Hello Guest, Welcome to Apnea Board !
As a guest, you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use.
To post a message, you must create a free account using a valid email address.

or Create an Account


New Posts   Today's Posts

Experience with Aerophagia?
#1
Experience with Aerophagia?
Hi all .. I'm new to the Apnea Board.  Perhaps this question has been asked before, so I apologize in advance if this is a repeat.  I originally started with a ResMed AirSense 10 back in November of 2019.  About a month into using it, I started to notice discomfort in my abdominal area, gas, bloating, acid reflux etc.  I followed up with my doctor, he explained that I should try sleeping on a wedge pillow and take Prilosec.  However, none of that worked.  I eventually got switched over to a ResMed AirCurve 10 VAuto.  This has helped to some degree, however I am still battling what I believe to be Aerophagia.  I've even discussed with my GI Doctor and he said the symptoms I have are classic to Aerophagia.  

By chance does anyone have experience with my situation?  If so, did you find a remedy? or are there any type of tests I should request from my doctor to confirm that it is Aerophagia?

I appreciate your time and insight!
Post Reply Post Reply
#2
RE: Experience with Aerophagia?
Excellent question and since your title discusses aerophagia, there are some good related links at the bottom of this thread. At this point it looks like you are using IPAP 7, EPAP 4, which is a very low bilevel pressure. It appears that you are using a wedge, prilosec and other mitigation measures. I hope we can help you achieve efficacy and comfort with your Vauto. I want to encourage you to upgrade from MyAir to using OSCAR software. This can give us all a better view of your therapy efficacy. Aerophagia and sleep disordered breathing tends to be a compromise between controlling apnea and preventing excessive air ingestion. Have you seen a specialist like a ENT or Gastroenterologist to help you with the problem of aerophagia or GERD?
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
Download OSCAR Software
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing Therapy
Organize your OSCAR Charts
Attaching Files
Mask Primer
How To Deal With Equipment Supplier


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.
Post Reply Post Reply
#3
RE: Experience with Aerophagia?
Thank you for your reply.  I did see a Gastroenterologist and when I explained my symptoms he told me they were spot on for Aerophagia.  I also inquired about any tests that could confirm that and was told no test exists to test for Aerophagia.  However, I did have an MRI of the abdomen and nothing showed abnormal.  What I find interesting is between the usage of the initial ResMed Machine and my current one, there was a period of about 30 days with no type of PAP usage.  I would think between that time my system would had reset back to feeling normal, but it did not.  I am not sure if that helps in providing some answers...
Post Reply Post Reply
#4
RE: Experience with Aerophagia?
About the only thing I can think of is to take a look at your results in OSCAR and see if there is any room for reducing pressure.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
Download OSCAR Software
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing Therapy
Organize your OSCAR Charts
Attaching Files
Mask Primer
How To Deal With Equipment Supplier


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.
Post Reply Post Reply
#5
RE: Experience with Aerophagia?
You talk about acid reflux or gurd and aerophagia. You can have acid reflux or gurd without aerophagia (swallowing air). I don't know if aerophagia causes acid reflux. I suspect it does. The wedge pillow and prilosec can mitigate acid reflux, but not aerophagia. You should talk to the sleep doctor or the helpful people here about aerophagia because it is caused by pressure in your nose and mouth being higher than the stomach pressure from CPAP therapy.
Post Reply Post Reply
#6
RE: Experience with Aerophagia?
GERD, acid reflux, can be linked to aerophagia and PAP use. I myself have GERD; mine is caused by a hiatal hernia. My scripted med to treat GERD is Protonix. I've had aerophagia from time to time, especially when I first started on PAP therapy. It tended to reduce over time.

At the top of your stomach is a valve that should seal to prevent air from entering and acid from escaping up. When the valve muscles are weak for some reason, you get acid reflux and possibly aerophagia. Besides the GERD med, I sleep on my left side to help. You may want to try left side sleep to see if it's helpful.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
Post Reply Post Reply
#7
RE: Experience with Aerophagia?
(08-25-2020, 11:32 PM)OnFlight1978 Wrote: there was a period of about 30 days with no type of PAP usage.  I would think between that time my system would had reset back to feeling normal, but it did not.  I am not sure if that helps in providing some answers...

The problems can't be due to aerophagia alone. Symptoms of that would disappear, it seems, almost immediately after stopping the CPAP therapy. There is a connection between GERD and obstructive sleep apnea, it seems that sleep apnea makes GERD worse. A lot of people report their GERD going away after they got adapted to CPAP therapy.

You will need to follow the advice you've received about OSCAR. The trick for me was getting the pressure high enough to treat most of the apneas, but low enough to not cause pain from the aerophagia. Then as time went by I was able to raise the pressures higher. Aerophagia does tend to subside, but not for everyone. We had a user here with very low pressures like yours but would still experience aerophagia with even slight increases in pressure.
Sleepster

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.
Post Reply Post Reply
#8
RE: Experience with Aerophagia?
Aerophagia can occur with or without CPAP treatment, and it is actually a swallowing behavior that carries the air to the stomach. I don't know how you suppress that swallowing at night, but that is the transport mechanism. I think with CPAP some people feel a need to swallow or reflexively do so.
https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorder...aerophagia
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3525982/
Probably the best article: ttps://www.intechopen.com/books/sleep-and-its-disorders-affect-society/swallowing-gastroesophageal-reflux-and-sleep-apnea

We can limit the amount of pressure to try to mitigate aerophagia, but when it occurs even without CPAP then another therapeutic approach needs to be taken. CPAP is not the root cause of this problem. Most CPAP users never experience ingestion of air, however the condition is not uncommon. On the forum, we have often been able to coach individuals with aerophagia to find a pressure that does not exceed the pressure that can open the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). In this case we are dealing with someone on BiPAP using nearly minimum pressure already, and that experiences aerophagia even without CPAP pressure.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
Download OSCAR Software
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing Therapy
Organize your OSCAR Charts
Attaching Files
Mask Primer
How To Deal With Equipment Supplier


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.
Post Reply Post Reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  New to CPAP, awful aerophagia callamar75 16 328 03-17-2024, 06:50 PM
Last Post: Sleeprider
  4 months in - Do I have to live with aerophagia? RedNailz 18 1,596 03-09-2024, 02:14 PM
Last Post: RedNailz
  help... Suspicous Flow Rate and Flow Limitations, bothersome Aerophagia Barefooter64 11 500 02-19-2024, 11:39 AM
Last Post: Sleeprider
Sad [Treatment] UARS with Aerophagia and a High Leak Rate, what next? Adam0410 9 390 02-14-2024, 10:01 AM
Last Post: BoxcarPete
  [Treatment] Aerophagia + Long Sleep Times jambo99 1 208 02-07-2024, 09:56 AM
Last Post: BoxcarPete
  New user - is my experience normal? SleeplessGrouch 2 328 01-01-2024, 07:37 PM
Last Post: SarcasticDave94
Ohmy Aerophagia is making me lose my mind urachan 9 832 01-01-2024, 05:01 AM
Last Post: airwaystent


New Posts   Today's Posts


About Apnea Board

Apnea Board is an educational web site designed to empower Sleep Apnea patients.