New to CPAP

Hi everybody. I am 37 years old. I've been taking blood pressure medication a little over 10 years, I'm overweight, and my wife has told I snore from time to time. Earlier this year, I weaned myself off of caffeine, only to start having trouble staying awake. I chalked it up to the lack of caffeine until I started having difficulty concentrating at work, and eventually got to the point where I was sneaking out at lunch to try to nap in my car. The thing that bothered me most was that I was getting up like 6-8 times every night to pee (I do not have any related daytime problems to this).

After a talk with my doctor, he referred me to a apnea specialist who sent me in for a sleep study. They told me I had a sleep apnea index of 67. Within a week, I had my own CPAP machine at home.

I think I have adapted to it very well. The first night I slept 5 hours straight, which hadn't happened for a long time. The next several nights my sleep increased to 7 or 8 hours. Within two weeks I stopped using the 'ramp' feature of my machine because it didn't seem necessary any more. All seems to be going well and I thought I was going great (and my nighttime trips to the bathroom reduced to zero or one).

Except I have this chest cold and sinus infection. I actually had the chest cold (my 5 yo daughter brought it home for me from preschool) before the sleep study started. I've had it going on 6 weeks now. The past couple of nights I've had two problems that are affecting my sleep again. First, my chest congestion isn't going away. I've gone through 10 days of amoxicillin and the congestion was almost gone, until two nights ago when it started getting worse again. Should I stop using the CPAP until it clears Would it help if I turned the humidifier back on (After the first week, I didn't feel I needed the humidifier either.)

The second problem is anytime I get a cold, I get a sinus infection. It has to do with the chronic sinus polyps I've had to deal with since I was 9 years old. I'm scheduled to have these removed again (I think it's like the 10th time) in a couple of weeks. But in the meantime, my nose is sometimes blocked terribly. This morning I woke up at 4AM, unable to breathe through my nose, chest congestion that made my lungs burn when I coughed. I took a hot shower as sometimes the steam will clear everything up. It did help clear my chest, but my nose was still blocked and I wasn't able to get back to sleep. Now I am at work and I look like a zombie again.

What do you do when you nose is blocked

What type mask do you have?? I have terrible sinus problems and use a nasal mask -- I have a FFM on stand-by for the night when I can not breath through my nose.

For "not so bad nights" I put a little Vicks in each nostril and it seems to clear up the stuffiness.

Alot of people here use nasal sprays, etc.

I am sure you will get more replies and suggestions.

Good luck

Skittles

It is a full face max. Mirage Quattro, I think.

Ebi -- I'm relatively new to OSA myself, so I'm working through some issues as well.

I have complex sinus issues too, which I've worked through with an allergist (I, thankfully, don't have polyps) but I do have multiple allergies which affect me much the same way as you.

One of those allergies is to mold, and I've found that if I don't keep my humidifier chamber and hose clean, I will get congested. I am assuming this is from mold.

In other aspects of my sinus health, though, I do a few things such as trying to stay away from allergens. I wash my hands frequently, and I think this has directly led to fewer colds. My kids are older now, so they don't seem to bring home as many bugs.

When I feel the onset of a sinus infection (most of the time I can tell when one is coming), I do whatever I can to keep my sinuses draining. I take Afrin and decongestants, and I irrigate my sinuses (check out the Grossan Hydromed stuff) which to me is a surprisingly gentle and effective preventative measure. With those kinds of steps, I haven't had a severe sinus infection in over 5 years.

Guy

Ebi,

Do not stop CPAP.

Some people find that the humidier affects thier congestion level, you might try turning it on again and see if you do better.
You also might try a sinus rinse, myself I find Niel-Meds the easiest to use, but there are several on the market. Rinse shortly before you mask up.

Since you suspect this is a virus, make sure you are deligent in you cleaning routine. Distilled water is the least likely water to carry unwanted "guests" into your system and is recomended for use in the humidifier.

Thanks for the feedback. I was most worried about whether I should stop until I get over this cold/chest congestion. I do clean the mask every day or so with water and a antibacterial soap, and about every week I wash the mask and the hose with a mix of water and white vinegar. I didn't know if my exhaled air (and germs) were making it back to the unit itself, or if it all goes out the vent.

I have the Neil-med sinus rinse bottles too - I use a mix of warmed distilled water, pickling salt, and baking soda. It is a little harder to use when the polyps have all but blocked on nostril, but maybe still worth trying.

I'm glad to see so many questions answered here. I already saw two more questions addressed I need to read after I finish this post. I think I might be here a while. Thanks again.

skittles wrote:
For "not so bad nights" I put a little Vicks in each nostril and it seems to clear up the stuffiness.

There appear to be very rare cases of lipoid pneumonia caused by long-term use of Vicks in the nostrils. The makers of Vicks state it is for external use only, not to be put into the nostrils. That is because it contains "special petroleum." Oily substances like petroleum jelly and mineral oil can cause this rare form of pneumonia if inhaled.

I don't wish to be alarmist. From what I have read in scientific articles, lipoid pneumonia is uncommon and Vicks as a causative agent appears to be linked only to individuals who have frequently used Vicks in their nose for many years.

I just want to encourage anyone who is interested to check it out. Google lipoid pneumonia or Vicks + lipoid pneumonia, or petroleum jelly + lipoid pneumonia.