Cross Posting from Sleep Apnea - Air in stomach?

This past week I've started getting air pushed into my stomach. I don't know what's changing but it's really a miserable experience.

Has anyone experienced this as they've lost weight? I'm wondering if my pressure is too high now that my weight is down over 50 lbs (I'm at 155lbs now).

I was hoping to delay having another sleep study until I've gotten closer to my goal weight...

How heavy were you when you got sleep apnea? At 155 lb I wonder if you even have it anymore?

I was probably about 250 when i got the diagnoses, but I've had follow-up studies when I was down in the 170 - 180 range.

If your sleep apnea is directly related to your weight, the pressure may now be too high. Do you work with a pulmonologist who can help you adjust the pressure setting on your machine?

My sleep apnea is completely gone - I had life threatening sleep apnea that was diagnosed about 2 years before my DS. I had a pacemaker put in because my heart stopped during my first sleep study. About 2 years after I reached goal, they removed the pacemaker and I haven't had any problems since.

Good luck.

As I started to lose weight, I was able to turn the pressure down on my CPAP. I did it by trial and error, turning the number down by .5 every few days.

If you google your machine's model number, you should be able to find instructions on how to adjust it yourself.

Yes, your pressure is probably too high. Like other posters said, lower the pressure in very small increments to see if this helps. Your pulmonologist can give you guidance with this.

Just as a thought here, I don't think having air pushed into your pouch is good for you or your pouch at all. Definitely worth a call to the doc.

One of the very good things about WLS surgery is that many people are able to stop using their machines for good. Sounds like you are getting there.

I tried going without last night and I'm pretty sure I still need it (or possibly I'm just so used to using it?). When I was first diagnosed I had zero clues I was suffering from sleep apnea. My husband didn't notice a thing, I wasn't aware of waking up gasping for air... I wasn't even very tired during the day. My medical issue was panic attacks happening all the time, even at night, and not responding to anxiety medication combined with semi-weekly therapy sessions. 3 months of using a CPAP completely eliminated the panic attacks which seemed to have been caused by my adrenal gland regularly dumping adrenaline into my system regardless of my O2 levels. Like it was hyper alert to my dropping 02 all night long and just kept chugging away all day long too. Weird, I know.

After using the CPAP faithfully for a few months, I started to really be aware of the sensation of suffocating that would come when I fell asleep without it. Last night I felt like I was still having those sensations so I put the mask back on and again had the air pushing in. I'll google it tonight and see if I can change the settings!

Do you have obstructive or central sleep apnea? It sounds like you might have central, especially with the symptoms you had before using your machine. If you do, I don't think you will be able to wean off the machine. You probably wouldnt want to anyway. Who wants panic attacks and the feeling of suffocation?

I do however, believe the pressure is too high, no matter which type apnea you have, especially with it blasting air onto your pouch. This is not a good thing.

Do you think you need a new mask or a different type mask?

When you Google about changing the settings, you might want to look up central sleep apnea to see if any of the symptoms fit. The only way to know for sure is through a sleep test and they don't always catch it if the tech reading the test isn't looking for it and/or doesn't know it when they see it.

Central apnea requires a different type machine, not a cpap. A bi-pap is used and they have a fancy new combo c-pap/bi-pap all in one that can switch back and forth as necessary.

Of course I'm not an expert by any means regarding this, but my head is spinning trying to figure out why air is going into your tummy and these are my unprofessional (though heartfelt) guesses.

Let me know what you come up with...I know there is a way to fix this!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INSIGHT!

When I was diagnosed, it was as having obstructive apnea and I use a standard CPAP machine. I have been using the same type of mask for a couple of years now, I get new ones about 3 times a year.

I have an appointment with my PCP next week, because the physician group that does the sleep studies for my (new) employer plan requires a referral for all new patients. That being said I'm going to leave them a message if I can't get my machine pressure reduced.

Thanks again!

I haven't had that since surgery, mainly because my mask quit fitting about a month in, and I haven't used the CPAP since. (I would normally worry about that, but I have zero symptoms of the apnea returning, my husband reports that I'm not snoring generally, and I absolutely despise my sleep doctor so I'm putting off going back to get a study to show my apnea is gone.)

However, before surgery I found that I was getting a lot of air in my stomach. My sleep doctor insisted that the 15# I'd lost at that time couldn't possibly affect the pressure I needed, and poo-poo'd my request to lower it. I hacked my CPAP and changed it myself (I know, bad AntiChick) and the problem went away (only ONE of the reasons I hate my sleep doc). I think some of us are more sensitive to the pressure variances than others, and changes in weight change the pressure we need.

I wouldn't advise anyone to hack their own settings, but I do know they'll often adjust your settings without a sleep study, and use the data off the machine to determine if it's working properly.