Monthly Archives: September 2023

A CPAP Update – Burning Mouth

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Back in February 2020, I wrote about having a sleep apnea diagnosis and using the Philips Respironics Dream Station. This was supposedly the top-of-the-line machine. It had the advantage of offering humidified air that would help your mouth and throat be more moist. Since dryness is not a friend of Burning Mouth, I, of course, chose that option. You can read the details at Sleep Apnea and Burning Mouth.

Time went by and I persevered with the machine although it was not always the most comfortable thing and the travel-size version I got with a humidifier disc was a total bust. It was just painfully dry for my throat and I couldn’t tolerate it.

Covid19 hit us all, and travel wasn’t that much of an issue.

In September of last year, I wrote a follow-up post about the nationwide recall that Philips did of their CPAP machines. You can read the details at Sleep Apnea and Burning Mouth Update.

Now a new piece of information has come out based on ProPublica’s investigation and excellent reporting. It is chilling and makes me very happy that I lost weight (Stuck at 35 lbs. down, but I will take it!) and no longer need the CPAP machine. The machine I used nightly is right there in the picture.

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Is COVID Over? – Burning Mouth Updated

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The last time we spoke, I was sharing my decision to ramp off the EffexorXR that seemed to be helping the burning mouth pain, but causing other side effects that cumulatively overwhelmed that benefit.

I ramped down under my Neurologist’s instructions – I can’t stress how important it is that you don’t just “stop taking a prescription!” Your body isn’t built to do that and you can cause yourself so much damage and pain that is not necessary at all! Even with ramping off gently, there can be a few side effects so please do this only under a doctor’s supervision.

I had just finished the last week of minimal doses and had discontinued the medicine when…(insert dramatic music here) COVID hit me like a ton of bricks!

Now those of you out there who have had it one or multiple times, or had mild cases of it are probably wondering, “What’s she making a fuss about?”

It was my first time. End of 2019-2020-2021-2022- and most of 2023 and I had dodged the dang bullet. I masked, I vaccinated, I distanced…and now at the end of 2023 I must have lowered my guard a tad too much, or even more likely, this variant is a sneaky one! We still can’t figure out where I may have picked it up because it was a pretty constrained weekend with family and no one else got it! Thank God for Paxlovid, because it had my symptoms under control in a matter of days.

Here’s what you came for:

What did going off Effexor XR do to my Burning Mouth pain?

What did having COVID do to my Burning Mouth pain?

What did taking Paxlovid do to my Burning Mouth pain?

Are we done with COVID???

I am so sorry to say that the answer to the first question is “Not a lot.” My burning is at a fairly moderate level right now and discontinuing the medicine did not change that much at all. I am still taking one dose of Clonazepam ODT around dinner time and that seems to be keeping me stable.

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