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10 days into CPAP and have a terrible cold
#1
10 days into CPAP and have a terrible cold
I started CPAP treatment 10 days ago and suppose that I was expecting a miracle to happen overnight. My first nights sleep was terrible as I really struggled to fall sleep and continuously had mild panic attacks and had to remove my mask.
Over the next few days I persevered but still found it difficult to fall asleep and when I did manage to drop off woke with very dry lips.
For the last 4 days I've had a terrible cold, runny nose and a cough, I still attempt to wear my mask each night however it's becoming more difficult as every time I cough or sneeze I feel I have to break the mask seal to allow the cough or sneeze.

How do you all cope when you have a cold? I don't want to give up at the first hurdle and am looking for tips to make the next few nights a little more pleasant.

I will have a telephone consultation with a healthcare professional in about 6 weeks time where my progress will be discussed and I would love to be able to say that I have been 100% compliant with the treatment.
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#2
RE: 10 days into CPAP and have a terrible cold
Hi dugdale! A couple guesses from somebody who is also new to this. Those panic attacks, are they brought on by a feeling you weren't getting enough fresh air? Do you rip it off and take a big deep breath? It could be because the minimum pressure is set too low. I had that same problem and it too prevented me from falling asleep. Can you tell us what pressure settings your machine is set at and list them in your profile? Also, do you have the option to use a humidifier with your model?

Finally, I can't speak to whether the lack of humidification is causing your symptoms, but if your runny nose is the result of a cold or allergy then you can try a nasal spray like Nasacort before bedtime. I've been having good luck with it keeping general stuffiness down. When I have a full-blown cold I take Claritin (generic) and that does a good job of keeping my runny nose in check. Good luck!
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#3
RE: 10 days into CPAP and have a terrible cold
Hi, thanks for the prompt reply.

Not sure about the panic attacks, I do suffer a bit from claustrophobia which probably doesn't help. Silly that it sounds I find that If I leave the bedroom light on I tolerate the mask a lot better. I have had mild panic attacks when flying long haul and am not in an aisle seat (although only at night strangely enough). I think the feeling of being trapped in somewhere initiates these attacks.

Living in the UK my CPAP machine was provided free of charge however has been initially locked in the automatic mode by my sleep apnea nurse. The initial pressure always starts at 4 which I feel is just a slight breeze tickling my face but don't know the maximum setting. I believe a humidifier is available however wasn't mentioned in my consultation.

I bought an over the counter nasal spray but reading the information slip it warns not to use it if you have high blood pressure or diabetes and I have both so haven't used it yet.

Before starting treatment I would fall asleep in front of the TV every evening and it wouldn't take me long to fall asleep when I went to bed. I haven't fell asleep in front of the TV at all since starting treatment so maybe things are getting better. I also wonder if perhaps I'm simply not tired enough when I go to bed and aren't ready to sleep. I've suffered from OSA for so long perhaps I've got to learn how to fall asleep naturally again.
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#4
RE: 10 days into CPAP and have a terrible cold
update,
after watching a video on YouTube I now know how to get more info about the settings
min pressure set to 4
max pressure set to 20
average pressure 13.6
leak 37 l/hr

I understand that the leak figure is high but presume that this is because I took the mask of a number of times and the airflow did not automatically stop
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#5
RE: 10 days into CPAP and have a terrible cold
Hi dugdale,

WELCOME! to the forum.!
I hope you get to feeling better from your cold soon.
Hang in there for more suggestions and answers to your questions and much success to you with your CPAP therapy.
trish6hundred
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#6
RE: 10 days into CPAP and have a terrible cold
It's now a little after 4am in the UK, I finally fell asleep about midnight (went to bed at 10pm) and woke at 2:20am - not been able to get back to sleep so will spend 10 minutes out of bed and try again.
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#7
RE: 10 days into CPAP and have a terrible cold
Hi dugdale and welcome to ApneaBoard!

I feel your pain! I too suffered from a cold recently and it was not fun! I managed to sleep most nights with CPAP and one night couldn't breath enough for it.

Below is a link to a thread I made when I had mine. It has lots of suggestions. I hope some of them work for you!!


http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...ck-thereof

APNEABOARD - A great place to be if you're a hosehead!!  Rolleyes  

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EVERY ACCOMPLISHMENT BEGINS WITH THE DECISION TO TRY!
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#8
RE: 10 days into CPAP and have a terrible cold
(11-29-2015, 12:51 PM)dugdale Wrote: update,
after watching a video on YouTube I now know how to get more info about the settings
min pressure set to 4
max pressure set to 20
average pressure 13.6

Sounds like they set the machine to the full range of APAP without any customization. What I would suggest (especially since your average pressure is in the 13s) is to bump up the minimum pressure to 8 or 9 and see how it feels breathing at that pressure and if you're able to fall asleep faster. For me, it made it easier to breathe and therefore relax. The idea is to make wake breathing nearly effortless and (most importantly) mindless. The more effort you have to put in to breathe comfortably, the longer it will take for you to fall asleep. In addition to setting the EPR to 2 or 3 to make exhaling easier if it isn't enabled already. Finally, I'll suggest setting the Ramp feature to 5-10 minutes, but making the starting pressure identical to the minimum APAP pressure. This means it doesn't "ramp" per se, but locks in that initial pressure setting while you relax and get comfortable before it starts making adjustments. Let us know if this helps!
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#9
RE: 10 days into CPAP and have a terrible cold
(11-29-2015, 12:07 PM)dugdale Wrote: I believe a humidifier is available however wasn't mentioned in my consultation.
I suggest ask for the humidifier and the heated hose, can make life much easier
The nose humidify the air we breathe, but cannot cope with the increased airflow from CPAP therapy

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#10
RE: 10 days into CPAP and have a terrible cold
thanks everyone for your input.
I eventually slept upright in my armchair for about an hour last night (without CPAP) so brought the machine out of my bedroom and managed another two hours this evening. I've decided to sleep in the chair again tonight (or at least try to) as my nose doesn't run so much as when I'm lying down. Hopefully there will be no middle of the night posts from me tonight.
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