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I ahve irritable bowel syndrome and i also need to use a ...

Sent to Health Experts April 22 03:26 PM

I ahve irritable bowel syndrome and i also need to use a Cpap machine with oxygen. Unforgenately, the air from the machine blows up my stomach, leaving it extremely distended for the day. My stomach is also painful. I have tried ust using the oxygen, but my oxygen levels do not remain high enough. I am so stressed over this. Please help.

 

Optional Information:
Female , Age: 58

Already Tried:
Talking with my doctor and the Cpap providers--making adjustments to as low as I can on the air flow on the cpap machine. Without the machine, my oxygen levels have dropped to 79%.However, the bloat from the air is horrible.

Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Reply
April 22 6:48 PM (3 hours and 19 minutes and 40 seconds later)
         
Reply to Judy's Post: I am not sure a mask is the answer--still blows air. Is there anything else that helps with sleep apnea?

I smoke. I know I need to quit.

I exercise fairly reguarly,usually 3-5 times a week, am working to get my weight back down after foot surgery, I am 5 foot 6 and weight 160 pounds, wear medium slacks and a large top. My normal weight is around 145.

I am not an overeater and use some common sense about what I eat.

I also have fairly bad allergies that I am seeing an allergist about.
Answer
April 22 7:26 PM (38 minutes and 6 seconds later)
         
ACCEPTEDCheck Mark
The CPAP machine is the gold standard, but there are variations on this. One of the things is that there are different types of masks and nasal pillows, so I thought might be worth it to check which others were available. The other thing is that there is CPAP and then there is BIPAP--do you know which you use? BIPAP has two settings-for example instead of the setting being 10 or 6 or whatever, there are two numbers like 10/2, the highest would be at the start of the breath and then the machine would drop its pressure when your breath stopped to the lower number, still holding the airways open, but with less force. Another variation is that the newer machines have a "ramp" effect. In other words, the pressure starts out low and the builds up to the desired setting, rather than "blasting" it in all at once. I will still try to reach my friend, the sleep expert (have not heard from her yet, but if the question closes, I will pm you, so check your mail. I believe you can set your preferences to be notified through your home e-mail account that a pm has been sent you in justanswer. Hope this helps!



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