Sore throat and using CPAP

I have been using a VPAP Adapt SV for 5 years and it is great. I use heated humidification. However, I have a bad case of the common cold with a wickedly sore throat, especially upon waking every morning. I think my Pap is making it worse but I don't want to miss a night of therapy.

What do you do when you have a cold? Is it worth trying to skip a night to give the throat a break or not?

When I have a sore throat or other cold symptoms, I crank up the humidifier as high as it will go. Often I wake feeling much better-- sore throat soothed, nasal symptoms under control. I sleep so well with the mask, impossible without.

The only time I can't use my machine is in those few "gooey" days when there is too much sneezing and nasal dripping. Even then, I've been known to hold my mask up to my face with my hands between sneezes for the relief it brings.

And here's the best part--before CPAP I regularly had 6 to 10 "colds" per year. In almost 4 years of CPAP, I've had THREE TOTAL. I do get the occasional scratchy throat and stuffy nose,, but a few nights of CPAP (and some good chicken broth) keeps it from developing into a full blown cold.

I think my diet (low carb, high fat, extra vitamin D and fish oil) has helped too, but CPAP started getting things calmed down.

I just crank up the humidifier as high as it will go and deal with it. You are likely mouth breathing a lot more with the congestion that comes with the cold symptoms and that is going to dry out the mouth and throat even more (even when using a full face mask) as it is common even with people who don't have a cold and nasal congestion but mouth breathe a lot. The extra dryness sure isn't going to help the sore throat.

You are using the Adapt SV which means likely you have issues with central apneas (as well as obstructives) and sleeping without the machine (even if upright in a recliner which might help reduce the obstructive apneas) is going to allow a lot of central apneas happen.
If you only had plain obstructive sleep apnea then maybe doing without the machine and maybe sleeping more or less upright might keep the obstructive apneas to a less horrible number...you will still have the centrals and those could be really scary.

I think if it were me I would try to hydrate the throat more before I would do without the machine if I had central sleep apnea issues.
Maybe be more aggressive with trying to reduce the nasal congestion so that mouth breathing isn't needed so much...drink lots of water...increase the humidifier setting if possible...that sort of stuff. Do whatever could be done to reduce the throat pain itself.

tonsillectomy cured my chronically sore throat

Eric

Umm, Pugsy, I think she's just asking what to do with a cold. She's been using her machine for FIVE years.

You may have Strep(tococcus) and should - this time - be on antibiotics.

Janknitz wrote:Umm, Pugsy, I think she's just asking what to do with a cold. She's been using her machine for FIVE years.

I know that...and going without the machine treating centrals isn't the same as going without the machine that is treating obstructives that we might could reduce with some upright sleeping.
It's the machine that she uses that prompted me to be more cautious instead of saying just sleep upright in a recliner if you don't feel like you can use your machine....not horrible advice for obstructive sleep apnea people but people with centrals have them no matter what position they sleep in.
That's all I meant.

She's using the ASV type of machine...normally means a bunch of centrals...unless of course she is using it for something else.

I got the sense she wanted to pass on using the machine....don't blame her really but given the condition that I suspect she has...going without it has the potential to be more complicated than me going without my machine and my sleeping sitting up in the recliner to limit the collapse of my airway.

A person has to do what they gotta do and maybe the sore throat pain is worse than central apneas and causes more problems than the centrals might cause...that's a judgement call that I can't make for someone....but it would make me think twice before opting to go without the machine.

Thanks everyone, great advice.

Yes Pugsy I am using the ASV for my bunch of centrals that I get along with obstructives. My AHI was 44 and with CPAP I still had an AHI of 10 centrals and felt miserable for it. I haven't missed a night of VPAP in five years and the thought of it freaks me out. I have slept upright on a train a few times and apparently had not so much as a snore and felt refreshed on waking, but it was only for an hour so quite different to a whole night.

Since having turbinate reduction surgery my nose breathing is much, much better, however my sleep tech told me I should stick with a FF mask because my body is so used to it now. I am assuming she is right.

The advice to query a strep throat was spot on and made me realise heck this has been 5 days now and no improvement, I bet it is a strep throat. Will see doc today.

Thanks again for your prompt and varied advice, much appreciated.

My doc diagnosed me with laryngitis and said there's nothing he can do, it will have to get better on its own.

Scary part was when he said if my voice doesn't come back after a few weeks, then it might be throat cancer, because I am an ex-smoker. It occurs to me that all the years of undiagnosed sleep apnea weakened my immune system, increasing my risk of cancer. But I am being positive and telling myself it's just laryngitis and it will be ok.

He agreed with turning up the humidifier too.

Boy, that's scary. It is "laryngitis" season, so don't panic yet. I often had such symptoms this time of year.

My advice is take lots of vitamin D and drink bone broth and gelatin. They are soothing and healing to the throat. Bone broth is homemade broth from animal bones, I'm partial to chicken broth made from organic chicken wings. They aren't terribly expensive, and it's a broth that will really gel--that's what you want. Noodles are optional (I don't eat grains, personally).

And if you don't like eating jello (I don't), then add some gelatin to hot tea--you'll never know it's there (unless you forget your cup and it gets cold!). You have to "bloom" it in some tepid water, then add the tea to the gelled stuff.

Thankfully the laryngitis is resolving, so I'm not so worried about cancer now, but it was good that my doc mentioned it because I never knew of the signs and it's better to know. I wish I'd never been a smoker and being smokefree is wonderful, but the potential damage is always there.

I am still getting morning pain in my throat despite having turned up my humidifier to 4/6, so tonight it will be 6/6. Hope I can cope with that!

Thanks for the advice, everyone.