Great difficulty sleeping-Head cold

[yorkiemum01]

Last weekend I began a 'head cold', couldnt pass any air through my sinuses for a since then,
nor could I tolerate my FF mask, as I felt like I was choking. Then began the cough, and I
dont have to tell you what a struggle that has been.
Today I finally saw my MD, and have double ear infections as well as sinus infection (yuck-ers)
and wonder if there are any tips in tolerating therapy during this time. When I use my mask, not only
is there pressure in my ears, I'm struggling to breath. Its like breathing under water.....
I realize this should be short lived, but not sleeping on top of being sick...plain sucks.
(tried to forgo the mask, and my family cant sleep with my awful snoring.

[greenvelvetdragon]

You poor thing, I hope you feel better soon. I had the dreaded illness a few weeks back, the only thing that worked for me was head under a towel with hot stream and vick's therapy. Followed by a nasal salt water rinse. You should be able to get a plain saline nasal spray from the chemist. I actually keep the saline nasal spray next to the bed as it also works very well if my nose just gets dry or irritated. I really helps open the sinuses and clear things out without the side effects of other nasal sprays.

all the best
GVD

[gasparama]

Oh, girl, I feel your misery. And those sinus infections along with bronchitis occur frequently for me. I finally broke down and used the dreaded Afrin, but not more than one night at a time. For me, the sinus rinse just doesn't get the job, so I've turned to use a steroidal nasal spray more frequently than called for, at least for a couple of days. And if I can't get it all opened enough for the CPAP, I banish myself to the sofa to sleep in a semi-upright position. Do you have a full face mask? Other have mentioned that they use those when the nose is uncooperative.

[roster]

Here is from an old post:

Just One Man's Recipe to Keep the Air Passages Open When Suffering With a Cold


(Due to several e-mail requests, I am reposting this.)

Here’s a tried and true procedure that has worked well for me for many years. Hopefully it will work well for many of you.

A “cold” in this document is defined as the common cold which is a viral infection of the upper respiratory system. If you have a sinus “problem” or a sinus infection, see a doctor because a bacterial infection of the sinuses usually requires antibiotics for effective treatment. Nonetheless, I believe the treatment below will work well as an adjunct to antibiotic treatments your doctor may prescribe for sinus infections.

Upon Arising In the Morning

1. Clear the nostrils with a warm salt water rinse using a neti pot. If you don’t already own a neti pot, the neti system I prefer is SinuCleanse® (http://www.sinucleanse.com/ - print the $2 off coupon) which is available from several large pharmacy chains listed on the SinuCleanse web site. I like the SinuCleanse system because it is simple and cheap. I prefer to use their prepackaged salt as I am more likely to get the right ratio of salt and water compared to measuring out my own salt. The ratio of salt to water seems important, because too much salt feels uncomfortable and too little is probably not as effective.

2. Take a twelve-hour capsule of Pseudoephedrine HCL (Sudafed is one brand but there are much cheaper generics carried in most pharmacies). Pseudoephedrine HCL is a behind-the-counter oral nasal decongestant. It does not require a prescription but you will have to sign for it.* It is important to use exactly this drug and not a decongestant with antihistamine properties (such as Phenylephrine HCL). Most antihistamines will dry out your nasal passages and make a cold more uncomfortable. Please read the cautions on Pseudoephedrine HCL and if you have hypertension consult your doctor before taking.

3. After you have finished showering, eating breakfast, and brushing your teeth, use a prescription steroid nasal spray such as Flonase, Rhinocort, Nasonex or Nasacort following your doctor’s directions. This product can take up to two weeks to be effective. Generally my colds are gone in 4 to 5 days but the irritation can hang around for weeks. The steroid spray helps get rid of the irritation.

Evening

4. About one hour before retiring, repeat the neti pot rinse.

5. After your passages have been sufficiently rinsed, use an over-the-counter nasal decongestant spray containing Oxymetazoline (Afrin Original 12 Hour Nasal Spray, Nasal Relief 12 Hour Nasal Spray, Neo-Synephrine 12 Hour Spray, Vicks Sinex 12-Hour Nasal Spray or others). Very important: You should only use this product once a day for four consecutive nights. If you use it any longer you will experience a type of dependence on the product that will become very unpleasant. You should discontinue use of the product after four nights and not use again for at least seven nights.

I used this procedure for many years before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and so did my friend. Since I started cpap therapy I have not had a cold. My friend has had one cold and reports that the procedure worked even better with cpap therapy. He uses the Swift nasal pillow.

I once mentioned this procedure to my general practitioner and he said it sounds like a good approach. If you try it please let us have your comments.

Notes: I do not use the steroid nasal spray or the Pseudoephedrine HCL decongestant in the evening because each of them interferes with my sleep. The neti pot rinse is perfectly safe to use additional times during the day as you like.

You gotta get well for the Huntersville AWAKE meeting on the 23rd! viewtopic.php?f=1&t=38478&p=336475&hili ... le#p336475

[ChipsXJ]

I feel your pain!


I am in the middle of a sinus/cold right now and experienced heavy/total congestion and suffer from claustrophobia and had your problems three nights ago.

I am taking spraying saline spray, taking hot showers and Sudafed 12 hour and drinking A LOT of water. Alot for me is 8-10 cups a day. The water sure did get the sudafed working. The first night after the sudafed and several glasses of water and spraying the saline in my nose...........things got pretty clear. I woke up at about 0200 and had to respray with saline. by the next day I was just spraying in the morning and at bedtime.............taking the sudafed 2 times a day and drinking water all day (really just trying to sip on it all day) I found that if I started to feel a little congested.......I had not been drinking water....would drink some water and things would loosen up again.

lots of water...........water is what makes the sudafed work.

And after I started this routine.......i have been able to wear my full mask 2 nights in a row all night.

[Mrs. Tatis]

I have sinus issues right now too. I have a very hard time wearing a full face mask since I am claustrophobic. Funny thing is, I know that If I don't wear it I won't breathe, yet I feel like I am going to choke if I wear a full face. The Hybrid has worked the best, but I can only sleep with it for about 5 hours.

[yorkiemum01]

Thank you all for the tips...plan to utilize most of them. Another sleepless night, but at least
its the weekend and I'm not working. I have been told by my Dr. Afrin is a big no-no with high
blood pressure and she prescribed me a nasal spray, which to say the least isnt helping as I'm
not able to pass air through the nostrils. As tried and true as the netti pot is, I'm finding it
difficult to use due to the ear infections, as it makes my ears pop and its quite painful.
Oh well, I know this too, shall pass....and wanted to thank you all for the replies.

[LoQ]

Hope you feel better soon!

[hummer3d]

I Too had had a rough week. It first started with a bad mask leak on my mirage liberty mask , i took it off and next day decided id clean it. Only to find out the reason for the mask leak was a broken clip at bed time . So i had no mask or cpap that nite. I tryed to glue the clip the next day so i could maybe use it till i got a chance to go by the dme. This didn't really work so i kind taped it with duck tape witch seemed to work except i had the beginning of a sinus cold runny stoped up nose so i couldn't wear it that nite either. Well finally i took the mask by the dme and they gave me a brand new one at no charge WoW i was in shock especially since i bought the mask used for $40.00 last month from them. All i can say is i will gladly continue to use them. Well first nite with new mask the electricity went out after using it for 2 and a 1/2 hours . so needless to say i haven't used my cpap in a few days i hope all goes well tonite.

[lebowski8]

I seem to be coming down with one of those rare summer-time rhinovirus-type head colds right now. Took me awhile to find the thread. I agree with the advice, seems sensible.
This is my first cold I've had since I started CPAP therapy 4 months ago.
I'm hoping that CPAP makes the common cold much easier to get through. My guess is that with my previous colds, the suffering was far worse because I wasn't breathing correctly at night, having had untreated OSA for so many years. I was afraid to sleep with my last cold in January 09, i believed i was going to asphyxiate or have a stroke or something.

In any case, I'll be following all the tips.
The only thing is that i find coughing & sneezing inside the FF mask ....really ...gross.... ...ick.