Stuffy Nose - seeking advice

[SuperSleeper]

Hey HeadGear glad to see around .
Yep it works i have using for the last week and stopped taking Nasonex for now hopefully i don,t need to go under the knife

Glad to see it works well for you! I'm at the point right now where I just take one shot of NasoGel in each nostril, at bedtime, and it gets me through the night!

The "board" has been busy - I missed a lot!

[SuperSleeper]

Hey guys, I need your help. The short version is I want to know how to push more moisture from my humidifier. Upping the temp will do that, yes? The long version is below:

I haven't been around recently, largely because I've felt like hell. I started having difficulty breathing a little over a month ago. At first, it felt like I was breathing against pressure, that wasn't there. It progressed until I felt like I was choking. I thought maybe I had pneumonia, even though I hadn't been coughing, but the doctor said my heart and lungs were fine.

He suggested I try a product called NasalCrom (cromalyn sodium, good stuff btw). I also got a neti pot, as well as a couple of different homeopathic sprays (one capsicum based, one not). All that stuff did help some, but not as much as I hoped.

After this had been going on for close to three weeks, something pinged in my brain and I remembered I had seen something here about severe nasal congestion. That something turned out to be Headgear's post about the nasogel mentioned a couple of posts ago.

I realized that the problem I was experiencing was probably nasal dryness. This hadn't occurred to me before because I'd never experienced this problem on CPAP and I use a humidifier. To make a long story short (or longer, maybe) I have been using the nasogel (which is awesome, thank you so much Headgear you have no idea) and it has helped a lot. I have been using it very frequently, though, as often as every two hours.

While my dryness and congestion have improved, it is still there. What I'm hoping to get is some humidifier advice. I have cranked up my humidifier to 5.5 and 85 degrees, even though this raises my AHI by over a point on most nights (that was true before all this started). I'm still not going through that much water though. What is the secret to pushing more moisture? I'm thinking I need to raise the temperature even higher as that should carry more moisture. My pressure runs. About 8.6.

Btw, I can not use Nasonex. Look up the rare side effects and you will find something about severe ear ache. "severe" doesn't do it justice.

[SuperSleeper]

As far as pushing moisture, rain-out will be your limiting factor. Can't get any moister than rain!

That said, I'm skeptical that more moisture will solve the problem of motor rhinitis, once it kicks in. The nasogel helps, but you have to use it far too frequently - doubt it does any harm 'though! Turbinate reduction and septal realignment are some of your options to explore with an ENT. In my case a turbinade reduction helped a lot to reduce the frequency of stuffiness for some three years. Maybe the turbinates re-develop so I'm a little more stuffy again but do fine with the help of NasoGel!

Well, I'm waking up really dry, hence the desire to increase the moisture output. I'm hoping that if can keep things from drying out at night that the swelling will reduce and lessen the problems I am experiencing during the day.

You might find some helpful info (For Sale / Commercial Posts)
Un-stuffing Your Stuffy Nose .
Nasal Breathing Video Series .

At last it is plain sailing from here , No more congestion and no more squirting anything up my nose just max the humidifier had resolved all nasal issues . I have not felt any better since started this journey 10 months ago and reaching one step higher in the Nirvana of CPAP therapeutic delight .

[SuperSleeper]

CPAP treatment is such a pain! That's because Nirvana is so illusive. When you think you got it, it means you don't! Sorry to disappoint, zonk! I'm glad that you are feeling better, 'though!!!

You are probably right i have spoken too soon it shows my inexperience .

[SuperSleeper]

I'm currently using a combination of sesame oil, nasogel, neti pot, and nasamist (another NeilMed product). I'm trying to find the right combination of techniques to restore proper function to my nasal mucosa.

I've had the sesame oil for about a week and a half now. I think things may be starting to get a little better, but it is a slow process. My hope is to get to the point where I can use the oil before bed to protect my nose at night, and rehydrate in the mornings, without having to spray stuff every hour or two.

[SuperSleeper]

Lately my nose congested most of the time during the day and becoming a pain so i,m seeing the specialist again discussing the surgical options . I have been told that there is at least one year waiting in the public hospital while privately it is matter of few weeks and i can choose the specialist as the public hospital is a teaching hospital there is no such choice .

Sorry to hear about the turn of events, zonk! Best of luck in finding a good surgeon, (there are many good ones!)

Hi zonk,

Bummer about having to go down the surgery trail and the waiting time for a public hospital here in Oz.

The only bright spot I can offer is that in some cases the best surgeons are working in the public domain. In my recent need for surgery at a public hospital I was told that the two top surgeons in the country were working there and I got one of them.

Best of Luck
John

Thanks ...Surgery has been scheduled next month .


Thanks john
Yes the best surgeon do work in public hospitals but unfortunately the system works best in cases of emergency and for doctor visits , blood test , Xray etc... other than that there is a long waiting list and one can not choose their own specialist to do the surgery . Wish had a private insurance years ago .

[SuperSleeper]

Hi zonk,

Well next month is better than next year.

Out of interest, because your having (I assume) Nasal Surgery what is going to happen with your CPAP treatment while your recovering, have you discussed that with your doctor???

I ask because from what I see your using a Nasal Mask (I think) and I assume after the surgery your going to have your nose plugged up with cotton wool or something and not be able to use the nasal mask for awhile.

Cheers
John

P.S.
Get yourself fit now for chasing nurses later

yep next month is better next year , they are going to send me the paper work and want payment in full prior to surgery . I have not discussed it about CPAP yet but i assume i have to use a FF mask for a while after the surgery .What nurses probably i will be zonked off but one would never know i might feel lonesome for the night as they say when the cat's away, the mice will play .

[SuperSleeper]

Hi zonk,

I was thinking more about the pressure a CPAP would put on you and whether the doctor wanted to avoid that and any chance of it causing a problem while your healing.

My nurses chased me because I wouldn't stay in my bed, I would get bored and go for a wander.

Cheers
John

Hi john
I have did the arrangement over the phone but i will discuss that with him closer to the date and last time i saw the specialist wasn,t sure if i wanted to go ahead with the surgery or not but i suppose it got to the stage that i had to do something about it or might not be able to continue with CPAP for much longer . My nasal stuffiness and the swelling of the nasal lining due to CPAP therapy and hopefully the surgery might help . I thought it would be a day surgery but it seem i have stay over night at the hospital which i don,t mind but i don,t like leaving my wife on her own she have Parkinson have to ask daughter to come over to stay with mum .

[SuperSleeper]

Not trying to scare anyone!

But I would research "Empty Nose Syndrome" & wheter that is a possible negative outcome of your type of surgery.

Steven, he just posted a link about it in another thread the other day, so he knows.

Zonk, did you try an FF mask now to see if that helped? You're going to have to do that post surgery anyway. I would urge you to get a hold of a FF mask right now and try it for a few weeks. You can always postpone the surgery if it helps. If it doesn't help, you'll already be accustomed to the mask when you have to use it.

Get some foam earplugs to put in your nose when you sleep so you make sure you are breathing through your mouth.

Hi Steven
What i understand is that there is a risk in every surgical procedure and the doctors are more skilled nowadays in avoiding the empty nose syndrome which used to happen in the past . Having said that i would very interested to hear from anyone who had a turbinate reductions or Septoplasty .

Here is a recent occurrence of that happening.

http://valleyevents.ca/event?id=10649

Edited to add: I will send you a PM with some more links that I cannot post here.

[SuperSleeper]

The problem here is that turbinate reduction is treating the symptom, not the cause. The cause is excessive dryness caused by cpap use. Turbinate reduction presumably makes it even more difficult for the mucosa to repair itself.

Not quite that simple a cause and effect relationship, here! In any case, a turbinate reduction (no septoplasty) was a tremendous help for me and did not in any way impair my cpap treatment. Immediately after surgery, I was able to continue with nasal pillows. I have no side effects, other than being 99.9% less congested! It has been about 4 years now and still doing well.