My Swollen Uvula and Other Snoring Problems

It doesn't happen very often anymore. Because I've used my continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine long enough now, it's second nature to put on my headgear before I go to sleep. And quite honestly, I love the way I sleep using the CPAP machine. But apparently in the middle of the night the other night, for some reason or another, I took off my headgear and shut the machine off.

Sleeping without my CPAP was a problem. I had a really hard time waking up that morning. I was extremely tired and just didn't want to get out of bed. Yeah, like I've done most of my life before finding out I had sleep apnea.

How did I feel when I woke up?

Now, I did use my machine for the four hours that's recommended, but not my typical eight or more hours.

My throat and my ears ached. I could barely take a drink of water, let alone getting my normal morning pills down. It didn't take me long to figure out that my uvula (you know, the little thingy that hangs down in the back of your throat) swollen and extremely sore.

Then I realized it was also causing the ear pain. I said something to my husband about my uvula being swollen -- laughing, he said it didn't surprise him, the way I was snoring when he woke up!

He said he'd never heard me snore that loud or that hard before.

What I did about the swelling of the uvula

Well, first I brushed my teeth, and that helped quite a bit because there was a whole lot of gunk in my mouth that morning, more than normal! Still not finding a lot of relief however, I ended up gargling salt water, and that helped a lot more.

But the finishing touches were using saline nasal spray, ear drops in my ears, and while I was at it, I put some eye drops in my eyes, too (I do have dry eyes). By the time I was done, the swelling of the uvula was down. And I could at least eat my breakfast.

Has this ever happened before?

I experienced these same symptoms many years ago, before getting diagnosed with sleep apnea and first using a CPAP machine. My uvula swelled up badly enough that I ended up in the emergency room the next morning. It was so swollen that it was blocking my airway!

I really don't remember what they did to get the swelling down, but I was there for a few hours.

I'd never dreamed that a swollen uvula could have been caused by the long, loud snoring that I used to do -- and apparently still do, if I'm not wearing my CPAP!

Lesson learned

Don't take off your CPAP mask in the middle of the night and leave it off, because a swollen uvula is no laughing matter! Well, then again, we were laughing...

Have you ever had a swollen uvula? What symptoms do you experience if you leave your CPAP off? Tell us about it in the comments below.