Weight loss and aerophagia

I have experienced aerophagia ever since I began using CPAP back in 2009. It never bothered me much, however, until now. I had gas, but I didn't feel bloated or uncomfortable, and nature always took its course. Now I have lost a great deal of weight in the last six months, and as I have done so the aerophagia has become worse. I wake up sometimes with a belly full of air and the need to burp repeatedly. The volume of gas at the other end is worse than before, too, although not painful.

I've been wondering whether there a connection. In particular, for the same reason that extra weight can require increased air pressure to hold the throat open, can reduced weight make it easier to force air into the stomach. I have had very good control of apnea all along, and it has only become better with weight loss. My monthly average AI was 0.0 and HI 1.9 six months ago, now they are 0.0 and 1.2. I don't suppose the difference amounts to much, but it does suggest to me I might now get by with lower pressure than my current 15 cm-H2O.

Has anyone else had their aerophagia get worse with weight loss, and if so, did they find a solution?

I think that your weightloss has reduced your pressure needs. If so, this means that you're getting way too much pressure. Your very low AHI numbers support this theory. The higher your pressure is, the worse your aerophagia will be.

I would recommend that you check and see if you can get a new machine, if so, get an automatic machine. Then you can set a wide pressure range and titrate yourself. In the mean time, try reducing your pressure down to a level where your AHI is around 3-5. I would reduce it to 10 cm H2O and see what the result is there, then finetune it if nessecary. Try this for a few nights and see if it solves your problem.

yes I agree that your weight loss is probably impacting your pressure needs. At a recent visit to the sleep doctor, he asked me if I was experiencing aerophagia at my current minimum pressure of 13 and cautioned me that I might need to lower the pressure to prevent this as I lose weight (have lost 15 lbs). Burkebang's advice is right on, in my opinion. But just be sure to give yourself adequate time to adjust to any changes (a few days to a week) before drawing any conclusions.

In the absence of having an auto adjusting machine, why not try lowering your pressure a bit and see if it helps with the aerophagia without sacrificing an increase in events. While having auto adjusting machine makes it a bit easier to see the pressure needs changes you don't have to have auto machine. Just reduce your pressure and see if the reduction helps with aerophagia and doesn't cause the AHI to go up much.

If you are not using EPR...then perhaps adding EPR of 3 to things will be enough of a reduction to help.

I have noticed that a lot of peaple that use the quattro full face mask have a lot of issues with bloating
i love the comfort of the quattro but i know the mask design causes this problem for myself and many others.
over the years i have gathered a number of mask and the quattro is the only one that has giving me the bloating air in stomach problem
A solution would be to simply switch to another mask. .....

i love the comfort of the quattro but the bloating from it usually hits me about 2am i wonder if the ultra miriage would be as comfortable as the quattro but with out the bloating problem........it does have a differnt vlave design

auto cpap machines also help alot......

Thank you everyone. I thought I would try lowering my pressure gradually, and I appreciate the reality check of others reaching the same conclusion. I haven't seen my doctor in a couple of years either, so I may run it by him.

That's an interesting observation about the quattro, chippy. Last time I asked the folks at my DME if they could let me try a mirage, they couldn't be bothered. "It's the same as a quattro but without the improvements," they said. That attitude is the subject of a different thread, however. I didn't know any better then.

PST wrote:Now I have lost a great deal of weight in the last six months, and as I have done so the aerophagia has become worse. I wake up sometimes with a belly full of air and the need to burp repeatedly. The volume of gas at the other end is worse than before, too, although not painful.

Has anyone else had their aerophagia get worse with weight loss, and if so, did they find a solution?

I have lost 30 pounds (220 down to 190; 6'2" tall), and my aerophagia has gotten unbearable. I've been wondering if it is due to my weight loss.

I already use an APAP, so it should be auto titrating, but perhaps the minimum is set too high.

--Mark

chippy chipmunk wrote:I have noticed that a lot of peaple that use the quattro full face mask have a lot of issues with bloating
it does have a differnt vlave design

I use the quattro full face mask. Do you have any other information that might explain what is different about the quattro that could cause the aerophagia? I'm getting pretty desperate.

[We need a Smilie that has bloating problems]

the biggest differance i can tell is that the quattro seems to deliver more air compared to my other masks (respironic full comfort,soft gel & the FP302)....what i have been doing is going to bed with the quattro, when the bloating starts which is usually around 1 or 2 in the morning, i swich to my much more uncontfortable respironics gel mask

Some people think some masks, especially full face masks, will push your jaw back and change the shape of your throat, making your apnea worse.

archangle wrote:Some people think some masks, especially full face masks, will push your jaw back and change the shape of your throat, making your apnea worse.

ROFLMAO - the quatro has a hard time FINDING my jaw! That was why I changed to the Hybrid except when I have a cold.

Both the quattro and the quattroFX rock on my cheekbones, forcing me to choose between a north wind or a south wind.
If memory serves, isn't the absence of a prominent chin one of the factors predisposing one to apnea?
Nice going, Resmed!