Aerophagia Part 2

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
rzw
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Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2018 7:23 am

Aerophagia Part 2

Post by rzw » Mon Mar 12, 2018 7:28 am

Would love to have feedback from any folks who have dealt with this and were able to get over it........its greatly interrupting therapy for sure........I sleep on my left side 75% of the time....when this started happening, I thought I would switch to my right side......I thought a little less gravity fed air into the stomach might help.......first night it seemed to work, I was excited....2nd night, not so good, and so on.....last night horrible......So next step, Pugsy recommended adding EPR to the picture.....I tried that, but had a hard time with EPR on.....the air seems so reduced, even when breathing in, it was uncomfortable, like there was a void of fresh air coming in kind of gig.......I would wonder sometimes if the air was even on, and this was before falling a sleep....so I did not stick to this.......I then tried adjusting pressure settings......my range I have been using is 6.4 to 11.4.......I started to reduce the high pressure....I have made it down to 8.8 and even 8.6 as of last night.....Why my sleepyhead data has been good during this period, 0-.5 results, I'm still getting all filled up with air......I end up getting woke up due to pain, and rapid heart rate, and breathing feels out of wack......I have to take my mask off for a bit to let things try to clear out and for the sensation of all that air going crazy in my digestive tract.....the feeling is like, if you were to blow air into a straw that is in a carbonated beverage, all that bubbling and sloshing going on, that's what I feel......so with the mask off, I will fall back a sleep for a short time until apnea wakes me up....I then put my mask back on and try to finish therapy but its not a good sleep.......I'm just not getting enough sleep....very sluggish and headachy the next day.....

I'm guessing I either need to try and see if turning EPR will work or I guess I have to try a Bilevel machine??

Side Note and thoughts about sleeping on my right side.....When I would lay down and the machine would kick in, the machine would take pressure up to my max level within 2 to 3 minutes of the machine being on.....Now i'm not asleep......I'm awake still.....I noticed this the first night as I thought the air was blowing harder than normal.....could not figure out why....when I checked the data, sure enough, the pressure jumps up to max within 2 to 3 min of starting therapy....this makes it a little difficult to go to sleep for me, right away....but when I do fall asleep, the pressure will gradually drop on down....weird...

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Mikebear
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Re: Aerophagia Part 2

Post by Mikebear » Mon Mar 12, 2018 9:15 am

I lowered pressure for a while, fixed my chronic leaks with my new Airfit P10 (wore a soft collar to keep my mouth shut) and started taking a 14 day course of Nexium. I normally take Pepcid every night as I have GERD, but needed the PPI method with Nexium to knock this one out. It took me more than a month to get over my extreme aerophagia, but I'm now over it.

I caused it myself with my new Airsense 10 Autoset (first new machine for me in 20 years), by jacking the pressure up too HIGH, too FAST over too short a period of time. Once aerophagia set in, it was REAL bad for me. It even caused my blood pressure to jack sky-high for a while, because it went into an intestinal gastritis (read: it restarted a 19 year old case of Diverticulitis I had gotten over a long time ago)

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mesenteria
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Re: Aerophagia Part 2

Post by mesenteria » Mon Mar 12, 2018 12:22 pm

rzw wrote:
Mon Mar 12, 2018 7:28 am
...

Side Note and thoughts about sleeping on my right side....
If you have ever had an endoscopy to check for colon problems, you will almost certainly have been placed on the recovery surface in the fetal position on your LEFT side. This is the natural position to expel the gases left in the lower GI tract that inflate the colon for a better look-see. And believe me, you'll pass that gas....oh will you pass it, and pass it...and... They say there's a certain je-ne sais quoi about working in that ward. Something in the air, I guess...

I routinely fall asleep on my left side for that reason, but also because the duodenum rises toward the right side when reposing on the left. It's easiest for me to expel stomach gases and makes me more comfortable as I snuggle and attempt to fall asleep. Later, once I awaken and want to turn to the right side, I don't worry about it as I need the change, and by then the major discomfort preventing sleep will have been dealt with...ideally.

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ChicagoGranny
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Re: Aerophagia Part 2

Post by ChicagoGranny » Mon Mar 12, 2018 12:40 pm

rzw wrote:
Mon Mar 12, 2018 7:28 am
my range I have been using is 6.4 to 11.4
You also wrote in an earlier thread:
it also allows time for my breathing to calm down....once things have calm down, I will put the mask on and try again
At that low minimum pressure, there is a chance you might be reflexively gulping for air and worsening aerophagia. (Many of us find a low pressure gives a sensation of mild suffocation.) I would try a higher minimum pressure - 8.0 or 9.0 - for one night. Sometimes counter intuitive works. At this point, you don't seem to have much to lose.

rzw
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Re: Aerophagia Part 2

Post by rzw » Mon Mar 12, 2018 2:13 pm

thank you for the replies......mikebear, what in the end helped you get over it....was it just lowering your pressure settings....

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Pugsy
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Re: Aerophagia Part 2

Post by Pugsy » Mon Mar 12, 2018 2:19 pm

Have you tried changing EPR response to "soft" from the default?

You need to learn to like EPR because that's what a bilevel feels like.

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Mikebear
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Re: Aerophagia Part 2

Post by Mikebear » Mon Mar 12, 2018 2:57 pm

rzw wrote:
Mon Mar 12, 2018 2:13 pm
thank you for the replies......mikebear, what in the end helped you get over it....was it just lowering your pressure settings....
ALL of what I posted above, and time... Lowering the pressure until I had it almost beat was the biggest part of getting over it.

_________________
Machine: ResMed AirSense™ 10 AutoSet™ CPAP Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
Mask: AirFit™ P10 Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: Pressures = 10 CmH20 - 13 CmH20 EPR 2. COPD, Asthma, 30lbs overweight. Airsense 10 AutoSet

rzw
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Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2018 7:23 am

Re: Aerophagia Part 2

Post by rzw » Mon Mar 12, 2018 3:22 pm

Got it sir, thank you...