air forced into stomach while sleeping

[lehrmanbon]

I am 2 weeks new to a cpap. After the first three nights of only tolerating it for 2 hours, I called the clinic that issued the machine. I was waking after an hour or two with a distended stomach and acute pain from the air being forced out of my cpap going into my stomach while I slept. I would wake from the pain, sit up and remove my mask then belch loudly and with great vigor, to expel the offending air. I have to laugh while writing this it is so weird, but the weird is often true, and in my case it is.

Anyway, the tech told me that about one in a thousand experience this. Doesn't that make me feel special. I already have a beautiful mask to wear each night and now I am special! I told him the force was too high at a 9. He replied that the Dr. set it that way based on my sleep test, and it was my prescription. He said I was afraid of the cpap and needed to relax, it would get better. I was told to use it for 2 weeks and then go see my regular Dr. if I was still having problems, because that meant I had a stomach problem........ does any of this ring a bell with anyone else? Does anyone have any advise? I went to my regular Dr. today. he had never heard of such a problem and uses a cpap himself. he wants me to get an endoscopy to see if my stomach sphincter muscle is working properly and whether or not there are pre-cancerous cells causing a problem. Great, now I really feel better, maybe it is cancer!..... honestly, why can't they just let me turn it down? I love the ramp setting and could easily live with a 4 - 6.

The only thing the tech said that was worth anything was to look on the internet for a chat group..... here I am, and having difficulty navigating the topics, so I decided to just jump in with both feet and ask for help. Am I abbey normal? Are there other aliens like me? What can I do? I want to avoid an endoscopy if possible, it is so invasive, but if this is really as serious as the doc seems to think then I will give it a go. I am still in denial that I even have sleep apnea, and now this........ still in shock LISA in Alaska

[LDuyer]

Hi Lisa,

Welcome!!
Gosh, Alaska, is it?
Never been there either. I don't get out much. Ha!

Look, don't do anything drastic about the gas problem just yet. And I suspect more apnea patients suffer from the bloating than your doctor said. You will see alot of discussion here on the forum about that. I don't get that, but many do. You might do a search and read what they have talked about, in case it helps you. But really, this seems to be a common thing. And it may well go away soon. But check out the forum for it. Or hopefully more people will write in, in response to your topic here. Don't give up. Together, we'll get this thing licked and be on to successful treatment. Keep in touch!

Linda

[ozij]

Welcome!
The subject has been discussed frequently - click the word "search" on top of the screen, and try any of the following words "gas, aerophagia, bloating, swallowing air" If you swallow air on CPAP - it bloats you! And then it has to come out.

Here a link to a post with refrences: Titrator's links
O.

[Guest]

I had some of that the first few nights and then it went away.

In my case, the air made it all the way through the pipeline.

Hmm. Maybe a mask at both ends, just to equalize things?

This seems to get better.

[Mikesus]

Few things help, raise the head of the bed, use an APAP (less air means less aerophagia).

If you do get it, you have to move around and get it out... With the pain that it causes that sounds like the last thing you want to do, but it does help it subside.

I personally can tell you that it got better for me. Took a while but it did get better. You can try Gas-X and Advil or tylenol to help with the discomfort.

[rested gal]

lehrmanbon, good suggestions from the others. I'd add only this - do you think there's any chance you have GERD (acid reflux)? The poster nicknamed -SWS mentioned once a little theory of his that possibly people with GERD might be more prone to aerophagia on cpap. Makes sense to me. Treatment air might be able to push past a weak esophagus sphincter more easily than it would for people without GERD. Maybe?

If the aerophagia doesn't subside in a week or so, you might want to go ahead with the endoscopy the doctor suggested.

[auntiebeccaneedssleep]

I too am new to wearing a mask. I am a mouth breather, and wear a nose mask. When I breathe through my mouth with my mask on, I get air trapped. I am considering trying a new mask, and retraining myself to breathe through my nose. When I was fitted with my mask, I was told to expect air in my stomach. She said I would be bloated for a few weeks until I could retrain myself to only breathe through my nose. I just wanted you to know there are others who get pain in their tummy from the air in their tummy.

auntie

[Dot]

Lisa, I have used a face mask for a year now and when I went for my regular check-up last month that was my question. I told the Dr that I felt like a blown-up balloon ready to pop. I told him that I eat less, exercise more and am gaining weight and it didn`t make much sense to me. His answer was it was bloat caused by all the air being swallowed while I sleep. He asked me if I do a lot of stretching. Guess the stretching helps to get rid of some of the gas. I used to sleep only 2 to 3 hours a night for years, but lately I have been getting 4 and a few times 5 hours sleep. So, it took me a year to start sleeping longer, but I am bloating more.
I see the Lung Dr on the 19th and I intend to ask him also and see what he says.
I have to use the face mask due to having my nose broken when they removed my tonsils and adenoids years ago. One side of the nose closes up when I breath in deeply, so to breath easier I often breath thru my mouth-- making a face mask necessary.
So, don`t give up. Took me a while to get used to the mask, but now I do sleep more with it. Good Luck. If the pains start getting worse, be sure to go back to the Drs to be sure it`s only caused by the air bloat. [/b]

[stunned1]

Hi Lisa

My name is also Lisa. I have been on CPAP since January and also had the air problem in the stomach. My pressure was at 9 at the time and once I lowered it to 7 the problem resolved itself. I too had trouble believing I have this apnea problem but had a second opinion and yes I do. My body weight is 125 and possibly the pressure was too much for me and it felt like I was swallowing air. (and that air has only 2 places to go!)

Anyway over the past few months I now have an Autopap with a pressure range of 5 to 12 and use a full face mirage mask and all is well.

I have browsed this site for very valuable information. When I went for my second opinion at a hospital in Toronto the doctor was amazed at how informed I was on the subject of sleep apnea. All from this site.

Thanks to all out there for your valuable information.

Lisa from Toronto

[divajojo]

I can recommend two things to you, realizing that I'm a new user - just over a week. I haven't had the bloating since the air's going allllll the way through. My problem is the constant gas. I'm talking an alternate fuel source for the space shuttle . . . jeez. My cat won't even sleep in the room with me anymore.

I suggest you get some activated charcoal, it can be purchased at any health food store and most grocery stores. It's a natural alternative to things like Gas-X and Mylanta. I used it to help dissipate the gas from my gallbladder surgery and it worked great. This will definitely help with the bloating while you adjust to the machine and eventually, you won't need it anymore (perhaps on occassion).

The second thing is, stick with the pressure your doctor has prescribed. To a lot of us it seems high, especially when compared to what we've been breathing. Mine is 17/13 (I use a BiPAP) and I didn't think I'd ever be able to breathe with that, but slowly I'm adjusting. The 4-6 may feel better, but it's not stopping your apneas and while you think you're sleeping better, you're still dealing with the oxygen deprivation, etc.

Basically, your prescribed pressure is determined by starting at a low setting and gradually increasing until you have no apnea events. So your 9 is the lowest pressure your body was able to accommodate without obstruction, any lower and you stopped breathing. Rather than expending energy in frustration and wanting your pressure to be lowered, recognize that lowering your pressure is dangerous to your health. Your challenge, as for all of us, is to find ways to overcome the discomforts and setbacks associated with therapy by learning the right combination of machine, mask, pillows, positions, habits, etc. that make it work for us.

I mean no disrespect to those fighting various forms of Cancer, but consider this for a moment. If you had been diagnosed with a malignancy, but there was EVERY chance it would be completely eliminated with a vigorous round of chemotherapy. Would you have your therapy reduced to a more comfortable level if it meant that the reduced therapy would have little to no effect on your malignancy?

Trust me, everyone here understands your frustration, but you just have to take it a day at a time, or rather one night at a time, and know that the end result more than justifies working through these setbacks. Trust me, it gets better . . . realizing that you'll get out of it what you put into it. Don't get too discouraged; there IS a light at the end of this foggy tunnel.

[roster]

irreversible framing.retraining?fondling:Delaney requisites unsuited,adroitness doubter

The spammer resurrected a post that was dated April 2005. Interesting that "lehrmanbon" made this one post and then disappeared. Makes me wonder what happened to him?

[SleepyNoMore]

Hi Lisa,

I have to say, your post had me rolling

I had the BIG GAS thing when I first started Cpap almost a year ago and I was given a straight cpap machine with the pressure set from 4-9.. Man I suffered for a month straight and was about ready to give up until I remembered the awesome AUTO machine I was titrated with, so instead of giving up, I marched into the sleep center with my Remstar cpap machine and told them to give me an auto and they did, , and I don't hardly ever get gas or (at least nothing like I did with the straight cpap pro or plus I had during that first month...

It's not to late to go back in and exchange your machine for an AUTO, like Remstar Auto with A-Flex and it has a smart card so you can buy the software and card reader so you can download it on your computer everyday and see your apneas, etc!

Please keep us informed and updated and try to get some really much needed rest!

SleepyNoMore

[mellabella]

I dunno, if you're one in a thousand, make me two!

Very common problem, especially with a new (in your case, entirely new) pressure.

This may seem obvious, but if you're not using the ramp up feature, START NOW. That's how I managed to go from 7 to 13 (and trust me, it was waking up several times per night with sharp pains and a distended belly over here, too).

Give it at least a week or two before you give up on the pressure prescribed...short term discomfort (i.e. letting your body adjust to the aerophagia) can lead to long term benefits (i.e. not being at a sub-optimal pressure).

[peasantldy]

Sleepy no more" I started out w/the same machine as you and a setting of 9 plus FFM. It has been a month and I'm having no relief from the bloating and flatulence. This Wed I see my sleep Dr and was going to ask her about an auto-pap (but my insurance probably won't cover ) I also have severe Gastric reflux problems and hiatel hernia-now its double torture every day w/gas... Kt

[SleepyNoMore]

Sleepy no more" I started out w/the same machine as you and a setting of 9 plus FFM. It has been a month and I'm having no relief from the bloating and flatulence. This Wed I see my sleep Dr and was going to ask her about an auto-pap (but my insurance probably won't cover ) I also have severe Gastric reflux problems and hiatel hernia-now its double torture every day w/gas... Kt

_________________

Hi kt and lehrmanbon,

When you go back to your Doc, ask for a new prescription for an auto, I was like you with a pressure of 9 and on a straight cpap machine, I went back to the dme and told him I wanted the Auto like I was titrated with and he said that the Insurance Company wouldn't pay for an Auto so I went home, got online at cpap.com , printed out their prices for an Auto (Remstar), took it back to him and he sold me the machine and honored cpap.com's online price but I did pay out of pocket for it and he billed my Ins. for the regular cpap machine. Just tell them you want an auto and if they say no, tell them you will pay the $100.00 extra for it, then you can get online and get the software & card reader.

BTW kt, I did reply to your pm!

Goodluck to both of you

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): auto