Using CPAP with paralyzed vocal cord

I have read several different forums trying to get some information on aerophagia. I was seen by an ENT doc and diagnosed with my left vocal cord being paralyzed. He referred me to a sleep lab study as I was complaining of very loud snoring. I did the first sleep lab, and the tech that was there that night said that they allow 5 stops in breathing in an hour and I was at 6 at the worst part of the night. Then the doctor that reviewed the results (who was not the ENT doc) had me come back for a titration test. I did my best with that and to start with it really wasn't bad, but woke up from such severe stomach and intestinal pain there was no going back to sleep. The very kind sleep lab tech said they had enough info for the doctor to get results. She told me that she had to turn the machine all the way up to stop my snoring. Honestly, I didn't feel much different waking up that day than I do on any other day, other than the pain. I am wondering if there is anyone else out there that also has a paralyzed vocal cord and is successfully using CPAP or BiPap. I haven't gone back to the ENT doctor to get my results yet, but hoping to get some feedback before I go at the end of February. Any information would be greatly appreciated!

without question your stomach pain impacted the quality of your sleep.

My wife has a paralyzed vocal cord (surgery) that was augmented with teflon (a LONG time ago (70's), they do not do that now) and she too does snore constantly. She does not use PAP. but I do understand your issues.

There are people here that will help you with the aerophagia.

Do you have the results of the sleep study? not just the titrated pressure but what type of apneas you presented and as much detail as you can provide will help.

My wife's paralyzed vocal cord makes it permanently closed and thus presents as a narrow airway but otherwise no other issues.

I have not gotten the results of either sleep study yet. It was only days between the first and second one. I had to postpone my appointment once because they hadn't scheduled the first one yet, then postpone that one because I came down with a stomach bug two days after the second one. It sounds like there may be some answers in that after reading other posts.

One thing to do is to contact the prescribing physician and explain about the aerophagia and how painful it is.
Suggest that at a minimum, a bi-level machine would be very helpful in reducing the amount of air swallowed during treatment and that a full data machine (all bi-level ones are!!!) would provide efficacy data so that the pressures could be fine tuned to minimize the aerophagia effects while providing good treatment.

What you describe indicates that the pressure relief might need to more that 3 cm H2O that some non-bi-level machines can provide.

i was diagnosed with a paralyzed vocal cord about 15 years ago. the problem was that the good cord was over-stretching trying to reach the bad one resulting in inflammation, etc. an implant was placed to bring the bad cord permanently to mid-line, resulting in a good seal between the two sides. the implant is placed thru the outside of the neck, not inside the throat. having the wind pipe half closed has never been a problem and i never have swallowed air. there has never been a cpap problem related to the vocal cords. in my opinion, as someone with personal experience with this, i don't think the vocal cord has anything to do with swallowing air.

Hi lfdrescuediver,
I too have a paralyzed vocal chord that was severed during surgery 10.5 years ago. I have been more fatigued than my peers since probably age 11 when I had 4 permanent teeth pulled, but the fatigue has gotten increasingly worse since this surgery. I had chemo for Hodgkin's for 6 months after surgery as well. I just turned 40, so moderate to severe fatigue for a solid 10 years now. Anyway, despite what my doctor said - that it would not effect sleep apnea one way or the other - I believe it contributes. Anyway, I'm just starting my CPAP tonight and we'll see what happens in terms of aerophagia. I really hope that you're able to find a way to minimize the aerophagia you're experiencing. I'm rooting for you.