Right nostril gets clogged and feel that I am suffocating.

[Robb]

I am finding that half of the nights I sleep with a CPAP, my right nostril gets totally clogged up right after I fall asleep. I then awaken multiple times during the night, feeling like I am suffocating, which I would liken to breathing through a straw with one's mouth. Nevertheless, I bite the bullet and fight through it. I think I have tried everything but was hoping for any other suggestions. Here is what I have tried:

-I had a deviated septum but got surgery to correct it last Summer which helped a lot.
-I use Flonase before going to bed.
-My allergy filter and regular filter are only a few weeks old.
-I use a Breathe Right strip which helps.
-I irrigate my sinuses with a Sinus Rinse bottle and saline before going to bed.

Now for the stuff that probably is not relevant, but I will throw it in just in case: After buying 4 full face masks, I found that I was unable to wear them, as they kept leaking, despite trying different sizes and cloth linings. That, and I kept on waking up due to all the extra stuff on my head. I then tried 5 nasal masks, including the Bleep, and found one that works best for me, the Dreamwear nasal cushion mask. Settings are 5 for heat and 3 for humidity, as the 5 setting produced condensation which broke the seal. At 6 min, 10 max cm water pressure. My OSCAR stats state I seldom go above 8.

Thanks in advance for any input any of you may be able to offer.

[weiss27md]

Have you tried nasal pillows like the P10s? Humidity setting?

Some things also to consider. Don't eat within 3-4 hours of bed, can make congestion worse. Try a low histamine diet.

[Robb]

Have you tried nasal pillows like the P10s? Humidity setting?

Some things also to consider. Don't eat within 3-4 hours of bed, can make congestion worse. Try a low histamine diet.

The P10 was the second-best mask I used, and come to think of it, I didn't have a clogged nostril using it. This is odd, as my leak rate for both the P10 and Dreamwear were pretty much the same, under 20. Was difficult to tolerate the pillows inside of my nose though. May have to go back to it though. Glad you brought that up. Humidity setting has been 5, but last night, I lowered it to 4 due to condensation breaking the seal.

I usually don't eat 3 hrs before bed, but I do usually eat a big meal, so maybe I need to eat a smaller meal.

I wasn't aware that foods contained histamines, so I looked it up. Last night was really bad, and I did have a bacon double cheeseburger and fries, so maybe that didn't help. I have a Ney Yr's resolution to eat healthier and lose 45 lbs, so I will have to watch out for high histamine foods and eating too close to bed. Thanks for the suggestions.

[Pugsy]

For some people humidity or lack of adequate humidity does/will cause congestion. If your nose needs more moisture but more moisture causes rain out....there are ways to reduce the moisture. If you are using a heated hose...increase the hose air temp. If you aren't using a heated hose then get one. That is the easiest way to get rid of rain out.

Now sometimes there is a thing that happens called the "nasal cycle". Google it. It's where sometimes one side of the nose gets stopped up for no reason. Usually the side that is down when we are laying on our side. I have this happen to me quite often. There really isn't a fix for this except turn over on the other side for a while.

My nasal mucosa needs lots of added moisture. If I reduce the humidity setting I can count on congestion happening and some pretty nasty allergy like symptoms. It is what it is so I use the humidity setting that my nasal mucosa wants (google cpap rhinitis) and deal with the rain out with the heated hose.

Nasal pillows should never be "inside the nose"....if they are actually inside the nose then they are either too small or the headgear is too tight.
Nasal pillows should rest gently against the nostrils and the only part that actually is inside the nostril is the tiny tip of the inner cone but it shouldn't ever touch the walls of the inside of the nostril.
So maybe your trial with the P10 involved incorrect fitting. They shouldn't ever cause pain or discomfort.

[Robb]

For some people humidity or lack of adequate humidity does/will cause congestion. If your nose needs more moisture but more moisture causes rain out....there are ways to reduce the moisture. If you are using a heated hose...increase the hose air temp. If you aren't using a heated hose then get one. That is the easiest way to get rid of rain out.

Now sometimes there is a thing that happens called the "nasal cycle". Google it. It's where sometimes one side of the nose gets stopped up for no reason. Usually the side that is down when we are laying on our side. I have this happen to me quite often. There really isn't a fix for this except turn over on the other side for a while.

My nasal mucosa needs lots of added moisture. If I reduce the humidity setting I can count on congestion happening and some pretty nasty allergy like symptoms. It is what it is so I use the humidity setting that my nasal mucosa wants (google cpap rhinitis) and deal with the rain out with the heated hose.

Nasal pillows should never be "inside the nose"....if they are actually inside the nose then they are either too small or the headgear is too tight.
Nasal pillows should rest gently against the nostrils and the only part that actually is inside the nostril is the tiny tip of the inner cone but it shouldn't ever touch the walls of the inside of the nostril.
So maybe your trial with the P10 involved incorrect fitting. They shouldn't ever cause pain or discomfort.

I am using a heated hose, but I was just doing some reading on a post you made about condensation. I have been using a pole to hold my hose up, but what you said makes sense:that there will be much less condensation of the hose is hanging downward. It then dawned upon me that given that the Dreamwear mask has a hose attachment on the top of the head, there is really not a need for the pole. So I did away with the pole.

After reading your post about the pillows, I went back and tried my P10 on again with all three sizes. I think my perception of the pillows in my nose might be different than many others, as it plan just seems to bother me. (:

Thanks for your helpful post. You are a wealth of knowledge, and I can't thank you enough for all of the helpful posts you have made on this forum.

[Pugsy]

Our own breaths contain moisture and can cause condensation to happen at the nasal pillow level no matter what position the hose is in.

For some people the barrel cozy for the nasal pillow is the answer. Keep the air in the pillow itself a little warmer and reduce chance of condensation. Sometimes depending on the distance from the end of the heated hose to the mask itself the air just cools off too much.
It's why we have short hose cozies and barrel cozies.

Plus...the material of the barrel cozy is super comfy. I used one with my P10 just because not only did it help with condensation...it just felt like silk against my skin.

https://www.padacheek.com/barrel-cozies-1

[Robb]

Our own breaths contain moisture and can cause condensation to happen at the nasal pillow level no matter what position the hose is in.

For some people the barrel cozy for the nasal pillow is the answer. Keep the air in the pillow itself a little warmer and reduce chance of condensation. Sometimes depending on the distance from the end of the heated hose to the mask itself the air just cools off too much.
It's why we have short hose cozies and barrel cozies.

Plus...the material of the barrel cozy is super comfy. I used one with my P10 just because not only did it help with condensation...it just felt like silk against my skin.

https://www.padacheek.com/barrel-cozies-1

Thanks, I bought that, but I still was having difficulty with the feeling of the pillows. I sent one of my masks back w little while ago in exchange for an Airfit N30. Seems a bit less cumbersome than the Dreamwear, and it has the cushions vs the pillows.

[Pugsy]

You know you may just be experiencing the nasal cycle thing and I know it can be annoying...especially for someone who seems to be super sensitive to about everything.

[Robb]

You know you may just be experiencing the nasal cycle thing and I know it can be annoying...especially for someone who seems to be super sensitive to about everything.

That is true. I plan to observe tonight which nostril gets clogged and which side I am on.

[Deborah K.]

Some people are just prone to congestion all the time. I'm one of them. My left nostril is narrow and hard to breathe through, even after surgery years ago to fix things. I sleep mostly on my back and that seems to help. When I sleep on my sides the congestion bothers me more. Sleeping on my back seems to help everything flow better, probably simply due to aligning with gravity. Some of us just have to live with it.

[Robb]

Noticed last night that my nostril getting clogged did coincide with which side I slept on. Thanks for letting me know about this.

[EmmaFarr]

Have you tried Breathe Right strips? They basically saved my life pre-CPAP and now I still use them to help open up my nasal airways when I sleep -- especially while falling asleep with lower pressure - the time when it's most easy to notice that one nostril hates me.

[Robb]

Yes, the past few weeks, they have helped to open the open one more, but unfortunately not much for the closed one. Thanks.