Very Bad Morning - Trip to Hospital

Well last night was my 6th night I believe.

I had the same problem I usually do, I wake up every hour. Previously I turned my humidifier from 3 to 4 and I was able to sleep for three hours. But it must've been something else as now I continue to wake up every hour.

Today I woke up and I had difficulty swallowing and it felt like something was lodged in the back of my throat. I tried to drink something and eat some breakfest but it still stayed there. When I tried to cough it up and I felt something move forward but I couldn't get it up and it made me dry heave for what felt like forever.

After this I went to the hospital.

After waiting for 3 hours of waiting (I let a guy who was bleeding and a kid with a peanut allergy go first in the ER) it turns out my Uvula is enlarged and is actually sitting on the back of my tongue or throat if I lay down.

So it's been a pretty traumatic morning.

I'm wondering if this is caused because I mouth breathe since my nasal passageways are so small and if I would have better luck using my Swift and taping my mouth shut?

Sorry to hear what you went thru! Not much I hate more than vomiting except continuous nausea.

So no one has bothered to look into your mouth and throat and notice that you have an enlarged uvula before this? Or is the uvula just swollen and/or inflamed at this point?

We've had a cold snap in this area the last couple of days. Have you had the cold snap in your area? If so, your house could be drier than usual and the integrated humidifier couldn't keep up w/the dryness. I ran into that w/my Resmed Humidaire 3i for several days this winter. Fortunately, I had a used F&P HC 150 stand alone heated humidifier which can put out more humidity than the integrated humidifiers. I used that instead and it cleared up my problems. Try turning your Respironics humidifier up as high as it will go (6?) and see if that helps at all. You might also try some PoliGrip strips or PoliGrip paste on your lips. I find them more comfortable than taping.

Slinky wrote:Sorry to hear what you went thru! Not much I hate more than vomiting except continuous nausea.

So no one has bothered to look into your mouth and throat and notice that you have an enlarged uvula before this? Or is the uvula just swollen and/or inflamed at this point?

I've been to a ENT doctor and a Pulmonologist and nothing has ever been wrong with my uvula before. It just became this swollen this past night.

Slinky wrote: We've had a cold snap in this area the last couple of days. Have you had the cold snap in your area? If so, your house could be drier than usual and the integrated humidifier couldn't keep up w/the dryness. I ran into that w/my Resmed Humidaire 3i for several days this winter. Fortunately, I had a used F&P HC 150 stand alone heated humidifier which can put out more humidity than the integrated humidifiers. I used that instead and it cleared up my problems. Try turning your Respironics humidifier up as high as it will go (6?) and see if that helps at all. You might also try some PoliGrip strips or PoliGrip paste on your lips. I find them more comfortable than taping.

Yes it's very cold yesterday and it was very warm the day before. I sleep better in a cool environment. I have one of those "tube cozys" to prevent rain out, but the tube isn't heated.

I see you suggsted Poligrip Strips and I do have some to try, however, I was wondering do you agree that this is may be because of my mouth breathing? In other words if I was breathing through my nose my Uvula might not swell?

I will try cranking my humidifer, I had it only on 4 cause I started drooling the one night I got the settings right.

It does sound like mouth breathing may be the cause then. I'm not sure if PoliGrip can handle full mouth breathing, I know it works great for "lip flutters". It can't hurt to try tho.

I know there are times that I get such a heavy, stringy mucus that is hard to get "down and out" that it feels like "it" is a or the uvula w/o getting the dry mouth but perhaps having a "sticky" mouth.

Is the Swift the only mask that you have? Maybe you would do better w/a nasal mask where the air isn't being blown so directly into your nasal passages.

How well does the Swift fit and how comfortable is it? I switched to the ComfortLite 2 and ended up liking it better. Mine came w/the nasal pillows AND simple nasal cushion. Eventually I tried the simple nasal cushion and found I liked it better than the nasal pillows AND better than my Fisher & Paykel HC 407 nasal cushion. The CL2 simple nasal cushion is smaller/shorter than the 407 nasal cushion and I suspect if the 407 came w/a petite nasal cushion (thus shorter) that I might have done much better w/it. However, the 407 simple nasal cushion is my second choice for WHAT WORKS BEST FOR ME altho I am trying out the F&P Aclaim 2 right now. I get a decent fit w/it, but its a skosh too long and I think if it came in a Petite I'd be happier. That's odd to me because the Medium CL2 simple nasal cushion fit better for me than the Small.

I'm seriously wondering if you don't have an allergy to something, not all related to Cpap. It's quite possible to develop an allergy to something you've eaten or drunk your whole life, and it's necessary to find out what it is by eliminating things one at a time from your diet until you hit on the problem. Did you happen to have something either new and different yesterday, or something you haven't had in a long time? Or could it even be the bedding (or clothes) being cleaned in new soap? Anyone can be allergic to anything at all at any time, so it's going to take some detective work to find out, but I really think it could be worthwhile.
One way to find out at least if you're on track would be to try just one small Reactine, or Claritin or Allegra before bed and see if you feel any better in the a.m. - then start tracking the instigator.

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Just one more thing to consider...

I went to to a gastro doc who also referred me to an ENT to cover all bases. My main complaint was feeling like something was stuck in my throat, sometimes hurting making me cough a lot. I felt like it moved. At times it felt as if something were stuck in a "down" position, and then it was just nagging. But when it felt stuck "up" it was actually painful. I know that's a wierd description, but both docs said it was a classic description when GERD was involved. After a few days on Nexium the feeling went away. Was since switched to another med due to insurance, and the sensation comes and goes, but is never as bad as when I was driven to see a doctor.

May not relate to you, just wanted to mention it before you allow them to "fix" your uvula.

Kathy

Slinky wrote:It does sound like mouth breathing may be the cause then. I'm not sure if PoliGrip can handle full mouth breathing, I know it works great for "lip flutters". It can't hurt to try tho.

I know there are times that I get such a heavy, stringy mucus that is hard to get "down and out" that it feels like "it" is a or the uvula w/o getting the dry mouth but perhaps having a "sticky" mouth.

Is the Swift the only mask that you have? Maybe you would do better w/a nasal mask where the air isn't being blown so directly into your nasal passages.

Well the mask I was using when this happened was my Ultra Mirage Full Face. I also have the Swift and a Respironics Nose mask.

You think I should try the nose mask because it will stop my lips from opening?

Slinky wrote: How well does the Swift fit and how comfortable is it? I switched to the ComfortLite 2 and ended up liking it better. Mine came w/the nasal pillows AND simple nasal cushion. Eventually I tried the simple nasal cushion and found I liked it better than the nasal pillows AND better than my Fisher & Paykel HC 407 nasal cushion. The CL2 simple nasal cushion is smaller/shorter than the 407 nasal cushion and I suspect if the 407 came w/a petite nasal cushion (thus shorter) that I might have done much better w/it. However, the 407 simple nasal cushion is my second choice for WHAT WORKS BEST FOR ME altho I am trying out the F&P Aclaim 2 right now. I get a decent fit w/it, but its a skosh too long and I think if it came in a Petite I'd be happier. That's odd to me because the Medium CL2 simple nasal cushion fit better for me than the Small.

The swift feels great when it's on, the only reason I switched is because I was mouth breathing.

kteague wrote:Just one more thing to consider...

I went to to a gastro doc who also referred me to an ENT to cover all bases. My main complaint was feeling like something was stuck in my throat, sometimes hurting making me cough a lot. I felt like it moved. At times it felt as if something were stuck in a "down" position, and then it was just nagging. But when it felt stuck "up" it was actually painful. I know that's a wierd description, but both docs said it was a classic description when GERD was involved. After a few days on Nexium the feeling went away. Was since switched to another med due to insurance, and the sensation comes and goes, but is never as bad as when I was driven to see a doctor.

May not relate to you, just wanted to mention it before you allow them to "fix" your uvula.

Kathy

Thanks for the tip, I'll keep it in mind should this feeling of having something in my throat continue.

Not necessarily. But the air does feel much more forceful w/the nasal pillows than it does via a nasal cushion. A more comfortable "flow of air" might well reduce the tendency to open your mouth to breathe or to let some of the air escape. The nasal cushion did reduce my mouth breathing considerably - and then it was just a matter of time and adjustment to sleeping w/CPAP and air pressure.

Slinky wrote:Not necessarily. But the air does feel much more forceful w/the nasal pillows than it does via a nasal cushion. A more comfortable "flow of air" might well reduce the tendency to open your mouth to breathe or to let some of the air escape. The nasal cushion did reduce my mouth breathing considerably - and then it was just a matter of time and adjustment to sleeping w/CPAP and air pressure.

Thanks for the tip,

I'll wash that mask off for the night. How Ironic would it be that I went back to the mask I started out with?