Allergies & medications possibly affected by sleep apnea

I don't think my new issues are being caused my by cpap treatment directly, but I am having new allergy problems that have never happened prior to cpap treatment, so I'd like to run them by all you experienced people before I go back to the doctor. I have mentioned some of this to my doctor already, and she has increased my allergy meds and changed one prescription. And the current round is worse than ever. I don't think she has much experience with sleep apnea treatment, so if this is related, she probably won't know. I already have an appointment for the 27th, and I don't want to bump it up just to hear that she doesn't know what it is or have any suggestions.

Back in June, I had 3 weeks of coughing. No explanation. No cold, no fever, a little bit of phlegm, and very strong coughing fit. Not whooping cough either. Did not feel like asthma. I was using OTC cough medication (tried 3 kinds, no luck). Using asthma inhaler, AND cough drops constantly. I had a regular doctor appointment about 2 weeks into the coughing, and she recommended OTC cough syrup. My lungs sounded fine. It finally went away after 3 weeks.

Sometime in June, I developed a rash on my arms. At first, it was just on the tops of my forearms, which are already naturally a little bumpy, and with a slight tan and freckles, I thought it might be a light sunburn. Then I realized I had little red dots on the the lower portion of my arms. Not a lot, but definitely not normal. And there were also on my hands, and up above the elbows a little. Basically, both arms from my hands all the way up to where the tshirt stops. So, then I thought that one of my jackets was the culprit. There had been a lot of rain. Maybe one had not dried well and had some mildew. I washed both jackets. The same doctor appointment above, I showed her the remaining rash which was already improved, and she recommended allergy medication - clariton, zytrec, or allergra.

So, July 22nd, I was in Seaside, Oregon for a cat show, and I woke up with a sore throat, raspy voice, and bad cough. I was at a cat show that weekend. My sister was already having trouble that started Saturday, and she thought it was due to some lavender samples that were handed out to people. I wasn't sneezing or even aware of the samples, but I am allergic to lavender. On Monday, I was back to normal, and my sister was worse. On Tuesday, she was normal and stayed that way. And I got worse, and went back to major coughing. I had a regular appointment already scheduled (I go on every 4-8 weeks due to high blood pressure, which has greatly improved since cpap treatment). She prescribed a cough syrup with codeine to help the cough and my sleep (I was struggling to keep the mask on with all the coughing). And she suggested I take the clariton twiuce a day since I wasn't sure if it was doing anything if I took it once a day. ANd she added nasonex. Apparently, codeine does NOT make me sleepy, and even at twice a day for the allergy meds, I really didn't see any improvement. I have NEVER noticed a difference with allergy pills. The nasonex DID give me some improvement. So, after a few nights of it not working, but with some improvement of the coughing while using it, I started using it at work, all day long. Every 4 hours. I was still coughing, even with that, so I was also sucking on cough drops constantly during my work shift, I could feel the coughing get worse after 3 hours on the cough syrup, but I waited until 4 hours to take it. And if my cough drop ran out, I would instantly start coughing again.

I went back to the doctor when I had been coughing again almost 3 weeks, and I was almost out of the cough syrup. She listened to my heart and lungs, and still everything sounds great. I still felt like I was coughing to death. I am just so tired of coughing. She did another prescription for the cough syrup, and she changed my lisinopril to losartin. She thinks that may have been causing the cough. I really don't think so. When I first started taking it (last October), I did have a small cough. It was dry (no phlegm), and it was very light, not long spasms. And it mostly in the evening. This new cough was heavy, continous spasms, frequent, all day long, and sometimes I coughed up phlegm. And I could see and feel phlegm in my throat. The cough did start going down, but I suspect it was simply expiring as the first cough went 3 weeks, and this one went pretty much 4 weeks. The last few days, I have used a cough drop once or twice a day when I started coughing. But no syrup for about 5 days, and no more continuous cough. I am still worried though that it will come back as we have still not determined what caused it.

And now, to make things worse, the rash is back! And worse. I went to bed fine on Saturday night. I was in a hotel (another cat show). And I woke up with a really puffy eye. I used my cpap machine for 5.1 hours (the whole time I was in bed), and I wasn't aware of any leaks all night (I normally have a very low leak rate as I tend to wake up and fix it any time it leaks). I used eye drops several times, but it took all day for the swelling to go away. It was my eye lid and the area below my right eye. My face was also flushed most of the day (I do flush easily). And once in the bathroom, I discovered that the rash was back. And all over both arms and hands, up to the tshirt line. Very obvious little red dots. Both top and bottom of the arms.And the whole back of each hand. It looks like each hair follicle. It does not itch, unless I am thinking about it, and even then, barely. I also have it on my neck (again, just above the tshirt line.). Later in the day, I also discovered it in one unexposed area, my chest, just below my bra. I do put deodorant there on hot days, so that is the only unusual thing about that location. I've been told that food allergies tend to show up first on the torso. Until I found that extra spot, we were thinking I was allergic to the laudry detergent in the sheets. I sleep in my own blanket inside the hotel bed, and I use my own pillow. So, my only contact with the sheets would be my arms under my pillow as I sleep on my side. I slept on my right side most of the time, so that would explain why that side was a little worse. And we figured my puffy eye and slightly swollen face was due to breathing a little of the detergent. My machine was sitting on a crate beside the bed.

So, now we today. I got home last night. I slept on my own bed. I replaced the pillow case on the pillow that traveled. I worse different clothes to bed than the night before. I used my machine like normal for 9.3 hours. I think there was an hour or so in the middle that I had it off. I put it back on when I realized it was off. I woke up with a headache, congestion, both eyes EXTREMELY puffy. I got up about 2pm. The headache cleared after about an hour (and some acetaminophen). Congestion was gone quickly too. no coughing today. The eyes are better than when I woke, up but still puffy. Both sides. Extremely visible looking in the mirror. And I can still feel it and my field of vision is slightly reduced. I cannot imagine what would be bothering me. It feels like I have been crying for hours. I've had dry eyes when waking up, frequently, since using the cpap machine. But never puffy like this. Or swollen face. Even my cheeks feel swollen today. And with the dry eyes, it always clears within a few minutes of using the eye drops. I have used them at least 4 times today, and they are still bad. I took the clariton this morning. A lady at the cat show who is also a nurse suggested I take clariton and zanatc to help with the rash. So, I took a zantac also.

I am off work today, but go back tomorrow. I start work an hour and a half after I wake up. If this continues, I am going to look dreadful at work with a swollen face and puffy eyes. The rash is obvious to me, but not really obvious to other people. I would really like some improvement.

I have seen several people mention that as we get better with cpap treatment, we sometimes need to increase or decrease medications because their effectiveness changes. I'm wondering if this could be due to medication, or maybe my allergies are more sensitive? I have NEVER had a skin rash like this before. I am 40 years old. The only medications that have changed since last November have been an creme for rosecea (I have used it maybe 3 times, and only on my face). And the lisinopril was changed to losartan. Both happened before the first round of coughing and the first rash. I have not changed any soaps, shampoos, or laundry detergent. I did try a cleansing wipe on my face a couple times. but again, only on my face. And well after the first rash was done.

First cough started at home. First rash started at home. Second cough started in hotel in Seaside, Oregon. I slept on a couch and did use my machine. We stayed there 4 nights, and it started the 3rd morning. The second rash started while in a hotel in Longview, WA. It was a one night stay and started that morning. I felt fine sleeping and used my machine the whole night.

Another theory is that my medication is reacting sunlight or heat. The rash has been on exposed skin only (except the one spot that does get deodorant on hot days). We did have a lot of heat last week. But this theory doesn't explain the sudden arrival overnight. I do not think it was bedbugs. It does not itch, and appears to be all hair follicles, not random locations for bites.

My medications are toprol, losartan (previously lisinopril), and hydrchlorothiazide for high blood pressure. The creme I used for a few days was metronidazole (used about 2 weeks ago). I have been taking clariton this month. I take zantac as needed, not nearly as much now that I am using the cpap machine. Albuterol inhaler for asthma, usually as needed, but daily now due to coughing. And alaway eye drops.

I am looking for advice one possible causes and any ways that cpap treatment might affect my allergies or medications. I am hoping to avoid going back to the doctor early. And I would like to solve the problem and/or be able to help my doctor rule out various things. Perhaps I need to change some other medication or something. My blood pressure is doing better now with cpap treatment. I am consistly better than before cpap, but sometimes at the high end of normal. She wants to see me consistently in the regular range before dropping medications. But because of the 3 weeks of coughing in June and then 4 more weeks of coughing, I have not been able to get full nights with the machine every night.

Sorry about this being so long.

I don't have a whole lot of advice to offer but I'll try. Even though you've been taking some of that medicine for a while you can still develop an allergy to it. You could very well have a food allergy. You might want to start keeping track of the food you are eating to see if you can find a more definate pattern. My mom is allergic to so many different meds that it's not funny and meds that she's took before she's now allergic to them.

Have you ever had a allergy test to see what you are allergic to? It could be something in the air; plant or something.

GERD sometimes causes bronchitis like reactions. It irritates the membranes which then trigger the cough/ asthma like breathing. Try taking your zantac before bed and raising the head of your bed a few inches.

Personally a lot of my allergies and my acid reflux went away with cpap. However all drugs seems to have increased their potency since I have been on cpap for me.

Have you tried playing with how much or how little humidity that you're using? How about whether or not you're using EPR and at what level?

dragon672 wrote:I don't have a whole lot of advice to offer but I'll try. Even though you've been taking some of that medicine for a while you can still develop an allergy to it. You could very well have a food allergy. You might want to start keeping track of the food you are eating to see if you can find a more definate pattern. My mom is allergic to so many different meds that it's not funny and meds that she's took before she's now allergic to them.

Have you ever had a allergy test to see what you are allergic to? It could be something in the air; plant or something.

As a child, I had allergy tests, the kind where they scrape your arm a ton of times and then do shots. But that was a LONG time ago. I do know that I am allergic to just about anything in the air - dust, pollen, mold, flowers, trees, etc. I am also allergic to perfumes, many fragrances in soaps, most lotions, etc, I am allergic to dogs, not cats. Have both, and always have. I am used to waking up congested and blowing my nose. Technically, I have seasonal allergies, but if there's no pollen in the air, then there's probably mold, dust, etc, so it is year round for me anyway. I am also allergic to metal, so I rarely wear any jewelry.


I do believe this must be an allergy. I just can't think of anything that it fits. And you are right, it could be something that I was not previously allergic to. I suspect it was the detergent in the sheets at the hotel, even though there is a spot on my chest. I would have thought if I was really that sensitive, that it would have happened before now, since I tend to stay in a hotel at least once a month, and I've been doing that since 2007 because of my business. I can cover the sheets from now on, but that also means bringing my own pillow cases for all the pillows. I bring my own, and put it on top of the hotel pillows since I normally sleep with 2 pillows at home.

I supposed I need to get a referral to a dermatologist. I am so sick of doctor appointments now. I used to only go once or twice a year. I've been to my primary doctor 7 times this year already. That doesn't include the sleep study and 2 appointments with the sleep doctor.

BlackSpinner wrote:GERD sometimes causes bronchitis like reactions. It irritates the membranes which then trigger the cough/ asthma like breathing. Try taking your zantac before bed and raising the head of your bed a few inches.

Personally a lot of my allergies and my acid reflux went away with cpap. However all drugs seems to have increased their potency since I have been on cpap for me.

I used to take zantac before bed every night as I was having problems with gerd for years. But it really subsided with the cpap treatment. The only time I have problems is if I eat bacon, pepperoni, or something similar within a couple hours of bed. I am taking it again the last few days since my nurse friend recommended it. She said it helps to cut back on histamines and will help reduce allergic reaction.

During the 3 and 4 week rounds of coughing, I wasn't feeling any burning in the throat. I did have a sore throat the first day of the second round, but after that, it never hurt. It really felt like the cough that goes with a bad cold, only I didn't have the cold, and it took so much longer to go away.

cflame1 wrote:Have you tried playing with how much or how little humidity that you're using? How about whether or not you're using EPR and at what level?

I experimented during the first month, and after reading the posts about the lung issue, I may need to try some adjustments. I am using the climateline hose. I have it set to 5 humidity and 77 temp. I had a lot of dry mouth when I started. I did figure out that it is worse when I sleep on my back as my jaw hangs open further. I did try it at 4 a few weeks ago, and I had more dry mouth again, so I put it back to 5. I originally had the temp higher, but lowered it as I was waking up with a warm face. Originally, I tried the auto setting, but my mouth was really dry.

I may experiment again. I'm not sure what direction to you. I am not feeling congested. Okay, slightly this morning, but that is not normal. I don't want to go back to dry mouth. So, I need to keep it humid enough to avoid that.

The thing most people are allergic to is moulds.

Clean the thing. Everything.

Did you get any water in the cpap machine? The s9 has two sponges as noise reducers and if they get wet... its game over.
I've taken several apart and if that gets wet... what can I say other than stupid design.

You have a cat. I have one too. I'm not allergic to her but she likes to get into stuff that I am. Give the cat a bath.
They can hold allergen for months based on what I know about cats.

Get the allergy filers for your s9. If you see dust tracks on the s9 (and you might), call resmed and ask for a new machine due to their incompetence of design of the air inlet.

Wash your hose and mask. Then soak in white vinegar for an hour or so. Make sure there is no air in the hose when its soaked. Then rinse in water and then distilled if you have that much to spare.

Do the same with the humidifier and mask bits. After that, you aren't going to get any cleaner air. If that still bothers you, there are more intense options to take.

zoocrewphoto wrote:

BlackSpinner wrote:GERD

I used to take zantac before bed every night as I was having problems with gerd for years. But it really subsided with the cpap treatment. The only time I have problems is if I eat bacon, pepperoni, or something similar within a couple hours of bed. I am taking it again the last few days since my nurse friend recommended it. She said it helps to cut back on histamines and will help reduce allergic reaction.

During the 3 and 4 week rounds of coughing, I wasn't feeling any burning in the throat. I did have a sore throat the first day of the second round, but after that, it never hurt. It really felt like the cough that goes with a bad cold, only I didn't have the cold, and it took so much longer to go away.

Silent acid reflux doesn't always give a sore throat or cause pain. It causes just enough constant irritation to give you a cough. The coughing causes more silent acid reflux issues which feeds the cough, especially if the sphincter muscle at the top of the stomach is weak or damaged by acid reflux. When it happens to me I use a puffer to reduce the inflammation because otherwise it starts to feed itself.

Cpap reduced mine considerably but allergies which make me cough feeds the reflux which feeds the cough....

-tim wrote:The thing most people are allergic to is moulds.

Clean the thing. Everything.

Did you get any water in the cpap machine? The s9 has two sponges as noise reducers and if they get wet... its game over.
I've taken several apart and if that gets wet... what can I say other than stupid design.

You have a cat. I have one too. I'm not allergic to her but she likes to get into stuff that I am. Give the cat a bath.
They can hold allergen for months based on what I know about cats.

Get the allergy filers for your s9. If you see dust tracks on the s9 (and you might), call resmed and ask for a new machine due to their incompetence of design of the air inlet.

Wash your hose and mask. Then soak in white vinegar for an hour or so. Make sure there is no air in the hose when its soaked. Then rinse in water and then distilled if you have that much to spare.

Do the same with the humidifier and mask bits. After that, you aren't going to get any cleaner air. If that still bothers you, there are more intense options to take.

Thanks for the great post. I will deep clean everything tonight. I will also get a new filter from my mom. I have new filters on order. My first dme only gave me one spare with the one in the machine. That was almost 4 months ago. I have a new dme, and an order with filters, mask wipes, and a new cushion coming. Should be here this week. But my mom got 6 filters with her machine, so I can borrow one. Are there special filters that I can get that are better than the standard filters? I waited until the first mask looked dirty, but I should probably do it more often. I do have a lot of allergies and asthma, so it probably doesn't take much to mess me up.

BlackSpinner wrote:

zoocrewphoto wrote:

BlackSpinner wrote:GERD

I used to take zantac before bed every night as I was having problems with gerd for years. But it really subsided with the cpap treatment. The only time I have problems is if I eat bacon, pepperoni, or something similar within a couple hours of bed. I am taking it again the last few days since my nurse friend recommended it. She said it helps to cut back on histamines and will help reduce allergic reaction.

During the 3 and 4 week rounds of coughing, I wasn't feeling any burning in the throat. I did have a sore throat the first day of the second round, but after that, it never hurt. It really felt like the cough that goes with a bad cold, only I didn't have the cold, and it took so much longer to go away.

Silent acid reflux doesn't always give a sore throat or cause pain. It causes just enough constant irritation to give you a cough. The coughing causes more silent acid reflux issues which feeds the cough, especially if the sphincter muscle at the top of the stomach is weak or damaged by acid reflux. When it happens to me I use a puffer to reduce the inflammation because otherwise it starts to feed itself.

Cpap reduced mine considerably but allergies which make me cough feeds the reflux which feeds the cough....

Thank you so much! This makes total sense and fits my timeline. My acid reflux had gotten bad enough that I was taking Zantac 150 at least once a day, and sometimes twice a day before I started cpap treatment. It really improved with the cpap treatment, so I cut back on the zantac, and really reduced the amount sometime in May. I was down to 1-3 a week. The first cough started in June and went 3 weeks. I don't know how much zantac I used during that time. The second cough started July 22. Probably because of the allergy problem at the show, but maybe that, combined with the acid reflux, made it go downhill. I assumed that the cough died off because it finally got better. But I did start taking the zantac again because my sleep has been messed up and the acid reflux returned. At the beginning of the second cough, my inhaler didn't seem to help, but it did help during the last week. I know the difference between a cold cough and an asthma cough. But this was completely different.

So, this totally makes sense.

Hi - just because you weren't allergic to the cat in the past doesn't mean you aren't now... anyone can develop an allergy to anything at anytime and your cat may now be a problem (you certainly had one at the cat show, didn't you?). Please do NOT give your cat a bath though unless you really know what you're doing... let the vet do the job, but if you are allergic to it, one bath won't change that.

And there are cough meds notorious for backfiring - one helps at the beginning of what may have just been a minor 3 day wonder (cough), but any more and all of a sudden you're coughing nonstop - because of the medicine!

But it could be hard to track down what started it all so be patient and assume nothing! Do see an allergist if you can though.

Julie wrote:Hi - just because you weren't allergic to the cat in the past doesn't mean you aren't now... anyone can develop an allergy to anything at anytime and your cat may now be a problem (you certainly had one at the cat show, didn't you?). Please do NOT give your cat a bath though unless you really know what you're doing... let the vet do the job, but if you are allergic to it, one bath won't change that.

And there are cough meds notorious for backfiring - one helps at the beginning of what may have just been a minor 3 day wonder (cough), but any more and all of a sudden you're coughing nonstop - because of the medicine!

But it could be hard to track down what started it all so be patient and assume nothing! Do see an allergist if you can though.

Thanks. I really don't think it is the cats. I have a ton of allergies, including the dogs, and usually it is just congestion, nose blowing, and sneezing. One time, I went to a huge dog show with hair blowing everywhere. That set off my asthma. But it usually takes a while to get asthma cough going, and asthma cough is worse on the exhale, and no phlegm. Totally different feel. This was weird. Some phlegm, but no sneezing, no blowing, no congestion, no fever. Like a bad cold, but without the cold.

And no problems bathing the cats. They get baths all the time because of the cat shows. Quinn is a pro. Start with goop, rinse, then dawn, rinse, then shampoo, rinse, then vinegar. Rube with towel, spray conditioner. And then it is onto hair dryer and combing. That took some practice.

Jay Jay is spit and shine, thankfully, so quick wash and rinse, rub him down, and let him dry on his own.

How do you figure out if the medicine is making it worse? It was Robitussin with codeine. The OTC stuff didn't help at all. It was like I didn't even take it.

Hi - glad you know how to bathe cats !

A lot of things in that medicine can cause trouble (I used to work for Squibb) and if you Google it, you'll see what they are starting with...

Guaifenesin and Codeine

Each 5 ml (1 teaspoonful) contains:

Guaifenesin, USP: 100 mg

Codeine Phosphate, USP: 10 mg
(Warning: May be habit forming)

Alcohol 3.5 percent

There are a lot of semi-dangerous things out there so you need to know what you're taking, especially if you take a lot of it.

Good luck!

I get coughing spells every few months myself and one doctor says it's from acid reflux, another says it's seasonal allergies, etc.
They said some blood pressure meds cause a cough. I have had a rash on my feet and ankles that lasts about a year, goes away for a few months and then returns. I've been to different specialists and all they say is it must be a fixed drug eruption. So I weaned off Lexapro about a month ago because that's the med I've been on since this started. It's hard even for the doctors to figure out what causes these reactions sometimes. The first thing that came to mind when I read your post was that you must be allergic to cats. My family gets swollen eyes when they're near cats. We have to keep benadryl around.
I never got a definite answer for my cough or my foot rash. Good luck. Hope you figure yours out. I'd start by staying away from cats.