Which comes first OSA or Gerd

[teacherjane]

Just wondering if I got GERD from OSA or vice versa. Does anyone know??

[ThunderSnorem]

My Doc explained that OSA can amplify GERD symptoms.

When sleeping and you make it to REM sleep, all muscles (except your diaphragm) are paralyzed. Your Esophagus relaxes as well. When you have a sleep disturbance, your body arouses to 'gasp' for a breath and since your throat is relaxed/paralyzed and your diaphragm is jerking so you can breath, the reflux event has a greater chance of occurring at that point.

Of course GERD is a result of many factors - weight, food/drink consumed before bed, etc.

I've had GERD for ages, and probably OSA as well. I went to a 'world renowned hospital' sleep lab here in Maryland back in the late 1980's, but I swear I never slept, they said I did, and they said no OSA. My current doc said "maybe they were asleep at the time!" lol

Regardless, I am happy to have a recent and proper diagnosis and I feel like a new person on CPAP (40+ days now.) My GERD, night time choking, gasping, are all but gone. Of course I watch (avoid) what I eat/drink before bed. But CPAP has really helped. No more headaches or daytime sleepiness either.

I don't know if that answers your question, but I hope it helps!

John

[roster]

I have heard from some apnea sufferers that their GERD went away after some time with successful CPAP therapy. So they are concluding OSA causes GERD.

Good luck, maybe your GERD will eventually go away.

[dllfo]

WARNING............

My GERD is a major factor is my Vocal Cord Dysfunction. You do NOT want VCD.
Treat your GERD very seriously and don't turn your back on it. If you have GERD and are told you have asthma, ask your pulmonary dr. for a Methacholine Challenge test asap. This is the first step in determining whether or not you really have asthma or something else (VCD). The test is not painful.

Good luck

[Arizona-Willie]

I had an operation for Gerd in 1999 called a laparoscopic fundoplication at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona.

I had been suffering from it for years, even when I was relatively thin.I started taking Rolaids before bed and graduated to prescription medicines and having endoscopic examinations every year and having biopsies taken for Barrett's esophagus.

Then after one of the endoscopic examinations and biopsies my stomach was hurting me much longer than it used to. I started searching on the net and discovered that the doctor could have had me on twice as much medication as he did and then I discovered there was an operation to fix it.

So I went to Mayo and two weeks later they had me in surgery. I had Gerd really really bad.

I was just diagnosed with OSA a few months ago.

I had probably had OSA for years also but just didn't know it. It was only in the last year that I became so sleepy I was falling asleep all the time. Prior to that I hadn't been aware of any sleep problem other than snoring. Although Sandy had said that she hit me to make me breathe, it had gone in one ear and out the other.

I think OSA runs in my family. I'm pretty sure my dad had OSA but he passed away in 69 long before they had ever put a name to the condition.

He had Gerd too but they didn't have a name for that either. He used to drink scotch and milk before going to bed.

I don't know if one causes the other or not. But I think they are certainly related.

[btudor]

My GERD episodes went away as soon as I started CPAP. A contributor to GERD is the high intrathoracic pressures generated during an apnea, trying to breathe. This kinda "sucks" the gastric contents upward.

[Maryb]

My GERD episodes have increased with CPAP. I think this is because I am swallowing so much air and then when I try to burp it out, acid comes with the air (?). In a post on a different thread (on aerophagia), RG said that it may be due to my esophageal spincter not closing all the way and then air gets down there and acid comes back up.

Maryb

[imsotired]

I used to have to take a pepcid every night before bed but have not popped a single pill since starting cpap!!!

[Snoredog]

this is like the chicken or the egg quandary. I don't know which comes first but I know untreated OSA makes an existing GERD condition worse.

It does so because as you are sleeping with untreated OSA, you are most likely to be lying flat on your back, then as you inhale this is also the same time when you are likely to have a SDB event like a Flow limitation, Hypopnea, snore or apnea.

Since inhaling naturally creates a low pressure condition in your esophagus then when a obstructive event takes place it can "slam" shut sort of like placing your hand over a vacuum cleaner hose. When a obstructive SDB event takes place the low pressure allows/sucks a bit of stomach acid up in the esophagus.

Have this occur over and over every night for years it can suck stomach acid all the way up to the mouth where it then works on the teeth enamel.

With CPAP treatment, it pressurizes the esophagus and forces contents back into the stomach, if the LES is not eroded from years of untreated GERD it will seal the opening to the stomach. If the LES is not sealing properly it can allow aerophagia to occur.

To help with GERD:

Watch your coke and coffee consumption, coffee is probably the worse, try substituting green tea for a while.

Elevate the headboard of your bed by 8 to 10", this really helps, looks weird but works. Increasing/Adding supplemental Magnesium seems to also help.

[Arizona-Willie]

My Gerd was so bad I used to wake up choking because I had inhaled the nasty stuff!

Several times Sandy almost had to call 911 because I couldn't get my breath.

The only real solution is to get the surgery which reinforces the valve at the top your stomach which keeps the stuff down in there where it belongs.

Medicare and most other insurance will pay for it.

If you have a moderate to severe case of Gerd, I would heartily recommend that you check in to getting that surgery.

Since the surgery I can eat anything I want and I have no problem with Gerd anymore.

Since I had my surgery I understand that they are now using a laser to treat it sometimes. I think they use the laser to burn some scar tissue to thicken that valve.

I think I prefer the operation I had because it can be undone.

It was called a laparoscopic nissan fundoplication.

Get the surgery and be done with it.

Gerd just continues to get worse and leads to Barrett's esophagus which often becomes esophogal (sp) cancer.