Pain

I received my Bi-Pap machine in Sept. and loved it. Well, I had gastric bypass on 12/27/07. Right after my surgery, my nose would wake me up at night burning so badly that tears were streaming out of my eyes. It felt as if I was breathing fire. I called my respiratory therapist, (she hasn't been back since she brought me the machine) and she said to up the heat on the humidifier. Well , I did but it did not help. I have since stopped using it as I just cannot stand the pain. What do you believe the problem is? My pressure is set on 18. I have lost 59 lbs since 12/04/07. Do you think my pressure is too high now? Please help!

Have you tried putting some vaseline inside of your nose? (Not too deep.) I've done that and it seems to help my nose from hurting.

Angela Youre from Gary IN used to live near there. The resp co should give you a tube of some kind of moisture gel that you can use. Your resp Rep hasnt been back since you got the machine? they are supposed to check every so often, check the machines check you too. wow. I had a setting of 18 and the machine really helped me, I used a nasal pillow BREEZE and also did use a TIARA chin strap that I ordered from the internet. But my RESP REP checked me at least every 60 days. Does your machine have a msart card in it? How do they know how many hours you are using the machine? Are you self pay of does your insurance pay for the cpap? maybe you might be able to get rid of it, but by all means if you still need it please find a way to use it as my resp rep said they had 2 brothers who died within 6 months of each other related to not using cpap as they died during sleep.

Angela, Try using some water based lubricant like KY jelly. Just coat the inside of your nose with it before you put your mask on. Also, if you wrap your tubing with a towel and some masking tape, or something similar, it will keep more of the heat in the tubing which will cause less of the moisture to "rain out" in the tubing or mask before it actually gets to your nose. If you're using the "nasal pillows" type of mask that goes directly into your nose, you may try a regular nasal mask. Sometimes having air going directly up your nose can cause lots of dryness. You can also try humidifying the room you sleep in. A regular humidifier like you would use in a baby's room that you can get at Wal-Mart. If your room's more humid, the CPAP humidifier has less work to do. If you do get a room humidifier, be careful. You have to clean it often because bacteria can build up in it. Clean it at least as often as you do you CPAP humidifier. One other thing you may try if you can is to increase the temperature of the room you sleep in. Cold rooms are dryer than warmer rooms. I know a lot of people can't stand it sleep in a room that's too warm, but it is an option. I actually DO sleep studies on people and most of the literature I've read recommends a re-titration of your CPAP for every 30 lbs of weight change (either up OR down). After bariatric surgery that's a little impractical because of the rapidity of the weight loss, but if you're having problems with your sleep, or a change in the tolerance of your machine, it might be time to lower your settings. 18 is a pretty high pressure. Talk to your doctor, see what (s)he thinks. Hope this helps. Good luck, Donna