I really hate to ask this question!  You don't know how much I hate to ask this question!  But I have to ask it!  Since converting over to the full face Quattro mask I've really had A LOT of gas.  I belch like there's no tomorrow and well, yeah the same from the other end also.  The new RT suggested I had been mouth breathing with my old ComfortGel mask,  but with the new Quattro mask it's really not possible to mouth breath since it's full face,  so am I possibly swallowing air now? If so will this cause me any issues other than just being noisy?  Sheesh I really hated to ask that question!  Maybe this should have been a question for my RT,  but it's Saturday and they're closed,  and to be honest I trust you guys as much as I trust him anyway.

Thanks,


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SnowCajun
I'm old, there's no cure!

Good question.I have found this with my self as well sense Cpap.But I can't be sure. LOL. I will have to add that to my list of questions for my doc. LOL


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Severe Central & Obstructive Sleep disordered breathing
AHI:116.4
Lowest Sat 85% High96.1%
Total Central,Obst,& mixed 190/hr
Out of that total 66 were Hypopneas
IpapMin7 max16 Epap6
Bipap Auto SV
Resmed Mirage Swift II

I have a full face mask albeit, it's not the Quattro.  I posted earlier about an issue I was having with "tachygastria"...

http://www.apneasupport.org/viewtopic.php?p=108248&highlight=tachygastria#108248

I have to be honest...the gas is welcome and I've been more regular than I've been in years.  The only change is I've been on the CPAP for over a week and a half.  Those burps are a HUGE relief for a change!

I know all of our bodies are different, but this one is a welcome difference for me!       

mlwl2001 wrote:

Good question.I have found this with my self as well sense Cpap.But I can't be sure. LOL. I will have to add that to my list of questions for my doc. LOL

I guess I'll ask him that also,  I looked up the tachygastria that Mr. Ed mentioned but found several varying descriptions of it,  and nothing really close to what I was experiencing.  My doctor is a hoot though,  and he's one of those that if I say I want something he'll do his best to try and get it for me.  I don't normally trust doctors,  that's a long story going back to 1981 when my father was grossly abused,  but that's ancient history.  When I had my gallbladder out he attended the surgery even though he'd referred me to separate surgeon,  since he's only a GP.  Actually it surprised me he was there,  I didn't expect him to be,  so that was a positive thing for him to do,  at least for me anyway.

The funny thing with my doctor is that when I go in for medicine refills he NEVER checks me out,  he does a great job on regular visits, but on refill visits he just looks at those visits as prescription writing time alone and that's it.  Being on Medicaid he's actually told me before he loses $3 per visit with me because Medicaid will only pay what they deem is a fair price for a visit.  This makes me feel somewhat guilty and I've often thought of giving him $20.00 each visit because I'm a fair person,  but my roommate talks me out of it,  she always says,  "look around at his office,  do you really think he's hurting for money! I'm not sure if the doctor is right, or my roommate,  but whatever it's made me feel a little guilty never the less.  I know Medicaid is a necessary evil and I thank God I have it,  but at times it makes me feel subhuman!

The funniest thing I ever had happen with my doctor was that on a prescription refill visit he decided, and very unexpectedly I might say,  to examine me instead of just writing a prescription out.  He reached over and grabbed his rubber hammer and then reached down and grabbed my left ankle,  which totally shocked me because I have a Concealed Pistol License and was carrying my pistol in an ankle holster that day.  He grabbed my pistol before I could react,  all I could do was holler,  "NO!" .. lol.  My roommate started laughing,  the doctor, after feeling something not normal there pulled up my pants leg exposing my pistol and exclaimed,  "well,  maybe we should just skip the examination today" .. lol.  At least he found it funny also!


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SnowCajun
I'm old, there's no cure!

SnowCajun,  don't be embarrassed about the gassy thing.  It happens to a lot of us. I'm sure there are lurkers who are just dying to ask that question , so we need to talk about it every once in a while.  I've always used a full face mask.  A few months after starting cpap, I was on vacation and woke up with the most horrible stomach cramps I have ever had .  Labor pains weren't much worse.  I had no idea that it would be from the cpap, since it had never bothered me before. I thought I was just over indulging .  I think the table where I had placed my machine was higher than my nightstand at home, and that contributed to the gas. I also find I can't drink soda pop so much anymore,  I always got a lot of gas from that, and when I add the cpap air to it, there's no room in my stomach and it has to come out somehow.  There are other ideas to help, I forget now. Have a great day, Virginia


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Resmed elite , 17, mirage quattro ff . 25 + years of untreated OSA

Yup, its called "aerophagia" and its not at all unheard of w/CPAP therapy. Some experience it very seldom. most have experienced it to one degree or another over time, altho usually it occurs at first if it is going to occur.

Some do have such a problem w/aerophagia that their doctors have had to resort to putting them on a bi-level. Others have found relief w/an autoPAP, still others only needed some form of expiration relief. Most have unconsciously learned how to avoid it - I don't know how 'cause it is an unconscious adjustment.

You might also want to consider the possibility of a weak LES (lower esophageal sphincter), reflux and GERD, their relationship to OSA, and their being aggravated by CPAP therapy.

Most definitely if it continues, especially if you encounter problems w/bloating and real discomfort or even pain, you should discuss it w/both your DME's RT and your sleep doctor. Just call it aerophagia if that will help make it more comfortable for you to broach the subject. Meanwhile, toot, toot!


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Some people are like Slinkies... Not really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.
Resmed VPAP Auto. Humidaire 3i, Simplicity & Micro masks, ResScan 3.4, S8 ResLink, Embla oximeter.

Quote:

Just call it aerophagia if that will help make it more comfortable for you to broach the subject. Meanwhile, toot, toot!

Ohhh MAN...We can't call it FARTS?  


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CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO~ http://tinyurl.com/69q52a

BiPAP Auto M 13/8 Mirage Nasal Swift. 20 years+ undx'd. RLS/PLMD, Hypersomnia & more.

virginia57 wrote:

SnowCajun,  don't be embarrassed about the gassy thing.  It happens to a lot of us. I'm sure there are lurkers who are just dying to ask that question , so we need to talk about it every once in a while.  I've always used a full face mask.  A few months after starting cpap, I was on vacation and woke up with the most horrible stomach cramps I have ever had .  Labor pains weren't much worse.

I'll respond to both Virginia and CrohnieToo here instead of using up two posts.  First off Virginia,  I understand the pain,  I've been there before also,  though as a guy I have no idea what labor pains must be like.  For a guy to imagine childbirth it's just too much for us,  never the less I've had my share of doubling over stomach pains in my life,  and I've had them off and on since being a teenager.  Five years ago I went in for a Colonoscopy and refused the drugs they wanted to give me, I'm not really a fan of any drugs if I can get away from using them.  I did the Colonoscopy cold turkey,  with no drugs at all.  It hurt like heck a few times but I watched the entire thing on the monitor,  and the doctor went all the way up in the large intestines to the opening of the small intestines.  Luckily I was as clean as a whistle! I seemed to have flabbergasted the doctor though,  he said he'd never heard of anyone wanting to do that without the drugs before.

CrohnieToo wrote:

Some do have such a problem w/aerophagia that their doctors have had to resort to putting them on a bi-level. Others have found relief w/an autoPAP, still others only needed some form of expiration relief. Most have unconsciously learned how to avoid it - I don't know how 'cause it is an unconscious adjustment.

I've noticed I've been having issues lately with exhaling comfortably against the pressure in my mask.  I asked my doctor about this and that's why he suggested the new machine with the /EPR ... I say EPR because I use the ResMed machines and that's what they call it.

I used to have a lot of issues with GERD,  so much in fact that my doctor surprisingly prescribed a hospital bed for me to sleep slightly elevated in.  Wedges and extra pillows is what DSHS kept insisting I use but they wouldn't stay in place unless I strapped myself in like a mental patient,  so eventually I was given a hospital bed.  It's really not very comfortable,  I think they gave me the cheapest model in town.  My doctor has been prescribing Nexium for me and that worked good,  but now it's one of those drugs they don't want to pay for and I can't pay the $100+ a month they want for it,  so I do without.  

CrohnieToo wrote:

Most definitely if it continues, especially if you encounter problems w/bloating and real discomfort or even pain, you should discuss it w/both your DME's RT and your sleep doctor. Just call it aerophagia if that will help make it more comfortable for you to broach the subject. Meanwhile, toot, toot!

Toot toot,  lol CrohnieToo,  you're a hoot!  Part of the reason I went to my new DME is my doctor had prescribed a new CPAP machine with the /EPR,  something my old machine doesn't have.  My old DME told me I wasn't due a new machine until September,  I had thought it was June but September is just three more months,  but the new DME I went and talked to said the same thing.  Oddly enough my friend in Nebraska told me her doctor had just prescribed her the same thing and though she'd just received a new machine two years ago,  that because the doctor changed her prescription she was able to get a new one again and it's on order right now.  I don't get it,  if the doctor says I need it then why won't they give it to me now?  She didn't have to wait out five years,  and they're making me wait out three months and still not wanting me to have the more expensive machine with /EPR.  Dealing with these folks is really getting old.  Are there any online DME's that would be less trouble that are able to work with different states?

Thanks for your help and information, I really appreciate it.  I'm sorry my responses are books,  I don't condense well.


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SnowCajun
I'm old, there's no cure!

Hi SnowCajun,

Try searching this forum for 'aerophagia', there are many threads here on the subject, and many of us have posted detailed and varied suggestions for dealing with it.

It is a physiology problem, air finds its way down the 'wrong pipe'.  Changing the relationship of your head to neck, and therefore changing the angle of your esophagus entry, can provide relief.  (See previous threads for ways to re-orient your head, usually this means lying with head and neck aligned and airway straight, so the chin is not tipped downward.)  Unless contraindicated, taking a product containing simethicone (Gas-X etc.) can also be helpful.  Exhalation relief settings can be helpful too.  Sometimes it is the additive effect of all these ideas, that provides relief.

Blessings,
--pseudonym

you might be in the habit of swallowing air, this causes many burps if done when awake

lynn543 wrote:

you might be in the habit of swallowing air, this causes many burps if done when awake

Do you mean swallowing air while I'm awake?  Wouldn't I be aware that I was doing such a thing?


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SnowCajun
I'm old, there's no cure!

You do need to let your Dr know this is happening.  I believe the air in the stomach...or too much of it can cause the stomach acids/cells to change over time.  This was one of the reasons my DR put me on a Bilevel....I haven't had aerophagia since.


_________________

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO~ http://tinyurl.com/69q52a

BiPAP Auto M 13/8 Mirage Nasal Swift. 20 years+ undx'd. RLS/PLMD, Hypersomnia & more.

Mrs Rip Van Winkle wrote:

You do need to let your Dr know this is happening.  I believe the air in the stomach...or too much of it can cause the stomach acids/cells to change over time.  This was one of the reasons my DR put me on a Bilevel....I haven't had aerophagia since.

Agreed, and I will push it even more.  My doc prescribed me a bilevel yet the DME didn't want to give me one saying that Social Security,  or DSHS wouldn't pay for that expensive of a machine,  plus I'm not due for another machine until September.  Still this doesn't make sense,  this isn't the same kind of machine,  it's something different.  I'll hit them again Monday,  had already planned on it anyway.  Odd how they're so willing to give you things you don't truly want,  an over abundance of things like mask pieces, hoses, headgear, cushions,  filters, yet the main thing I need they stumble over!


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SnowCajun
I'm old, there's no cure!

I am new to all this, and having a lot of trouble getting use to sleeping with a mask, however my greatest trouble is the gas that I am experiencing.  First my RT told me to try Gas-X.  That didn't help.  She also said I was swallowing air.  Since it has been taking me about 1 1/2 - 2 hours to fall asleep, and I know my mouth is closed and I still get gas with extreme discomfort, I don't think that is it.  I went in yesterday and she let me try a full mask, which I like better, but woke up at 4:00 this morning in pain.  I have only made it through one night with my mask on all night and that night I took a sleeping pill which I do not like to take.  I am getting very discouraged and do not want to give up because I really need to feel rested.  Any suggestions?

Hey Snow-I hope you overcome that embarrassment-no need to be here!  I have the same problem.  I wake up at night burping alot, conscious of this.  I also *flatulate* (fancy term for fart) often!  The only time I really feel embarrassed is when I am out in public, and it just slips out!  Too bad all of us can't capture the energy from these and create a new *natural resource.*  I am also trying to figure out how to reduce or eliminate the gas problem.  Take care-Lantern4life