Sunday, October 30, 2011

Sleep apnea and gas

One of the most irritating and embarrassing things that can happen at night while you are trying to sleep is having excessive gas. Not only will it keep your sleeping partner up (and probably moving into another room) it will also keep you from sleeping as well. If you have sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine it might be even more of a problem.
Most of know that one of the main causes of gas is what we eat. Vegetable, beans and milk products are the usual suspects when it comes to having gas. Poor indigestion and the ability of the smaller intestine to handle the food that you consumed will contribute to having gas. So cutting back or laying off late night eating will certainly help but it doesn’t cure every case of flatulence. There are familiar over the counter medications that you can certainly try and if that doesn’t do it then your doctor might have something for you.
Another reason for gas is swallowing air and this can be a problem if you are using a CPAP machine. I know when I used a full face mask on my CPAP I would swallow a good deal of air causing quite a bit of flatulence.  Belching is another problem that can occur when you are using a full face mask but fortunately I didn’t have that problem.
If excessive gas, caused by using a CPAP mask, is preventing you from getting any sleep, then check with your sleep doctor.  Maybe the air pressure is too high on the machine or maybe he can adjust the ramp feature (how fast the air pressure increases to its highest level). Or a prescription med might do the trick.
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2 comments:

  1. It's better to bare the shame then bare the pain, I always say. My wife has started to accept that. lol

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  2. That is a good saying!
    thanks for the comment
    David

    ReplyDelete