Chest tightness in the morning

I should know the answer to this but I confess that I don't. My pressure is set at 14cm, Humidifier setting is maxed and I'm waking up every morning with dry mouth and chest tightness/pain. After about an hour the pain gos away but its irratating. Anyone else have this problem or tips to correct it.

This can be a number of things. Have you ever had either digestive or cardiac issues? As is well known, Cpap can exacerbate digestive issues, as the air in the gastrointestinal tract can cause all sorts of discomfort. Please see this link from the wiki

wiki/index.php/Aerophagia

Do you have any concerns of the upper digestive tract, such as reflux, or GERD? Those could be possibilities. Once again, anything with chest pain should obviously be worked up if a doctor thinks necessary. You know about cardiac connections, so I won't get into the area of medicine that a specialist can--if you have such concerns, do see your doctor.

Aerophagia is a common complaint of all CPAP users to a greater or lesser degree, depending on digestive makeup of the individual, and titration pressure---however, I would talk to a medical professional to make sure. Your pressure is certainly high enough to cause excessive air in the digestive tract.

Advice appreciated. And yes I have spoke with my physician about this issue. No cardiac or digestive problems. It seems to me that it may be a humidity issue. Really feel tight and dry when I wake up. I've tried different stand alone humidifiers as well as maxing my integrated humidifier. Used nasal sprays, used albuterol inhaler to no effect. Its got me stumped. Issue not enough to keep me from using, just enough to bug the heck out of me in the mornings

The chest tightness is somewhat common for new CPAP users. And it typically diminishes with time thanks to physiologic adaptation. If you're not new to using CPAP, then it might not be a bad idea to mention that symptom to your doctor.

What causes it? CPAP's increased lung volume can cause more stretch. CPAP's expiratory pressure can cause a little more neuromuscular "mechanical loading" than atmospheric pressure.

The dry mouth is often a sign of mouth leaking. Thanks for sticking with us...

Thanks SWS--I forgot that the volume of air that the lungs are handling is definitely impacted by the cpap. After years of OSA, capacity would be diminished, and logically, it would take time for the tissue to expand to new breathing patterns. I do recall having tightness at first in my therapy, but I have been a hoser for so long, I honestly forgot about it.

I know it seems counter-intuitive, but have you tried less humidity?

When I had bronchitis last month I noticed I felt better without even passover humidification. I still got a bit of a dry mouth, but it was better than the tightness/wheezing.

Autopapdude wrote:Thanks SWS--I forgot that the volume of air that the lungs are handling is definitely impacted by the cpap. After years of OSA, capacity would be diminished, and logically, it would take time for the tissue to expand to new breathing patterns. I do recall having tightness at first in my therapy, but I have been a hoser for so long, I honestly forgot about it.

Well, those volume and expiratory mechanical loading issues simply add to the list of possibilities. Different things can go wrong for different reasons. GERD and LPR are good ones to consider IMHO.

And what you mentioned about acid-reflux has most definitely caused my own chest tightness more than once. If acid reflux is causing chest tightness, then it's probably a good idea to look out for corroborating symptoms. In my case, there's going to also be what seems like excessive phlegm production---as the lungs attempt to clear that aspired stomach bile. I think some other posters have mentioned experiencing more post-nasal or sinus drainage symptoms as well.

Weak LES closure can cause either GERD or LPR. Here are some other symptoms to be on the lookout for:
http://www.content4reprint.com/health/w ... reflux.htm

above link wrote: Common symptoms that may be experienced include:

- Chronic cough
- Asthma-like symptoms
- Regurgitation
- Sour or bitter flavor in the mouth
- Frequent need to clear the throat
- Consistent mucous in the throat
- Burning sensation or pain in the throat
- Sore throat
- Hoarseness and possible loss of voice
- Difficulty swallowing
- Post-nasal drip
- Pain in the ear and/or consistent ear infections
- Nausea
- Heartburn

pre CPAP I was already dealing with wheezing, GURD, sinus.
I've used CPAP for about a year. Painful sinus was fixed with a new (more expensive) nasal spray. Now I started having tight chest, wheezing in the AM.
lungs did not always clear as the day went on. Humidity was set at 4.5. I slept (although not well) without my CPAP and wallah! no tight chest. tells me I need to lower the humidity. Started last night with humidity set at 1-no wheezing. I raise it a little at a time. Less humidity seems counter intuitive, especially with dry mouth, but it seems to work for lungs