Sinus Congestion and Deviated Septum

[SleepyMary21]

I have awful sinus congestion and a severally deviated septum. I have had my cpap machine for 3 weeks. I sleep with my mouth open,which dries out my mouth. I have to find that one perfect position so that I can keep my one side of my nose that I can breath open.

Typically I sleep 1 1/2 to 2 hours at a time, before my mouth dries out or the dryness causes my sinuses to drain and makes me cough. I set my humidifier on 4 and it still does not help. I am hoping that getting my deviated septum fixed helps me to sleep longer.

If there is any advice I would greatly appreciate any and all help.

[Falcon1]

I have awful sinus congestion and a severally deviated septum. I have had my cpap machine for 3 weeks. I sleep with my mouth open,which dries out my mouth. I have to find that one perfect position so that I can keep my one side of my nose that I can breath open.

Typically I sleep 1 1/2 to 2 hours at a time, before my mouth dries out or the dryness causes my sinuses to drain and makes me cough. I set my humidifier on 4 and it still does not help. I am hoping that getting my deviated septum fixed helps me to sleep longer.

If there is any advice I would greatly appreciate any and all help.

SleepyMary21,

Welcome to the forum.

You might find some things on this previous post/thread helpful:

viewtopic/t48493/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36 ... 04#p420704

Best regards.

[SleepyMary21]

Thanks Falcon1,

To heed your advise, I guess surgery is inevitable for my deviated septum. I have read about the surgery and it sounds that it is not has bad as sinus surgery.

As far as the Benadryl, I have been on an antibiotic and before that my ENT perscribed XYZAL for my congestion. I do not want to mix medicines. But I will find out more when I visit my ENT tomorrow. (01/19/10)

Again thank you.

[Falcon1]

Thanks Falcon1,

To heed your advise, I guess surgery is inevitable for my deviated septum. I have read about the surgery and it sounds that it is not has bad as sinus surgery.

As far as the Benadryl, I have been on an antibiotic and before that my ENT perscribed XYZAL for my congestion. I do not want to mix medicines. But I will find out more when I visit my ENT tomorrow. (01/19/10)

Again thank you.

SleepyMary21,

I've known many patients with deviated nasal septums who have undergone corrective ENT surgery for this condition. All the ones I've known were pleased with the results afterwards, which included easier breathing at night through their noses while asleep. This typically reduces snoring, in addition to improving obstructive sleep apnea symptoms, for those with OSA.

Regarding Benadryl, please note that the post/thread I referred to above, although entitled "Benadryl?", actually cautions against the use of Benadryl for nighttime nasal congestion, since this medication typically causes disrupted 'sleep architecture', leading to improper rest for the brain and a feeling of tiredness the next day.

Medications from the class of 'non-sedating antihistamines' are preferable for nighttime congestion, since they don't typically disrupt sleep architecture. The medicine you mentioned, Xyzal (levocetirizine), is one of the newer entries in the non-sedating antihistamines class of drugs. I have not had any experience with this medicine yet. Other drugs within this class of medicines include Claritin (loratidine), Zyrtec (cetirizine), and Allegra(fexofenadine).

Also, the links I included in the previous post which I referred to, include a link to a prior discussion/ thread with information on several natural, non-medication means of addressing chronic nasal congestion, including the use of herbs, probiotics, and dietary factors. Here's the direct link to that earlier discussion/thread:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=43714&p=388456#p388456

Often, a multi-step approach can be helpful when addressing a major problem. So, for example, someone with a deviated septum and chronic nasal congestion may benefit from both corrective nasal surgery, as well as perhaps getting tested for airborne allergies (and if positive, allergy immunotherapy shots may be helpful), in addition to using medication and/or natural, alternative therapies.

Best regards.

(Of course, always consult with your health care professional regarding medication usage.)

[Jason S.]

I have awful sinus congestion and a severally deviated septum. I have had my cpap machine for 3 weeks. I sleep with my mouth open,which dries out my mouth. I have to find that one perfect position so that I can keep my one side of my nose that I can breath open.

Typically I sleep 1 1/2 to 2 hours at a time, before my mouth dries out or the dryness causes my sinuses to drain and makes me cough. I set my humidifier on 4 and it still does not help. I am hoping that getting my deviated septum fixed helps me to sleep longer.

If there is any advice I would greatly appreciate any and all help.

Have you turned up your humidifier to the max setting? I also have a badly deviated septum and a limited nasal airway. If you are like me, you probably switch from nasal to mouth breathing after you fall asleep. Its hard to believe your mouth dryness is worse with CPAP than without, since you have a source of humidified air to draw from as opposed to the dryness of ambient air.

MY ENT told me after surgery my sleep breathing would switch back from mouth to nasal but I must say I don't believe that it would and I have not opted for the surgery.

[SleepyMary21]

I got my results back today and found out I was diagnosed as severe. My shortest time of not breathing was 26 seconds and the longest was 69 seconds, with 91 occurrences per hour. He strongly suggested that I get the surgery because I am mostly blocked and partially blocked on the left side.

I have my humidifier on 4 and sometimes 5. I will try it on 5 tonight.

Thanks for the help.

[spanz]

I had a deviated septum and got it fixed...greatly improved cpap compliance.

You can tell if it is the septum, or somehthing else, by using a breathe-rite strip some night, and seeing if things are much better.

[Dell]

Spanz, how did you measure or come to the conclusion that it improved CPAP compliance?

I have a deviated septum and although my CPAP compliance is great, my OHA values are not. I rarely get an AHI below 8. My APAP does is play cat and mouse.