Changed sensitivity

[Elyze]

I don't know if this should come with a warning for medical issues and/or treatments. I'm ok, this is annoying but not worse than that. I believe it's safe to post and to read If anyone disagrees, please let me and/or an admin know...

A little backstory: I recently found out that I have sleep apnea so I've been sleeping with a cpap machine for the last few months. For anyone who doesn't know what it is, I have a mask over my nose and air is blown into my airways to keep them open while I sleep. It feels a bit odd too sleep with, but it's certainly not as bad as I had expected.

The air that is blown into my airways apparently irritates them since they aren't used to it yet. My doctor told me that I just have to keep going and it'll get better. It took about 3 weeks before I stopped coughing 24/7 (very annoying since it kept me from sleeping too), but my nose continues to be much more sensitive than it used to be.

I have gone from being a very unsneezy person to a regular sneezer. It's just the odd sneeze here and there and a general soft tickle, but it's daily. What seems to irritate my nose the most is not scents, dust, pollen, spices... just air  I have no allergies. Sometimes after taking a breath I just have to sneeze. It's usually pretty much without build-up, just a sharp tickle followed by one sneeze. It's also not a specific type of sneeze (like I've read some of you have different cold- and allergy sneezes) but they vary from soft to harsh or even stifled. I don't attempt to change them, just let them come out as they do.

[Jelloicious]

Maybe it's just drying out sensitive tissues more than normal.  Doesn't sound like a bad thing to me.  Does the CPAP thing seem to help?

[Elyze]

Yes, by irritate I meant both friction of the moving air and drying out of the membranes... My nose feels very dry too. It's not bad, it's normal and annoying but as I (or rather my body) get used to it it should get better. The coughing felt bad because it was constant, but this dry nose isn't too bad. This obs was posted because of the reaction to these dry nasal membranes, it seemed seemed appropriately on topic

I assume the cpap is helping because I don't remember as much of my nights so I'm probably sleeping more. During the sleep study in November I was told I woke up to breathe 33-53 times per hour, depending on my position. I still feel as tired now though, but that could have other reasons too since the sleep apnea is not the only thing I deal with. I have a new sleep study planned in April, this time with the cpap.