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Aerophagia when sleeping on side only - MrZennie - 06-25-2018
Hi,
I've been on CPAP for about a month. Unfortunately I get air in my stomach if I sleep on my side. Luckily I can avoid this problem by sleeping on my back. But I always wake after about four or five hours with a strong craving to sleep on my side. Interestingly, my first sleep study said that most of my apneas happened when I was sleeping on my side. (This is the opposite of most folks as I understand it)
Questions: Does anyone else have this same side sleeping aerophagia problem? And if so, did a chinstrap work? I tried Dr. Dakota's large collar one night but it didn't work. Even if my mouth is closed something relaxes in my throat as I fall asleep and air shoots right into my gut. I'm thinking MAYBE a tight chinstrap might do the job, but I'm skeptical.
Thanks,
MrZennie
RE: Aerophagia when sleeping on side only - Walla Walla - 06-25-2018
Don't know what the fix is but I think the chin strap isn't going to do anything. In fact it'll mess up your jaw and bite if you tighten it too much.
RE: Aerophagia when sleeping on side only - ardenum - 06-25-2018
Inspire2 maybe instead of cpap.
RE: Aerophagia when sleeping on side only - MrZennie - 06-25-2018
Yes, that's a concern of mine which is why I haven't tried it yet. I'm also doing Invisalign treatment so don't want to mess with my bite.
I forgot to ask in my initial post: Has anyone lessened their aerophagia with elevating the head of the bed? I've heard that can help with apnea issues sometimes.
RE: Aerophagia when sleeping on side only - Walla Walla - 06-26-2018
Have you tried increasing your EPR to 3cm to see if that helps? By the way I noticed your profile shows your not using any software. You can download sleepyhead on the link below for free.
RE: Aerophagia when sleeping on side only - MrZennie - 06-26-2018
I started out at EPR 3 and still got the aerophagia, but then heard EPR can lead to CAs, so I lowered it to EPR 2 and it's comfortable enough. AHIs are usually under 2. I might try EPR 1 soon.
And part of me doesn't want the Sleepyhead data. What if I post it and people detect something that is negative, but it's something beyond my control. I don't want to stress on this stuff any more than is necessary. That first month of getting diagnosed, then waiting for my machine, AND the first two weeks of using the machine were stressful enough! And I'm feeling pretty good about my treatment right now. Down the road I might look into the sleepyhead stuff...
RE: Aerophagia when sleeping on side only - Mosquitobait - 06-26-2018
Chances are, when you sleep on your side, you are also bringing your chin down to your chest. Pillow arrangement can help that.
RE: Aerophagia when sleeping on side only - MrZennie - 06-29-2018
Well last night after sleeping for about 5 hours on my back I woke up and had the strong urge to sleep on my side like always. Instead I tried sleeping on my stomach, and it worked, no aerophagia! I'm stoked. I guess it only happens when I'm side sleeping, strange. (Side sleeping is also when they told me most of my apnea events happen)
When sleeping on my stomach, I lay my shoulder and half my body on my pillow to take some of the strain off my neck. My face is almost at an angel pointed down instead of level with with the mattress. My P10 nasal pillows mask gets pushed into my nose a bit, but I was still able to sleep.
RE: Aerophagia when sleeping on side only - Allessio77 - 06-29-2018
I read that sleeping in your left side worsens aero, while sleeping on your right side helps it.
I try to sleep on my right, but I also turned on my EPR to 1 (2 induced too many centrals), and bought a better (longer) elevated wedge.
This combo seems to have helped by about 50%.
RE: Aerophagia when sleeping on side only - MrZennie - 06-29-2018
Interesting Allessio, I hadn't heard about the left/right side differences. I've tried both sides though and I swallow air either way.
Which brand of wedge did you buy?