Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by 99 on December 13, 2009 at 1:45pm

i is funny what age can do
all you can do is to boust your immune system
what are you taking
are you taking too much which is possible and have the reverse effect

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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on December 13, 2009 at 2:46pm

You may have to document what is going on and change your humidity with the weather.

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Permalink Reply by sleepycarol on December 13, 2009 at 9:49pm

Hope you get to the bottom of it Susan.

It isn't any fun being sick and it can be frustrating try to figure why you keep regetting it.

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Permalink Reply by Steven Y. Park, MD on December 13, 2009 at 9:55pm

Susan,

The fact that your "colds" are related to weather/pressure changes probably means that you have what's called nonallergic or vasomotor rhinitis. It's unlikely to be a viral infection every time. Your nasal/sinus nervous system is hypersensitive to weather changes, especially to pressure or humidity fluctuations. It's a common condition in obstructive sleep apnea patients, and it's also related to laryngopharyngeal reflux disease, which goes along with sleep apnea.

Here's one possible explanation for your problem: When you had significant sleep apnea, your nervous system was probably depressed. This is one explanation that Dr. Guilleminault gives, as opposed to upper airway resistance syndrome patients, whose nervous system is normal or hypersensitive. So although most of your apneas are now gone, you probably still have micro-obstructions and arousals, which would not show up on a sleep study as an apnea. Sometimes these show up as RERAs. This causes your nasal nervous system to become hypersensitive.

Unfortunately, you can't control the weather. One option for you is to further optimize not only your apneas and hypopneas, but also your RERAs, to minimize as many sub-apnea/hypopnea obstructions as possible. But this is very difficult for most people. The other way is to fully take care of any reflux issues. There's a nasal spray that prevents nasal nervous system hyperreactivity (Atrovent), but this has its' limitations and issues as well.

Another way of looking at it is to treat it like a migraine that's happening in your sinuses. When your sinuses overreact, it's just like a migraine, except that it's happening in your nose and sinuses. Weather changes are a classic migraine trigger. Try avoiding all the classic migraine food triggers, as well as making sure you're not eating or drinking alcohol within 3-4 hours of bedtime.

Sorry, but this is a very difficult condition to completely eradicate. Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by 99 on December 14, 2009 at 1:00am

try drinking extra water as this hydrates the silica in the nose
two to four cups will half the opportunity to have colds etc

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Permalink Reply by susan mccord on December 14, 2009 at 9:54am

Thanks for the thought, 99. I already drink a minimum of 64 oz. of water on a daily basis. You're right, it does help keep the wolves away from the door. What I have isn't related to a virus. It's apnea-related.

Thanks for your input. You're very kind.

Susan McCord

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Permalink Reply by susan mccord on December 14, 2009 at 3:46pm

Thank you, Steve. You've provided a different way for me to think about this. I desperately NEED another way to think about it. I'm very grateful to have you contributing to SleepGuide and, more recently, to me directly.

Susan McCord :-)

Steven Y. Park, MD said:

Susan,

The fact that your "colds" are related to weather/pressure changes probably means that you have what's called nonallergic or vasomotor rhinitis. It's unlikely to be a viral infection every time. Your nasal/sinus nervous system is hypersensitive to weather changes, especially to pressure or humidity fluctuations. It's a common condition in obstructive sleep apnea patients, and it's also related to laryngopharyngeal reflux disease, which goes along with sleep apnea.

Here's one possible explanation for your problem: When you had significant sleep apnea, your nervous system was probably depressed. This is one explanation that Dr. Guilleminault gives, as opposed to upper airway resistance syndrome patients, whose nervous system is normal or hypersensitive. So although most of your apneas are now gone, you probably still have micro-obstructions and arousals, which would not show up on a sleep study as an apnea. Sometimes these show up as RERAs. This causes your nasal nervous system to become hypersensitive.

Unfortunately, you can't control the weather. One option for you is to further optimize not only your apneas and hypopneas, but also your RERAs, to minimize as many sub-apnea/hypopnea obstructions as possible. But this is very difficult for most people. The other way is to fully take care of any reflux issues. There's a nasal spray that prevents nasal nervous system hyperreactivity (Atrovent), but this has its' limitations and issues as well.

Another way of looking at it is to treat it like a migraine that's happening in your sinuses. When your sinuses overreact, it's just like a migraine, except that it's happening in your nose and sinuses. Weather changes are a classic migraine trigger. Try avoiding all the classic migraine food triggers, as well as making sure you're not eating or drinking alcohol within 3-4 hours of bedtime.

Sorry, but this is a very difficult condition to completely eradicate. Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by susan mccord on December 14, 2009 at 4:03pm

x

susan mccord said:

Thank you, Steve. You've provided a different way for me to think about this. I desperately NEED another way to think about it. I'm very grateful to have you contributing to SleepGuide and, more recently, to me directly.

Susan McCord :-)

Steven Y. Park, MD said:

Susan,

The fact that your "colds" are related to weather/pressure changes probably means that you have what's called nonallergic or vasomotor rhinitis. It's unlikely to be a viral infection every time. Your nasal/sinus nervous system is hypersensitive to weather changes, especially to pressure or humidity fluctuations. It's a common condition in obstructive sleep apnea patients, and it's also related to laryngopharyngeal reflux disease, which goes along with sleep apnea.

Here's one possible explanation for your problem: When you had significant sleep apnea, your nervous system was probably depressed. This is one explanation that Dr. Guilleminault gives, as opposed to upper airway resistance syndrome patients, whose nervous system is normal or hypersensitive. So although most of your apneas are now gone, you probably still have micro-obstructions and arousals, which would not show up on a sleep study as an apnea. Sometimes these show up as RERAs. This causes your nasal nervous system to become hypersensitive.

Unfortunately, you can't control the weather. One option for you is to further optimize not only your apneas and hypopneas, but also your RERAs, to minimize as many sub-apnea/hypopnea obstructions as possible. But this is very difficult for most people. The other way is to fully take care of any reflux issues. There's a nasal spray that prevents nasal nervous system hyperreactivity (Atrovent), but this has its' limitations and issues as well.

Another way of looking at it is to treat it like a migraine that's happening in your sinuses. When your sinuses overreact, it's just like a migraine, except that it's happening in your nose and sinuses. Weather changes are a classic migraine trigger. Try avoiding all the classic migraine food triggers, as well as making sure you're not eating or drinking alcohol within 3-4 hours of bedtime.

Sorry, but this is a very difficult condition to completely eradicate. Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by susan mccord on December 14, 2009 at 7:07pm

x

Steven Y. Park, MD said:

Susan,

The fact that your "colds" are related to weather/pressure changes probably means that you have what's called nonallergic or vasomotor rhinitis. It's unlikely to be a viral infection every time. Your nasal/sinus nervous system is hypersensitive to weather changes, especially to pressure or humidity fluctuations. It's a common condition in obstructive sleep apnea patients, and it's also related to laryngopharyngeal reflux disease, which goes along with sleep apnea.

Here's one possible explanation for your problem: When you had significant sleep apnea, your nervous system was probably depressed. This is one explanation that Dr. Guilleminault gives, as opposed to upper airway resistance syndrome patients, whose nervous system is normal or hypersensitive. So although most of your apneas are now gone, you probably still have micro-obstructions and arousals, which would not show up on a sleep study as an apnea. Sometimes these show up as RERAs. This causes your nasal nervous system to become hypersensitive.

Unfortunately, you can't control the weather. One option for you is to further optimize not only your apneas and hypopneas, but also your RERAs, to minimize as many sub-apnea/hypopnea obstructions as possible. But this is very difficult for most people. The other way is to fully take care of any reflux issues. There's a nasal spray that prevents nasal nervous system hyperreactivity (Atrovent), but this has its' limitations and issues as well.

Another way of looking at it is to treat it like a migraine that's happening in your sinuses. When your sinuses overreact, it's just like a migraine, except that it's happening in your nose and sinuses. Weather changes are a classic migraine trigger. Try avoiding all the classic migraine food triggers, as well as making sure you're not eating or drinking alcohol within 3-4 hours of bedtime.

Sorry, but this is a very difficult condition to completely eradicate. Good luck.

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