice outside of here was "f**king well stop ripping the mask off".

Thanks very much to the two, Pugsy and the Mathematical Wiz, whose name escapes me momentarily......

ShelaghDB wrote:the Mathematical Wiz, whose name escapes me momentarily......

In am thinking that you are thinking about RobySue. She is a math professor by occupation.

Glad you finally got things sorted out and now on the road to having nice boring cpap therapy.

ShelaghDB IMHO you get a +5 for your post. Well said, again IMHO.
Enjoy your health.

Go find a good ENT and have a septoplasty.

Have your turbinates resectioned.

It WORKED bigtime for me.

Thanks all and yes, Pugsy, that is she RobySue. For the life of me i could not remember her name.

One point i should add lest I have given the wrong idea.

When I state that my numbers are usually Zero each night, plus, said that i did not have any symptoms before the diagnosis, let me be clear that I most definitely do have Sleep Apnea.
Even though i never felt as if I did, or could relate at all to those that told stories of how tired they were before diagnosis,
for I slept like a baby 8 hours a night,
but a couple of times I did fall asleep later on when i hadn't yet got to the mask,
I was reminded very quickly, lest I forget, that I DID have sleep apnea.

I would wake up with a very "heavy" feeling all over
Not sure what it is but it feels awful when i wake up
but as long as I wear my mask, I don't wake up with it..

in fact, it is such a horrible feeling that I have a second machine beside one of my couches
if we lay down to watch a film at night, he's on one, i am on the other and i have the other machine down beside it and put the mask on
only because TV seems to affect me like a sleeping pill.
I won't make the mistake of EVER falling asleep without the mask again...
but I will never understand why I feel so awful without it now but never did before diagnosis 2 or 3 years ago
Never had that feeling then..

but even 16 months later I am forever in awe of the magic of these machines and the pressured air
and can only surmise that if I have sleep apnea, I have to believe that there are many out there undiagnosed!

Anyhow, I did mention this in a thread somewhere on this forum once before the last time I popped in, maybe 6 months ago? (no idea when)
Today I saw a few others mention stuffy noses and just wanted to impress that if one can't quit smoking, they can easily Vaping and it might just help someone else that might not realize smoking is causing it..
Otherwise, found the answer i was looking for,
so out of here now but good luck all....


Cheers...

Thanks for the post. All I could understand is that this stuffing Nose problem could be due to Smoking. I am facing this problem for quite some time & I am a smoker. I smoke some Three to four cigarettes a day. Little difficult to breath thru my right nose. I use otravin to clear my nostrils every night.Will quitting smoking help me to overcome this.