Me again re: aerophagia..about to give up

[dlr0212]

So I cannot tell you how much time I have spent on this board and I am so grateful for it. I am at my wits end to say the least. Most recently, I stumbled upon this related forum from 2009:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=46716&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... g&start=15

As I am sitting here writing this, I've got tears rolling down my cheeks. I was so excited to finally feel better throughout the day, feeling well rested. I am 52 and a mother of 2 teenager college students. I've never been a depressed person, but this is making me nuts. I have spent countless hours, visits to the doctors (gynecologist, 2 ER visits, x-rays, CT, bloodwork, gastroenterologist, upper gi, colonoscopy trying to figure out why I am so bloated. I've read all about aerophagia and, with the help of this forum, I know that's what I have. But because the feeling was just so awful, I had to be sure, so I went to all the above appointments. Ok, so now that I know I don't have any other major problems, I know that it's my therapy. I have been back to my "cpap" doctor, he has since put me on the auto-cpap. I thought...oh wow...this is my answer. Not so. He lowered my pressure to 6-13 (auto). Initially, I was on a straight 13. But, it has not done the trick. I truly look like I am 8 months pregnant. My stomach feels full all the time. I have taken every "over the counter" meds there's out there. No relief. I've tried full face mask, and a different size mask for the nasal. I've bought the "cpap" pillow, I've inclined my position, chin strap, sleeping on one side, then the other, chin down to the chest, chin up to the ceiling. I love the nasal, had a hard time with the full.

Here's the thing. My days are brighter, I am more productive, I actually start my day at 6:30 a.m. I don't want to go off the cpap. But I am so frustrated. I went off the machine for 2 nights, and my stomach did go down a bit, but not as much as I thought it would. I am truly at a loss as to what to do. My sister, says.."you're crazy, get off that thing"!. She doesn't get it...it's actually working. I am heading to my son's lacrosse games soon, and I don't even want to go because I look pregnant at 52. Feeling like I might throw in the towel with this cpap thing. I'm a want-ta-be so badly, but I can't live like this. And I know...that living is the key word here...but...! Sorry..just wanted to vent. I am so, so jealous of all you you that are truly reaping the wonderful benefits of this therapy. God Bless. Thanks for listening. Surgery...maybe next..but I'm scared.

[squid13]

Instead of an APAP maybe you should talk to your sleep doctor about going on a bipap machine.

[jweeks]

Surgery...maybe next..but I'm scared.

Hi,

What kind of surgery are you looking at? The only surgery that will cure OSA (at least for most people) is a trache. While that will do the trick, you might want to try a more advanced machine, like a BiPAP or a VPAP first, or get a 2nd opinion from another sleep doctor.

I had air ingestion for a while when I was losing weight. It kicked in when I got down to 275, and dogged me all the way down to 245. It was very painful at times--not fun at all. I don't blame you for being frustrated.

-john-

[Pugsy]

Talk to someone about a bilevel pressure machine...Respironics BiPap or ResMed's VPAP...they are both bilevel machines and the dual pressures will help the aerophagia.
Talk to your DME or your doctor but don't give up or have surgery until you try bilevel pressures.
It will enable you to use a combination of a lower exhale pressure and inhale pressure so that the chance of that air getting into your belly is greatly reduced.
Your aerophagia is enough reason to warrant a trial because cpap/apap is creating a big problem.
We have forum members who need it with single digit pressures and it does help....pressures don't have to be in the upper teens to have problems. It can happen with any pressure.

So don't wait and put it off...call your DME and start the ball rolling because it is a viable option to try with a really good chance for success.

[kaiasgram]

Squid, Pugsy and others are pointing you in the right direction by suggesting a bilevel machine. Too many doctors still think that bilevel is only needed for very high pressures but it can be THE answer for people susceptible to aerophagia at lower pressures too. I'm one of those peeps and switched to bilevel (ResMed S9 VPAP Auto) last month. Made a huge difference. Good luck.

[Todzo]

The only times that I was dealing with aerophagia I was also dealing with hyperventilation day and night from Post Traumatic Stress(PTS). It went away when I started using enhanced expiratory rebreathing space (EERS)[1].

Item number nine of the Nijmegen Questionnaire(hyperventilation syndrome - see: http://www.heartofengland.nhs.uk/upload ... nnaire.pdf ) is “bloated feeling in stomach”.

My own experience using my own pulse oximeter at my computer:

SpO2 = 99% Stomach in a knot, heartburn, nausea (note: hypocapnic)
SpO2 = 98% Stomach in a knot, possible heartburn (note: likely hypocapnic)
SpO2 = 97% Stomach has bloated feeling (note: likely somewhat hypocapnic for me)
SpO2 = 96% Stomach beginning to relax (note: possibly eucapnic for me)
SpO2 = 95% Stomach relaxed, digestion continues (note: very likely eucapnic for me)

Reducing stress also helps.

In the future we may see better therapies [2] for now the most advanced ASV is reported to be “breathing volume aware” so would likely tend one more toward eucapnia.

May you find the best solution!

Todzo

[1]: Gilmartin G, McGeehan B, Vigneault K, Daly RW, Manento M, Weiss JW, Thomas RJ.
Treatment of positive airway pressure treatment-associated respiratory instability with enhanced expiratory rebreathing space (EERS).
Source: J Clin Sleep Med. 2010 Dec 15;6(6):529-38. Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21206741

[2]: Dynamic CO2 therapy in periodic breathing: a modeling study to determine optimal timing and dosage regimes
Yoseph Mebrate, Keith Willson, Charlotte H. Manisty, Resham Baruah, Jamil Mayet, Alun D. Hughes, Kim H. Parker and Darrel P. Francis
J Appl Physiol 107:696-706, 2009. First published 23 July 2009; doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.90308.2008
Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19628721