Swallowing air

[lorib64]

What causes you to swallow air. Full face mask. I had a poor seal last night (unhappy face on resmed) and my stomach was full of air. I didn't notice the leakage while sleeping. It read that I had few episodes during the night.

[OkyDoky]

What causes you to swallow air. Full face mask. I had a poor seal last night (unhappy face on resmed) and my stomach was full of air. I didn't notice the leakage while sleeping. It read that I had few episodes during the night.

There can be several causes; anxiety, apnea events, chin down making it easier for air to enter the esophagus, a weak sphincter at the entrance to your stomach, etc.
It happens to all of us at times but if it becomes a painful unresolved problem then we have to zero in on the cause and make changes.

[Julie]

Put 'Aerophagia' in the forum search bar - you'll get lots of info.

[purple22]

What are your pressures?

[lorib64]

Put 'Aerophagia' in the forum search bar - you'll get lots of info.

Thank you. I didn't know the term

[lorib64]

What are your pressures?

It is set at 15

[purple22]

Yes, well. There are several things you will see when looking at aerophagia. One is, people who have aerophagia, can have GERD.

As Wiki says: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), also known as acid reflux, is a long term condition where stomach contents come back up into the esophagus resulting in either symptoms or complications.[4][5] Symptoms include the taste of acid in the back of the mouth, heartburn, bad breath, chest pain, vomiting, breathing problems, and wearing away of the teeth. Complications include esophagitis, esophageal strictures, and Barrett's esophagus.[4]

I had severe Aerophagia. That is, when I exhaled, the air pressure pushed air into my stomach. I had an overnite sleep study once, I had to get up during the nite, and had to walk around to belch out the air. The Technician, who had been with doing sleep studies since they used vacuum cleaners in reverse to provide air flow, said that she had never seen such bad aerophagia. I can sympathize with your situation.

I now have a bi level machine. No more GERD. I have had a lot of good sleep. This might not be the answer for you, but 15 is large enough number that it could be involved with Aerophagia.

I think a doc would ask if you have any other gastric or sinus problems going on now. Is this aerophagia a recent thing ? or has it always been there?

In the explanation that I got. Normally the valve that would prevent air going into stomach can hold up to at least 20. What caused mine to go bad is a longer story.

The doc said I inherited a small nose. Going back to when I was a child, I probably gasped for breath when I slept. That creates a vacuum down to my stomach. When it pulls acid out of my stomach, it ruins the valve. As I entered my teenage years, my jaw should have grown more forward, and wider. While that was going on, the soft tissue at the back of my throat grew larger. I have OSA because that soft tissue is what falls back to block my air. Worse. With the stomach acid rising up, it irritates my sinuses. Which drip, including bacteria, which makes my stomach more unhappy, and makes more gas and more acid.

I suspect that when someone on the board talks about when they get up in the morning it is like they can not get a breathe, or they have overall chest pain for a few minutes, and then it goes away. I think it is aerophagia. They walk around a bit, maybe belch out a little air, and then they can breathe normally.

Walking around, belching air is good way to relief the pressure from aerophagia.

Acid blockers, and drugs for stomach upset can help with some of that, if the stomach acid is involved. Sometimes waking up with a dry mouth is from stomach acid.

But nothing was as helpful to me as getting a bi level machine. My problem with getting a bi level machine was that Medicare does not pay the extra for a bi level machine for comfort. One must fail CPAP.

I guess you already know that one the board we talk about people who have great looking jaw lines. When I see someone who has a lantern jaw, I am a bit jealous. If you are old enough to remember, Terry Bradshaw had a great looking jaw line. He probably developed A-fib, as a lot of athletes do.

I also took the humidifier off my Resmed S9 VPAP, as the less moisture, the less bacteria and drip that can go into my stomach. I still like sleeping on rainy nights with one hundred percent humidity in the air.

Might be none of what I have written here applies to you. Best wishes anyway.

[lorib64]

Thanks for all of that @purple22

Yes, I do have some issues with reflux. Not consistently, but sometimes.

I think it was just the way the mask fit last night that I swallowed a lot of air. I am going to do searches.

I am sorry if I ask too much.

[Pugsy]

Sometimes we just seem to swallow a lot of air because of a lot of arousals or just bad luck.
If it doesn't happen very often and isn't too annoying then I wouldn't worry about it.
If it happens often and is very annoying or painful then there are some things that can be done to help reduce the symptoms.

Pressure of 15 is getting up there in terms of pressure needs and comfort and increasing the chance to have air get into the stomach. If it becomes too much of a problem you might be a good candidate for a bilevel pressure machine which can do some things to help reduce the aerophagia.

You are using the ResMed AirSense 10 machine.....are you using EPR exhale relief and if so at what setting? If not, you could add EPR and maybe help reduce the aerophagia a bit.

[purple22]

I guess I could have said, to call your DME and speak with their Respiratory Therapist, a lot of folks here have not had good experiences with their DME, else they would not be here. I have met several DME's who were very helpful, and had knowledgeable friendly RT's. Just I really need the bi-level machine instead of advice, which was a real pain to go through the Medicare requirements to qualify for.

[lorib64]

I spoke to someone from the Cpap provider. I am not sure if he was a respiratory therapist. He went over the components and how I am supposed to tighten everything to prevent leakage. He said I can make an appointment to come in if I can't get it working right.

I don't think he told me anything new.

Thanks for all the help.

[lorib64]

Tonight started better, but I woke with the mask slid up on my face. I played with the straps but eventually took it off.

Is that a particular strap (top, middle, lower)

My room is fairly cold, I have a heated tube at 71F and humidity was at level 3.

Should I adjust the settings?

I have ordered liners but they have not arrived yet

[Julie]

Don't overtighten the mask - it can create new small leaks and crush the thin cushion that needs to inflate. Whether your room is too cold or whether the humidifier needs to be that high is something you need to experiment with and may change with climate, season, heating, etc. Many people dont need the humidifier at times, others a lot all year. Be careful also about using cream on your face before bed (mask tightness can also create sliding, but so can your skin and hair).