Need help-allergic reaction to latex/plactis?

[mrs. sandman]

I wrote a post below re:swollen throat, but after reading other posts, no one seems to have had this reaction and I'm getting worried.

The 2 nights (out of 4) that I used the full mask, I woke up and spent the remaining day with a feeling of throat closure, almost like I needed a benadryl. I was still able to breathe and workout, but it was uncomfortable. It's making me not want to use the machine again, when in reality I slept better when using it, except for wake-up's for mask adjustments and learning to blow the air our of my mouth when if came open.

I'm now wondering if I should''ve gone with the just-nose mask and a chin strap, but my fitter said that "mouth'breather's" need the full face mask.
I'm confused and don't know what to do ...HELP!!!

[DreamStalker]

An ENT is better skilled at treating a swollen throat issue. Do you have acid reflux maybe? Could be something totally unrelated to CPAP use. If it is that alarming to you, go tell your doc to check you out.

[mrs. sandman]

An ENT is better skilled at treating a swollen throat issue. Do you have acid reflux maybe? Could be something totally unrelated to CPAP use. If it is that alarming to you, go tell your doc to check you out.

thank you, but the thickness in my throat is directly related to the CPAP, b/c it only happened on the mornings/day after I used it. On the 2nd day after us, throat was normal again. I mean at this point, do I have to go to a doc, who charges me $200 to look at my throat and sends me to allergist, charging the same, to see if i'm allergic to latex. uughh all too much, just want this to be easier. Sorry to whine, but maybe I'll try soaking the new mask in vinegar and water.

But, do you know if the "just-nose" mask is a choice, or something that's prescribed specifically?

[DreamStalker]

An ENT is better skilled at treating a swollen throat issue. Do you have acid reflux maybe? Could be something totally unrelated to CPAP use. If it is that alarming to you, go tell your doc to check you out.

thank you, but the thickness in my throat is directly related to the CPAP, b/c it only happened on the mornings/day after I used it. On the 2nd day after us, throat was normal again. I mean at this point, do I have to go to a doc, who charges me $200 to look at my throat and sends me to allergist, charging the same, to see if i'm allergic to latex. uughh all too much, just want this to be easier. Sorry to whine, but maybe I'll try soaking the new mask in vinegar and water.

But, do you know if the "just-nose" mask is a choice, or something that's prescribed specifically?

You should be able to choose any mask you want. "Some" masks have a 30-day return policy ... depending on the DME level of greed they may or may not honor that policy.

[ozij]

If you're mouth breathing, a "just nose" mask will not make your throat better, it will probably make it worse.

Do you have a humidifier? Do you use it?
Which machine?

I don't know of any cpap equipment that contains latex, most of the masks state specifically that they are latex-free - ResMed's masks (i.e. the Liberty) do not contain latex.



This is my reply to you on the other thread: viewtopic/t42034/viewtopic.php?p=369642#p369642

1. The biggest barrier is that I've woken up the first 2 mornings with a swollen throat, not pain like I had from snoring/breathing thru my mouth, but like swollen muscles on the side of my throat airway. It almost feels like either my throat got a workout just trying to process the rapid airflow, OR worse yet, an allergic reaction. It feels like my throat is closing up all throughout the day. It was so bad that I took an advil thinking it would decrease inflammation. I even worked out for 40 min. on the eliptical, but no change. So I took the the next night off from the CPAP and my throat opened up. Then used the machine the 3rd night and same thing happend the next morning, but to a lesser degree. Lastly, maybe unrelated, I got a very red face yest. evening and somewhat of a quick, mild fever and fatigue out of nowhere. Went to bed early w/o the CPAP and slept thru the night. I'm worried that maybe I"m having an allergic reaction to the tube, or plastic in the mask or something. Any advice on this?

I've never hear of allergies causing fever. I once had what felt like similar symptoms in my throat (pre cpap)- this was shortly after I had a strep throat. The back of my tongue hurt, and it turned out I had an infection of the pharynx. Very painful, pretty exhausting - and before the antibiotics worked I think my doc was concerned. I realise one night off cpap helped - but I wanted you to know that this could be non-cpap related - I'd go to a doctor.

Allergies: I let my new machine blow into the room for 90 minutes or more to rid it of the new smell. I learned ((the hard way) to soak my masks in warm soapy water for 30-60 minutes before first letting them touch my face, or breathing through them. Do that for any mask part you can (some companies say to soak for no more than 10 - check your instructions) and for your hose.

3. Has anyone tried and succeeded with the mouthpiece that pulls your bottom jaw out. Is it painful? How much does it cost?

You'll find more discussion of dental sleep medicine at http://www.talkaboutsleep.com in the dental forum. schleima has recently reported success, and so did snork1 a few year ago.

O.

[mrs. sandman 2]

thank you. yes, i have a humidifier on a Remstar pro and the Liberty full face mask w/pollen and air filters.
I was just guessing at the latex content as I've heard of ppl having allergic reactions to that.

I will say that I was surprised at the velocity at which the air comes thru the mask when it hits 10, which btw made me feel bloated the next morning, but nothing was as bad as the feeling all day after using the CPAP, that my throat was closing and experiencing an "I-need-a-Benadryl feeling" - and I don't even take Benadryl. I think i took twice for a cat visit allergy.

I guess I wanted to see if others experienced this throat thing as an early side effect of the CPAP. Perhaps I'm having a panic attack or something, but it sure feels real, and I only had it the 2 mornings after I used the CPAP. The other 2 mornings I didn't use the machine, my throat was fine. That's why I tested sleeping without it. And although I slept better with the machine, I didn't feel the swollen throat muscles the mornings after I didn't use it,

It almost feels like my throat muscles were overextended, like you legs feel if you've been on the treadmill too long. Is that possible, that my throat muscles may be fighting the high velocity of air coming through it?

This is just a whole new world of feelings for me, both physically and mentally. They should have classes for this thing. So relieved I found this website!!!!
*****************************

[DreamStalker]

thank you. yes, i have a humidifier on a Remstar pro and the Liberty full face mask w/pollen and air filters.
I was just guessing at the latex content as I've heard of ppl having allergic reactions to that.

I will say that I was surprised at the velocity at which the air comes thru the mask when it hits 10, which btw made me feel bloated the next morning, but nothing was as bad as the feeling all day after using the CPAP, that my throat was closing and experiencing an "I-need-a-Benadryl feeling" - and I don't even take Benadryl. I think i took twice for a cat visit allergy.

I guess I wanted to see if others experienced this throat thing as an early side effect of the CPAP. Perhaps I'm having a panic attack or something, but it sure feels real, and I only had it the 2 mornings after I used the CPAP. The other 2 mornings I didn't use the machine, my throat was fine. That's why I tested sleeping without it. And although I slept better with the machine, I didn't feel the swollen throat muscles the mornings after I didn't use it,

It almost feels like my throat muscles were overextended, like you legs feel if you've been on the treadmill too long. Is that possible, that my throat muscles may be fighting the high velocity of air coming through it?

This is just a whole new world of feelings for me, both physically and mentally. They should have classes for this thing. So relieved I found this website!!!!
*****************************

YES. They most definitely should have classes for CPAP treatment. Again, have ever you had a history of acid reflux? You should strongly consider getting checked out by a doc if your throat bothers you that much. Another posted a couple of days ago that he had a burning feeling in his throat and he may have experienced an acid refux (GERD) attack.

[mrs. sandman 2]

DreamStalker:
I've never been diagnosed with GERD, and it doesn't burn or feel like heartburn. It's more a closing feeling on the sides of my throat, similar to what I've felt with the cat allergies. To be clear, I can breathe and workout on those 2 days, but just felt constantly thick-throated and had to keep clearing it. And then it goes away the next day. So I'm kinda scared to use the machine again after a day of that. My bedroom is clean and no pets, with fresh air coming in...

One of the other posters said to keep epinephren near, so now I'm feeling like I shouldn't use the CPAP til I see a doc. I guess I'll have to break down and go to a doctor, but what kind, and ENT or just an MD, an allergist or back to the sleep center who did the original study a few yrs. ago? Ughh, all those add up to a big bill that we really can't afford right now, expecially with the deductible. Wish this could all be easier. And the thing is, I really did wake up feeling like a slept better except for the throat side effect.

[DreamStalker]

DreamStalker:
I've never been diagnosed with GERD, and it doesn't burn or feel like heartburn. It's more a closing feeling on the sides of my throat, similar to what I've felt with the cat allergies. To be clear, I can breathe and workout on those 2 days, but just felt constantly thick-throated and had to keep clearing it. And then it goes away the next day. So I'm kinda scared to use the machine again after a day of that. My bedroom is clean and no pets, with fresh air coming in...

One of the other posters said to keep epinephren near, so now I'm feeling like I shouldn't use the CPAP til I see a doc. I guess I'll have to break down and go to a doctor, but what kind, and ENT or just an MD, an allergist or back to the sleep center who did the original study a few yrs. ago? Ughh, all those add up to a big bill that we really can't afford right now, expecially with the deductible. Wish this could all be easier. And the thing is, I really did wake up feeling like a slept better except for the throat side effect.

I would think that an ENT is more specialized to deal with issues of your throat. Some insurance policies will only cover specialists fees if referred by the primary care physician ... I'm not familiar with your health insurance ... so I can't really advise which route to an ENT will be least costly for you.

You did check to make sure that your heated humidifier was working right? The water should be luke warm after 5 or 10 minutes of turning it on.

[mrs. sandman]

Sorry, I'm running 2 posts here, as it wouldn't let me reply w/o registering first, which i did and now am in the think of it.

I know nothing about warming the water. My rempro has a setting on the humidifier of 1-7 or so, and i thought that controlled the amount of moisture, not the temp. but i haven't noticed the temp of the air coming in as uncomfortable.

[DreamStalker]

Sorry, I'm running 2 posts here, as it wouldn't let me reply w/o registering first, which i did and now am in the think of it.

I know nothing about warming the water. My rempro has a setting on the humidifier of 1-7 or so, and i thought that controlled the amount of moisture, not the temp. but i haven't noticed the temp of the air coming in as uncomfortable.

Yes. humidifier setting controls the moisture ... by warming the water. Warmer water = more moisture.

Check and make sure that the water in the humidifier reservoir is warmer than room temperature (with your finger or thermometer if you want to get technical) after turing it on for 10 minutes or so.

[mrs. sandman]

Sorry, I'm running 2 posts here, as it wouldn't let me reply w/o registering first, which i did and now am in the think of it.

I know nothing about warming the water. My rempro has a setting on the humidifier of 1-7 or so, and i thought that controlled the amount of moisture, not the temp. but i haven't noticed the temp of the air coming in as uncomfortable.

Yes. humidifier setting controls the moisture ... by warming the water. Warmer water = more moisture.

Check and make sure that the water in the humidifier reservoir is warmer than room temperature (with your finger or thermometer if you want to get technical) after turing it on for 10 minutes or so.

I will. thx.