Asthma and CPAP

[chirurgeon]

My CPAP is making my chest hurt, just like my asthma. If I don't use the machine, my chest doesn't hurt. I'm going to call my sleep dr. Could the pressure be too high? I'm at 13 cm. Its kind of hard to exhale thru my nose. My asthma was acting up yesterday and I just couldn't use the CPAP last night.

[zoocrewphoto]

You might try renaming your subject to include chest pain. I have seen several posts from people that have had chest pain when they started treatment, and it sounds like most of them were having tired muscles from breathing deeper than they were used to. I think they just got used to it over time, but I'm not sure. I have asthma, which is why I opened the post, but I haven't had any pain or soreness from using my machine. My pressure is set for a range of 11-17. I spend most of the night between 11 and 13 with some spikes to 15 and even rarer spikes up to 17.

Are you using any exhale relief? That may help you if you aren't already using that.

[chirurgeon]

My asthma wasn't acting up yesterday and I didn't have the chest discomfort last night. I will speak with my sleep dr and my pulminologist, but at this point, I'll just not use the cpap on the nights that my asthma is acting up, it is less than once a week, so I won't be out of compliance.

[Janknitz]

Your chest wall muscles can be sore at first because you are unused to exhaling against pressure. The exhalation pressure relief on you machine can be turned up for more comfort, and if that's not enough pressure relief you may need a bipap machine which can have even greater pressure relief.

It is a mistake not to use your machine when asthma flares up. That's when you need it most and good treatment will help your asthma.

[zoocrewphoto]

Does it feel like you have an invisible cat sitting on your lungs? I had that problem several years ago after spending the weekend at a building that had flooded several months earlier. It looked clean, but there had to be mold still hiding there. I went to teh doctor as I was having major asthma problems and my inhaler was expired. She did a full checkup and found an irregular heartbeat.

It could be that you have more than one thing going on.

[BlackSpinner]

Using my cpap machine clears up my asthma at night in record time. The problem comes when I take it off in the morning and take my first deep breathe of the room air.

[imsleepynomore]

Remember your CPAP has a great filter system and should help prevent your asthma from flaring up due to air problems . Hopefully you have found your CPAP easier to use as it will help your asthma in the long run