CPAP Machine Causing Ostomy Bag to Fill with Air Overnight

Hi does anyone else have the problem of ostomy bag filling with air at night. I use a Cpap machine for sleep apnea and every night my bag fills almost to bursting with air. I was wondering if anyone experiences this and if they have any tips to avoid it.

G-Day Tony, take a look at the food you're eating that may be causing gas. Also, if you chew gum, that also makes a lot of gas. Make sure you put your CPAP machine over your nose and not your bag. Regards, IGGIE

Hi Iggie, I have been watching what I eat, and I don't chew gum. Maybe I should put the CPAP over my nose. 🤣

Thanks for replying.

Pretty funny, Iggie... thanks for a teaspoon full of humor for my morning medicine!

Hi Tony... Ileostomy here, for 4 years now... still learning new things! Yes, I am a slow learner, and this ileostomy award wasn't one I wanted either. The problem is, sometimes the doctors don't even ask you if you want it or not. When it was done, I wanted to hit him over the head with that award!!!

I see this is only your second post, and you are having issues with air in your bag. Sometimes, I have this issue as well. For me, it is usually caused by my favorite hydration drink... namely - whole milk! Monitoring what we are eating after living many years with no need to do this is a pain in the... well, the formerly referred to as ass... but it is necessary to learn if you can still eat what you've always loved and whether it's worth it. Good luck in your quest to find the culprit(s). jb

Geez... that's tough. I hope someone here can help you.

Inducing oxygen while you sleep has to be related to your nighttime ballooning.

It doesn't balloon when you are up and about, correct?

My Ostomy Journey: Keyla | Hollister

A CPAP pushes air into your body and naturally that will cause ballooning. I don't have any good advice for it not doing that except to get up frequently in the night to let the air out. I may be facing this very issue soon. I was found to have mild sleep apnea and may have to get a CPAP machine myself. If I do, I will be setting an alarm to wake me up and various intervals in the night to let out any air that collects in the bag. 

Yes, I agree. The air is causing his ballooning, not foods or filters.

Filters, by the way, have been deemed useless. Experience will tell you that. Once wet, they clog. Why do you think they give you those tiny stickers to cover the filter when showering?

Re: nutritionist? Finding one versed in ostomy patients is challenging.

The ones I have encountered say no to the question, "Are you familiar with stoma and dietary needs of a patient?"

Lists you find from textbooks are somewhat useful, but the person themselves has to see what works for them. Tried and true are the best logical approaches.

The poster is using forced air into his body. If he was normal without digestive issues, he'd probably be farting the gas out from his normal butthole.

Let's not make it too complicated to understand his situation.

They have other ways of fixing/helping with sleep apnea. There’s a mouthpiece you can get instead of using the machine. 

Hello TonyB.
I had the same problem at first. For me, it was definitely the CPAP machine. I found that a chin strap helped a lot because it stopped my mouth opening, which allowed air to be entering from two orifices. 
Best wishes

Bill 

You are right about that, filters are useless. They do nothing for letting air out. Mine have never worked for that. Once they get something on them, output, they just don't function. Useless...

I've been using a cpap for over 20 years. The machine pushes air into the airways and lungs. You'd need to be swallowing the air for it to come out the ileostomy.  I suppose you might be swallowing air when using your cpap but it would be a strange thing to do. If you have ruled out all dietary sources, then I'd talk to my sleep doctor.  Perhaps the pressure is set too high? 

Do you use the face mask or the nose pillows? That might make a difference.

I get inflation periodically, and it turns my bag into a beach ball. Have you considered your head sleeping position? What I mean by that is if you sleep on your back, your head is pushed slightly forward, closing the airway a little. My CPAP machine, under those conditions, will slightly increase the pressure, presumably increasing the amount of air I swallow. Also, I found that with the way the body is laid out, sleeping on your left puts the input point for the stomach to the top, giving more chance that any air can be expelled.

Hey my good MAO folks, I'm learning the human body is way more complex than I ever imagined.  Just the pathways from my nose and mouth to wherever are confusing.  There's a difference between inhaling and swallowing air.  I think we're supposed to inhale through our nose where the air is somewhat filtered.  I'm not sure if it matters whether we exhale through our noses or mouths.  My CPAP creates other problems; gas in the bag is not one of them.  Taking air in through my mouth creates more problems than the CPAP or the ostomy.  I'm still learning and if I find anything definite relative to this dilemma I'll share it immediately. 

My advice for those of us with both ostomies and CPAPs is patience and don't be afraid to experiment a little.

Respectfully,

Mike

Good to know, Mike. Thanks for sharing. 

While this machine is providing air to the lungs, do you not also swallow sometimes during sleep? Even once in a while, you're going to get air because you do swallow as you sleep. It happens and you aren't even aware of it.

Everyone is different. That's our mantra.

We all swallow air from time to time. Most people will not swallow more air using the machine than they would without the machine. Most... as you said, everyone is different. So we can't rule it out but I do think it is unlikely. 

Thanks for all your feedback, everyone. I have been talking to my doctors, and they seem to think I just have to put up with it.

Air is pushed in at pressure, so you swallow more. Before the ileostomy, I guess it just passed through the old system, and I never noticed. (Maybe the wife did.) So, it looks like getting up in the night is going to become the norm.🙁

Afraid so. Getting up a few times during the night is our norm. (ileos peeps I mean)

Hi Tony. I too use a CPAP machine, and I use nose pillows. Not sure what you use, maybe a full mask is different with swallowing air?

Not sure why you have to get up to burp the bag, I just burp it in bed and fall back to sleep. But I still have to get up usually once and sometimes twice a night to empty my pouch.

Hope this helps.

You are in bed burping yur bag? While laying flat?

Guess u didn't read the other two members doing that with epic failure?.

I would never consider doing that, man. But then instead of warrior, I'd be named dark cloud!😁

Why would anyone want to smell their gas while in bed? That's just plain gross and lazy. 🤷‍♂️

Justbreathe, I totally agree!!

Tried to delete this duplicate but no option to do so. Sorry for the clutter.

If, while the CPAP is on, enough air is being swallowed to cause the extreme ballooning, then my bet is that the CPAP apparatus or settings need to be adjusted. The air under pressure is meant to inflate the lungs and, if it's inflating the digestive tract instead, that's not just a case of "we're all different," it's a case of the machine not doing its job. Are you having daytime symptoms of apnea like you had before using the CPAP? 

That said, Tony, I think you'll hear that many of us, myself included, have the same issue with nighttime ballooning and do not use a CPAP machine. It's not an unusual problem but it is maddening! And it takes extreme patience, diligent record keeping, and repeated experimentation to nail down a cause so that it can be addressed. Wishing you the best in your efforts! Do come by and keep us posted. We learn a lot from each other about what's working and what's not. 

I looked it up because as a nurse it didn't really make sense since with cpap O2 should be going into your lungs. I found this.

Yes, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines can indeed cause gas in some people, a condition commonly referred to as “aerophagia.” This occurs when the air pressure from the CPAP machine causes a person to swallow air during sleep. The swallowed air then accumulates in the stomach and intestines, leading to discomfort, bloating, burping, or flatulence.

😂😂😂 Thanks for the laugh. 😅

Not sure about CPAP…

But I would be careful not to drink liquids or eat food that contains high fructose corn syrup. Unfortunately, it's in just about everything. Try this for a week or two and see if there is any improvement. Welcome and good luck!

Used one for years, before surgery. You swallow air as you swallow mucus, burp! Gas to pouch, not colon.

Oh, no!  No wonder my pouch is full!

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