new member needs help

[paulcoyston]

Hi this is my first post on this site i have been on cpap for about 4weeks now
after a sleep study at papworth,things started out ok i had the usual troubles
getting used to the nose mask but it seemed like a instant success my partner said my snoring stopped and i was sleeping better,but now after about a month i am waking up all bloated and seem full of wind to the point where it feels like its all round your body and in your back and is very uncomfortable my stomach is also rumbling like it does if you have indegestion
after being up for a hour and moving about i feel ok ,i also seem to be having a bit of trouble with the mask when i start drifting off to sleep sometimes i get the sensation of air comng out of my mouth i spoke to papworth about the mouth problem and they sent me a chin strap to hold my mouth closed but i dont think its very successful any help please

[leswaller]

Hi
Welcome to the wonderful world of hose heads
Unfortunately as the air is being forced into your nose / mouth under pressure there is always a potential for swallowing air whilst asleep if you go through swallowing motions in your sleep. Have you noticed if you have a dry mouth in the morning? If so then you are probably swllowing without realising it in an effort to keep your mouth moist. When you do this you will swallow a chunk of air at the same time. A chin strap is unlikely to help unless you are only using a nose mask rather than a full face mask. You could try a humidifier on your CPAP machine as this will tend to stop you having a dry mouth and hence swallowing in your sleep.