Collaping a lung every time i wake up?

[defklownz]

Hello, I am new to this forum and want to thank anyone in advance for any answers I receive
Ok, I have had sleep apnea for as long as i can remember,I wasn't diagnosed till i was 30,received a cpap and mask,had
the normal getting used to period (choking out of mask,waking up after the ramp,etc)and have been doing great till lately,
I recently wake up coughing violently for an hour IT'S TERRIBLE! I'm wondering if it has to do with my pressure or humidity change,
I recently moved from nevada to Washington < which i changed the elevation on my cpap>but does the humidifier need to change too?
I also smoke cigarettes<any factor i don't know>but it feels like one lung is collaping,...... also i wear a swift 2 nasal pillow mask and i take short breaths i assume while im sleeping so i wonder if when i take the mask off in the morning and take a deep breath?

[lookin4sleep]

Hello, I am new to this forum and want to thank anyone in advance for any answers I receive
Ok, I have had sleep apnea for as long as i can remember,I wasn't diagnosed till i was 30,received a cpap and mask,had
the normal getting used to period (choking out of mask,waking up after the ramp,etc)and have been doing great till lately,
I recently wake up coughing violently for an hour IT'S TERRIBLE! I'm wondering if it has to do with my pressure or humidity change,
I recently moved from nevada to Washington < which i changed the elevation on my cpap>but does the humidifier need to change too?
I also smoke cigarettes<any factor i don't know>but it feels like one lung is collaping,...... also i wear a swift 2 nasal pillow mask and i take short breaths i assume while im sleeping so i wonder if when i take the mask off in the morning and take a deep breath?

I am a verrryyy newbie to xpap, but I am an oldie on the waking up coughing thing. Acid reflux can cause this - weird, I know, but there it is. Do you have probs with acid stomach? Anyway, a test (and possible fix) is to raise the head of the bed about 3 inches or 4 paperback books, whichever, and see if it gets better. Could be lots of other stuff, just thought I would mention this.

Chris

[CorgiGirl]

Are you in Washington State or Washington DC? If WA State, what part? We've got everything from humid rainforest to arid desert in this state, so that will make a difference in terms of humidifier needs. We also have everything from sea level to 16,000 ft (not that I think you're using your CPAP on top of The Mountain (Rainier, that is) ) so double checking elevation may be useful.

Welcome to the board.

[Snoredog]

I'd sanitize your hose and humidifier tank with a bleach solution and rinse well. Wash your foam filter also.

Nevada is a desert and dry, Washington as in Seattle is rain country where it is wet and more humid. I'd turn off the humidifier or use it without it in the circuit for a night and see if it don't improve.

Is your cough up from the lung or is it a dry hacking cough from the back of the throat? When you don't get enough humidity it dries things out and you end up with a dry-hacking cough or a sore throat.

[Slinky]

I assure you it is NOT a lung collapsing!! I encountered ONE spontaneous pneumothorax (collapsed lung) back in the early 1980's. It is EXCRUCIATING! I woke up in the morning feeling fine, but when I sat up it was like someone thrust a battleaxe into my chest! A small bleb (blister) on the lung breaks and the air in your lung escapes into your chest cavity which is what causes the pain. The air in the chest cavity prevents your lung from reinflating which makes it extremely difficult to breathe.

I just figured it was pleurisy. What did I know? I had a dog show to go to that day and was riding w/a friend so I duly got dressed, my friend had to load my tack in the car and off we went. I was miserable and in extreme pain! At the show good friends helped me w/getting my dog on the grooming table and w/brushing her out. But I took her in the ring. THREE times we had to run around that ring. When I walked out of the ring I collapsed and virtually passed out. Friends took me to the nearest ER.

A tube was inserted in my chest between the ribs under the armpit attached to a pump to drain the air in the chest cavity so that the lung could reinflate and I could breathe. I spent 3 days in the hospital before being released. And that hospitalization was an experience in itself!!!! Fortunately they used U of M doctors!

The dust bunnies hung around so long they could have been named. I was in a 6 bed ward as that was all the room they had. An elderly lady had a bowel obstruction and vomited feces during the night. I called the nurses, they came in to look and then left her like that all night until just before doctor's rounds in the AM when they came in and cleaned the lady and the bed, etc.. Of course, I ratted on the staff that morning to the doctors and pooh hit the fan. HOWEVER, I was sure that one or more of those nurses would slit my throat come night time and insisted on being released or I would walk AMA. That county hospital was closed some time after.

A collapsed lung is considered a life threatening experience. It is excruciating. It is extremely difficult to breathe. You do NOT want to cough w/a collapsed lung, the pain if you do is unexplainable, but you will do most anything to NOT cough for fear of the pain.

[DreamDiver]

Besides the all-important sanitation considerations, you can also get lung pain from allergies to feathers. I get lung pain if I sleep using feather pillows. It just started happening one day about 20 years ago. Prior to that, I'd used feather pillows all my life. So allergic reactions can change over the years, seemingly without notice. If you have feather pillows or feather blankets, remove them for a few weeks and see how that makes you feel.

Also, there are some great gel-fiber pillows out there that are even better than feather.

[Slinky]

Lookin4Sleep has made an excellent suggestion. It well could be silent reflux causing your recent experience. It certainly is worth investigating. We sometimes experience a little "aerophagia" (air swallowing) from time to time which can cause some bloating, discomfort, gas and if we happen to have a weakened LES (lower esophogeal sphinctor) reflux or silent reflux can occur.

You don't say how long you've been on CPAP, maybe your needs have changed and you might be due for a new titration study? IF so, and if your insurance has changed, now might be a good time to get a new CPAP too; be sure to get a fully data capable CPAP, and your current CPAP can then serve as an excellent back up and travel CPAP!

[Lee22633]

Hello, I am new to this forum and want to thank anyone in advance for any answers I receive
Ok, I have had sleep apnea for as long as i can remember,I wasn't diagnosed till i was 30,received a cpap and mask,had
the normal getting used to period (choking out of mask,waking up after the ramp,etc)and have been doing great till lately,
I recently wake up coughing violently for an hour IT'S TERRIBLE! I'm wondering if it has to do with my pressure or humidity change,
I recently moved from nevada to Washington < which i changed the elevation on my cpap>but does the humidifier need to change too?
I also smoke cigarettes<any factor i don't know>but it feels like one lung is collaping,...... also i wear a swift 2 nasal pillow mask and i take short breaths i assume while im sleeping so i wonder if when i take the mask off in the morning and take a deep breath?

Actually if there is a big difference in elevation between Nevada and Washington, and that you are taking short breaths while you sleep, the larger breath when you wake up could be that you you have readjusted your CO2/o2 ratio. Look up Hyper ventilation Syndrome and how it is affected by altitude changes.
Lee

[CamiTampa]

I recently wake up coughing violently for an hour IT'S TERRIBLE! I'm wondering if it has to do with my pressure or humidity change

This happened to me too, before I was on CPAP. I was a smoker then. It stopped once I quit smoking. It was bad enough that I had to use an asthma inhaler. This went on for 2 weeks and was the trigger for me going to the pulmonary doc.
I quit smoking before going on cpap, but haven't had an episode since, (1 1/2 years.)

[gasp]

I live in the Pacific Northwest in a very humid area, and when traveling to a desert area found I had to turn my humidifier way up. This leads me to wonder if you have left your humidifier setting at a higher level than is needed (if) you're now in a humid area and you're getting too much humidity.

[defklownz]

Thx for all the replies, ive been on a c-pap for about a year in nevada and moved here to everett washington and you are right i did have the humidifier all the way up...will try on the lowest setting tonight ..i cough only when i take the mask off and take my first breath, its like my lungs arnt fully inflated i cough till i see white sparkles in the air..the only way i can descibe it is i must take short breathes in my sleep and when i take the mask off i take that normal breath???