Congestion Near End of Night

New to CPAP finally got a good machine. However I am noticing 2 to 3 hours before I wake up I am so congested that I need to take the mask off. If I put some saline up there it will loosen things up. My Humidity is at 3 No climate line.(Thought about it) Looking for some advice on what could be causing this and how to combat this.

Turn your humidity down to 1 and see what happens. Too much humidity causes congestion in some people.

Where do you live? Unless you live in a dry climate, you may be able to do without the humidifier.

ChicagoGranny wrote:Turn your humidity down to 1 and see what happens. Too much humidity causes congestion in some people.

Where do you live? Unless you live in a dry climate, you may be able to do without the humidifier.

I live in Northeast ohio Cleveland/Akron Area. I will try to turn it down to 1 tonight I believe it is at 3 or 3.5 currently.

ChicagoGranny wrote:Turn your humidity down to 1 and see what happens. Too much humidity causes congestion in some people.

Where do you live? Unless you live in a dry climate, you may be able to do without the humidifier.

Lowered it to 1 last night did a lot better was able to sleep all night nose was a ton better.
Is there any good explanation of what the numbers represent in terms of humidity.?

jskala wrote:
Is there any good explanation of what the numbers represent in terms of humidity.?

Scientifically speaking,

0 - None

1 - A little bit

2 - A little bit more

3 - Middling amount

4 - A good bit

5 -

I ran into the same problem. I tried different settings on the humidifier and it didn't seem to make any difference. Then I quit using the humidifier (it's pretty humid here now) and that didn't work. I talked to my doctor and he said he's seen that on some cpap users and gave me a prescription for generic Flonase. Two squirts in each nostril before bedtime and I haven't had a problem since I started using it a month ago. There may be some OTC that would work but I haven't checked into that. I do, however, have a problem with my eyes being dry when I wake up so I'm looking into options for fixing that.

ChicagoGranny wrote:Scientifically speaking,
5 -

bwahahahaha!!!

ChicagoGranny wrote:

jskala wrote:
Is there any good explanation of what the numbers represent in terms of humidity.?

Scientifically speaking,

0 - None

1 - A little bit

2 - A little bit more

3 - Middling amount

4 - A good bit

5 -

OK that helps me. I will keep going on 1 to see how I do. I would imagine I should get the heated tube for winter weather in Ohio.
I noticed Flonase got approved for over the counter will be in shelves in 2015.

I would imagine I should get the heated tube for winter weather in Ohio.

When you start running the heat in the house a lot and the air gets dry, if your nose gets too dry you may want to turn your humidifier up a notch or two.

I don't use my humidifier very often, even during the heating season. If my nose gets dry, I apply Ayr Gel once or twice per day - http://www.patientsleepsupplies.com/849 ... googlebase.

I believe there might be some other good brands. Look for saline and aloe in the ingredient list.

bill2665 wrote: I do, however, have a problem with my eyes being dry when I wake up so I'm looking into options for fixing that.

Usually leaks is the cause, even if you don't have them while awake you can have them while asleep. If you have a data capable machine, you can look for leaks in the software or LCD. Also using the humidifier might help.

Sounds like adjusting the humidity worked for you. For me, back when I had an M-series CPAP ( humidifier went from 0-5) I typically used it as a passive humidifier (set to 0) during the summer. In the winter, I'd go up to about 3. But different climate, and preference make the biggest difference. I do know that too much humidity and too little humidity would cause me to plug up.

If you still have issues, you might want to check the filter on the back of the machine. I personally have a mild allergy to house dust. When the filter starts getting dirty, my noise starts to get a bit more congested.

Craig-Tx wrote:Sounds like adjusting the humidity worked for you. For me, back when I had an M-series CPAP ( humidifier went from 0-5) I typically used it as a passive humidifier (set to 0) during the summer. In the winter, I'd go up to about 3. But different climate, and preference make the biggest difference. I do know that too much humidity and too little humidity would cause me to plug up.

If you still have issues, you might want to check the filter on the back of the machine. I personally have a mild allergy to house dust. When the filter starts getting dirty, my noise starts to get a bit more congested.

I will keep an eye on the filter I don't think that is the issue. the machine is only 4 days old. I hope it isn't plugged up that badly. Lol.. I suffer from allergy's big time I get sinus infections alot. So trying to dial in the humidity and understand it is going to be key for me. Normally around Oct or Nov is when things get back for me. And I will most likely have to switch to a full face mask since I will switch to a mouth breather at that time I am sure.

jskala wrote: I will keep an eye on the filter I don't think that is the issue. the machine is only 4 days old. I hope it isn't plugged up that badly. Lol..

the recommended change interval for those filters is six months. but it pays to keep an eye on 'em, I wish they made the plastic covers clear, it'd be easier to see when they were getting cruddy

you can also buy a hypoallergenic filter that gets more crud out of your air, I get mine on ebay

palerider wrote:

jskala wrote: I will keep an eye on the filter I don't think that is the issue. the machine is only 4 days old. I hope it isn't plugged up that badly. Lol..

the recommended change interval for those filters is six months. but it pays to keep an eye on 'em, I wish they made the plastic covers clear, it'd be easier to see when they were getting cruddy

you can also buy a hypoallergenic filter that gets more crud out of your air, I get mine on ebay

I ordered the hypoallergenic filters Friday from cpap.com just to have them cause I knew I would need them.

jskala wrote:

palerider wrote:

jskala wrote: I will keep an eye on the filter I don't think that is the issue. the machine is only 4 days old. I hope it isn't plugged up that badly. Lol..

the recommended change interval for those filters is six months. but it pays to keep an eye on 'em, I wish they made the plastic covers clear, it'd be easier to see when they were getting cruddy

you can also buy a hypoallergenic filter that gets more crud out of your air, I get mine on ebay

I ordered the hypoallergenic filters Friday from cpap.com just to have them cause I knew I would need them.

I use both.. the plain one first, then the hypo. less allergens