Running dry causing breathing trouble

Lat night I had 8 hrs with an AHI of <1 with only passover humidity. It was not cold so the heater did not run much but this am I was so very dry in the throat and chest and very "lung" congested.

Anyone else had this "rebound" effect? I'm going to ramp up the humidity one notch per night to try and assuage the problem. When I ran on 3 (out of 6 ResMed style) my nose got congested after about 4-5 hrs sleep so I hope the answer lies in the 1-2 range.

I drink lots of water every day but last night I did have 3 alcoholic drinks and what may have been some quite salty food. I have found that combo has caused dryness in the past but never this bad.

Any other advice?

Alcohol causes dehydration in general and that is one of the things that causes your hangover.

As time passes, your health may change slightly, and you get older.
As these things happen, your tolerance to various toxins will diminish.
Alcohol, BTW, is toxic, even though it may not feel that way at first.

Looks like I have my first cold on CPAP, but still on nasal pillows and had an AHI of under 1 last night. Wish the aches would go away, though.