severe nausea with cpap

Has anyone experienced severe nausea with cpap? My 20 year old son just had his sleep test had no problems with a full face mask at the test, however when he uses his machine (last 2 nights) he is so nausious is near being sick and has to remove his mask and allow his stomach to rest. This lends him to 2 hours on the cpap at the most per night. His rating is 14. The doctor will not activate the cflex on his machine, and will not address this situation. We greatly need help. His dad has used cpap for 9 years never had this problem.

concernedmom wrote:Has anyone experienced severe nausea with cpap? My 20 year old son just had his sleep test had no problems with a full face mask at the test, however when he uses his machine (last 2 nights) he is so nausious is near being sick and has to remove his mask and allow his stomach to rest. This lends him to 2 hours on the cpap at the most per night. His rating is 14. The doctor will not activate the cflex on his machine, and will not address this situation. We greatly need help. His dad has used cpap for 9 years never had this problem.

WHY NOT??? (OK.....another dumb doctor....)

Why not turn it on anyway? You can easily do that by going into the Setup menu. C-Flex is a "comfort" feature and should have absolutely NO effect on his therapy.

As far as the nausea.......could be a number of things beside the C-Flex......like GERD and eating too soon before going to bed to name a couple.

Which machine does he have? (specific model)

Den

He has Remstar M series cflex. Just took him off to college last night, he is not here. The doctor had a machine she wanted him to get from her, but we wanted the remstar, she only uses Resmed and said our insurance will not cover the series 8, I'm not sure about that though. My husband had already researched the Remstar with cfex, because he wanted one at his next chance to update his machine.
Because we went with a local med supply instead of her office, we are finding that it is very hard to get cooperation from her office. She says that cflex would be a negative for my son.
She is not addressing the nausea. He is really trying hard to use this machine, she scared him to death to sleep without it, now he can't use it. What should we do?

Depending on WHICH model he has (Plus, Pro, Auto, etc.) he can get into and navigate through the Setup menu by using these instructions:

Hold down the <- -> buttons while plugging in the little power cord in the back, wait for 2 beeps release buttons. Then press the + key to enter setup mode, use the <- -> buttons to move to the next field, use the -/+ keys to decrease/increase values, when set press the On/Off button to exit Setup.

Or they're also at this web link:

http://www.cpap-supply.com/Articles.asp?ID=130

Or, this one:

http://www.apneaboard.com/CPAP%20Adjustment.htm

He needs to make sure he writes down every existing setting as he goes through the options. There's nothing "hard" about this and is basically easier than programming a clock or car radio.

At least that will get him some breathing relief. C-Flex options are 1, 2 or 3 to turn it on. A setting of "1" gives the least relief and "3" gives the most. Personally, I like "2", as it feels more like natural breathing.

Den

I don't think he is eating too close to bed time, I'll check. He didn't have the nausea at the sleep test. I think it's too much air in his stomach. Can we get in trouble for changing his machine especially since the dr won't write the prescription for it? She would be okay if it was a EPR (?) with resmed. She doesn't like cflex. She said it would be a negative for him. I thought they were the same. (sorry, new at all this terminology). I am ready to change dr's. Don't know if another dr would take her study. I know the insurance won't pay for another.

concernedmom wrote:Has anyone experienced severe nausea with cpap? My 20 year old son just had his sleep test had no problems with a full face mask at the test, however when he uses his machine (last 2 nights) he is so nausious is near being sick and has to remove his mask and allow his stomach to rest. This lends him to 2 hours on the cpap at the most per night. His rating is 14. The doctor will not activate the cflex on his machine, and will not address this situation. We greatly need help. His dad has used cpap for 9 years never had this problem.

Hi. Sounds awful. Please correct me if I get any of this wrong:

-- He was fine during the test, but he gets sick at home.
-- You're thinking that being able to use the C-Flex would help, but your doc won't activate it.

I just saw that Wulfman's addressing the C-Flex part of your question. You're in good hands. As to the rest.....

Did you ask your son's sleep doctor or family doctor about his nausea? I think I would if a simple solution can't be discovered.

Please understand I'm not in any medical profession. But my ex-husband had a lot of physical troubles, and I often ended up either solving mysteries because the medical types didn't want to hear it or at least eliminating possibilities before they'd talk to me. So with that qualification, I'd like to offer some thoughts.

Why would your son not have a problem during the sleep study but get sick at home? A stress reaction? An allergic reaction? An irritant reaction? Motion sickness?

What's different about the sleep study situation & environment and home?

Stress
Is there any possibility he'd have a higher stress level at home than during the sleep study (although I can't imagine it)? Stress and anxiety can make a person nauseous.

Allergic or Irritant
Sometimes the sleep centers give their patients the mask they used. Is the mask your son has now (1) the exact same mask that he used during the sleep study; (2) the same kind of mask, but a different one than used in the study; or (3) a different kind of mask than was used in the study?

If it's (1), it doesn't seem possible that there'd be any kind of allergic or irritant reaction unless it was cleaned with something that left some residue and he'd react to the residue. But you're familiar with how to take care of the equipment, and I'm sure you're aware of any allergies your son might have. If it is the mask he used during his study, did you clean it after he got it home? If not, maybe they did, and he's reacting to whatever they used.

If it's (2), I'd still wonder about cleaning products & reactions. I know that although I cleaned mine when I got it (I use nasal pillows), I didn't soak it long enough, and there still was a "new plastic" smell. If is a new, never-used mask, is there any chance it has that "new plastic" smell, and that's affecting him?

If it's (3), I'd wonder about cleaning products and a "new plastic" smell, but I'd also wonder if it has any different materials than the mask he wore in the sleep study that he might be having a reaction to.

Motion sickness
I know I'm really reaching here, but is there any chance he uses a water bed and that the added sensation of the air blowing could be causing motion sickness? I still can't imagine that would make a difference, but at this point, you need to figure out anything that's different from the sleep center.

You're a mom, so I would guess that you know plenty about treating nausea. I'm wondering if he'd do better if he took/drank something just before putting on his mask. Although I certainly think that prescribed or over-the-counter preparations certainly have their place, I'm also a strong believer in natural remedies. Again, I'm not any kind of medical professional, and I'm certainly not trying to insult your intelligence. I'm just throwing these out as options:

Ginger has been proven to ease nausea. He could drink (1) ginger tea (fresh-grated ginger would be best, but dried would be okay, too -- steeped in boiling water and sweetened with the least amount of sweetener he could tolerate. Other choices would be gingerale or ginger snaps.

Another choice, and something that wipes nausea out for me almost as soon as I drink it, is something I call vinegar tea. Sounds awful, but it actually tastes very good. Apple cider vinegar is best, but white vinegar could be used. I add about a tablespoon of vinegar to a cup of boiling water and sweeten to taste -- probably would take more to sweeten it than the ginger tea.

I hope you can solve this mystery soon so your son can wear his mask all night and have a healthy sleep. Let us know how things progress.

Marsha

concernedmom wrote:I don't think he is eating too close to bed time, I'll check. He didn't have the nausea at the sleep test. I think it's too much air in his stomach. Can we get in trouble for changing his machine especially since the dr won't write the prescription for it? She would be okay if it was a EPR (?) with resmed. She doesn't like cflex. She said it would be a negative for him. I thought they were the same. (sorry, new at all this terminology). I am ready to change dr's. Don't know if another dr would take her study. I know the insurance won't pay for another.

The doctor is an idiot. (and brand prejudiced)
However, if it IS "aerophagia" (swallowing air or air in the stomach), the remedy can be as varied as the individual. For some, using C-Flex helps (and/or different settings) and for some it is NO C-Flex. Some will get relief with an APAP/Auto (with a pressure range) and some people don't get relief until they switch to a Bi-PAP.

If it is GERD, simply raising the head of the bed (by using a 4" x 4" piece of wood) may help. He may need to take an antacid and not eat at least 2 or 3 hours before bedtime. Consumption of adult beverages won't help either.

Den

Other thoughts...

Maybe an inner ear problem?

A woman whose husband experienced severe nausea on cpap therapy posted to another apnea forum. The link is this http://www.apneasupport.org/about6161.html for the whole discussion, but here's the bottom line:

I took my husband in this past Tuesday to the ENT. The doctor said that his problems were definitely from the CPAP. Apparently there was pressure build-up behind the cochlea, which caused the fluid to leak out when he sat or stood up. The doc said my husband is very lucky that he did not lose his hearing permanently! He prescribed complete bed-rest for a week(he's been on his back for a week already!), and said hearing loss is still a risk if he does not stay horizontal as much as possible. If time does not heal the injury then surgery is a possibility. I'm not sure what the surgery will entail...
The doc said this is an unusual occurence after using the CPAP, but not unheard of. If my husband wants to use it again, he would need tubes placed in his ears first. I don't think he is willing to do that at least for a while. He says he will try sleeping on his sides and stomach and maybe try the Breathe-Right strips. But first his inner ear needs to heal. Even tonight he got up to tuck in our son and started seeing double. I hope a week will do it!
Did most of you start on a particular pressure from the beginning or did you work up to it? I'm wondering if this would have been a better idea than starting at 16 right away.

For other ideas, try going to http://www.google.com and running a search on "cpap nausea." I don't know how much online searching you do -- just take a serious look at whose site you're looking at before taking their advice. For instance, I personally wouldn't be prone to take advice from something that's clearly a teen's blog. Common sense usually will serve you well.

Marsha

A week or two ago I had gone gradually up to a 16cm pressure and could feel the air in my eardrums and I woke up two nights feeling very nauseas and thought I would throw up. I notice that my chest and abdomin felt full of air. I stayed up awhile trying to rid myself of air and get rid of nauseasness.

After that, I lowered the pressure back down and started tying a long nylon scarf around my ears. I wear a full face mask. I found I don't feel nauseas anymore, but my readings are higher again. When I was at the 16 my readings were very low, now they are back higher.

Wearing a long scarf tied to cover both ears snugly help to keep your ears from feeling like they are going to pop.

Hope this information helps...

Anne

Update on my son....


He called to leave a message on the dr answering machine at midnight, to plea for her help. She totally ignored his dad's calls. The tech that gave him his sleep test happened to pick up the phone and he proceeded to tell him what was happening. Needless to say the next day the doctor called in a new script to the local med supply. However it was still RESMED, but she at least turned on the EPR, raised the pressure to 15/3.
He slept last night without being nauseated. Although, he took the mask off and even turned off the machine without knowing it until early this morning. I do not understand why she didn't just turn the cflex on the other machine and so he could have some relief.
I'll let you know how he does over the next few nights.

My husband had an appointment for this weekend for a sleep test with this doctor. CANCELLED that one.

I just happened to be in the neighborhood when you posted this. I'm so glad you did; I've been wondering how your son has been doing. Well, it sounds like progress.... sort of. My brain often lives in The Land of Unreality (what SHOULD be) because it likes it so much there. You and your family shouldn't have to go through this "pulling teeth" process. But I'm glad that your son didn't get sick and was able to use his machine for at least part of the night.

When I wore a retainer, I took it out in my sleep on a fairly regular basis, and I was very concerned that I'd do the same thing with my mask when I started using my CPAP machine. I did take it off at some point one night, but that's all; and I've read stories from others that this isn't such an unusal thing in the beginning.

I hope your husband cancelled his appointment only in order to stay away from this doctor and that he'll be finding a GOOD replacement very soon.

Best wishes to all of you, and please do let us know how things progress.

Marsha

concerned mom wrote:He has Remstar M series cflex. Just took him off to college last night, he is not here. The doctor had a machine she wanted him to get from her, but we wanted the remstar, she only uses Resmed and said our insurance will not cover the series 8, I'm not sure about that though. My husband had already researched the Remstar with cfex, because he wanted one at his next chance to update his machine.
Because we went with a local med supply instead of her office, we are finding that it is very hard to get cooperation from her office. She says that cflex would be a negative for my son.
She is not addressing the nausea. He is really trying hard to use this machine, she scared him to death to sleep without it, now he can't use it. What should we do?

Pretty hard to relay information now that your son is gone.

As for the doctor? I'd get the original script, copy of the PSG from the lab, then tell her to take a hike and let her know as you walk out the door you are reporting her to your insurance company as a conflict of interest. Trust me, she knows what that means. Denying care for not obtaining the equipment from her? Direct conflict of interest.

Once reported to your insurance (I'd cc the doctor with a copy of the letter) Going forward, your insurance will make note of the doctors actions and warn every new patient that sees that doctor of the past complaints and conflict of interest.

Aetna forewarned me of the same thing when I obtained pre-approval for the PSG from my sleep doc, but I didn't want to wait an additional 3 months and drive 50 miles further for a PSG so I just made sure I got my autopap on my own. My sleep doc was also part owner of the Sleep Lab I attended.

Update...on the UPDATE.....

Since the new machine with the EPR, my son is doing great!! He is now sleeping with his mask all night with no nausea. Thanks for all your help

Thanks for sharing this wonderful new with us!
O.

Wonderful!

Marsha