nssleep.com » Sleep Questions

Don’t Hate CPAP: CPAP Tip of the Week

Dr. Lisa Shives — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:04:06 +0000

Many patients “hate” CPAP at first, but most of the initial difficulties can be solved by close follow up with a caring, comprehensive medical team. For example, it is common to have sneezing and runny nose when you first start CPAP. What is happening is that the the histamine receptors inside your nose are being stimulated by the positive airway pressure and this results in the same symptoms as an allergy attack. The good news is that the nose quickly gets use to the pressure and these symptoms go away on their own. Until then, your sleep doctor can suggest saline nasal sprays, nettie pot rinses, anti-histamine nasal sprays, anti-cholinergic nasal sprays, steroid nasal sprays, oral anti-histamines, or any combination of these. The easiest solution is often to switch, at least temporarily from a nasal pillow mask to a regular nasal mask. That often works like magic, and the beauty is: no medication needed.

CPAP Tips

Dr. Lisa Shives — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:37:13 +0000

If you are having a hard time getting use to the CPAP pressure, ask your doctor to lower the pressure while you get accustomed to this therapy. Also, you might try a Bilevel machine which gives a higher pressure when you inhale (so you and the machine are working together) and a lower pressure when you exhale (which is when people feel that they are fighting against the machine).

I reccomend that you find a comprehensive sleep center that will take care of all your problems, big and small. Also see if there are any CPAP support groups in your area. We run our own, but there is a national organization, AWAKE, that runs support groups all over the country. Find one near you at: http://www.sleepapnea.org/awake/index.html

Sleep Questions and Tips

Dr. Lisa Shives — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:11:17 +0000

I will start doing a weekly video blog. (Are people really calling them Vlogs?) I will keep them fairly brief and will either give a sleep tip or will answer a question. So if you have questions concerning normal sleep or sleep disorders, then leave them as comments on my blog and I will try to address them. Please keep in mind that I will not be able to attend to all questions and that my answers are not a substitute for a consultation with a physician.

On another note, I am putting out a call for a PA (Physician Assistant) to begin work for me ASAP in a full or part-time capacity. The successful candidate need not have experience in the sleep field nor does s/he need PA experience, i.e. fresh out of PA school is fine. The essential attributes are: stong people skills, attention to detail and willing to acquire multiple skills. Sleep Medicine is a new and exciting field that will only keep growing as our healthcare system tries to refocus on preventive medicine. Sleep Apnea, Insomnia, and Sleep Deprivation are some of the sleep disorders that significantly increase your risk of developing chronic medical problems that debilitate Americans and cost the system vast sums of money. Medical conditions which can be prevented by treating underlying sleep disorders include: Heart Disease, Cardiac arrhythmias, Stroke, High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Obesity, Depression, Dementia, Impotence.