wife might be starting cpap journey or it might be allergies

[SpouseTexas]

48 yr old wife is wondering if she has apnea and possible need for cpap. Calling doc today

We realize we are not doctors but she has been fighting horrible snoring, fatigue during day thats gotten worse the last few years. She has always had bad allergies that are year round from childhood that docs havent really solved. She has had the occasional gasp for air thing when she sleeps since childhood. Occasional forgetfulness. Cant really tell if her allergies make her snoring worse. A lot of classic signs of OSA and allergies too. So shes gonna call her doc for a referral to a sleep center to get checked out.

Will be interesting to see what the study shows. Could it come back as allergies? obstructive apnea? If both would she still get prescribed CPAP? Are the allergies secondary to apnea? Would a sleep test diff between OSA and allergy? We will know more in a few weeks. I have heard cpap helps allergies and i have heard it doesnt.

[Sheriff Buford]

You are asking a lot of interesting questions. Right now, the sleep study is best test she can take. My gut tells me that the allergy issue is separate from the apnea, but the allergies may make the apnea worse.... or vise versa. Lots of folks here have severe allergy issues. I hope that the issue is not sleep apnea... no one wants this disease.... but if it IS SOME of her problem, then she can successfully treat it. We will help you bring success I her treatment. Sleep apnea causes a lot of health issues and some of these issues can be deadly. Get the sleep study. It's the best thing she can do. Who knows.... maybe getting some good sleep may reduce the severity her allergies.

Sheriff

PS: By the way..... HOWDIE!!!!

[Julie]

Allergies can aggravate apnea, and possibly vice versa, but otherwise they're not related as such... no cause and effect. She likely has mild apnea aggravated by allergies, but would not use Cpap for them, only for proven apnea.

[kteague]

I do hope you'll come back and let us know how this turns out after her sleep study. If it happens to turn out that she is diagnosed with sleep apnea and prescribed CPAP treatment, it might be worthwhile to check if her machine offers a fine filter that is supposed to help with allergies. If her allergies are from things inhaled, it could possibly help them at night. My allergies don't bother me all night but as soon as I take the mask off, here come the sneezes. If she's had any periods of successful management of her allergies and the sleep breathing was still a problem, that would increase my suspicion of OSA.

[SpouseTexas]

Minor update. She's making an appointment with her primary care physician in a week to get a recommendation of a good sleep doctor/clinic. Again, no official diagnosis yet, but assuming it's not allergies and it is apnea (her thinking), we had a million questions about what her treatment might be like, so here are a few things that have come up as we've discussed the topic.

1) She's already looked at masks, hose covers, pillows, etc (jumping ahead? sure). Total mouth breathing due to horrible allergies=likely full face mask. All things being equal, she saw the more elegant ResMed "for her" masks and Respironics Amara View and hopes to stay away from bulkier/forehead piece masks due to her claustrophobia...but each face/mask is different as far as fit/seal, etc. Would the folks at a titration session in a metropolitian area sleep clinic have most of the major masks available (Resmed/Respironics) for her to try, or do they just assign one to get you thru sleep study, then let you buy whatever mask you want online? Or do they send you to a local DME provider?

2) she always had a sensitive gag reflex...brushing her teeth, dental work, retainer/expander as a kid. Some of this is likely due to GERD. Does CPAP irritate this problem or is it totally different? Or can CPAP and sensitive gag reflex coexist?

3) Does CPAP feel like powerful like a leafblower/fan uncomfortably and unevenly forcing air into your lungs or is it more a natural, smoother pressure type thing? I've read about how the exhale effort is different and the amazing machines can now sometimes relieve that.

4) I understand during the acclimation process they tell you to wear your mask for a few hours before you go to sleep...so I could easily see us watching a movie or catching up on our favorite TV shows before bedtime to help take her mind off of her mask. If she's wearing a FFM, will she be able to talk at all? Or is it uncomfortable/awkward for her to talk with the stream of air in your nose/throat? Like, once the mask is on, does that pretty much stop the chatting?

[Julie]

Just wondering, with the history, has she never used antihistamines - and had improvement (or not)?

[SpouseTexas]

Some improvement with antihistimines. She's had the tests, etc. done over the years and it's more managing them than totally settling down. Allergies are low-level during non-allergy season, but really bad when ragweed, pollen, etc. get bad here in Texas (spring, fall, winter). Allergy drainage and some GERD make it tough on her tummy.

[ChicagoGranny]

Are the allergies secondary to apnea?

Irritation from allergies causing the airways to swell could be a contributing factor to sleep apnea.

She's had the tests, etc. done over the years and it's more managing them than totally settling down.

What is being done to manage them? Immunology works wonders in many cases. I hope she is under the care of a good ENT/Allergist.

really bad when ragweed, pollen, etc. get bad here in Texas (spring, fall, winter).

Breathing filtered air all night might help a bit with the allergies. ... but then there is the other 16 hours a day breathing.

GERD

GERD is a sign of sleep apnea. The body struggles to breathe at night and throws some of the stomach contents into the airway.

[nawchem]

I use a good air purifier, makes nice background noise and works fast to clean the air. I've had 2 cpaps, mine is very old but has C-Flex so I could breath easier with it. I might the odd person out, I have a slightly different disorder - Upper Airway Respiratory Sytem. I have a small airway when I get into deeper sleep my brain wakes me up repeatedly. I went without deep sleep so long I been sleep-walking and dozing while driving and missing the end of many movies. Still wondering who Rosebud is.

My pressure is only 8 no talking going against the air. Hopefully your mask will be comfortable enough to not need the day practice. I think the whole thing is figuring out the physics of it so nothing displaces the mask. I use pillow system that sits on my nostrils and I never pull the mask over my head, i barely know that its there. The trick is that i know how to keep the weight of the hose from pulling the pillows out of position. There's nights of frustration, nothing works and the mask flies across the room. Usually when you're tired in the middle of the night it isn't a productive time to trouble shoot.

[Julie]

Rosebud - the name given to a sled in the movie... not a person!

[chunkyfrog]

ROSEBUD was also the middle name of Rob and Laura Petrie's son on the Dick Van Dyke Show.

[USMCVet]

Minor update. She's making an appointment with her primary care physician in a week to get a recommendation of a good sleep doctor/clinic. Again, no official diagnosis yet, but assuming it's not allergies and it is apnea (her thinking), we had a million questions about what her treatment might be like, so here are a few things that have come up as we've discussed the topic.

1) She's already looked at masks, hose covers, pillows, etc (jumping ahead? sure). Total mouth breathing due to horrible allergies=likely full face mask. All things being equal, she saw the more elegant ResMed "for her" masks and Respironics Amara View and hopes to stay away from bulkier/forehead piece masks due to her claustrophobia...but each face/mask is different as far as fit/seal, etc. Would the folks at a titration session in a metropolitian area sleep clinic have most of the major masks available (Resmed/Respironics) for her to try, or do they just assign one to get you thru sleep study, then let you buy whatever mask you want online? Or do they send you to a local DME provider?

2) she always had a sensitive gag reflex...brushing her teeth, dental work, retainer/expander as a kid. Some of this is likely due to GERD. Does CPAP irritate this problem or is it totally different? Or can CPAP and sensitive gag reflex coexist?

3) Does CPAP feel like powerful like a leafblower/fan uncomfortably and unevenly forcing air into your lungs or is it more a natural, smoother pressure type thing? I've read about how the exhale effort is different and the amazing machines can now sometimes relieve that.

4) I understand during the acclimation process they tell you to wear your mask for a few hours before you go to sleep...so I could easily see us watching a movie or catching up on our favorite TV shows before bedtime to help take her mind off of her mask. If she's wearing a FFM, will she be able to talk at all? Or is it uncomfortable/awkward for her to talk with the stream of air in your nose/throat? Like, once the mask is on, does that pretty much stop the chatting?

My opinion is completely subjective.......
1: my initial choice was Amara view as well. I started poll and read more and decided to go with Dreamwear nasal cushions because a lot of people use nasal instead of full face mask and I assumed I was like most people despite my constant nasal congestion Everytime I woke up. I chose it also because I toss and turn and like to sleep on side. I have used it on back, each side and even stomach successfully.

2:I've has no gag reflex issues at all or any hint of it.

3: my pressures are pretty low and I use pressure relief where it drops pressure when I exhale. After a week if that it feels normal after a minute and I can't tell there is any extra pressure.

4:I did no acclimation and went straight to it. With my mask it's weird to talk at times but short things are fine. One big tip is don't use minimum pressure of 4. Also when going to bed at first it helps to be laying down in sleeping position for a few min before turning it on.

Good luck!

[Renaya]

I've been on therapy for only 2 months so take any advice I give with a grain of salt, but I've been snoring and mouth breathing for years and assumed I'd need a full face. It turns out that the reason I was mouth breathing was due to not getting enough air (who'd a thunk it?). I ended up with a dreamwear nasal mask and it's been very comfortable and easy to adjust to.