Less reflux w/ CPAP?

I've had my CPAP for a month now, and I've noticed that I'm not having any issues with acid reflux. Am I imagining it, or is it due to the CPAP/Therapy?

I've read there is definitely a connection between CPAP use and reduced acid reflux, on this forum and elsewhere on the internet.

I've also noticed the same thing. I never had the kind of acid reflux that you can feel, but I had a more "stealth" kind of reflux that felt normal but gave me a semi-chronic morning cough for more than a year that went away when I went on Prilosec for a month, just before I got the CPAP. I stopped the Prilosec when I started CPAP 5-6 weeks ago and the cough has stayed away too. Do some keyword searches in this forum for "reflux" and you'll see it's actually pretty common with apnea sufferers. I read the connection is that your CPAP-inflated airways increase the pressure on your esophagus, helping to keep it sealed and stopping stomach acids from coming up. Reduced reflux is just one of the many benefits of CPAP, it seems!

I can't tell you definitively, but anecdotally I've also had a lot of reduction in my acid reflux issues since I started the CPAP. I don't need Prevacid or Prilosec any more, just Tums before bed. The GERD/reflux still acts up if I eat certain foods but it's not a constant problem anymore.

Doing a Google search I see several posts on the 3 apnea/cpap forums about acid reflux improving, so I don't think we're imagining it

Rattleman wrote:I've had my CPAP for a month now, and I've noticed that I'm not having any issues with acid reflux. Am I imagining it, or is it due to the CPAP/Therapy?

I am convinced that undiagnosed/untreated sleep apnea caused my GERD. Struggling to breathe by flexing the chest and abdominal muscles when an apnea hit ejected acid into the esophagus. Years of this caused damage to the esophogeal sphincters.

I had 'silent' gerd which meant no heartburn and no acid taste in my mouth. CPAP plus three months of Prevacid plus elevating the head of the bed four inches cured my GERD.

I no longer need to take special precautions and eat many very spicy foods. I left the head of the bed elevated but don't worry about this when I am traveling and there have been no problems. Of course my cpap usage is 100% compliant.

Regards,

Rattleman wrote:I've had my CPAP for a month now, and I've noticed that I'm not having any issues with acid reflux. Am I imagining it, or is it due to the CPAP/Therapy?

I have found for me, it hasn't helped but may be making mine worse. It may be that it is just when I have the heartburn which radiates to my upper back and I can only get any sleep by sitting erect that the cpap therapy makes it worse so have to take mask off and skip therapy for the rest of the night. I do not have the acid reflux, though and I do take Previcid 30 mg twice a day plus a med to empty stomach and use Gaviscon inbetween when having flareups of heartburn. I am very careful with what I eat.

I guess being the only one whose GERD gets worse with therapy makes me the odd one out. When the GERD isn't bothering me I can do therapy without problem.

Anne

One Tired Puppy wrote: .........
I guess being the only one whose GERD gets worse with therapy makes me the odd one out. When the GERD isn't bothering me I can do therapy without problem.

Anne[/color]

I am so sorry you have that bad case of GERD. As far as you being different from everyone else, I suggest that you look for causes other than cpap when your GERD worsens. It is easy for us to get cause and effect reversed, especially when we are suffering from sleep and breathing problems. You do say, "When the GERD isn't bothering me I can do therapy without problem." This indicates that something besides cpap causes your GERD attacks.

As you probably know, there is good information on the web about treatment, e.g., http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/gerd/.

Good luck,

It's only been 2-1/2 since starting APAP therapy for me, but I realized the other day that I haven't had a reflux incident since starting therapy.

I tend not to eat certain things later in the evening (I rarely eat anything after 8pm, no caffeine, chocolate or heavier/fattier food) or to sleep directly on a full stomach, but if I were to slip, I would usually be rewarded with reflux.

My own half-baked theory is that the constant air pressure helps keep my esophagus shut down and from loosening to the point of allowing the reflux, but I have absolutely nothing to back up that theory. The only other part I would add is that I haven't been sleeping directly on my stomach, due to the mask. In the past, that would usually help cause the reflux problems.

GuyK wrote:........
My own half-baked theory is that the constant air pressure helps keep my esophagus shut down and from loosening to the point of allowing the reflux, but I have absolutely nothing to back up that theory........

The simpler hypothesis concerns what you are no longer doing. If cpap has eliminated your apneas, you are no longer violently contracting your chest and abdominal muscles in a struggle to breathe. These violent contractions were expelling acid from the stomach into the esophagus and maybe the mouth.

This is most definitely the case! After I started CPAP use in April 2003, my reflux seized and has not returned as yet.

To answer the question, in my case, the reflux stopped short after I started using a CPAP (Automatic) machine.

But you said you do still get 'heartburn'. Well that IS reflux, just not one that you experience as 'reflux'. You could have a hiatus hernia, and should be checked out for that. The fact you take so much medication also needs looking into because it's not meant to be a permanent thing and Gaviscon will also leach bone mass (if you're osteoporotic it matters).

One Tired Puppy wrote:
I guess being the only one whose GERD gets worse with therapy makes me the odd one out. When the GERD isn't bothering me I can do therapy without problem.

You're not alone - I know others have mentioned stomach problems here on the forum. There's a thread called "CPAP and GERD" and another called "CPAP and stomach stuff" which has more info, but the basic gist is that the aerophagia from the CPAP could be mimicking or contributing to GERD. They're two different conditions but from experience I can tell you they sometimes seem very similar. And at bedtime if I need to burp, which happens after I take my nightly dose of Tums, I cannot wear the mask at all.

I wish I had some suggestions for you. I have done the 2-week courses of omeprazole (Prilosec) with good results, and occasionally use generic Pepcid AC as well. The single weirdest but most effective thing I did was stop drinking cold water.

Anything cold will 'shrink' the plumbing down there, making it hard for food to flow naturally, and adding to the problem.