CPAP and Food digestion

[mcpascalns]

Hello,

Iam new here and have sleep apnea. I just need to learn from others to get better each day. New issue is food digestion. Its awfully slow for me now due to cold air entering my system during the CPAP use. How is anyone dealing with this ?

Thanks



mcpascaln

[Julie]

Hi - you shouldn't have cold air in your system - there are ways to deal with it. What make, model and year of machine are you using and is the humidifier built in or separate (did it come with the machine?). Also, what type of mask are you using and how is it working?

Most humidifiers have adjustable heat settings - does your manual go into that?

You can use the forum search engine (home page) to look for Climateline hose (or Google it), and/or you can get a specially designed hose cover to keep the hose warmer (someone else here will give you a link) I'm sure.

And if you register as a member (it's free) then you can click on the User Ctl Panel under the page logo, go to Profile and put in all the info (text pref to icons), then each time you post we'll all see your machine info and be better able to advise with problems (see under all of our notes... the blue writing).

As far as digestion goes - are you sure it's because of the cold? So many of us have GERD (reflux problems) which is now being debated by doctors as to which may have come first, the reflux or the apnea... but it's another thing to keep in mind - it could be affecting your sleep and you want to look into it (in case warming the air isn't the answer).
Good luck!

[chunkyfrog]

Excess acid can give a "cold" feeling in the stomach.
Just saying. Air that goes inside, it warms up pretty quickly.

[hyperlexis]

It's not cold air -- by the time it hits your gut its plenty warmed up. It's just air, which then causes bloating and gas and it sucks. One of the unfortunate side effects of CPAP especially at higher pressure. It can be very painful and mimic indigestion. I really hate this part when it happens to me.

You can try this for some advice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-65JWNBttnE

[archangle]

Many people do better if they don't eat anything soon before bedtime.

[ChicagoGranny]

It's not cold air -- by the time it hits your gut its plenty warmed up. It's just air, which then causes bloating and gas and it sucks. One of the unfortunate side effects of CPAP especially at higher pressure. It can be very painful and mimic indigestion. I really hate this part when it happens to me.

You can try this for some advice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-65JWNBttnE

I think that dude works for the National Association of Chiropractors. Sleeping in that position for long periods of time will cause serious spinal problems in many people.

Any doctor with half a brain will recommend a neutral head and spine position.

Head position when sleeping or lying down can affect the position of the entire body and increase stress on the spine and muscles of the back. The pillow should be below the head and neck, not the shoulders. Use a pillow that is firm enough to support the head and aligns it with the spine in its normal position. Using a very thick pillow or one that is too soft to support the head can cause neck and back pain and lead to poor posture.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/10470 ... z2FjSusL5x

[Sir NoddinOff]

For me it's important to not eat food or drink alcohol at least three to four hours before I mask up. I was initially having bad aerophagia and indigestion, however with the two restrictions mentioned above, both went away immediately and stayed away completely. It takes some self control but I find that it's worth it.

As ChicagoGranny mentioned I think that sleeping with your chin tucked to your chest (as shown in the video) goes against the collective wisdom of this forum, but I have no empirical data to support that.

[ddk]

I really hate this part when it happens to me.

Oh come now. Nobody can tell me that they don't enjoy the farting.

[mcpascaln]

[quote="Julie"] And if you register as a member (it's free) then you can click on the User Ctl Panel under the page logo, go to Profile and put in all the info (text pref to icons), then each time you post we'll all see your machine info and be better able to advise with problems (see under all of our notes... the blue writing).


I have already registered and updated my machine information. I cannot see them displayed on board.I know very well my problem is not GERD.

[mcpascaln]

if you register as a member (it's free) then you can click on the User Ctl Panel under the page logo, go to Profile and put in all the info (text pref to icons), then each time you post we'll all see your machine info and be better able to advise with problems (see under all of our notes... the blue writing).

I have already registered and updated my machine information. I cannot see them displayed on board.I know very well my problem is not GERD.

[ChicagoGranny]

I know very well my problem is not GERD.

The description of your problem is very sketchy.

New issue is food digestion. Its awfully slow for me now due to cold air entering my system during the CPAP use.

It might help if you provided some detail.

Cooler air does slow down chemical reactions such as those involved in digestion. However, to take the extreme example, the difference in digestion at 98.6F compared to room temperature would not be noticeable.

[Todzo]

Hello,
I am new here and have sleep apnea. I just need to learn from others to get better each day. New issue is food digestion. Its awfully slow for me now due to cold air entering my system during the CPAP use. How is anyone dealing with this? Thanks, mcpascaln

I do not think it is the cold air, I think it is related to blowing off a bit more carbon dioxide because the constant pressure of CPAP tends one to use a greater volume of air.

Hopefully you will get more used to the pressure, learn to breath less with the machine on, problem gone.

In my case I deal with PTSD issues which tend to drive up the urge to breath to where what I have described can be an issue during the day[4].

This is how I deal with CO2 maintenance issues:

Proper Treatment of Insomnia and PTSD:

During a recent interview Dr. Barry Krakow related that his group has found that 90% of those presenting with insomnia had a sleep breathing disorder (half UARS half OSA) and in the rest the awakenings were over 90% attached to respiratory incidents[1].

The pathology for PTSD also appears to be a sleep breathing physiological problem not a psychological one.

This year I have found my symptoms of PTSD much helped by a simple solution which corrects the CO2 maintenance issues involved [2]. I believe it is so effective because the brain is so sensitive to changes in CO2 [3].

Please treat insomnia and PTSD as the breathing disorders that they are.

[1] :
MP3 of - Expert Interview: Dr. Barry Krakow on PTSD, Insomnia, and Sleep Apnea http://doctorstevenpark.com/expert-inte ... leep-apnea

[2] :
J Clin Sleep Med. 2010 Dec 15;6(6):529-38.
Treatment of positive airway pressure treatment-associated respiratory instability with enhanced expiratory rebreathing space (EERS).
Gilmartin G, McGeehan B, Vigneault K, Daly RW, Manento M, Weiss JW, Thomas RJ.
Source: Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21206741

[3] :
Philip N. Ainslie and James Duffin, Integration of cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity and chemoreflex control of breathing: mechanisms of regulation, measurement, and interpretation Published online before print February 11, 2009, doi: 10.​1152/​ajpregu.​91008.​2008 AJP - Regu Physiol May 2009 vol. 296 no. 5 R1473-R1495
Link: http://ajpregu.physiology.org/content/296/5/R1473.long

[4] : I use a pulse oximeter to help guide me toward breathing at more eucapnic levels during the day. I have noted the following symptoms relating to SpO2 levels as I have done this. In general the higher the SpO2 level the more CO2 is likely to have been blown out of the system and the more likely they have become low (higher is bad – above 94%). This is what happens with me:

Blood oxygen level (SpO2) level vs Stomach symptom:

99% Stomach in a knot, heartburn, nausea
98% Stomach in a knot, possible heartburn
97% Stomach has bloated feeling
96% Stomach beginning to relax
95% Stomach relaxed, digestion continues

[mcpascalns]

Hi - you shouldn't have cold air in your system - there are ways to deal with it. What make, model and year of machine are you using and is the humidifier built in or separate (did it come with the machine?). Also, what type of mask are you using and how is it working?

Most humidifiers have adjustable heat settings - does your manual go into that?

You can use the forum search engine (home page) to look for Climateline hose (or Google it), and/or you can get a specially designed hose cover to keep the hose warmer (someone else here will give you a link) I'm sure.

And if you register as a member (it's free) then you can click on the User Ctl Panel under the page logo, go to Profile and put in all the info (text pref to icons), then each time you post we'll all see your machine info and be better able to advise with problems (see under all of our notes... the blue writing).

As far as digestion goes - are you sure it's because of the cold? So many of us have GERD (reflux problems) which is now being debated by doctors as to which may have come first, the reflux or the apnea... but it's another thing to keep in mind - it could be affecting your sleep and you want to look into it (in case warming the air isn't the answer).
Good luck!

Thank you Julie includng others who posted on this thread offering me advises and tips . This is no longer the issue. It did go away after switching cpap machine to VPAP Auto. In addition, i was offered oxygen at that time which I did not need at all.