Swallowing air creating problems

[HRMR]

My Cpap setting is high enough to cause bloating and abdominal cramps that wake me up at night. After trying to "let my body adjust" for a period of time, the doctor decided I needed to switch to a bipap machine. My insurance company is disputing, so I am in a holding pattern. While waiting, I want to try setting the Cpap to a much lower setting and slowly over a matter of weeks (or months if needed) raise the level to the desired setting. Has anyone tried this process with any success? I'd like to take some success stories to my doctor to convince him to let me try.

[Julie]

Put 'Aerophagia' in the search box here and you'll get lots and lots of info about the syndrome.

[Pugsy]

What brand and model machine are you now using?
Does it offer exhale relief? If so, at what setting are you using?
Sometimes (depending on the brand) we can make cpap machines function sort of like bipaps and give people some relief to the air swallowing (aerophagia) symptoms.
It just depends on what machine you are using and at what settings you are using now.

But yes, sometimes starting lower and working up is successful....but sometimes it isn't but it is sure worth a try if one is out of options.

[Diamondminek]

I switched on to apap (with data) from cpap (no data,so couldn't really self manage) - and now have no wind problems.
In the mean time, I found that not eating or even drinking water 3 hours before bed really helped, as did staying on my left hand side.
Changing setting may help too, although you really want access to the data to see what changes might help first,and then what impact any changes have.

[ChicagoGranny]

My Cpap setting is high enough

You give no information about your therapy. Machine settings? AHI? Leak level? Using SleepyHead?

Fill out your equipment profile - https://www.cpaptalk.com/ucp.php?i=prof ... pment_info

[grayghost4]

cut out all caffeine ... coffee , coke , and all others.

[chunkyfrog]

Not eating right before bed is spot on!
The word "breakfast" implies that you have been fasting--the best sleep is not on a full belly.

[cathyf]

Ok, I'm confused...

Isn't the air getting forced down your esophagus and into your stomach happening during the inhale? Because then lowering the pressure on exhale isn't going to help...

Or is it that air is going around the corner and back down the esophagus during the exhale phase, because the pressure is forcing the air backwards?

[avi123]

Keep your mouth open a bit at all time to get rid of the Meteorism.

“Meteorism”, is a similar medical term to “Aerophagia”, but the latter term is used more often for intestinal air distention resulting postoperatively.