back, chest muscle pain from cpap newbie

tnymft · Post by **tnymft** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 8:23 pm

Has anyone else experience pain in the chest and upper-mid back when they first started on cpap? My unit does NOT have exhale relief, my setting is 11 (is that pounds, or atmospheres?).
I wonder, is this pain from having to forcefully exhale, or maybe for the first time in my life I am not thrashing around all night?

Any thoughts by anyone who has experienced, or heard about this, would be very welcomed.

jennmary · Post by **jennmary** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 8:29 pm

It is pretty common. My chest was sore for a few weeks when I first started. I thought it was from inhale and exhale. My lungs filling more than normal and the force needed to exhale. It went away after a few weeks. I hope it gets better.

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 12:46 am

Yes,
I use an automatic machine, and when I've been breathing against more pressure than usuall I can tell it by the way my muscles feel.

O.

DreamDiver · Post by **DreamDiver** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 8:19 am

I'm using an M-Series Pro at a pressure of 7, and I have had the same experience. I chalk it up to my diaphragm actually doing work for once in my life. A few nights into the process I felt sick to my stomach, but I knew it was my diaphragm, so I just forged through.The next morning I felt like I'd been doing sit-ups all night, but it feels much better a couple weeks into the process.

Has anybody noticed a beneficial loss of weight as a result of CPAPery?

onecoknower · Post by **onecoknower** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 8:54 am

I didn't experience chest pain, but did see an increase in hip and knee aches. With the help of my friends here, I determined that for the first time in years, I'm not continuously tossing and turning all night and my joints stiffened a little from being in the same position - actually sleeping! Now I take ibupropen before bed to help, and it does.

extremeliver · Post by **extremeliver** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 9:05 am

I had those same chest aches and pains for a year or so after I started with my CPAP. My theory is that before CPAP, I was always waking and shifting positions at night. With CPAP, I stay in a much more stationary position. Even as a kid, I noticed that if I laid flat on my back on the floor, I ached when I got up. I don't think most people experience that.

Anyway, when I would travel, I'd notice that some mornings I would wake up with no pain. I figured that it might be the bed. So I got a new bed at home, and the problem has vanished!

Good luck!

Flying_Norseman · Post by **Flying_Norseman** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 11:01 am

I have the same problem. It didn't show up right away because I didn't know I was leaking air out of my mouth. So when I got the problem rectified, I began to get the soreness you are talking about. I am convinced it is the CPAP pressure and not that I am sleeping in the same position. I noticed the pain is a bit worse the higher my pressure setting is. I guess it is just something I am going to have to live with and hopefully it will go away. I really don't want to take Ibuprofen every night, but I will give that a shot and see if it helps.

back, chest muscle pain from cpap newbie

back, chest muscle pain from cpap newbie

Same here