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Illness
I have a throat, ear and glands in my neck infection. How do you cope with cpap when you are ill?
Views: 150
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Terry Vella on
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Carolyn, I'll be interested to hear replies, I am fairly new to CPAP (about 4 months) and get a lot more sore throats and get a heavy feeling on my chest than ever before.
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Permalink Reply by symmit on
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I'm not a doctor, so this is not a recommendation, but what works for me is to get whatever treatment is needed (be it prescription or over the counter) - don't be shy with the painkillers (whatever works for you, bear in mind the risks of codeine but co-codamol will ease pain and reduce coughing). Go to bed early, use whatever helps you sleep (hot milky drink, OTC sleep aids, melatonin, whatever). I avoid the spray decongestants if I can. Be careful with mixing meds as they almost all contain paracetamol and too much is very bad news.
You may find an alternate mask (full face or nasal whichever is the opposite of your usual one) may help, for congestion or wheeziness I'll put a very small amount of menthol crystal in my humidifier.
If I cannot get to sleep after about an hour I'll swap mask. If that doesn't work as I'm using an APAP I'll reset it to 4 for the minimum pressure, it'll compensate when I'm asleep and is better than nothing.
Above is what works for me, but I've also found that since being on therapy I get fewer colds, I guess my immune system has got stronger (or just spending 1/3 of the day breathing filtered air helps?)
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Permalink Reply by Kath Hope on
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Are you using a humidifier Terry?
Terry Vella said:
Carolyn, I'll be interested to hear replies, I am fairly new to CPAP (about 4 months) and get a lot more sore throats and get a heavy feeling on my chest than ever before.
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Good reply there Symmit and I would just add that it's worth trying the Breathe Right strips to open up the nostrils. I also hardly ever get a cold now like you :)
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Kath,
Yes I have a humidifier and heated tube, I use a full face mask and chin strap as I am a mouth breather but are trying to breath through my nose when I can, I feel I maybe breathing in too much air during the night through my mouth and down into my throat and stomach. It is difficult because my AHI is down from 30 to between 1-5 per night so CPAP is working it's just a bit annoying and hopefully will get used to it overtime. Thanks for your reply.
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That's great to hear how much your AHI has improved Terry. Now it's just a case of working on these other issues. Don't forget you'll need to alter the settings on your humidifier as and when needed. A lot of people seem to suffer with too much air in the stomach at first, but this does often go away after time. I've just put a link to Dr Park's free little ebook on another discussion, but will put it on here too:- http://doctorstevenpark.com/unstuff-your-stuffy-nose and his book which we sell, Sleep Interrupted is worth it's weight in gold.
Terry Vella said:
Kath,
Yes I have a humidifier and heated tube, I use a full face mask and chin strap as I am a mouth breather but are trying to breath through my nose when I can, I feel I maybe breathing in too much air during the night through my mouth and down into my throat and stomach. It is difficult because my AHI is down from 30 to between 1-5 per night so CPAP is working it's just a bit annoying and hopefully will get used to it overtime. Thanks for your reply.
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Thanks Kath, I've printed off a couple of the documents from the site and will have some light reading to do over the weekend. I'll then get the book.
One question for you or any of ther others in regards to the humidifier, I just got a weather station for my birthday today, in Australia our humidity is current around 25% and I have my setting at 23c (Australian temp, my question is when humidity rises should the CPAP temperature be increased or decreased also are there any guidelines that advise what an ideal setting is for specific humidities?
I have ask my sleep centre and they advise whatever is comfortable.
This is a great forum for us newbies.
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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on
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Sinus infection? It is important to use your PAP whenever possible. Good sleep equals faster healing. The only time you should not use your machine is when you have a sinus infection as it will exacerbate the problem. I would avoid the codein if possible. Opiates will cause your sleep to worsen.
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I have an absess in a back tooth. It has spread to my ear and glands. I really can't stand anything touching my face at all. I am going to the emergency dentist in the morning. I will re-start c-pap as soon as it feels ok.
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Glad you've found the info helpful Terry :) On the issue of humidity, your sleep clinic are correct in saying work at what's comfortable, but as a general guide, if humidity is low you need to raise it. If you do a search at the top right of the forum and put in 'humidifier' or 'humidity' then you'll be directed to older posts on here where people have discussed this before.
Terry Vella said:
Thanks Kath, I've printed off a couple of the documents from the site and will have some light reading to do over the weekend. I'll then get the book.
One question for you or any of ther others in regards to the humidifier, I just got a weather station for my birthday today, in Australia our humidity is current around 25% and I have my setting at 23c (Australian temp, my question is when humidity rises should the CPAP temperature be increased or decreased also are there any guidelines that advise what an ideal setting is for specific humidities?
I have ask my sleep centre and they advise whatever is comfortable.
This is a great forum for us newbies.
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Ouch.....poor you :( Hope your dentist can sort you quickly so you can get back on treatment. Good Luck!
Carolyn Tipping said:
I have an absess in a back tooth. It has spread to my ear and glands. I really can't stand anything touching my face at all. I am going to the emergency dentist in the morning. I will re-start c-pap as soon as it feels ok.
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