Is this aerophagia?

[tobindia]

I have complex sleep apnea and have been using a bipap for several years. I go to sleep about 11:00 +/-. About 2 years after beginning with the bipap, I started waking up anywhere from 2:30-6:30 with discomfort in my stomach. Whether I sit on the edge of my bed for a moment or go right to the bathroom, after a few seconds a strong, pulsating, wave-like discomfort starts in my stomach/chest area. This hard discomfort (I hesitate to call it pain) only lasted about 20-30 minutes, but I really can’t lie down again for an hour or more. And even then, I do not sleep well, frequently waking up for no particular reason.

The discomfort is not debilitating. I usually just have my breakfast and finally go back to bed when I can. There does not seem to be any correlation with what I eat or drink. I have had all of the GI procedures. None show anything. Ultimately, a neurologist prescribed gabapentin, which reduced the discomfort to 10-15 minutes. (I take 400mg, twice a day. Taking more or more often didn’t seem to improve it.) I do have some flatulence in the morning, but it doesn’t seem abnormal. Throughout the day, I have some flatulence and stomach growling, but again, nothing abnormal.

Does anyone have anything like this? Is this aerophagia? Is there anything to be done about it?

[Julie]

I would go to a neurologist for some problems, but not GI related ones (how did that happen )?

Then I would go to my family doctor for a referral to a gastroenterologist. You may have aerophagia, but what if you don't - you need to be checked out for whatever is happening.

Do a forum search (see bar under the logo above) for aerophagia - tons of info there (and elsewhere of course).

It would really help to know what machine you have, what mask and definitely your pressure settings, so get back with those in this thread please.

[zonker]

I have complex sleep apnea and have been using a bipap for several years.
<snip>
Does anyone have anything like this? Is this aerophagia? Is there anything to be done about it?

yes, it is. and from what you describe, it doesn't seem to be attributable to your diet. which makes me wonder about how that bilevel is doing. maybe it's breaking down. or maybe there is still something else going on that is causing it.

whatever it may be, getting rid of the aerophagia may be easy, though a long drawn out affair. i too suffered from aerophagia and managed to fix it.

i use apap not bilevel. the manufacturer is resmed. this is important as it's a big part of why i was able to conquer it. why? because with a resmed apap(specifically the airsense 10 for her), i was able to lower my pressure to a point where i didn't have aerophagia.

of course, this made my ahi go high. but, by raising my pressure by .2 (this is where resmed comes in handy. a philips won't do this), i was able, over the course of many weeks, to slowly raise that pressure while giving my system time to adjust. and finally get back up to the pressures i needed to optimize my therapy and get that ahi back down.

but, that's me. that's with a resmed. and not with a bilevel, which i know nothing about.

i'm not certain the same thing can be done with a bilevel. let's see what folks who DO use bilevel have to say.

good luck!

oh! btw...you are a member from the "before times". you MAY have filled out your equipment profile. but the forum software decided sometime within the last year to not show it, for any of us. so that's why i'm asking.

[babydinosnoreless]

I have a resmed bilevel and yes you can raise pressure slowly .2 at a time just like with the apap. However, this does not sound like the aerophagia I had, mine was definitely lower intestinal bloating and gassiness. My chest was not involved at all.

[Julie]

You sure you two guys want to practice medicine? Based on a short letter in this forum? Think you can outdiagnose e.g. 'House'?

Have fun!

[chunkyfrog]

Gall bladder problems can sometimes be difficult to diagnose,
but what you feel is almost dead-on what I had when my gall bladder went bad.

[tobindia]

Wow! There's a lot to unpack here. Thanks for all of the responses.

First, the equipment. I have a ResMed AirCurve 10. I do not know the pressures, or how to find them. I just took it from the supplier, who presumably setup the device as prescribed by my pulmonologist. I use a Swift FX mask with pillows. How do I find out the settings? How do I change them? SHOULD I change them? I'm a little bit wary of that.

I have seen many specialists: pulmonologist, cardiologist, neurologist, etc. and have had several tests and procedures. I do not see this as life-threatening since it has been going on for several years now. No one has ever mentioned the gall bladder before. I'm not even sure how to proceed with that, but I'll be sure to bring it up with my GP when I see her in a few weeks.

[Julie]

Please let us know how things go. I asked about pressure settings because if it is aerophagia, they can be modified to help (and we could help you do it).

[Pugsy]

Which AirCurve 10 model?

As for changing settings I would advise extreme caution because of your complex sleep apnea diagnosis.
Depending on which machine and at what settings you could end up with a problem with the central apnea treatment.

You can use OSCAR and see your settings as well as treatment and results

OSCAR https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph ... stallation
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph ... rpretation

[tobindia]

"Which AirCurve 10 model?" -- I have no idea. On the front, it just says AirCurve 10. Is there another way to tell>

[zonker]

"Which AirCurve 10 model?" -- I have no idea. On the front, it just says AirCurve 10. Is there another way to tell>

pictures here-

https://www.apneaboard.com/cpap-machine ... ine-resmed

should have letters after the name.

[Pugsy]

Should have more on the face of the machine.
Take a screenshot and post it or use OSCAR because OSCAR will document the model name.

[tobindia]

Oscar says:

AHI 8.47
ResMed
AirCurve 10 S
PAP Mode: VPAP-S
EPAP 12.0 IPAP 16.0 (cmH2O)

[Pugsy]

AHI 8.47

What does OSCAR say that AHI is composed of

CA/Central index??
OA index??
Hyponea index??

Do you happen to have a copy of the sleep study where you came away with diagnosis of complex sleep apnea?

[tobindia]

Oscar says:
Clear Airway 0.00
Unclassified Apnea 8.47
Obstructive 0.00
Hypopnea 0.00

No, I do not have a copy of my sleep study.