allergies preventing me from wearing cpap

[blueeyes]

I have had Allergies for about a week. I have had headaches, coughing especially at night and very sore and dry throat. I do have acid reflux too so at first i thought that is what i had. I have not slept with my cpap all night for about a week I always wake up coughing then unable to go back to sleep. I am taking zyrtex and last night tried a humidfier in bedroom. I still wake up every night and as so tired during the day. anyone have any suggestions i am miserable.

[Goofproof]

I use OTC meds before bedtime also meds to control acid reflux, I make sure I am not mouth leaking my treatment. I keep the bedroom cool and dont use the Hh, my choice. I wouldn't think of not using my xpap correctly, EVER! Jim

[Todzo]

I have had Allergies for about a week. I have had headaches, coughing especially at night and very sore and dry throat. I do have acid reflux too so at first i thought that is what i had. I have not slept with my cpap all night for about a week I always wake up coughing then unable to go back to sleep. I am taking zyrtex and last night tried a humidfier in bedroom. I still wake up every night and as so tired during the day. anyone have any suggestions i am miserable.

Hi blueeyes!

Ah spring!! Has sprung!

I used to think it was the pollen and all that gave me allergies. Now I am not so sure.

Post Traumatic Stress caused me to look into things that might help with hyperventilation. So I found eucapnic breathing. Since what moves you from hypocapnia (hypo=low -- capnia=carbon dioxide levels in the blood - happens with hyperventilation due to blowing off too much CO2) might well move you through eucapnia (eu=norma -- capnia=carbon dioxide levels in the blood) into hypercapnia (hyper=high -- capnia=carbon dioxide levels in the blood) I used a pulse oximeter to determine the breathing level which yielded the lowest heart rates while keeping exertion constant. While I did this I noted that the blood oxygen level (SpO2) is a good guide to get you back to that level quickly. So began an ongoing training using pulse oximeter guided eucapnic breathing.

Funny thing. Eucapnic breathing rate - no allergies. Really! Nose clears consistently if I slow breathing down. The pulse oximeter calibrated by finding the lowest heart rates keeps me from going too far.

If I sneeze, which is rare, I stop breathing for about 20 seconds and continue with slow breathing.

The constant pressure of xPAP tends us toward breathing more. If you keep your stress levels down and breath quietly with your xPAP I think you will find your nose happier.

Have a great week!

Todzo

[Mundy]

I have seasonal allergies too and have found relief with a filter that goes on the outflow of the CPAP. My dr prescribed it because it traps pollen, etc in addition to bacteria. This is what I use: https://www.cpap.com/cpap-filters/bacte ... covers.php. It doesn't seem to limit the airflow. I also take Claritin every day.

[zoocrewphoto]

I have bad allergies, and both clariton and Zyrtec were useless even at twice a day (like me doctor told me). I have found some improvement with chlortrimeton.

But, I was having a huge problem with coughing which was not allowing me to keep my mask on more than 20 minutes. My doctor finally decided I was having asthma problems, so she prescribed an additional inhaler that I use twice a day now. It helps a lot. I went from coughing all day and night constantly, to finally being cough free. I have not used cough medicine or cough drops since last Thursday, and that was more precautionary since I was going to be in a meeting all morning.

Also, my doctor prescribed a different cough medication for me. Tessalon perles. It's a pill instead of a cough syrup, and it it was much better at reducing my cough, lasted longer, and no bad taste to deal with. I can also carry them with me anywhere. I wish she had prescribed them last summer back when the first round of coughing hit me. The second round lasted 8 weeks, and my sleep was really messed up. I couldn't get my doctor to grasp how desperate I was for sleep by then. Before cpap treatment, I didn't know how bad my untreated sleep was. But now I do, so when I don't have it, I am really miserable. I can deal with shorter sleep, but untreated sleep is awful.