Breathing Difficulty

[dookybear]

I have been using CPAP for about 5 months now. I have found that when i do not use cpap (i.e. i am trying to take a nap) it gets very difficult for me to breathe.

This has gotten to the stage where if I feel tired in the evenings or the afternoons my breathing becomes laboured. once i put my cpap on i can breathe fine. is this normal?

like for instance this arfternoon i was driving and feeling a little sleepy and my chest got tired and it became difficult me to take in a deep breath. this problem has only been since i started using CPAP in mid Feb of this year.

I mentioned it to my repsiratory doctor who just sort of shrugged and said it shouldnt be happening and nothing more was said but it's geing worse. any suggetsions would be appreciated.

[DreamStalker]

Doesn't sound normal to me.

However, you should not be sleeping or taking naps without the CPAP ... you need to use it every time you sleep or nap.

Good luck!

[Slinky]

Do you have lung problems other than OSA? Asthma? Emphysema? COPD? Are you a smoker?

I would agree, most strongly, w/DreamStalker, you should NOT be sleeping w/o your mask and CPAP on. Doing so just undoes the good of CPAP therapy. CPAP is NOT a cure for OSA. It is a therapy. It REQUIRES the use of CPAP every time you sleep. Every time you sleep w/o your CPAP it is as if you've never used CPAP.

[houltkin]

Every time you sleep w/o your CPAP it is as if you've never used CPAP.

Why do you say that?

[Slinky]

CPAP is therapy. It is like needing glasses to read. Don't wear your glasses you can't read the newspaper. Put your glasses on and you can read the newspaper.

The difference is that long term, going w/o CPAP therapy when you have OSA is doing damage to your body. Each apnea deprives your body of the oxygen it needs to function properly. Each hypopnea deprives your body of enough of the oxygen it needs to function properly. Your organs have to work harder to do their job. That is tiring and wearing to them and they begin to wear out sooner.

The end result can be high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, diabetes and a sooner death than would be the case had your body had sufficient oxygen to function all day AND all night.

[kteague]

While your doctor may have blown off any idea of the relationship between this increasing problem breathing and your use of cpap, don't let them disregard your symptoms themselves. I've had increasing breathing problems for years, and only about a year ago did respiratory tests and x-rays reveal a problem. The doctors had been focused on a probable cardiac cause and chest x-rays were normal, but what I continue to feel is more and worse of the same, so I think the lung issue was there all along, just not yet apparent.

My doctor said with inflammatory processes (probably auto immune) like mine, clearing the inflammation early can prevent scarring of the lung tissues and possibly restore normal lung function. The longer it drags on, the greater the likelihood of tissue damage. Just keep a watchful eye in case you are developing something like Slinky mentioned.

[bap40]

Go and see your doc. I would be scared about this symptom if it were me.

[houltkin]

CPAP is therapy. It is like needing glasses to read. Don't wear your glasses you can't read the newspaper. Put your glasses on and you can read the newspaper.

The difference is that long term, going w/o CPAP therapy when you have OSA is doing damage to your body. Each apnea deprives your body of the oxygen it needs to function properly. Each hypopnea deprives your body of enough of the oxygen it needs to function properly. Your organs have to work harder to do their job. That is tiring and wearing to them and they begin to wear out sooner.

The end result can be high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, diabetes and a sooner death than would be the case had your body had sufficient oxygen to function all day AND all night.

But what you said was that every time you don't use a cpap, it's like you never used it. Your answer, although true, does not support this concept.

[Snoredog]

the events which make it difficult to breathe are sleep onset events, can be made up of Flow Limited breaths, hypopnea, apnea and simply forgetting to breathe where they show up as centrals.

doesn't matter if you are taking a nap or retiring for the night the same events will show up.

don't know what it is about a nap but we seem to more rapidly fall deeper into sleep when taking a nap as opposed to retiring for the night. This is why sometimes taking a nap you wake up feeling better than sleeping all night.

but I've also taken a nap and felt worse after waking.

[pmany]

I found that after the first few months of starting treatment if I tried to sleep without the CPAP I became very aware of the stoppage of breathing. Up until that point I was not aware of it. After just a short time of getting breath all night you get used to it and then the lack of breath during non use becomes more obvious.

I think most OSA is slow to start and you don't realize it is happening. but stopping treatment is like night and day.

Though if you feel your chest is compressing, don't listen to a doctor until they get you what YOU want not just "don't worry about it" this is your health and life. If they don't want to help with more tests then find a new doctor. You must be satisfied with your health care, it is not just about your doctors satisfaction.

--Paul

[dookybear]

Do you have lung problems other than OSA? Asthma? Emphysema? COPD? Are you a smoker?

I would agree, most strongly, w/DreamStalker, you should NOT be sleeping w/o your mask and CPAP on. Doing so just undoes the good of CPAP therapy. CPAP is NOT a cure for OSA. It is a therapy. It REQUIRES the use of CPAP every time you sleep. Every time you sleep w/o your CPAP it is as if you've never used CPAP.

i had asthma as a kid and maybe once a year i need a puff or two of ventolin but thats accompanied by wheezing. never smoked and not around other smokers

what worries me is that i also get the difficulty in breathing when i'm not actually trying to sleep btu just relaxing. i think i will see a doctor again and perhaps get a referal to a different specialist

[bap40]

Maybe just maybe it could be an anxiety type of reaction. See your doc or a new doc.

[jlherndon]

when I started using my cpap 4 years ago my asthma surfaced that I hadn't had since I was a child. Advair rx took care of that