I got my CPAP in the fall of 2010.  At the time, I was recovering from a very bad bout of pneumonia that had begun as the flu in the early part of the year and just ran wild.  During this time, I had a lot of sinus problems and allergies that were complicating my recovery.  My physician ran a test and I found out I had a serious case of sleep apnea which was also hindering my recovery. 

I adjusted to my machine the very first night.  I love it.  I have never known until I was a grandfather what it meant to be rested.  But the dryness in my mouth the first week was pretty bad.  My physician suggested I turn the humidity up until I no longer had the problem.  I turned it up gradually over the next week, ending up at 5.5.  After that, I was given no medical advise on this issue.

Despite recovering from pneumonia that fall, I had several bouts of respiratory infections.  I was on heavy duty antibiotics several times.  Also had prednisone several times. This all occurred during the year and one-half after I got my CPAP.  During that time, I had three occasions on which I lost my voice for a few days each time.  My voice was gravelly.  I coughed and hacked a lot, especially in the morning.  I was not well, basically and was wondering why I had sinus problems . . . which lead to post-nasal drip and eventually bronchial congestion. 

Ten days ago, I forgot to get distilled water at the store.  I ran short for my machine, putting in only about one-quarter of the amount I normally used.  The next morning, I was extremely dry when I wok up . . . but I was not hacking and coughing.  That night, I cut the humidifier back to 2.5.  I have kept it there ever since . . . and now, for the first time in about 18 months, I feel like I am going to recover.

I don't need a clinical study to tell me what was going on.  I had the water level set too high.  My sinuses and upper respiratory tract, and most likely my lungs, to some extent, had too much water in them.  I believe a situation like that not only tends to harbor bacteria, which most likely accounted for my frequent respiratory infections, but it creates a situation in which your body has to hack and cough out the mucous.  I am meticulous about cleaning the machine, so I know that this is not at all likely to be a self-inflicted problem, at least on that account.

The reason I am posting this is that during the last 18 months, the amount of money I have spent on medical care and medicine has been really high.  But beyond the expense, I had the considerable inconvenience of being too sick to run my own business at times.  This was a fairly serious situation that could have been much worse.  I have lost much of the last 18 months, and at my age that is a lot of time.  I am posting this here because I do not believe that my case is unique.  I bet there are others out there in the same boat I was in.  I am most thankful for "accidentally" running out of water and I have learned that physicians are great at treating symptoms . . . but a lot of the time, they are not so good about getting to root causes.  I guess taking a lot of science classes doesn't necessarily make you a scientist.