Wierd but, stomach ache?

[mb1278]

Hello everyone.

This is the 2nd night with my new respironics unit. The first night I had some leaks with the nasal mask, but I think I got that worked out. What concerns me is that this is the 2nd night where i've woken up with a stomach ache. I've had about 3 solid hours of sleep, but when I woke up my stomach hurt. Didn't have anything wierd for dinner and it's not that sort of feeling. Can the increased air have something to do with it? I thought it might be the smell of the silicone and flap in the nasal mask but I lightly washed it with a rag and water.

Has anyone experienced this before? I think this might be the last issue to where I don't wake up feeling wierd....I hope.

Thanks in advance,

MB1278

[park_ridge_dave]

mb1278

I haven't experienced any problems like that myself. But, are you having problems swallowing air perhaps? I believe that is called aerophagia. You may experience belching etc.

Or are you feeling nauseous(sp?)?

What is your pressure?

And it also helps if you list your equipment etc in your profile.

I am sure that there will be some more experienced hands that will get you fixed up. (I'm pretty new at this too)

In the mean time, Welcome to the world of CPAP and the forum

Cheers,

Dave

[oscar98]

Right now my pressure is set too low because one of the things that happens when they turn it up is that I don't breathe out and end up swallowing a bunch of air. It causes a pretty bad tummy ache. I don't know much about how to solve the problem without turning the pressure down but I'm sure someone more experienced them I will be along to help out.

I have discovered that gas x pills will help relieve the stomach ache.

[alterego61]

I used to get aerophagia when the pressure was set too high, also before I had a machine with EPR.

Here's a decent article on the topic:

http://www.cpap-supply.com/Articles.asp?ID=170

[mbrown1278]

alterego...

What did you do to resolve the aerophagia? Did you bring it to the attention of your physician? If so, did he/she recommend to lower the pressure? Does a doctor or someone from the sleep lab have to do that or is it something that can be done at home? I have a Respironics REMstar Plus C-Flex machine. Just got it on tuesday of this week so still learning the ins and outs of it. My pressure is set to 16 which even my doctor said was pretty high? i have no basis for comparison but i think the max is like 20 or something.

The CPAP specialist where I got my machine basically told me to deal with it and it should go away within 30 days after your body gets used to the additional pressure. i'm just not satisfied with that.

Any additional information you might be able to provide would be helpful.

[brain_cloud]

Search for old threads using "aerophagia" or "gastric insufflation" and you will see tons of discussion.

My first few nights (at a setting of 14) caused considerable stomach pain. Now (6months later), even using straight CPAP at 18, I don't get that pain. Now, it just feels a bit "full" and the full feeling is releived with a couple of belches. So, at least for some people, the painfulness does diminish or go away over time as you stomach gets used to it and toughens up. I'm not sure if that is true for all.

Recently my doctor said that the air going through the LES and into the stomach (with or without pain) is not just an annoyance, but can lead to cardiac problems. It was the first I'd heard of that and I'm not sure I even believe him. This was the same doctor who told me flat out that air getting into the stomach means you have definitely been overtitrated.