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[CPAP] Bloated, gas, air in stomach caused by CPAP?!?!?
#1
Gross 
Bloated, gas, air in stomach caused by CPAP?!?!?
Hell everyone, I am new here. I have had sleep apnea for a long time, was diagnosed back 2005, tried to use a CPAP for a while, then totally gave up. I work from home so falling asleep can happen when it needs to. Recently though, I have started fresh with a new machine and hoping to get under control.

Here is my dilemma, and a big reason I stopped before. This may sound strange but I swear when I am using my machine I wake up bloated and full of air. Remember (at least the guys) when we were kids and we would swallow air to make ourselves burp? Its just like that. The only thing I can think of is that air is being forced into my stomach by my machine.

Has anyone heard of this?

Vanight

PS: The face I chose is suppose to be a burping face. LOL.
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#2
RE: Bloated, gas, air in stomach caused by CPAP?!?!?
This is a very, very common thing. It has a name I can never spell. Aerophagia? Something like that. Anyway, it happens to a lot of people in the beginning. I know when I get my pressure increased, I can sit up in the morning and belch the alphabet.

There's several things you can try.

Raise the head of the bed. Some do this by screwing two 2x4s together then putting the feet of the headboard on top. This elevates the head of the bed by roughly 3.5". You want it high enough to beat gravity but not so high you slide down (or give yourself a wedgie in your sleep).

Use a wedge pillow and raise yourself up. This make side sleeping rather uncomfortable, though.

Sleep with your neck bent so your chin is on your chest. This is so you cannot swallow air during your sleep. This does not work for everyone.

Do the opposite of the above by keeping your neck in a straight line. This is so air has a place to naturally escape.

And then there is the wait it out method. The air problem usually passes (no pun intended) on its own in a few weeks.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#3
RE: Bloated, gas, air in stomach caused by CPAP?!?!?
I don,t have issue with Aerophagia, there has been few suggestions how to deal with it and here,re couple of thread worth reading:
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-Aerophagia
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...h-Bloating

http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...CPAP_users

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#4
RE: Bloated, gas, air in stomach caused by CPAP?!?!?
Aerophagia is indeed a very common complaint for, especially, new users of XPAP. It normally subsides after some steady usage.
Since you have used XPAP before, I'm surprised that you didn't encounter it then. Maybe just lucky. I might ask as to why you gave up on the use of the XPAP before. Was it the aerophagia, too high of a pressure causing discomfort, partner complaint, didn't think it was worth the effort or ????

If the aerophagia continues to cause you discomfort, I might suggest that you place your machine in the APAP mode and change the pressure settings to something (maybe 2 or 3/or more ) lower then your present constant pressure and change the top pressure setting to your present constant or maybe 1 above your now constant. That might help you get used to the pressure without causing as much bloating pain.
Yesterday is history; Tomorrow is a mystery; Today is a gift; Thats why its called "The Present".  
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#5
RE: Bloated, gas, air in stomach caused by CPAP?!?!?
(05-03-2012, 06:33 PM)JudgeMental Wrote: If the aerophagia continues to cause you discomfort, I might suggest that you place your machine in the APAP mode and change the pressure settings to something (maybe 2 or 3/or more ) lower then your present constant pressure and change the top pressure setting to your present constant or maybe 1 above your now constant. That might help you get used to the pressure without causing as much bloating pain.

That would have been my suggestion. This, exactly, is why I fought my doctor on the plan to prescribe me a fixed CPAP.


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#6
RE: Bloated, gas, air in stomach caused by CPAP?!?!?
Its because you sleep with your head in the wrong position as I use to but once I read up on the subject it all stopped. As Im not very good at explaining things so heres some information that will solve your problems like it did mine... Big Grin


Over the last eight years we've heard plenty of complaints from CPAP users regarding various side-effects of CPAP therapy. All too often we hear people complaining of a bloated feeling, like their stomachs have filled with air. Generally these people are awakened during the night and they can't get restful sleep. The CPAP therapy may be working for them inasmuch as it's addressing the issue of obstructive sleep apnea, but it's creating a new, significant problem: aerophagia. While it's not clear how many CPAP users suffer from aerophagia, we can say for sure it's a problem we hear about quite frequently, and it's certainly an issue that needs to be addressed in order to achieve positive results from CPAP therapy.
First let's define aerophagia, and then we'll explore why it might occur and what can be done to mitigate it or to altogether prevent the phenomenon from occurring during CPAP therapy. Remember, I'm not a doctor, so this isn't medical advice. If you've got medical issues which need immediate attention, I'm not your guy. Call your doctor, make an appointment, and go in and have a nice conversation with him. If you suspect he might not know anything about aerophagia vis-a-vis CPAP therapy, you can print out this article and bring it in for a little show-and-tell.

Aerophagia is defined very simply as the condition in which a person swallows too much air into the stomach. Aerophagia can cause bloating and discomfort, and can result in excessive burping. Everyone has experienced aerophagia to a certain extent, and when it happens and enough air is swallowed it's often expelled through burping. Aerophagia can be caused by eating foods that produce gas in the stomach - like bran, vegetables, beer or soda - or by excessive salivation. Eating quickly, eating with your mouth open, and drinking while eating are also said to contribute to aerophagia. So, at the dinner table you can try to avoid aerophagia by having good manners! In bed, though, with a CPAP machine pumping air up your nose or into your mouth, good manners aren't enough.

To the casual observer it seems obvious enough. If air is pumped into your nose and mouth then you're going to swallow it. But wait. It's not so simple. Why would the air go down your esophagus and into your stomach, rather than going down your trachea and into your lungs? There are a couple of potential reasons.

First on the list is the position of the head, and how the position affects the trachea. If the trachea is not fully opened and is not able to accomodate the amount of pressure being delivered by the CPAP machine, then the overflow is going to get pushed into the esophagus. Did you ever take a CPR class? The key to blowing air into someone's lungs is to properly align the neck and head. If you don't do this - that is, if you don't fully open the airway - then you'll be blowing air into the esophagus and stomach. The same principle applies to other non-invasive ventilation techniques, including CPAP therapy.

Second on the list of reasons also has to do with basic fluid dynamics. The CPAP machine might be delivering too much air for your trachea and lungs to handle. This is very closely related to the head position, but it's a little different because the problem could potentially occur when the head and neck are properly aligned and when the trachea is wide open. Remember the last traffic jam you were in? Cars started to leave the jammed up street to take a different route. The same thing happens with gases like air. If the air doesn't fit in the trachea, it's going to go somewhere else. Too much air can cause you to swallow involuntarily (like an uncontrollable gag, really), opening the epiglottis. If you have a high pressure setting, this could be an issue.

Third on the list of reasons is air leaks. No matter your level of CPAP pressure, if air is going in through your nose and is leaking out of your mouth, you will undoubtedly swallow involuntarily. If the leaks are bad enough you'll probably end up ripping your mask off your face during the night without even knowing it. Leaks out the mouth when using a nasal mask are very uncomfortable and bascially intolerable, and can definitely contribute to aerophagia.

If you're experiencing the symptoms of aerophagia, you can try to address the issues accordingly:
•Adjust the position of your head so that it's not tilting forward while you sleep - keep the airway wide open
•Talk to your prescribing doctor about reducing the pressure setting on your CPAP machine
•Consider an automatic CPAP machine - they generally deliver much less than prescribed pressure
•Consider a machine with exhalation pressure relief - this will help prevent involuntary swallowing; in conjunction with an automatic machine your aerophagia days may be over rather quickly
The best choice for an automatic CPAP machine with exhalation pressure relief is the REMstar Auto M Series with A-Flex.
If you want to save a little money and get a better warranty I suggest the IntelliPAP AutoAdjust. It doesn't have exhalation pressure relief, but it's an excellent automatic CPAP machine.

I can't stress enough the importance of visiting your doctor if you continue to experience negative side-effects while using your CPAP machine. If you continue to experience aerophagia while using your CPAP machine even after trying some of the tips above, then you need to determine once and for all the cause of your problem. Perhaps the cause is unrelated to CPAP therapy. Get to the bottom of it.


Information taken from : [link removed - see my post below, DC. -SS] . In the cpap articles section Cool

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#7
RE: Bloated, gas, air in stomach caused by CPAP?!?!?
DC, that's good information!

While you cannot post the direct link to the source, you can say stuff like "from Home Medical Association in the Patient Help section".
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#8
RE: Bloated, gas, air in stomach caused by CPAP?!?!?
(05-14-2012, 11:51 AM)PaulaO2 Wrote: DC, that's good information!

While you cannot post the direct link to the source, you can say stuff like "from Home Medical Association in the Patient Help section".

Post updated with an added "." to stop the link going live.

Thanks for that Paula Thanks

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#9
RE: Bloated, gas, air in stomach caused by CPAP?!?!?
(05-14-2012, 01:09 PM)Dreamcatcher Wrote: Post updated with an added "." to stop the link going live.
Thanks for that Paula Thanks

Sorry, had to edit out the link, DC...

Actually, putting the URL in there and simply adding a period at the end to avoid making it into a clickable link is still a rules violation. (see the rules here).

The "no commercial links policy" cannot be subverted by simply making it so the URL is not an "Active link" on the forum.

Since the link you listed is a DME that is already included on our CPAP Supplier List, the best way to do this is to tell people to go to the article section of Supplier #9 on the Supplier List and sroll down to the article on "Aerophagia in CPAP Users".

Or, alternatively, if the website isn't on our CPAP Supplier List, simply tell them, "To find this article, do a Google search for "Aerophagia in CPAP Users"... it will be the first link at the top of the search results".

That's probably the two best ways to get someone to the article and still remain within the rules.

In our rules, we have a chart that can also help with determining what types of links are allowed in which forums:

[Image: link-chart.jpg]

Thanks
SuperSleeper
Apnea Board Administrator
www.ApneaBoard.com


INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.


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#10
RE: Bloated, gas, air in stomach caused by CPAP?!?!?
(05-03-2012, 05:37 PM)PaulaO2 Wrote: Sleep with your neck bent so your chin is on your chest. This is so you cannot swallow air during your sleep. This does not work for everyone.

Actually this is wrong. Tilting your head back opens up the airway and makes it more difficult to swallow. Tucking your chin to your chest makes it easier for whatever you swallow to go into your stomach.
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