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[CPAP] Solutions for Bloat ? - Printable Version

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Solutions for Bloat ? - Apnea_GM - 02-27-2014

In general the CPAP experience is going great! Wonderful not having so many headaches.

Biggest issue I have is morning bloat and all the air that gets pumped into the stomach.

Only solution I have seen is to try and make sure my head stays in a "sniffing" position which helps keep the airway open. I already have a neck pillow that tries to keep my head in a comfortable position which is close to the "sniffing" position. I call it "sniffing" because it is what it is called when learning CPR.

Any suggestions to prevent the morning bloat would be very welcomed.

Thanks!


RE: Solutions for Bloat ? - me50 - 02-27-2014

That is why I like an auto set machine because it is helpful not to have a constant pressure during sleep. I also have two pillows I sleep on. The bottom pillow is from north to south and the top pillow is from east to west. I use a chin strap but I don't know if that helps with this.

There are other members that have been through "aerophagia" as it is called and they will have better solutions for you.

YMMV


RE: Solutions for Bloat ? - robysue - 02-27-2014

You might want to experiment with other sleeping positions. The "sniffing" position you describe does help some people with aerophagia, but it also makes it worse for others.

When I tried that position in an effort to ease my (very severe) aerophagia at the start of PAP, it only made things worse. For me, the solution was to tuck my chin as close to my chest as possible. Of course, part of it was, tucking my chin came much closer to matching my favorite pre-CPAP sleep position. And for me, comfort in sleep position is an important part in my continuing battles against on-going mild-to-moderate aerophagia. If I'm not comfortable, I tend to be more restless. And restlessness leads to arousals which leads to swallowing air which leads to aerophagia which leads to more arousals which leads to more swallowing air which leads to more aerophagia which leads to ...


RE: Solutions for Bloat ? - PaytonA - 02-27-2014

(02-27-2014, 10:41 AM)robysue Wrote: You might want to experiment with other sleeping positions. The "sniffing" position you describe does help some people with aerophagia, but it also makes it worse for others.

When I tried that position in an effort to ease my (very severe) aerophagia at the start of PAP, it only made things worse. For me, the solution was to tuck my chin as close to my chest as possible. Of course, part of it was, tucking my chin came much closer to matching my favorite pre-CPAP sleep position. And for me, comfort in sleep position is an important part in my continuing battles against on-going mild-to-moderate aerophagia. If I'm not comfortable, I tend to be more restless. And restlessness leads to arousals which leads to swallowing air which leads to aerophagia which leads to more arousals which leads to more swallowing air which leads to more aerophagia which leads to ...

Sounds to me like you were doing a lot of following. Lolabove On the serious side those vicious circles can be hard to break through.

PaytonA


RE: Solutions for Bloat ? - robysue - 02-27-2014

(02-27-2014, 12:02 PM)PaytonA Wrote:
(02-27-2014, 10:41 AM)robysue Wrote: You might want to experiment with other sleeping positions. The "sniffing" position you describe does help some people with aerophagia, but it also makes it worse for others.

When I tried that position in an effort to ease my (very severe) aerophagia at the start of PAP, it only made things worse. For me, the solution was to tuck my chin as close to my chest as possible. Of course, part of it was, tucking my chin came much closer to matching my favorite pre-CPAP sleep position. And for me, comfort in sleep position is an important part in my continuing battles against on-going mild-to-moderate aerophagia. If I'm not comfortable, I tend to be more restless. And restlessness leads to arousals which leads to swallowing air which leads to aerophagia which leads to more arousals which leads to more swallowing air which leads to more aerophagia which leads to ...

Sounds to me like you were doing a lot of following. Lolabove On the serious side those vicious circles can be hard to break through.

PaytonA
You're right. I was doing a lot of it----and once a "positive feedback loop" sets up, it's hard to break out. And ... -> arousals -> aerophagia -> more arousals -> more aerophagia -> ... is a very tough feedback loop to break.

In my case three things were extremely important in getting the aerophagia under control:

1) A switch to BiPAP, which reduced my mean pressure and also ended the irritating sensation of the pressure increasing back up before my exhalation was finished, which was a really big problem for me when I was using an APAP with exhalation relief. The BiPAP does not increase the pressure until it detects the beginning of the inhalation and this has lead to fewer arousals in my case.

2) Learning how to sleep with the mask on in my old favorite sleeping position, or very close to it. For the six months of PAPing, I was trying to sleep in positions that seemed to minimize problems with the mask leaking, but were decidedly uncomfortable for me physically. When the aerophagia was really bad, I tried the "sniffing" position at the suggestion of other PAPers on one of the forums I was on at the time; but the "sniffing" position lead to both neck aches and back aches for me. And being uncomfortable, of course, increased the arousals, which increased the aerophagia.

3) Time. It took me over a year to really feel as though my sleep with the machine was starting to approach "normal" in the sense of my being able to (sometimes) go to bed without much thought about it---i.e. climb in bed and pull the mask on and get to sleep in a relatively brief amount of time without being bothered too much by the sensory stimuli coming from the machine and mask; move around sufficiently in my sleep so as to not wake up with a stiff neck or a sore arm or leg caused by sleeping in an award position; and wake up only a few times each night, usually post-REM and be able to get back to sleep within 5-10 minutes after each wake.