first week and some side effects

[Gilly]

I feel amazing after just 4 nights of the ccap machine. Feel like I have a new drug and it is called sleep. I do have a few questions about some side effects I am getting and hope that you out there can share some light.
Woke up last night with really bad back pain and abdominal pain which I think is from the pressure of the machine on my muscles. What I want to know is will this go away as my body gets used to it?
The other side effect is the bloatinng in my abdomen. I feel like I have gained many inches around my chest and tummy area. A feeling like I have eaten way too much? Has anyone else felt this and does it go away?
So glad I found this site.
Thank you in advance fellow Apneas!!

[prestifare]

Hi there, and welcome!

New habits always takes some time getting used to. If you're only 4 nights in and already benefitting from the terapy, I'd say you've made impressive progress in a very short amount of time already. Props.

Anyhow, in short: Yes, it will go away. Your breathing patterns have probably changed dramatically after taking on CPAP therapy, and your body will need to adjust to this. Maybe you're breathing deeper than you used to (and thus involving your abdominal muscles more, as you will naturally breathe more with your stomach)? Also, the gear/tubing/mask may cause you to sleep in unfamiliar positions, which in turn might be the explanation for your back pains.

Remember that both your mind and body need to adjust to some fairly radical changes. The upside is that both your body and mind _will_ adapt over time, just be patient!

Good luck with your treatment.

[Pugsy]

Do a search for aerophagia and you will likely find the culprit for the bloating, abdominal pain and maybe even the back pain. It is a common uncomfortable side effect. Lots of discussion threads in the forum about it.
Wiki says..

wiki/index.php/Aerophagia

and some forum discussion threads
search.php?keywords=aerophagia

[KatieW]

Congratulations, and welcome to the forum.

If you sleep on your side, try putting a pillow between your knees, to keep your pelvis even, and not strain your lower back. I really like the PaPillow because my old pillow was too squishy to properly support my neck, and pushed on my mask.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/papill ... illow.html

Regarding the aerophagia, yes it's very common, and it does get better. In the links Pugsy gave you, there are many ideas on how to deal with it.