New CPAP user having problems.

I would try taking a liberal dose of Phazyme at bedtime. It is simethicone and will undoubtedly be less expensive in the store brand version. It may help your bloating and belching.

stees4 wrote:Don't be afraid to set that machine on five with the dial so that you are breathing a lot of moisture. This also helps keep your sinuses open so that you breathe through your nose and not your mouth

Maybe, maybe not. Excess moisture can cause congestion.

stees4 wrote: Because you are breathing through your mouth is why you are getting all that extra air in your stomach

Not necessarily so. I have tried taping my mouth shut and sleeping all night like that for several nights. I was forced to breathe through my nose, but the gastric insufflation was not improved. The likely cause for me is that the LES threshold is lower than the CPAP pressure. I believe this is the most common cause among CPAP users.

stees4 wrote:stees4
Also Posted As:
(Bons)
(Brenpbb11150)
(chdurie2)
(Cosette)
(CROWPAT)
(davidtwotrees)
(EMTunit31)
(JayC)
(motherall)
(raylo)
(Trinity101)

May I ask what connection you used to get to this site?

RobertS975 wrote:I would try taking a liberal dose of Phazyme at bedtime. It is simethicone and will undoubtedly be less expensive in the store brand version. It may help your bloating and belching.

Since bad side effects of simethicone (Gas-Ex) are almost zero, this probably won't hurt. But it also is unlikely to solve the problem. It's just an anti-foaming agent that breaks up small bubbles into larger ones. Lots of small belches/farts into fewer big belches/farts.

Midnight Strangler wrote:

stees4 wrote:Don't be afraid to set that machine on five with the dial so that you are breathing a lot of moisture. This also helps keep your sinuses open so that you breathe through your nose and not your mouth

Maybe, maybe not. Excess moisture can cause congestion.

That's why I am afraid of changing any settings unless I know for sure what I'm doing. At this moment I do not.

stees4 wrote: Because you are breathing through your mouth is why you are getting all that extra air in your stomach

Not necessarily so. I have tried taping my mouth shut and sleeping all night like that for several nights. I was forced to breathe through my nose, but the gastric insufflation was not improved. The likely cause for me is that the LES threshold is lower than the CPAP pressure. I believe this is the most common cause among CPAP users.

I know that there was no way my mouth fell open while I was sleeping with the chin strap. I had it adjusted so that I had to physically open my mouth.

stees4 wrote:stees4
Also Posted As:
(Bons)
(Brenpbb11150)
(chdurie2)
(Cosette)
(CROWPAT)
(davidtwotrees)
(EMTunit31)
(JayC)
(motherall)
(raylo)
(Trinity101)

May I ask what connection you used to get to this site?

RobertS975 wrote:I would try taking a liberal dose of Phazyme at bedtime. It is simethicone and will undoubtedly be less expensive in the store brand version. It may help your bloating and belching.

Since bad side effects of simethicone (Gas-Ex) are almost zero, this probably won't hurt. But it also is unlikely to solve the problem. It's just an anti-foaming agent that breaks up small bubbles into larger ones. Lots of small belches/farts into fewer big belches/farts.

Exactly. I already use Omeprazole with sodium bicarb and chewable antacid when I need to. Sometimes it's enough. Sometimes it's not.

Have you tried just lowering your pressure by 1-2 cm as it very often helps people with aerophagia, and sometimes raising the head of the bed on 4-6" blocks does.

Julie wrote:Have you tried just lowering your pressure by 1-2 cm as it very often helps people with aerophagia, and sometimes raising the head of the bed on 4-6" blocks does.

No, I have not made any changes. I imagine that my hourly incident rate will go up if I reduce the pressure. I'm not opposed to reducing the pressure but if the incident rate goes up we're defeating the purpose of CPAP right? My bed is already on a 6" incline for GERD.

I was looking at my machine and I don't think I can set the pressure. It has every other adjustment except that.

Mike208 wrote:I was looking at my machine and I don't think I can set the pressure. It has every other adjustment except that.

go here:
http://apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-press ... tup-manual
read down to the 'request via email' section and they'll email you a copy of the super sekret, eyes only manual that tells you how to set everything.

palerider wrote:

Mike208 wrote:I was looking at my machine and I don't think I can set the pressure. It has every other adjustment except that.

go here:
http://apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-press ... tup-manual
read down to the 'request via email' section and they'll email you a copy of the super sekret, eyes only manual that tells you how to set everything.

Thanks! Unfortunately, my machine is too new. I don't see it listed.

Mike208 wrote:Unfortunately, my machine is too new. I don't see it listed.

You can find the instructions here under "To enter into the Clinical Setup" - http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread ... irsense-10

IF your AHI goes up meaningfully, then you'll rethink things, but nothing to lose by trying!

Mike208 wrote:

palerider wrote:go here:
http://apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-press ... tup-manual
read down to the 'request via email' section and they'll email you a copy of the super sekret, eyes only manual that tells you how to set everything.

Thanks! Unfortunately, my machine is too new. I don't see it listed.

look again, they have both the as10 and ac10 machine manuals, I know, I got a copy from there, back in september.

ChicagoGranny wrote:

Mike208 wrote:Unfortunately, my machine is too new. I don't see it listed.

You can find the instructions here under "To enter into the Clinical Setup" - http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread ... irsense-10

Thank you. Got it.

Julie wrote:IF your AHI goes up meaningfully, then you'll rethink things, but nothing to lose by trying!

True. I go in to the sleep doctor Monday so, hopefully, we can get this figured out.

Mike208 wrote: I already use Omeprazole with sodium bicarb and chewable antacid when I need to. Sometimes it's enough. Sometimes it's not.

Mike, This is Gramps. A few things leading up to a point,

1. I also had GERD before I started CPAP. Sleep apnea was the cause of my GERD. When you are struggling to breathe during an apnea, the muscles around the diaphragm contract rapidly and can throw stomach contents up and out of the stomach into the airway and even the mouth.

2. The acids hitting the LES can damage it and weaken it's ability to hold back air thus making one more susceptible to swallowing air and CPAPers more susceptible to gastric insufflation. (I always called it aerophagia but Granny corrected me.)

3. So I am prone to gastric insufflation and like Midnight Strangler have to avoid sidesleeping.

4. One thing you need to do is get your GERD under tight control and give the LES some time to do some healing. This might help with the gastric insufflation.

5. You might also find that CPAP exhalation relief or a BiPAP machine help. (I don't like either - every person is different.)

6. Has anyone talked to you about getting the CPAP software downloaded and learning to use it to analyze your therapy?

Good luck with next week's sleep doc appointment and Happy New Year!

ChicagoGramps

You may already know all of this, but here is some info on controlling GERD - http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-cond ... n-20025201