Stuffy, Drippy, Scabby, Bloody Nose!

[renne]

I'm quite willing to use CPAP (Resmed S9/nasal pillows). In fact, I kind of like it, but I like lots of air circulation when I sleep, even in winter. I used to open the windows to the extent that I frostbit my plants. I wish I could "cool" the air in my humidifier because it's a little warmer than I like. I am having some problems however. My poor nose is really taking a beating. It leaks clear fluid all the time. My DME said to up the humidity to 2.5. I did - still leaks. I upped to 3 - helped for a very short time, but not long term. I have wakened up with my sinuses so congested I can't breathe through my nose at all which makes me breathe through my mouth all night. I wake up with my mouth so dry I can't swallow and my tongue is sticking to the sides of my teeth. Sort of defeats the purpose of CPAP altogether. I have sneezing fits where I can sneeze 12 or more times in a row. I have nosebleeds (minor) and persistent scabs. I did get a gel called Ayrgel, but I haven't used it yet. Of all the obnoxious symptoms, I dislike the sinus congestion the most. It might be helping RLS, but I need to pay attention more to be sure.

I'm having some difficulty this morning with minor congestion and having to breathe through my mouth. It's as through sinus management has become my new hobby. I want to return to my previous breathing status where I breathed without effort or notice. The reason I got into this CPAP thing to begin with is I have AFib. The conventional wisdom is don't even try to manage AFib without treating sleep apnea first (if you have it). I'm having an ablation in two weeks. The cause is errant electrical activity in/around your heart causing the heart atria to vibrate rather than beat regularly. This is prevented by a procedure where a cardiologist roots around in your heart with a RF catheter and does some spot welding. This forms scar tissue which blocks the electrical impulses. Has a good cure rate - takes 3 to four hours to complete; you may need a touch up down the road, but it beats everything else.

I actually don't think I have sleep apnea. My spouse says I don't snore. I don't stop breathing. I don't wake up tired. I don't fall asleep during the day. I NEVER fall asleep driving. I'm not sure all this is worth the nose/sinus problems, but I sure don't want to screw up the AFib cure. I'm going to try a hypoallergenic filter for the S9, then maybe a bacteria filter (I live in farm country and it's dusty and I sleep with a cat) and if that doesn't show any improvement I think I have to quit. I've heard stories from people who say that CPAP has made a difference like night from day for them, but I don't see that for me. I've been using it steadily for almost 3 months. I did stop for at least ten days recently when the above symptoms got so bad and didn't notice any difference except the nose/sinus problems stopped.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom or perhaps have the same problems?

Renne

[BlackSpinner]

nasal rinses with salt water (Neil med rinses) every evening.

A full face mask to deal with congestion and mouth breathing.

I actually don't think I have sleep apnea. My spouse says I don't snore. I don't stop breathing. I don't wake up tired. I don't fall asleep during the day.

Those are only some of the symptoms that some people have. You had a sleep study. Get a copy and post it here and people will explain the results for you. You may only have it mildly but if it is screwing up your heart, severity doesn't really matter, does it - without a proper functioning heart .....

[Pugsy]

You have an S9 machine? Are you using the ClimateLine heated hose or the standard hose? I think if you only have a single adjustment (the 2.5 to 3) then probably standard hose. Uses more heat to maintain moisture level.

Sounds like your nasal mucosa need more moisture (since you had marginal improvement when you increased to 3) so I would increase the humidifier level again. Since you don't like the added warmth in the air and if you are using the standard hose you might talk with your DME about using the Climateline hose because you can adjust it to a lower temp with higher humidity.

If your mouth is dry..that indicates mouth breathing. Common complaint.
Which model S9 are you using? Hopefully a model that offers full data so you can use the software that is available to see if mouth breathing is significant enough to lessen therapy effectiveness.

Regarding whether you have sleep apnea or not...did you have a sleep study? Those numbers don't lie.

I will tell you that nasal mucosa problems from the air going into our nose...can present with the very symptoms you are having. I had them myself when I used a lower setting. Some nasal mucosa like things really dry and some nasal mucosa like and need extra moisture. Sounds like you need more.

[Gaga58]

Renne...I have the same problems...just sneezing my head off most of the time and I still can't seem to figure out a way to make it stop! I've been on cpap since Sept. didn't have any trouble til we started using the heat and we heat with wood. As I said, I've tried everything...today was another sneeze/snot day...even taking my zyrtec which I had thought was beginning to work. Seems like it will back off for a few days and have only mild symptoms, then the next thing I know it's full blown again. I've tried going up and down. Got a humidity tester for the house today thinking my home air was just way too dry and the moisture I was getting from the machine was working against that. Nope!! Humidity levels in here are just fine...saved me from buying a whole house humidifier, but now I'm back to square one. I won't give up my therapy though, no matter how much I snot and sneeze...my headaches are GONE and for that alone I am thankful...my brain feels "clearer" in the thinking dept. and I'm now back to thinking ahead and getting interested in doing stuff again. Before I woke up most days with a headache, my blood pressure was way too high, and I just felt like crap and didn't give a rip whether I got anything done or not....won't go back to that!! I would encourage not to give up yet either...I don't live in farm country, but I am in the country on 2 miles of gravel road and it has been a very dry year here as well...no cat, but still we just get more dust and dirt out here in the sticks and more pollen as well. I'm just waiting til spring when the heat goes off and see what happens then...then I'll try something else if that don't make it stop!! Good luck to you!!

[chunkyfrog]

Even mild apnea can really mess you up.
AHI=13 made me a wreck.

[ThirdOutOfFive]

I use Ayr gel on the outside and just inside my nostrils every night. Normally I have very dry nasal passages due to one of my meds. With Ayr, I can use PAPpy without drying out at night. I even have some moisture in my nose all day long. I love this stuff, and won't "mask up" without it.

Good luck with your ablation. Let us know how you do with it, please.

[jmiii]

I have OSA as well. A rep came by my sleep lab about three weeks ago with CPAP Mask Gel. Its a gel that helps keep the CPAP pressure in the mask. SO I gave it a shot. That night I slept like a champ. I never woke up to my CPAP alarm. Thats what my wife calls it. But I never woke up to adjust the mask or to the high pitch whistling noise my mask makes in the middle of the night when I roll over.

I'm using CPAP Mask Gel with my patients during their CPAP titration and it seems to work with most mask types. Except the pillow masks. I think the gel may create an obstruction in the nasal passages, so Iv been avoiding that application. But all and all I give the stuff a 10. It works for me at home and for my patients in the lab. So I'm suggesting it to yall. If your mask is leaking and you have tried several different masks, then try the gel. You can buy it on CPAP Mask Gel. com.

[Kairosgrammy]

Did you have a sleep study?

I'm quite willing to use CPAP (Resmed S9/nasal pillows). In fact, I kind of like it, but I like lots of air circulation when I sleep, even in winter. I used to open the windows to the extent that I frostbit my plants. I wish I could "cool" the air in my humidifier because it's a little warmer than I like. I am having some problems however. My poor nose is really taking a beating. It leaks clear fluid all the time. My DME said to up the humidity to 2.5. I did - still leaks. I upped to 3 - helped for a very short time, but not long term. I have wakened up with my sinuses so congested I can't breathe through my nose at all which makes me breathe through my mouth all night. I wake up with my mouth so dry I can't swallow and my tongue is sticking to the sides of my teeth. Sort of defeats the purpose of CPAP altogether. I have sneezing fits where I can sneeze 12 or more times in a row. I have nosebleeds (minor) and persistent scabs. I did get a gel called Ayrgel, but I haven't used it yet. Of all the obnoxious symptoms, I dislike the sinus congestion the most. It might be helping RLS, but I need to pay attention more to be sure.

I'm having some difficulty this morning with minor congestion and having to breathe through my mouth. It's as through sinus management has become my new hobby. I want to return to my previous breathing status where I breathed without effort or notice. The reason I got into this CPAP thing to begin with is I have AFib. The conventional wisdom is don't even try to manage AFib without treating sleep apnea first (if you have it). I'm having an ablation in two weeks. The cause is errant electrical activity in/around your heart causing the heart atria to vibrate rather than beat regularly. This is prevented by a procedure where a cardiologist roots around in your heart with a RF catheter and does some spot welding. This forms scar tissue which blocks the electrical impulses. Has a good cure rate - takes 3 to four hours to complete; you may need a touch up down the road, but it beats everything else.

I actually don't think I have sleep apnea. My spouse says I don't snore. I don't stop breathing. I don't wake up tired. I don't fall asleep during the day. I NEVER fall asleep driving. I'm not sure all this is worth the nose/sinus problems, but I sure don't want to screw up the AFib cure. I'm going to try a hypoallergenic filter for the S9, then maybe a bacteria filter (I live in farm country and it's dusty and I sleep with a cat) and if that doesn't show any improvement I think I have to quit. I've heard stories from people who say that CPAP has made a difference like night from day for them, but I don't see that for me. I've been using it steadily for almost 3 months. I did stop for at least ten days recently when the above symptoms got so bad and didn't notice any difference except the nose/sinus problems stopped.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom or perhaps have the same problems?

Renne

[macewa]

I'm new to all of this, but (1) I have had severe allergies (2) my nose gets so irritated that it burns to breathe normally. My first time with this problem was when I was also having allergy problems and my nose ran constantly got so irritated that I could not put any kind of gel or medication in it because it would just burn more. When I'd sneeze it was like 12 sneezes into one. It was awful. I think people could hear me miles away. I finally stopped using the machine until it cleared up (couldn't use the machine because my nose burned like fire when I used it). Finally I was okay and I started using my machine every night. I started with the runny burning nose again right before Christmas time. This time I immediately stuffed a plug of tissue in my nose during the day so I wouldn't breathe out of it and that seemed to allow me to use the machine at night. This went on for days. Then by some miracle it stopped and I haven't had the problem for a couple of weeks. So, plug your nose. LOL sorry. Sometimes one has to laugh in order to deal with things. I sometimes wake up with the dry mouth and throat to the point it feels like it will crack in two. I use more humidity and make sure that my mask is fully covering my mouth because I am a mouth breather. Since doing that I'm much better. My problem now is that all the gook flows back into my throat during the night and when I wake up I have to cough it up and sometimes it almost makes me vomit. But that is getting better too. So, maybe it just takes time. I am still working on my nose that now has a red lump on it and hurts. Am going to try some of those pads to see if they help. Good luck to you! We really have to have a lot of patience to get through this.

I do have to disagreewith blackspinner re the saline, etc. because the doctors kept having me do that and it just made my nose worse. For me, I could not put anything in my nose because it would burn like fire. Finally, the PA saw how severely irritated it had become and said there wasn't anything she could do and sent me to the ENT who really couldn't help me either. That is when I did the plug of tissue in my nose and stopped breathing through it. The saline rinses may help some things but not necessarily everything.

[archangle]

Unfortunately, there's a lot of trial and error here. One person's miracle cure is another man's poison. Sometimes I find sleeping in the recliner helps my nose clear out. Lying on my side and getting my head in just the right position sometimes helps.

By the way, are you using any kind of nose spray? Some of them can make things a lot worse.

Did you have a sleep test? What did it say for your AHI?