Stomach issues with cpap

[ElCamello]

Hi all.
I am 45 years old male I was diagnosed with sleep apnea about a year ago. I use a a Philips DreamStation Auto CPAP Machine and a Full face mask form CARA.
The last months were really miserable for me. My sleep is interrupted I wake up exhausted in the morning with nausea. I had episodes of rapid heart rate during the day. I had a 24 hr ECG and blood tests but all came ok and docs are blaming everything on stress.
My CPAP never worked for me and my CPAP was always reporting a high AHI but I think the Situation escalated about 3 months ago, I went back then to my sleep therapist and told him I am constantly waking up at night. He said your CPAP pressure might not be high enough and he adjusted the pressure range form 4-7 to 4-8 range (like that without a sleep study).
After a month I went back to him and told him that I wake up destroyed in the mornings. The doc gave me a sleep study at home and he said my AHI was 4 and My oxygen levels were good and everything seemed ok, I might need to check if my blood pressure is dropping at night. The funny thing that night the CPAP was reporting an AHI of 9 which did not match what the sleep study apparatus reported.
At the time I was using a nose mask, Couple of days later I found out that I wake up with my mouth open and air coming out of my mouth so I switched to a full face mask.
The last weeks I was constantly suffering from nausea, feeling dizzy specially after eating and I feel I have too much air in my stomach that only gets better after a long walks. I also noticed my heart rate jumps up very easily while basically doing no significant effort.
Now if I think of it all my health troubles happened after adjusting the CPAP pressure max level from 7 to 8. I am not sure if that is a coincidence or the root cause.
Am I swallowing too much air when asleep ? Can too much air in the stomach impact the heart? Is the CPAP pressure to blame? What else should I do?

[Julie]

You can give us more information to go on - like the full name and model of your machine, which mask you have, what your pressure settings are right now, if you take any medication and which. It is possible to have some symptoms of other problems while on Cpap, and I'm not sure your doctor knows enough to be setting your machine. Please read the notes at the top of the page - https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/
and follow the directions about how to post your results here so the experts can interpret what's going on and help you to reset whatever is not working. The software is free and very comprehensive.

[ElCamello]

Hi all,
I have uploaded my dream station data to OSCAR. I have attached two screen shots form my yesterday's sleep analysis :
The last weeks I was under a lot of stress and I am currently taking Neurexan to reduce my stress levels.

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28_May_2020_v1.png (181.25 KiB) Viewed 2156 times

[ElCamello]

28_May_2020_overview.png (62.63 KiB) Viewed 2155 times

[Julie]

bump

[LSAT]

Max pressure of 8 is the problem...should be 20. Minimum at 6.... The machine wants to go higher to stop apneas and it can't. It's blocked at 8. Even with 20, the machine will only go as high as necessary to stop apneas...it may never go higher than 10 or 12, but we will never know unless we let it run for a few days.

[ElCamello]

Thank you for the feedback. My CPAP is locked, only my CPAP provider is allowed to change the pressure. I need to talk to my doctor in order to change the pressure. Could you please let me know how did you get to the conclusion my CPAP is trying to go higher. Is there a specific graph or portion of a graph showing this.

[Dog Slobber]

Thank you for the feedback. My CPAP is locked, only my CPAP provider is allowed to change the pressure. I need to talk to my doctor in order to change the pressure. Could you please let me know how did you get to the conclusion my CPAP is trying to go higher. Is there a specific graph or portion of a graph showing this.

If you take a look at the Pressure graph portion on the second image, you will see the pressure rise to 8 is is stuck for virtually most of the night.

If you take a look during these periods, you will also see a large amount of events occurring that you machine can't properly address because the pressure isn't high enough.

While, I agree with LSAT about changing your pressure to 6-20 (for most people), I would be hesitant to move your maximum to 20 for you just yet.

In your original post you also described symptoms that could be attributed to Aerophagia (bloating from too much air from CPAP). Increasing your pressure so abruptly could increase aerophagia dramatically and well beyond your tolerance.

I would recommend increasing your maximum pressure, but maybe 1 CM at a time over a longer period. Keep an eye on your AHI, but also monitor how your tummy feels. The goal is to eventually get you to 20 CM.

And yes you can change your machine, you just don't know how to get into the secret mode to do so.

Regarding your Doctor. How in the hell could the have let you go so long with such a high machine reported AHI, while seeing that your device was clearly not supplying enough pressure. I wouldn't go anywhere near him again.

[Julie]

Your machine is not locked - that's the lie patients are told so doctor continues to have power! We've all been changing our pressures forever, you just need to get the clinician manual from Apneaboard.com - find your machine on the list and follow the instructions which will be mailed to you. It's your therapy and you should be in charge. We'll help you to optimize it.

[Miss Emerita]

This is a new low in the annals of sleep-doctoring. I'm so sorry you've had to endure so much trouble without competent medical help. You absolutely should be adjusting your own pressure settings, with the kind of good advice you've already gotten in this thread. To sum the advice up: reset your minimum to 6 and your maximum to 9 and then post a chart.

When you post again, you need to post just the chart with these graphs:

Events
Flow rate
Pressure
Leaks
Snores.

I see on line that Neurexan is an over-the-counter preparation that can help with anxiety and insomnia. Side effects are minimal, BUT it contains lactose. Are you lactose intolerant? If you are, or even might be, I would suggest you work with your doctor to find a different drug. That might help with the belly issues.

[ElCamello]

thank you all for your amazing help and advice.
Miss Emerita you are right, I just figured out this morning that Neurexan has lactose. I am lactose intolerant and that explains all the nausea bloating and stomach discomfort I was having.

[zonker]

I see on line that Neurexan is an over-the-counter preparation that can help with anxiety and insomnia. Side effects are minimal, BUT it contains lactose. Are you lactose intolerant? If you are, or even might be, I would suggest you work with your doctor to find a different drug. That might help with the belly issues.

remarkable, holmes!

kudos for a very good catch.

[Miss Emerita]

Why thank you, sir. I must look into clutching a pipe as well as a scepter. Scepter in hand, pipe between teeth?

I'm quite lactose-intolerant myself, so I'm always on the alert. For anyone else who might be interested, here's information from the NIH:

"Approximately 65 percent of the human population has a reduced ability to digest lactose after infancy. Lactose intolerance in adulthood is most prevalent in people of East Asian descent, with 70 to 100 percent of people affected in these communities. Lactose intolerance is also very common in people of West African, Arab, Jewish, Greek, and Italian descent.

The prevalence of lactose intolerance is lowest in populations with a long history of dependence on unfermented milk products as an important food source. For example, only about 5 percent of people of Northern European descent are lactose intolerant."

More here: https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/lactose-intolerance#

[Dog Slobber]

I see on line that Neurexan is an over-the-counter preparation that can help with anxiety and insomnia. Side effects are minimal, BUT it contains lactose. Are you lactose intolerant? If you are, or even might be, I would suggest you work with your doctor to find a different drug. That might help with the belly issues.

remarkable, holmes!

kudos for a very good catch.

Absolutely! Nice catch Ms. Miss!

[ElCamello]

Last night and this morning were a nightmare.
I did not take Nurexan for the entire day. before going to bed and while brushing my teeth my heart rate was jumping to 150. I had to lay in bed so it calms down.
I woke up at 2 am and could not get back to sleep. My sleep was disrupted the entire night. I was laying in bed and feeling my legs my arms and back all burning form the inside. Like at the bones levels.
I am suspecting too much stress hormone is released in my body. Any ideas ?
In the morning I went to wash my face and my heart rate was jumping to 140. I took Nurexan and a beta blocker that my doc gave me and told me I can take in case I have heart racing again. and than went back to bed.
Now my heart rate is back to normal but emotionally and psychologically I am devastated. Not knowing what really is happening to me.
I am continuing taking Nurexan for the time being I ordered a lactose free variant but will can not get it till Tuesday.
below are my recordings form last night :

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