Any no-burpers out there?
All my life I have suffered from
Retrograde cricopharyngeus dysfunction (R-CPD), informally called "no-burp syndrome". This is something that has only been medically described/identified in the past few years, so I've had a lifetime of people (including doctors) look at me sideways when I tell them I am unable to burp.
Since I can't burp, I am pretty much always bloated, gassy, and uncomfortable. Now that I'm on CPAP, add in aerophagia and it's even worse, since any air that gets swallowed has no way to go but down.
Just curious as to whether anyone else here has that problem?
RE: Any no-burpers out there?
This is the first I've heard of "no-burp syndrome".
Have you researched or considering the Botox injections that might give you some relief?
RE: Any no-burpers out there?
I have considered it, but trying to find a doctor with experience in it is not easy. There is one in my area who has done a few, but the first person he treated had a pretty bad experience. I was hoping to wait until he'd had a few more procedures under his belt. And I'd have to research to see if Medicare will even pay for it.
RE: Any no-burpers out there?
Probably the best way to combat aerophagia is to lower pressure. But, that has to be balanced against the effectiveness of the therapy (too low may not provide much therapy).
When I get up in the morning, eating something pushes the air out (peristalsis movement of the bowels). I just read a post where a member uses seltzer water or something like that to get relief from aerophagia.
Here is a thread that came up with a unique solution that worked for this member concerning aerophagia:
CPAP since March 22, still dealing with aerophagia, wakings, and heart rate problems ( 1 2 ) I have to admit, I tried this, but it didn't seem to work for me personally.
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Advisory Members serve as an "Advisory Committee" to help shape Apnea Board's rules & policies.
Membership in the Advisory Members group does not imply medical expertise or qualification for advising Sleep Apnea patients concerning their treatment.
RE: Any no-burpers out there?
I can't drink anything with carbonation - that's great for people who can burp since it will help force a burp. But when you can't burp, it just makes things worse.
I've read a lot of threads about aerophagia and wasn't really looking to start yet another discussion about how to deal with it, I was really just curious as to whether anyone else here has the same "no-burp" issue. Since it's so rare and doctors don't recognize it as "a thing", most people who have it wouldn't even realize that it's something a lot of other people are dealing with. Yet there are nearly 28 thousand members of a no-burp group on Reddit.
I may have to put on my big girl panties this year and look seriously at getting the Botox treatment.
RE: Any no-burpers out there?
(12-30-2023, 09:06 PM)cps22 Wrote: Just curious as to whether anyone else here has that problem?
I've always thought that we were the "normal" 90% of the population, and the burpers were the fringe community. Now, on this 123-123 date, I'm gifted with a new syndrome.
It does make CPAP treatment a little more challenging for us. There's the quest for perfect settings for the best AHI results, while countering with pressure relief and lower maximums to reduce trapped air. It's a dietary balance too of choosing high fiber early in the day. Late evening trapped stomach air + CPAP is a recipe for a troubled sleep. I've read that some have tried gas-x and related items to help the issue, but that hasn't worked for me.
I'll look forward to following this thread for ideas.
RE: Any no-burpers out there?
Ah, welcome fellow no-burper!
I find that gas-x helps a bit when it gets really bad, but I wouldn't want to take it on a daily basis. I just had a GI appointment (having an EGD later this month as I had signs of Barrett's esophagus a few years ago and need to monitor it), and the PA suggested that I might try Align or another similar probiotic to see if it might help with the bloating. I just started on it a few days ago, and she said I need to give it at least a month to see if it helps.
Some titration and pressure experiments have led me to the conclusion that the best CPAP treatment for me is a fixed pressure of 8 with no EPR, which is exactly what was recommended by my sleep study. So I think I'm done trying to adjust anything for better results.
After I get the results of my EGD, I may pursue getting the Botox treatment for the RCP-D. They would probably order one anyway before treating me, so at least I will already have that done.
