Newbie with cough

[photosmike]

I started CPAP Monday night and Tuesday developed a cough. It is not a dry cough and what I cough up is clear.

Could the cough be caused by the equipment? I did not clean the tube before use.

How do the experienced members handle coughing? My head set seems to work ok. Do you just interrupt the machine while you cough it out and then restart the machine?

[Wulfman...]

I started CPAP Monday night and Tuesday developed a cough. It is not a dry cough and what I cough up is clear.

Could the cough be caused by the equipment? I did not clean the tube before use.

How do the experienced members handle coughing? My head set seems to work ok. Do you just interrupt the machine while you cough it out and then restart the machine?

Are you taking Lisinopril? (for BP or protection for kidneys if you have diabetes)
Lisinopril typically causes a dry coughing, but I had to ask as there may be variations.

If you ARE taking it, ask your doctor to switch you from that "ACE" class medication to an "ARB" class medication.
Diovan/Valsartan or Cozaar/Losartan are in the "ARB" class and work without causing coughing.

By the way, I had horrible coughing with Lisinopril. That's how I know about it.


Den

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[Julie]

Do you use the humidifier? At a high setting? Many people believe it's a necessary part of 'therapy', but it's not, only a convenience, and if you don't need it, if local conditions are humid enough, feel free to not use it... but if you're in a relatively dry place (and Cpap itself can be drying), try turning up the setting... everyone's different.

[photosmike]

Thanks for the responses. More information:

I live in Florida and have the Humidifier set to 7 out of 8. I also tried at lower settings.

No I don't take Lisinopril or any ACE medication.

[Julie]

If you live in such a normally humid place and still need a 7/8 setting, I'd see your doctor to look for other causes. That setting would drown most of us!

[knothead]

[quote="photosmike"

Do you just interrupt the machine while you cough it out and then restart the machine?[/quote]

I have a chronic cough too, caused by lung disorder and when I have a coughing spell I just unhook one side of my mask and let er rip. If I do cough with my mask on I hold it to my face so it doesnt fly across the room. I live in south Texas, humidity pretty thick here and I get better results with my humidity dialed down to about 1. This setting seems to help me better than having it up to 4-5. Play around with humidity settings giving it several days for your body to adjust, thats how I found my setting...good luck. I know its not easy with a cough but with a little time it will get better.

[stevedev]

Mike, I have same machine as you but different nasal mask. I've been told if your mouth falls open at night you can get extra dryness from this -- its possible this may be contributing. My DME actually offered me a chin strap to help keep the mouth closed, and I haven't looked into yet.. but keep this in mind (Kinda makes sense if your mouth opens it'll cancel out humidity). I'm currently trying auto setting for humidity on the Autosense 10 and have had a mixed bag of results -- started all this Tuesday night myself.