jaw pain and other issue and hardly sleeping

[MMK]

HI folks:

Well I have been trying my hardest to use my CPAP somewhat every night. I have been talking with Vicki the nurse from Pulmonary because I e-mail her about a week ago with concerns and issue I was having. She has been very helpful, she has on her own time call me 3 times this week to help me try to work this out).

But now I am having major sinus issue, headaches, just in the last two days(of course when not talking to Vicki) and why I am up at 12:44 am. Very bad and hurting JAW/Teeth pain on my left side. I started to go away on it's own Friday night then I got ready for bed, put the CPAP on and within a 1/2 hr the pain in the jaw/teeth came shooting back and the headache started again. I thought this was suppose to help me get blissfully sleep, right now I am been getting (even when using the CPAP the whole night and without the jaw/teeth pain) maybe 3 or 3.5 hrs of sleep a night. I also have been getting arm pain when I start up the machine,that goes away in about 15 minutes. I am sleeping less instead of better. I have also been feeling really sick during the day after using the CPAP.

I know CPAP is GOLD STANDARD for severe sleep apena but at this point I am seriously considering an oral appliance. I am sitting her in so much pain in my jaw right now, I want to cry.
I am going to go take Tylenol and see if that helps and maybe get some sleep But any advice would be appreciated.


MMK

[kteague]

I don't envy you right now. Can you tease apart the different issues enough to try some things to help? I'm going to throw out some thoughts - not necessarily for you to answer for me, but hopefully to help you think through the issues.
... Is your teeth pain from a sinus infection? That can happen.
... Is your teeth pain from mask pressure?
... Is your jaw pain related to the teeth or do you have TMJ issues?
... Are you tensing your jaw due to fear of causing leaks?
... Has your sleeping position changed to accommodate the mask and caused stress to joints or muscles?

If you have TMJ troubles, be aware that the dental devices might aggravate that issue.
If your mask is causing the pain and adjusting the fit doesn't help, you may need to try a different mask.
If your sinuses are acting up in response to the treatment, experimenting with humidity levels might resolve things.
If you have a sinus infection unrelated to CPAP, treat it if necessary or let it run its course.

Best wishes narrowing things down to get to the specific issues that need addressed.

[Julie]

I would also look at whether you have any cervical neck issues. It may sound 'off', but it can be surprising what areas can be affected by those - maybe a neurologist could look into it.

[Art10630]

I haven't started CPAP therapy (I get my CPAP tomorrow!), but I've had severe TMJ and jaw problems since I was a teen, necessitating surgery to fix the problem. I've had numerous dental appliances to help with clinching and proper jaw alignment, and I can tell you that they are very different than appliances for sleep apnea.

I would definitely talk to your sleep specialist, but if the jaw pain continues, consider talking to an oral surgeon or dentist that specializes in TMJ. I am NOT a candidate for a dental appliance to help with sleep apnea because of my TMJ (my surgeon and physical therapist said that it would do more harm), so I would urge you to talk to your doctors at length before trying an appliance.

But, good luck with both the pain and sleep!

[MMK]

HI. Thanks for the replies. I don't have TMJ.

i am going to call my dentist on Monday and see if I can get in this week after work, he has evening hours certain days of the week and since I only work till 3:30 next week , If I can get in after 5 that would work. Won't hurt to have him take a look-see. Since I just bit into a few pieces of cheese and the pain from the bottom teeth on the left side, shot up really bad again, maybe it's a dental issue or combo of everything and my sinus are a mess too.