What could this be?

februa · Sep 29, 2008

I have a lot (A LOT) of hay fever type allergies (indoor and outdoor). I would get rid of your pillow first. I need to get new ones (As mentioned prev.) at least once or twice per year, or else I wake up in the night with symptoms like you express. And yes, bedding must be washed a bit more frequently. I get away with bi-weekly, but I know weekly would be better. If you get a new pillow with clean bedding, and still have the problem, then I would recommend moving to further investigation (ie. see a Dr., try an OTC anti-histamine before going to bed etc.)
But I truly suspect your pillow. It still amazes me the difference I see with new pillows!

strange_wings · Sep 29, 2008

I going to agree with what two people have said so far - your sinuses just don't drain as well laying down.

I have a constant post nasal drip, it's not too bad when I'm upright but when I'm laying down it can really stuff up my nose. Try drinking something hot and using a nasal rinse that so many on here talk about (I can't use anything like that, nose is much too sensitive).

Mine has bothered me since I was a child and I've found that it's not really worth taking anything for. Decongestants, allergy meds, and cold meds don't work but for a couple hours - if at all. Plus, in my case, I don't need anything to increase my tachycardia.

A few members of a dysautonomia forum I'm a member on have discussed one thing people may find interesting. In the case of anti histamine meds - they don't stop the histamine from being made or actually lower the levels in the body, just block the receptors. When the meds wear off the levels may still be high. Something should be done/studied to effectively lower the levels being produced - but not prevent as you don't want to completely stop production of a neurotransmitter... A little OT but something for those taking histamine blockers regularly to think about.

margecat · Sep 29, 2008

Originally Posted by stampit3d

SERIOUSLY???????

Yep! Natalie is very right about the this! I have also read that 50% of the pillow becomes the dust mite stuff...yuck!

laureen227 · Sep 29, 2008

it could still be indoor allergies - they build up from the time you get home until the morning, then ease off during the day. this would account for the problems in the am only.
there's another possibility, related to the WLS surgery - if i eat too much [quite rare, now, but still happens occasionally] a stopped up nose is my 1st sign to STOP EATING NOW! if i disregard this, & continue to eat, then some will make its way back into the light.
since yours is a morning issue, this is not as likely to be the cause - but i thought it worth mentioning, since i have this reaction to overeating only since my surgery.

strange_wings · Sep 29, 2008

Originally Posted by laureen227

there's another possibility, related to the WLS surgery - if i eat too much [quite rare, now, but still happens occasionally] a stopped up nose is my 1st sign to STOP EATING NOW! if i disregard this, & continue to eat, then some will make its way back into the light.

That almost sounds like a weird vagus nerve reaction.

Did they mess with your vagus nerve at all? (a vagotomy would affect hunger signals from your stomach making you feel hungry less).

laureen227 · Sep 29, 2008

Originally Posted by strange_wings

That almost sounds like a weird vagus nerve reaction.

Did they mess with your vagus nerve at all? (a vagotomy would affect hunger signals from your stomach making you feel hungry less).

my surgery, yes - the vagus nerve is usually severed for RNY gastric bypass. however, the lapband does not usually include this - it's purely a constrictive measure.

strange_wings · Sep 29, 2008

^ In any case, messing with the autonomic nervous system is scary stuff. That far down could result in motility issues at the least. But this is coming from someone with ANS problems, I can't imagine why anyone would choose to have it damaged.

laureen227 · Sep 29, 2008

Originally Posted by strange_wings

^ In any case, messing with the autonomic nervous system is scary stuff. That far down could result in motility issues at the least. But this is coming from someone with ANS problems, I can't imagine why anyone would choose to have it damaged.

i think it's unavoidable in gastric bypass surgery [image]. being 180 pounds overweight [aka super-morbid obesity] is also life-threatening.

algebrapro18 · Sep 29, 2008

Originally Posted by strange_wings

^ In any case, messing with the autonomic nervous system is scary stuff. That far down could result in motility issues at the least. But this is coming from someone with ANS problems, I can't imagine why anyone would choose to have it damaged.

Trust me when you are severly overweight for most of your life, you will try anything to live a healthy life. Before surgery I would have cut off a leg if it would have meant weight loss.

Anyway back on point, its not an over eating thing becuase i don't get that symptom when I over eat. I just get a SHARP pain in my chest(starts at my sturnum and goes though my spine, not to it but though it, like someone impailed me with a knife) and if I ignore it, yes things do see the light of day once again, and most of the time it comes out of my nose also.

I doubt its the pillow because I sleep with a blanket between the pillow and my head and half the time the pillow ends up against the wall and I end up sleeping on the mattress its self. And for about a month I went with out the pillow all together, just sleeping on a rolled up t-shirt and had the same symptoms.

I'm hoping this isn't an allergy to Tom because I have grown to fond of him to get rid of him but the only time we spend any long amount of time together is over night when he sleeps in bed with me, but thats usually down by my feet. He only comes up by my face in the morning to wake me up and thats not every morning. You would think he would learn to sleep by my head, seeing how he gets kicked about 10 times a night(I roll over in my sleep).

I used to have sleep apnia(sp?) due to being over weight and had to sleep with a CPAP machine. Since surgery it has reversed its self but I am thinking this might be a lingering side effect of that. It was so bad that I woke up gasping for air at least 4 times a year(which is 4 times to many when your 19). One time I made it all the way to the bathroom before I started breathing again.

strange_wings · Sep 29, 2008

Originally Posted by algebrapro18

Trust me when you are severly overweight for most of your life, you will try anything to live a healthy life. Before surgery I would have cut off a leg if it would have meant weight loss.

Look up dysautonomia/autonomic dysfunction. Some are lucky and very high functioning, others are bed bound/in wheel chairs and often require a feeding tube, and the very unlucky are slowly wasting away as their body stops working - they may have 10 years max to live...
This isn't a leg, it's your nervous system. Destroy it and your body malfunctions.

I wasn't aware that sleep apnea could ever go away? I thought it could decrease in frequency but that the person was pretty much stuck with it unless there was major surgery to fix what is causing the obstruction (if it's even that type of sleep apnea - central is different all together).

laureen227 · Sep 29, 2008

Originally Posted by strange_wings

I wasn't aware that sleep apnea could ever go away? I thought it could decrease in frequency but that the person was pretty much stuck with it unless there was major surgery to fix what is causing the obstruction (if it's even that type of sleep apnea - central is different all together).

depends. many, many morbidly obese people have obstructive sleep apnea - the obstruction is the huge amount of weight compressing their lungs & throat. reduction of that weight can improve it to the point that CPAP & other types of mechanical assistance [Bi-PAP, etc.] are no longer necessary.
maybe it doesn't go away completely, but it's so minimal that it might as well have. mine's much better since losing 130 pounds.

enuja · Sep 30, 2008

I'm sorry I don't have any advice for the OP.

However, it makes no sense that 50% of a 6 month old pillow's mass could be dust mites! Does the pillow increase in mass my 50% in 6 months? Even with something as light as a pillow, that would be really noticable!

The straight dope has a collumn about dust mites being a large percentage of pillow and mattress mass. The straight dope dismisses it all as hyperbole. The more often quoted dust mite mass (from my quick perusal of google results) is that a pillow can have 10% dust-mite mass after two years.

Honestly, if we really want to know, we should take samples from our pillows, get a microscope, identify number of dust mites per mass, weigh groups of dust mites with an analytical balance, and do the math. Apparently, no-one has done it.

gailc · Sep 30, 2008

I thought I read/heard somewhere that one should stick pillows in the dryer and run for a few minutes to kill the dust mites??

strange_wings · Sep 30, 2008

Originally Posted by laureen227

maybe it doesn't go away completely, but it's so minimal that it might as well have. mine's much better since losing 130 pounds.

But have either of you had sleep studies again to check how much the sleep apnea has improved?

It may very well be one reason why he wakes up feeling like he does. Is your mouth dry in the morning, too?

laureen227 · Sep 30, 2008

Originally Posted by strange_wings

But have either of you had sleep studies again to check how much the sleep apnea has improved?

It may very well be one reason why he wakes up feeling like he does. Is your mouth dry in the morning, too?

a bit, but not like it was before i used the CPAP. i drink LOADS, so it's understandable [to me, at least] that i would be thirsty after not drinking for several hours because i was asleep.
i need a new study done... but haven't gotten around to it, yet.

laureen227 · Sep 30, 2008

Originally Posted by GailC

I thought I read/heard somewhere that one should stick pillows in the dryer and run for a few minutes to kill the dust mites??

i do this for my feather pillows to kill molds [also fluffs up the pillow nicely!] but hadn't heard it was good for dust mites...

strange_wings · Sep 30, 2008

Originally Posted by laureen227

i drink LOADS, so it's understandable [to me, at least] that i would be thirsty after not drinking for several hours because i was asleep.

Actually I was asking algebrapro - If he has dry mouth in the morning it would suggest he might have been sleeping with his mouth open (happens when your nose is stuffed up as well as when snoring.).

For you, it might mean you need to have an updated sleep study done.

What could this be?

februa

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margecat

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laureen227

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strange_wings

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laureen227

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strange_wings

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algebrapro18

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enuja

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gailc

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