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CPAP Made me well - sick. Asthma.Acne.Etc. - dbw45 - 02-09-2020
Hi!
I am a 45-year-old woman.
So I really wanted to try the cpap in hopes it would help lower my cortisol levels and help me lose weight. I also snore and that was irritating my bed partner. But I have a mouth appliance from when I was younger and only had mild sleep apnea that helps with snoring. I have NEVER HAD daytime sleepiness. I am energetic during the day, waking up at 7 and going to bed at midnight. I swim one hour per day, every day. It is my favorite activity and helps me release the stress of the day and I feel great.
Anyway, recent sleep study shows that now my AHI is 55 and now severe. It is 10 years since the last sleep study so I did another one. So I signed up for CPAP. I was actually excited about it. I fell asleep with it no problem and slept through the night. Next morning, felt tired. Resmed Airsense 10 said that my AHI was down to 2.5. N30 Mask seal good. Great. But I felt really tired. When I got to work my coworker said I didn't look good. Strange for me as I usually have energy.
So I figured my body was just adjusting.
One week later - every day my symptoms incredibly worsen. Runny nose off and on. Nose hurts. Face acne (I have PERFECT skin to the point I get many compliments). Light/brief nose bleeds. And worse, shortness of breath. I, who swim one hour per day, could not even go up six steps at work without being incredibly winded. I read that the machine irritates air passages. I normally have seasonal/reactive asthma to allergies or environmental cigarette smoke (a serious allergen) but normally am just fine. I was feeling like I couldn't take a breath while talking. I called the doctor who said, "CPAP doesn't do that. Keep using CPAP." But then I find medical articles saying it can irritate airways to the point that it triggers asthma. I also started experiencing weight gain for some reason and my feet were swollen. I was retaining water. The very first week on CPAP, I gained 5 pounds. I was retaining water, despite daily use of the steam room! NO CHANGE IN DIET.
So I keep going but then I couldn't even swim anymore. Super out of breath and the inside of my nose hurt so bad that under water, my nasal cavity felt like pins and needles. So then I had face acne + shortness of breath + could not engage in daily swim + weight gain. Plus I felt so exhausted, that I felt I could barely move. I was super tired every day. I almost fell asleep while driving the short distance home form work at 8:00 p.m.
So after, not even two weeks, I did an experiment and stopped CPAP. I had gone from an energetic, exercising, beautiful complexion woman to one who 1. could not exercise 2. could not breathe, 3. had acne, 4. gained weight, and 5. felt utterly exhausted and was falling asleep while driving.
The first day after no CPAP, I felt better, my nose felt better. Still a little winded. Second day - went for a swim again felt great - no more pins and needles. Today - woke up feeling energetic and awesome as always and about to go for a swim and go to the beach/shopping. No more shortness of breath from just walking around quickly around my house! Now I just need the acne to clear.
I don't want to have 55 AHI. But I also want to be able to function, exercise (which is key to my not having depression), breathe, and not look like Jabba the Hutt.
I removed the changed variable and I returned to normal functioning.
Any suggestions? I can keep using my oral appliance which can minimize snoring but it doesn't take my AHI all the way down I don't think - it was only for mild sleep apnea.
Thanks!
dbw
I forgot to say that I am at the lowest pressure and I DO use the humidifier and warmer.
Thanks!
.
RE: CPAP Made me well - sick. Asthma.Acne.Etc. - harrywr2 - 02-09-2020
Quote:I forgot to say that I am at the lowest pressure.
Many adults feel 'starved for air' with a minimum pressure below 6 cmH2O(For me it's like trying to drink a Wendy's milkshake with a straw).
RE: CPAP Made me well - sick. Asthma.Acne.Etc. - Crimson Nape - 02-09-2020
Hi dbw45 -
You might just need of some minor tweaking of you CPAP to get you on the correct road to treatment. First, we need to know the exact model you have. There are 4 models of the Airsense 10. Only 3 report detailed sleep data.
These are the 3 that provide detailed data:
- Airsense 10 Elite
- Airsense 10 Autoset
- Airsense 10 AutoSet for Her
![[Image: ResMed-AirSense-10.png]](https://www.apneaboard.com/ResMed-AirSense-10.png)
If you have one of the 3 listed above, you can use OSCAR (the download link is the embedded in the name) to analyze your sleep sessions. This also will allow you to post a night's session, so we may try to help. You will need an SD card between 2Gb-32Gb in size. Some machines came with them others didn't. If yours didn't come with one, they can be obtained from any big box store, drug store, as well as, online.
Good luck!
RE: CPAP Made me well - sick. Asthma.Acne.Etc. - dbw45 - 02-09-2020
Hi!
I have the Airsense 10 Autoset. I downloaded oscar. I'll go to the store today and get an SD card. :-)
Thanks.
RE: CPAP Made me well - sick. Asthma.Acne.Etc. - Crimson Nape - 02-09-2020
Please read through the links in my signature to help you get a good foundation of OSCAR and the in's and out's of posting its images.
Looking forward to seeing your Daily chart.
RE: CPAP Made me well - sick. Asthma.Acne.Etc. - Hydrangea - 02-09-2020
(02-09-2020, 12:16 PM)harrywr2 Wrote:Quote:I forgot to say that I am at the lowest pressure.
Many adults feel 'starved for air' with a minimum pressure below 6 cmH2O(For me it's like trying to drink a Wendy's milkshake with a straw).
I totally agree. My doctor put me at a fixed pressure of 5, and I felt air-starved. Raising the pressure to 6.5 helped a lot. (I'm now around 9.5.)
Also, I've found the aggressive algorithm of the ResMed to cause me sleep disturbance. But once I changed its setting to "soft", I no longer experience that sleep disturbance. So that may be a factor for you as well.
RE: CPAP Made me well - sick. Asthma.Acne.Etc. - booksfan - 02-09-2020
I've only been on CPAP for a couple of years so I will let the more experienced on the boards help you with your technical problems.
However, I too suffered from strap acne, which was distressing because, like you, I had always had very nice skin, which people had frequently commented on. So I completely understand how upsetting it is to suddenly have pimples sprouting on your cheek (it was only on my left side...how weird was that?!) and then they just would NOT clear up! What finally helped me was switching to the Bleep DreamPort once it came out. NO straps or headgear, so my complexion is back to its normal smooth, clear state. And I don't wake up needing to adjust the back strap multiple times per night.
Good luck with your other issues. Now that you've downloaded Oscar and they can see your charts, the knowledgeable people on this board should be able to help you...they are great!
RE: CPAP Made me well - sick. Asthma.Acne.Etc. - dbw45 - 02-10-2020
I really appreciate everyone helping me. I went to the store yesterday to get an SD card, but when I pulled up what kind to get on the Resmed site, it said not to get an SD HC card, and it seemed like most cards here SD HC. Can anyone direct me as to what type of SD card to get at the store? I've never used an SD Cad. Is SD HC okay?
Thanks.
RE: CPAP Made me well - sick. Asthma.Acne.Etc. - Sleeprider - 02-10-2020
SDHC and SDXC cards from 4 to 32 GB in size will work. Here is a link to our wiki on SD cards. http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php/Secure_Digital_(SD)_memory_card
I agree with others, that settings can make all the difference, and we frequently recommend using the exhale pressure relief (EPR) feature on your machine. Assuming you have the Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset, an ideal minimum pressure is 7.0 cm with EPR full time at 2 or 3. This gives you enough pressure to support respiration easily by providing 7.0 cm inhale and 4-5 cm exhale. This difference in inhale/exhale pressures is very comfortable and can relieve flow limitation which can be a problem that does not show up as AHI. On the other hand, sometimes EPR is not a good solution for some people. Getting an idea of what is happening during the night by collecting and posting the data will really let us help you find the settings that work best and comfortably for you.
I think you should consider switching to nasal therapy using nasal pillows which have much less area of contact and will not cause facial acne or irritation. Keeping straps clean, or using an anti-bacterial treatment like Amzeeq (prescription acne med) are all possibilities.
RE: CPAP Made me well - sick. Asthma.Acne.Etc. - Hydrangea - 02-10-2020
You mentioned asthma. I have asthma. EPR messes with me (and my asthma), so I keep mine off.