Asthma worsening since beginning CPAP

I think that's a huge assumption. Most machines are cleaner than any room they're in and most people routinely clean their masks. And unless someone's new machine (or mask) came unpackaged there's no need to clean them in any case... plus no one cleans inside machines as a rule anyhow.

My asthma has greatly improved since starting cpap. Also, I find I am better able to control my breathing since starting. Plus only nose breathing in the cold has been a great benefit. I would definitely fire your DME.

palerider wrote:

BlackSpinner wrote:

palerider wrote:
get one of these and quit trying to freeze your head/lungs from the inside out: http://www.hammacher.com/Product/Default.aspx?sku=81344

I have seen cyclists wear some thing like that around here. (Personally there is no way in hell I am cycling in this weather on these roads) I will have to look into those because I don't like being trapped inside in the winter just because the temperature drops below -20c.

they were featured on http://www.redferret.net friday, (lots of neat things in that blog) and I'd told tatood lady she should get one, but she's a tough broad who said she didn't believe in mollycoddling her immune system...

however, it seems balmy where she is compared to what you're at, and we don't want you turning into an icepop from the inside out!

How the hell did I miss seeing you refer to me as a tough broad? *snork* tooooo funny!!

Tatooed Lady wrote:

palerider wrote:

BlackSpinner wrote:

palerider wrote:
get one of these and quit trying to freeze your head/lungs from the inside out: http://www.hammacher.com/Product/Default.aspx?sku=81344

I have seen cyclists wear some thing like that around here. (Personally there is no way in hell I am cycling in this weather on these roads) I will have to look into those because I don't like being trapped inside in the winter just because the temperature drops below -20c.

they were featured on http://www.redferret.net friday, (lots of neat things in that blog) and I'd told tatood lady she should get one, but she's a tough broad who said she didn't believe in mollycoddling her immune system...

however, it seems balmy where she is compared to what you're at, and we don't want you turning into an icepop from the inside out!

How the hell did I miss seeing you refer to me as a tough broad? *snork* tooooo funny!!

well, I hadn't realized at the time what a pretty pretty princess you really are at heart <3

oh for crumb's sake...

I'm having this same issue, asthma that was pretty much nothing until after I started xPAP, and within days I ended up in the ER

My sleep doc is a pulmonologist, and I went to her right after this incident. When I told her I was getting a lot of air shoved into my stomach that I was waking to belch back up, she told me to consult the gastroenterologist to check the possibility of acid coming up with it and going down into my lungs She said that could set off spectacular asthma easily, on top of the other damage it does. So I'm off to the GI doc. It's worth thinking about, anyway, if asthma appears or gets worse when starting therapy.

Otherwise, I too enjoy the nice clean air from my machine in my dander-filled house.

Darth Lady wrote:I'm having this same issue, asthma that was pretty much nothing until after I started xPAP, and within days I ended up in the ER

My sleep doc is a pulmonologist, and I went to her right after this incident. When I told her I was getting a lot of air shoved into my stomach that I was waking to belch back up, she told me to consult the gastroenterologist to check the possibility of acid coming up with it and going down into my lungs She said that could set off spectacular asthma easily, on top of the other damage it does. So I'm off to the GI doc. It's worth thinking about, anyway, if asthma appears or gets worse when starting therapy.

Otherwise, I too enjoy the nice clean air from my machine in my dander-filled house.

I had that BEFORE I went on cpap. Usually referred to as GERD. Put the head of your bed up by 4 to 8 inches so the acid won't run up hill. I use a wedge pillow. Most of the time I don't need it since going on cpap but once in a while stress or what and when I eat fights.

I have and use a 14" bed wedge pillow, and sometimes I have slept sitting all the way up. I absolutely refuse to sleep flat, in fact; my sleep studies were absolute torture because they made me do that.

I don't have any GERD symptoms, but I guess the acid can be really, really sneaky.... Hopefully the GI can figure it out.

I never experienced reflux symptoms, either (I have had heartburn only twice in 50+ years, and I love spicy/acidic food!), so I was surprised when my pulmonologist told me I had reflux or GERD. Prior to this I had a daily need for the rescue inhaler and a nasty, productive cough that made me sound like I had TB, including multiple x-rays, and dosed with oodles of antibiotics by my old internist, none of which helped. It was so bad I had to drop to my knees to keep from passing out several times. So I reluctantly took the reflux meds (Nexium) and within days my cough was gone. The pulmonologist explained that asthma and GERD go hand in hand, although the connection is not completely understood. Coupled with the inhaled steroid mix (Symbicort and now Dulera, in my case), it was nght and day. No need for the rescue inhaler now, save for occasional allergy related spikes. You may well have GERD. Just my personal experience, of course.

If you are having GERD because you are swallowing a lot of air with CPAP therapy, and the reflux is irritating your asthma, doesn't it make sense to try to stop the air swallowing before you end up on long term medication for GERD (which is what I guarantee the GI specialist will recommend). Treat the cause, not the symptom. If that doesn't work, then you may have to consider medication, but a simpler, less expensive solution is worth a try before you end up on long term PPI's (not good if it can be avoided).

Most people swallow air with CPAP because they don't seal off the mouth from the "nasopharynx" with proper tongue placement. Air fills the mouth, gets swallowed, increased abdominal pressure, pushes gastric juices upward, weakens the sphincter, causes GERD, aspirates into the airway, causes irritation, causes asthma.

Most (not all) people can learn to seal their airway off from the mouth with a simple technique--place your tongue on the roof of your mouth, on that ridge just behind the front teeth. That's it. Now test this theory by keeping your tongue there, plugging your nose, and trying to breath in through your open mouth. If you can't get air in with your tongue in the magic spot, you can seal your airway.

Now the big trick is learning how to do that all night long--when you're asleep you're clearly not going to be paying attention. But if you practice all day every day (if you are not eating or talking, make sure your tongue is in the magic spot) for a few days, you may find it becomes habitual enough to carry over all night too. This may be all you need to stop swallowing air and all the other things that happen as a result of the swallowed air.

Give it a try, it's free, it's easy, and has a good chance of working. If not, you can still see your GI doctor and everything that will follow from there.

A pressure adjustment or BiPAP with a lower exhalation pressure may help reduce the air swallowing too, but your pulmonologist has already written you off, so you won't get any help from that quarter.

Since the asthma exacerbated with the onset of CPAP, it's pretty clear what the underlying cause is. IMHO it doesn't make sense to treat the GI part of this without at least trying to contain the aerophagia first since that is pretty clearly the underlying cause.

Janknitz wrote:If you are having GERD because you are swallowing a lot of air with CPAP therapy, and the reflux is irritating your asthma, doesn't it make sense to try to stop the air swallowing before you end up on long term medication for GERD (which is what I guarantee the GI specialist will recommend). Treat the cause, not the symptom. If that doesn't work, then you may have to consider medication, but a simpler, less expensive solution is worth a try before you end up on long term PPI's (not good if it can be avoided).

Most people swallow air with CPAP because they don't seal off the mouth from the "nasopharynx" with proper tongue placement. Air fills the mouth, gets swallowed, increased abdominal pressure, pushes gastric juices upward, weakens the sphincter, causes GERD, aspirates into the airway, causes irritation, causes asthma.

Most (not all) people can learn to seal their airway off from the mouth with a simple technique--place your tongue on the roof of your mouth, on that ridge just behind the front teeth. That's it. Now test this theory by keeping your tongue there, plugging your nose, and trying to breath in through your open mouth. If you can't get air in with your tongue in the magic spot, you can seal your airway.

Now the big trick is learning how to do that all night long--when you're asleep you're clearly not going to be paying attention. But if you practice all day every day (if you are not eating or talking, make sure your tongue is in the magic spot) for a few days, you may find it becomes habitual enough to carry over all night too. This may be all you need to stop swallowing air and all the other things that happen as a result of the swallowed air.

Give it a try, it's free, it's easy, and has a good chance of working. If not, you can still see your GI doctor and everything that will follow from there.

A pressure adjustment or BiPAP with a lower exhalation pressure may help reduce the air swallowing too, but your pulmonologist has already written you off, so you won't get any help from that quarter.

Since the asthma exacerbated with the onset of CPAP, it's pretty clear what the underlying cause is. IMHO it doesn't make sense to treat the GI part of this without at least trying to contain the aerophagia first since that is pretty clearly the underlying cause.

I hope this works for the OP. I keep my tongue this way all night, aided by a chin strap with my FFM to keep my mouth shut, and unfortunately, it hasn't worked for me I sure wish it did; it would save my a lot of aggravation. Somehow my esophagus is so lax that part of the air just slips on down...

Anyway, I sure hope the OP has better luck.

Yeah, it does not work for everybody, as I was careful to say. But it is always worth trying before medication. The PPI medication is supposed to be for short term use, but many of us have been on it for decades. And there are long term side effects that are not considered by physicians--they think it's perfectly fine for people to be on it for decades.

As we learn more about the importance of gut bacteria we are learning that PPI's interfere with the production of stomach acid (we actually have too little, even if GERD is "acid reflux"), which alters the gut bacteria, leading to gut dysbiosis and MORE GERD, plus long term use of PPI's is associated with osteoporosis, Vitamin B deficiencies, and--wait for it--asthma and pneumonia.

So if you can possibly avoid ending up on long term PPI's (not everyone can, some of us are so damaged that we have pre-cancerous erosions of the esophagus), you will be better off.

Entirely worth a few days of trying to keep your tongue on the roof of your mouth!

I am new to the CPAP machine (2 months) but I found that the humidity made it worse. In fact after two days, I went to the walk-in clinic for a breathing treatment. It was suggested I DON"T use humidity, and that seemed to do the trick. I started off at 3 and there was so much moisture in the hose that it was gurgling. Lowered it to 1 and still had water running on my face on the inside of the mask. Now, if I can just keep the air from going down into my stomach!

Asthma, in adults is tricky. I had adult onset asthma and have lived with it for 30+ years. I started CPAP about 3 - 4 months ago.

1. Never had an issue with my asthma. I am on maintenance drugs, Symbicort 2 puffs twice daily. Albuteral for the occasional flair up.
2. The first week to a week and a half, my chest muscles hurt like hell from the pressure of the CPAP. Now I am fine.
3. Humidity settings have not effected my asthma, but have caused issue with sinuses.

If you are not on a maintenance drug, you MIGHT be having a flair up, as a coincidence, not related to CPAP. I discussed my starting CPAP with my pulminologist and he assured me there is no issue whatsoever.

Tis the season for bag allergies right now. Allergies do make issues with Asthma. They are hand in hand sometimes.

Good luck.

Rich

I sat in a chair for the first week, and watched TV for a couple hours each night, and kept my tongue firmly planted to the roof of my mouth. Forced it there, and kept it there for HOURS. I have had no issue with air in my gut. My tongue sits at the roof of my mouth naturally now when I go to sleep. No dry mouth, no bloat etc.

jas1377 wrote:I am new to the CPAP machine (2 months) but I found that the humidity made it worse. In fact after two days, I went to the walk-in clinic for a breathing treatment. It was suggested I DON"T use humidity, and that seemed to do the trick. I started off at 3 and there was so much moisture in the hose that it was gurgling. Lowered it to 1 and still had water running on my face on the inside of the mask. Now, if I can just keep the air from going down into my stomach!