CPAPtalk.com

I start out sleeping on my back, but after awhile my back hurts so I turn on my side and then my shoulder hurts, so it's a lot of tossing and turning and waking up to mask leaks, belching, passing gas, hot flashes. My last sleep study had me waking up 29 times during the night and that was with an Ambien and with CPAP.

Beulah,

I can't imagine not using my CPAP now that I know what I know about the damage OSA can do. And to think that I went undiagnosed for 30 years.

Bev

My pressure is 9 but maybe if I can figure out how to lower it it might be worth a try. Thanks for everyones suggestions!

OutaSync wrote:I've been to an ENT and found out that I have silent GERD. The lower esophagael sphincter does not close properly.

Bev, did the ENT mention a surgical procedure called Nissen fundoplication?

http://www.umm.edu/general_surgery/nissen_fundo.htm

http://adam.about.com/reports/000085_10.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissen_fundoplication

http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/clinical ... ech-2.html

This discussion is blowing me away! (pun intended)

I never once thought of associating my CPAP with my gas! I wonder how common this is?

RG, yes I discussed Nissen fundoplication with the GI Dr., thanks to your posting information about that some time back. When all the tests come in, we will discuss it further. There is one Dr. in Richmond who can do it. Does anybody know any drawbacks to this kind of surgery? Like, if they close up the bottom of the esophagus, will it blow up like a balloon and pop? Right now my stomach and intestines blow up and I look 5 months pregnant when I wake up.

I tested negative for h pylori and cancer, so that was a relief. Yesterday I lay undeer a huge geiger counter thingy for hours while they watched radio active oatmeal work it's way out of my stomach.

ekaren, I suspect its pretty common, but too embarrassing to talk about. That's why I laid myself open to help others know that they are not alone, and hopefully, to find a suggestion that I have not thought of. Like, do they make tiny little cans of airspray that I can carry in my pocket?

I am not endorsing these and have never tried them; however, flatulence underwear does exist:

http://www.under-tec.com/index.php

http://www.flat-d.com/

Seriously, this is not a joke--these are two that I found when I googled.

Oh, my gosh!!! . These are for real!! I never thought I would be wearing diapers at age 52. Please, God. Let there be another way.

Thanks, ekaren. I might have to have some of those "discreet" packages sent to my house.

Outasynch-

You are definitely NOT the lone ranger on the gas problem!

I have tried GAS-X, lowering the pressure you name it. I think the best you can do is get a machine with EPR (Expiratory Pressure Relief) and keep up-ping that setting.

I have titrated downward from my original setting of 10cm to 9.2cm and put EPR at max on my S8, this offers some relief but not 100%

There are still those days when I feel bloated and full of air.

I am constantly amazed that sleep doctors remain oblivious to this problem.
Mine looked at me like I was from the moon when I described the situation. He had never even heard any of his patients complain about it. Probabaly due to embarassment.

I can tell you though, you better be damn sure when I get to be a sleep doc (I'm in medschool), I'll have a real appreciation for what patients are dealing with!!!!

Best of Luck!

Chris

Thank You! I have to see how to lower my cpap machine. Im not sure how to do it. Im at 9cm now. Do you take gas-X everyday and how often? We certainly need good doctors who care about patients. I try to ask my doctor about the cpap and she just tells me Im not sure , I really dont have many patients on cpap. Anyway, lot's of luck to you!

Hi Outasynch,

I just bought a memory foam mattress topper and it has helped a lot, I don't get nearly so much joint pain now and have to move less at night. With the hot flushes though, maybe you can afford a silicone topped one, or a fan? Because some people find them a bit hot.

One of my hobbies is belly dancing, and there are some yoga moves which use the abdominal muscles in a "wriggly" way too. I find these help "push things through" .

Another thing I picked up from the Pakistani ladies I used to nurse in a hospital near London. On morning shift we'd walk in and ladies would all be on their beds, bottoms up in their colourful dresses, passing wind quite unembarrassed. They were in the yoga position "the child" , I'll see if I can find a link...

http://yoga.about.com/od/yogaposes/a/childspose.htm

You can do it lengthwise over a long cushion/bolster too.


from Wikpedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balasana

Balasana is a Hatha yoga posture, called "Child's pose" or "Child's Resting Pose" in English.

In this pose, the body faces the floor in a fetal position. The knees and hips are bent with the shins on the floor. The chest can rest either on the knees or the knees can be spread to about the width of a yoga mat, allowing the chest to go between the knees. The head is stretched forward toward the ground - the forehead may touch the ground. The arms may be stretched forward in front of the head or backwards towards the feet.

This position allows the gas to rise naturally! Obviously, don't do it if it hurts at all.

hope this helps

Di

Hello OutaSync,

I am just a lowly guest and guests are rarely believed but here goes.

First, the only post on this thread other that yours that is helpful is rested gal. If you see a rested gal post you are on safe ground.

Yes, you have a valve leaking that is suppose to keep air out of your stomach. It is not sealing. This has nothing to do with "swallowing" air. I don't know what you can do with cpap short of surgery to fix the valve. Auto and Bilevel machines sometimes work but usually don't. I would consider a dental appliance. The problem almost never fixes itself, This problem cannot be solved by changing positions, sleeping in a chair, etc. Gas-X usually will not help much unless the leak is mild.

For some of you that are not informed, this is not gas as you think of it. It is room air being pumped into the digestive track. It smells a little but never digestive gas.

It hurt. It really hurts. Agony is an appropriate word in extreme cases. It feels like the stomach is going to burst. You cannot sleep with this pain unless you are extremely sleep deprived. In extreme cases, the air blows through the digestive track in massive amounts even the individual is in bed.

There is really nothing funny about it. OutaSync is in a difficult situation.

DME Daddy wrote:Hello OutaSync,

I am just a lowly guest and guests are rarely believed but here goes.

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Chip on your shoulder?

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DME Daddy wrote:Hello OutaSync,
First, the only post on this thread other that yours that is helpful is rested gal. If you see a rested gal post you are on safe ground.

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agreed re Rested Gal, she is usually right.

Otherwise, what an incredibly rude statement. Has it occurred to you that it's your attitude that turns people off you, not your "guest" status?



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DME Daddy wrote:Hello OutaSync,

There is really nothing funny about it. OutaSync is in a difficult situation.

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Oh, get off your soap box.

You think people who posted here don't take OutaSync's problems seriously?

Sheesh.

You've freely given your opinion about members of this group, so I'll return the favour.


1) you have no sense of humour.
2) you have an overinflated opinion of your own importance.


Di

Chriml,
Can you fill out your profile with the equipment that you have. Someone here will be able to help you re set your pressure.

Moby,
That story of the Pakistani ladies is too funny. I will try that yoga position to see if it works. I can always tell people that I am looking for an earring.

DME Daddy,
You are right. This is not the same gas as the kind you get when one eats beans. It starts blowing through me at night and continues to leak out all through the day. It's very uncomfortable and I suspected that it might be because my LES does not close. However, my ENT and the GI specialist had never heard of that happening with xPAP. That's why I was wondering if anybody else had that problem. I'm not exactly wanting to undergo surgery again. Do you know of anybody who got relief from this Nissen fundoplication?

I have the same thing OutaSync, I was reading your post & thinking.. that is me! I just got done paying off the cpap machine that I have been using for the last 6 months, so I don't want to have to switch to another machine. Between 2 sleep studies and the cost of the machine, I don't want to shell out anymore money.