Difficulty breathing after taking mask off in morning.

[ragtopcircus]

After using cpap over night, when I remove my mask, Phillips under the nose, I feel like someone is sitting on my chest and it is hard to breathe. Usually this only lasts for 5 or 10 minutes....but yesterday this lasted for about 6 hours. I am wondering if I might be allergic to the silicone mask.....has anyone else had this problem?

Of course I am going to call my doctor on monday.

This also describes what asthma feels like to me.

[Gideon]

After using cpap over night, when I remove my mask, Phillips under the nose, I feel like someone is sitting on my chest and it is hard to breathe. Usually this only lasts for 5 or 10 minutes....but yesterday this lasted for about 6 hours. I am wondering if I might be allergic to the silicone mask.....has anyone else had this problem?

Of course I am going to call my doctor on monday.

It would be great to see an OSCAR chart of your night and see what is going on.  CPAP opens the respiratory passages and it can take a few nights to become adjusted to it.  CPAP does provide respiratory assist, although bilevel does this more noticeably, and you mayjust feel the extra effort of breathing without the pressure. I would advise to continue therapy rather than hold off for your doctor's advise, simply because you are in a compliance period for insurance to pay off the equipment. 

I understand where Crowter is coming from, but I think it is necessarily alarming in the extreme, and should probably be disregarded.

Randarino,
You have several VERY senior people that have jumped in to give you sound advice, I would take their advice over Crowters.  IF we even suspected a Heart Attack we would recommend not that you see your doctor but that you head to an emergency room immediately, or better call 911/EMS for an immediate trip to the ER.  Spine???  I have no idea where that came from.

[Randarino]

Thank you all for all your excellent advice and ideas. You all are a great asset to this forum and a great help to all of us that are having issues with apnea and CPAP.

I never mentioned my heart related problems because I never thought it might have anything to do with the problems I am having with CPAP....but....I have angina and chest pain when I exert myself like when I walk up hills or a flight of stairs. I have been to the Mayo Clinic and undergone a battery of heart tests and they found nothing wrong with my heart. My local heart doctor thinks I have microvascular disease, the blockage of the tiny arteries in your heart. This is very hard to diagnose....you have to eliminate everything else and when you have microvascular disease is what is left....at least that is how I understand it.

So with that said, whether that is interrelated with the heaviness in my chest I feel and difficulty breathing after a night of CPAP, I am not sure but I will see if my doctors think they could be.

Thanks again everyone.

Randy

[DeepBreathing]

Hi Randy, there is a reasonably well established correlation between apnea and some heart conditions such as EVC (ectopic ventricular contraction). This is partly caused by the fact that your adrenal glands give you a dose of adrenaline every time you have an obstructive apnea (fight or flight reflex), and this in turn causes some irregularity in the heartbeat. In my case the EVC disappeared very quickly once I went on the hose.

In your case you're already seeing professionals at a world famous facility, so you're in good hands.

[ardenum]

I did say though its most likely not a heart attack, they dont last 6h. A little reading comprehension goes a long way. You getting my name wrong all the time makes me wonder how yours is doing.

[SarcasticDave94]

Hi Randy,

Don't confuse me for a Doc, but I have had various things that triggered an irregular heartbeat and separately heaviness while breathing. I'm not going to say you're going through what I did, but generally the CPAP therapy can make our breathing feel quite different which can include heaviness. I've had the heart palpitations or whatever is the proper medical term pre-CPAP as in heart rate fast for a bit for no apparent reason other than trying to sleep.

The important thing is you're under a physician's care for whatever you're dealing with. I'm sure you are free to discuss concerns here as you wish. We are here to help however we can. On that heaviness while breathing, the aspects of that associated with CPAP will diminish with an adjustment period, and sometimes adjusting the CPAP settings may be needed as well. Hope you get a resolution and success quickly. Keep posting if anything is needed.

[Randarino]

Thanks a lot DeepBreathing and SarcasticDave....great info...will see what my pulmonologist says today.

[Maskup N. Sleepwell]

After being on APAP and BiPAP for 10+ years, I can say it is normal, at least for me, to take my mask off in the morning and finding it harder to breathe. The sensation goes away within a minute or two. Typically to avoid this sensation, when I wake up I'll leave my mask on whilest I'm still in bed cuddling with my wifey until I am ready to actually get my feet on the floor and start the day. By that time, my daytime breathing effort has kicked in.

[Randarino]

After being on APAP and BiPAP for 10+ years, I can say it is normal, at least for me, to take my mask off in the morning and finding it harder to breathe. The sensation goes away within a minute or two. Typically to avoid this sensation, when I wake up I'll leave my mask on whilest I'm still in bed cuddling with my wifey until I am ready to actually get my feet on the floor and start the day. By that time, my daytime breathing effort has kicked in.

Well that is very interesting to hear....Thanks a bunch.

[Randarino]

Trying to attach an Oscar screenshot....here goes.