I quit EDIT, Trying again

murph1031 wrote:

BlackSpinner wrote:

I also have to sleep using 3 pillows, with my head rasied, otherwise I wake up with sereve pain in my chest. I've been told by my heart doctor that this is not heart related, and my sleep doctpr tells me its not machine related.

Probably GERD - silent acid reflux. Mine disappeared with cpap therapy. Invest in a wedge or prop the head of the bed on 4X4 blocks and use Losec or its equivalent.

I only get the pain when using the mask, sleep without and I wake up painlesss.

I will fill out the info on my machine inmy profile Monday.
Thanks

This sounds like aerophagia. I have no experience with this myself, but from reading here on others who have, that's my guess. Could be GERD too but that would happen with or without the mask (usually less with the mask). Good job getting back to it, rest assured your not alone, I'm 7 months in now and I feel like my treatment really isn't working either. I've threatened to quit too, but I didn't and neither should you.

Where EXACTLY is the pain in your chest. Above the belly button, but below the rib cage? Between the nipples? Almost to the throat? Closer to a shoulder, above or at the nipple?

I use a machine similar to yours. Mine is made by Respironics. I also use the Quattro mask. I get that fart-sound from my mask when I sleep on my back. When I sleep on my side I don't get it. The noise (obviously) comes from leaks. The leaks aren't generally enough to disrupt your therapy - just your sleep. That's why the leak info from your machine shows up as not being a problem. You can get the leak problem solved. Try to figure it out one step at a time. My average pressure is 14 with gusts to 20 and my leak-line is generally flat. However, it took me many months to adjust to the whole concept of sleeping with the machine. But I stuck with it because I knew that quitting was not an option; it would have been a death sentence. To succeed in this you must convince yourself that failure/quitting is simply not an option. My first 2 months were hell and I was miserable. But (thanks to a large part to this forum) I worked through most of the problems and gradually sleep got better. You can work this out also.

What type of arrhythmias are you having? I also dealt with arrhythmias. I had atrial fibrillation that kept returning, sometimes for two weeks at a time, for about 18 months. While the docs don't know for sure, it is likely that my sleep apnea was a big factor; possibly the only factor. For continue heart-rhythm problems, you should see an Electro-Physiologist (EP). They are sub-specialists among cardiologists who specialize in the electrical aspects (rhythm) of your heart. Ask your cardiologist for a referral to a qualified EP. I have some posts here about my battle (and up-to-now) my victory over AFib. Contact me if you have any questions.

Best wishes,
Tony

tonycog wrote:I use a machine similar to yours. Mine is made by Respironics. I also use the Quattro mask. I get that fart-sound from my mask when I sleep on my back. When I sleep on my side I don't get it. The noise (obviously) comes from leaks. The leaks aren't generally enough to disrupt your therapy - just your sleep. That's why the leak info from your machine shows up as not being a problem. You can get the leak problem solved. Try to figure it out one step at a time. My average pressure is 14 with gusts to 20 and my leak-line is generally flat. However, it took me many months to adjust to the whole concept of sleeping with the machine. But I stuck with it because I knew that quitting was not an option; it would have been a death sentence. To succeed in this you must convince yourself that failure/quitting is simply not an option. My first 2 months were hell and I was miserable. But (thanks to a large part to this forum) I worked through most of the problems and gradually sleep got better. You can work this out also.

What type of arrhythmias are you having? I also dealt with arrhythmias. I had atrial fibrillation that kept returning, sometimes for two weeks at a time, for about 18 months. While the docs don't know for sure, it is likely that my sleep apnea was a big factor; possibly the only factor. For continue heart-rhythm problems, you should see an Electro-Physiologist (EP). They are sub-specialists among cardiologists who specialize in the electrical aspects (rhythm) of your heart. Ask your cardiologist for a referral to a qualified EP. I have some posts here about my battle (and up-to-now) my victory over AFib. Contact me if you have any questions.

Best wishes,
Tony

I have atrial fibrillation

Alshain wrote:

murph1031 wrote:

BlackSpinner wrote:

I also have to sleep using 3 pillows, with my head rasied, otherwise I wake up with sereve pain in my chest. I've been told by my heart doctor that this is not heart related, and my sleep doctpr tells me its not machine related.

Probably GERD - silent acid reflux. Mine disappeared with cpap therapy. Invest in a wedge or prop the head of the bed on 4X4 blocks and use Losec or its equivalent.

I only get the pain when using the mask, sleep without and I wake up painlesss.

I will fill out the info on my machine inmy profile Monday.
Thanks

This sounds like aerophagia. I have no experience with this myself, but from reading here on others who have, that's my guess. Could be GERD too but that would happen with or without the mask (usually less with the mask). Good job getting back to it, rest assured your not alone, I'm 7 months in now and I feel like my treatment really isn't working either. I've threatened to quit too, but I didn't and neither should you.

Where EXACTLY is the pain in your chest. Above the belly button, but below the rib cage? Between the nipples? Almost to the throat? Closer to a shoulder, above or at the nipple?[/

The pain is in my chest, between my nipples.

If your mask is otherwise comfortable and it's the farting noises that wake you up, you should try using a mask liner. The easiest one to use, in my opnion, is the one from padacheek.com. The liner diffuses the small air leaks that make that farting noise and also cushion the face, making the whole experience more comfortable.

As far as the chest pains are concerned, do you find relief from belching? Just asking, because I get air trapped in my esophagus that is very uncomfortable until I can belch. I know, not very ladylike, but we are among friends here.


P.S. I'm glad that you are not gving up. We will help you get through this.

Whoot whoot and yipppeee! I am soo happy to see that you are going to try this therapy again. I know its going to be a pain in the butt to answer our questions...but those questions will aid the experts here in finding out how to best help you out. You WILL get this figured out, just keep a positive attitude and be patient, things will even out and you will be on the road to recovery. It does sound like your mask is the big problem with the farting noises...but that is a common one. The quattro is a pain to get settled right but once its settled it works well. The quattro is a mask that must float on your face, not be cinched down so that it digs in and leaves sores. If you do have a sore spot on the bridge of your nose, just put a moleskin or small piece of bandaid on it for a few nights......it will go away. There are also mask liners out there that will help with the sound of the leaks....padacheeks.com (Karen is a patient and a member here) and remzzzs.com.
I must commend you again Murph, on your good descision to stay with it and for the sake of your family...live longer.
Good luck
Nan

nanwilson wrote: The quattro is a mask that must float on your face, not be cinched down so that it digs in and leaves sores. If you do have a sore spot on the bridge of your nose, just put a moleskin or small piece of bandaid on it for a few nights......it will go away. There are also mask liners out there that will help with the sound of the leaks....padacheeks.com (Karen is a patient and a member here) and remzzzs.com.
Nan

I don't get any sore spots on my face at all, the mask doesn't feel tight at any spot on my face. Like I said in a previous post, the straps are as small as they can go, I can't make it any tighter.
Murph

murph1031 wrote:The pain is in my chest, between my nipples.

In that case it probably is GERD, but based on your description, I'm not sure why it would come and go so suddenly simply by using or not using the CPAP. It could also be some kind of esophageal spasm triggered by the CPAP. You may simply have to ask your doctor on that one.

back to this chest pain that you have, is it like a sharp needle stab pain, a vampire stake pain, a pain from being hit in the chest by someone's fist, a knot pain, toothache pain, after you have awakened how long does the pain/ache/discomfort stay with you ?---have you changed the pressure level in your machine ?-----FA

freshair wrote:back to this chest pain that you have, is it like a sharp needle stab pain, a vampire stake pain, a pain from being hit in the chest by someone's fist, a knot pain, toothache pain, after you have awakened how long does the pain/ache/discomfort stay with you ?---have you changed the pressure level in your machine ?-----FA

It feels like a sharp needle stab. Once I pull myself out of bed, and I have to pull because sometimes the pain if so bad I can't sit up, and I walk around for a couple of minutes the pain is gone. The pressure has never been changed, because my doctor doesn't think its related to the machine. I don't ever get indestion from eating, so I really dont think its food related. I don't get this pain at all if I sleep with my head elavated, I use 3 pillows.

Murph

Good for you! As you can see, lots of folks here care and try to help as much as they can. I don't know about you, but I sure find it makes the journey a little bit easier.

As others have noted, mask liners can help. I use one every night. The problem with an ASV unit (I have the exact same one that you do), is that they wild pressure swings will cause any mask to loose their seal against your face. Also, if you have not done so already, you may need to get a new mask. The silicone seal gets stiff after six months or so.

Here are three different companies that sell mask liners:

http://www.remzzzs.com/
http://padacheek.com/PAC_Maskliners.html
http://quietusliners.com/

I use the first two. I will probably order the third to see how well it works.

Though the REMzzzs mask liners are advertized to be good for one night, I tend to use each mask liner for a week. That greatly decreases the cost of those liners.

I also do like the Pad-a-Cheek mask liner.

As you probably know the Quattro Full Face Mask can be pretty darn picky to get the seal just right. I found that to keep the seal, I had to tighten the straps so much that the forehead pad would leave a serious dent in my forehead. It hurt!

I have since switched to the Quattro FX full face mask. It can also be "finicky". I had to switch to a large Quattro FX mask. But that's because my head is larger than normal. The one size fits all does not fit me.

Best wishes as you continue to struggle with your sleep. Here's hoping you find the right combination soon.

Glad to hear you are going to give it another try...and you are here with a great group of people that will help you be successful!!

What is an ASV type machine ? I can't find it in the Wiki and my search comes up zero.
It's been mentioned a few times in this thread.
Jerry

Murph, good for you for giving your therapy another try.

About not feeling indigestion when you've eaten... there's such a thing as "Silent Gerd" which doesn't have the usual "indigestion" symptoms.

__________________________________________________

Information about acid reflux, GERD, Silent GERD
(and gas, bloating, or pain from aerophagia in cpap users)

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/32944.php
Excerpt:
"All patients with sleep apnea should be evaluated for gastroesophageal reflux," said J. Barry O'Connor, M.D., of Duke University Medical Center, one of the investigators.

____________________________________________

Silent GERD
http://www.everydayhealth.com/gerd/unde ... -gerd.aspx

Excerpt:
Not all people with GERD experience obvious heartburn, however. Instead, they report a wide variety of different symptoms due to the damage the acid causes to their voice box, respiratory system, teeth, and throat. Physicians refer to GERD without heartburn as "silent GERD."

"Reflux can be what we call extra-esophageal," notes Michael Vaezi, MD, PhD, clinical director of the division of gastroenterology and hepatology and director of the Center for Esophageal Motility Disorders at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. "These patients may not have heartburn sensation in the chest. It's not really silent, [but it is] presenting atypically."

______________________________________________

Silent GERD
http://www.associatedcontent.com/articl ... sease.html

Excerpt:
Two separate sets of sphincter muscles prevent stomach acid from backing up into the esophagus when food or drink is swallowed. In regular acid reflux disease, both sets typically fail to work, and acid is allowed to travel up into the upper esophagus, causing heartburn. With silent acid reflux disease, the top sphincter muscle remains closed, but the second allows stomach acid into the lower esophagus, where the tissue is less sensetive.

_____________________________________________

-SWS's posts:
Study Links Aerophagia and GERD for CPAP Users
topic started by -SWS - Jan 1, 2011
viewtopic.php?p=552598#p552598

_______________________________________________

OutaSync and OldLincoln's posts:
Gas and Bloating Caused by CPAP
topic started by sleeplessin canada - Feb 3, 2009
viewtopic/t38262/viewtopic.php?p=334573#p334573

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If you sip some water, does the chest pain react at all as the water flows down your throat? Either get better or worse as water contacts parts of your throat, esophagus, stomach? If you inhale some cold air, does your pain react to the air flow down your windpipe?

Have you tried sleeping in a recliner?

Figure out some way to fix the headgear. Can you trim the fat part of the strap to be narrower so you can tighten down further? Fold it over and secure with a safety pin? Just buy a new smaller size strap online or from ebay? Use a strap from another mask? Use the pantyhose fix? (Make another strap from a pair of women's tights.)