Nighttime Ballooning: CPAP Chin Strap Solution?

Like a lot of folks on here, I balloon a lot at night. The reason is that I'm a mouth breather when I sleep.

To solve this, I got a "CPAP Chin Strap for Snoring". Basically, it wraps around your head down to your chin and holds your mouth closed. It took me a number of nights to configure it to keep my mouth closed. I got mine through Amazon and it was under $20 (US).

I was really stuffy one night, so I didn't bother to wear it. I can see myself buying another in a couple of months simply because to make it work, you have to pull it fairly tight and I can see it losing its elasticity.

Dave

Hello Dave.

As you say the CPAP chinstraps can quickly lose their elasticity and render themselves useless for the task they are designed for. I ended up making my own with some of my old recycled white shirts and large strips of velcro taken from my old hernia belts (which also lose their elasticity). I find the one's I make for myself are much more reliable and comfortable than the proprietary chin straps, which dig into my skin and make it sore. 

Best wishes

Bill 

Hi Dave,

Please excuse my ignorance on this subject... but why does breathing through your mouth when you sleep result in excessive air in your bag? I assume that's what you mean by "ballooning". I breathe through my mouth sometimes when I sleep and I never get air in my bag. I always thought that was caused by gases formed during the fermentation of what you ate. I did a quick search on ballooning and found this page... probably all old news to you, but it didn't mention anything about how you breathe at night. Can you explain that a little more?

http://www.shieldhealthcare.com/community/ostomylife/2019/02/26/ostomy-tips-ballooning/

Thanks,

Bob

Great idea for those who snore when sleeping with their mouth open.

Hello Bob. One of the problems with articles such as the one you site is that author's are sometimes not in possession of all the perspectives on the issues they write about. The article seems quite comprehensive as far as it goes but omits the possibility of swallowing air whilst asleep. Sometimes this phenomenon is mentioned in relation to chewing gum and swallowing small amounts of air as one swallows the liquid formed by chewing. 

As someone who suffers with sleep apnoea, I can attest to the fact that involuntary swallowing can occur at the point of waking up (sometimes at the rate of 30-40 times per hour!). Using a CPAP machiine can eliminate these bouts of waking and subsequent swallowing. However, without using a chinstrap, the swallowing can still occur.

In fact, the first night I used the CPAP machine (which pumps air directly into the air passages) I did not have a chinstrap and  'I' blew up like a balloon and was in agony until the air escaped from both ends of my body and released the pressure. This incident happened before I had a stoma but the effect would be much the same- except with one different outlet. 

I hope this gives at least one different perspective on this subject for you.

Best wishes

Bill

Hi Bill,

Thanks.......yes, that does shed light on my quandary. And I never knew that. Having never used a CPAP, I assume it somehow blocks your mouth while pumping air into the mask, thus only allowing the air to go through your nose. I've got a friend who uses a CPAP, but never really asked him the details of what it's all about. I'll check it out better the next time I'm over there. As if we ostomates didn't have enough problems, some of us have to worry about our bag filling with air as we sleep. Gonna have to add that one to my ever-growing list of topics for my next book entitled "101 Things Your Doc Never Told You About Having an Ostomy". Guessing it won't be a best seller if the AMA has anything to say about it.

Thanks again,

Bob

Gee, omitting swallowing air when I'm sleeping kinda was a major omission! LOL

Sorry, I was trying to post before working.

I actually gave up on my CPAP for fear of catastrophic ballooning. I'm going to do this a while longer and if it continues to work, I'll probably go with an over-the-nose mask and the chin strap. I'll admit that going without the CPAP was kinda nice.

Dave

Interesting points. I never knew about swallowing air equating to ballooning. My solution is not eating or drinking certain foods and liquids. Milk, for example, will cause it big time. I try to avoid eating after 8pm and only drink water for fluids. As you become used to the bag, you learn what will do this or that. This was a very interesting thread. Who knew?

I agree with you. I have a CPAP machine and I have never seen a correlation between air breathing and gas in the appliance. As you say, the gas in the appliance is a product of what is going on in your gut, not your mouth and nasal cavity.

Xerxes

I get a balloon when I'm eating everything I want. I just burp the bag and go back to sleep.

So far, using the strap is working great. It might be a coincidence. I can't say for sure because I'm sleeping through the observable period!

What is interesting is that my gas is almost imperceptible at night.

I'll post again if it returns more than one night.

Dave

So I got filtered pouches and got the EZ valves and what happened? Ballooning stopped!

At the same time I stopped using the strap to see what would happen and of course no ballooning.

So I thought I was sharing a good thing and now it seems as if it was just a coincidence.

I thought back on what I had done with my diet and such for those 3 weeks of ballooning and in truth I did nothing different.

My gut decided to be gassy and then it decided that wasn't fun anymore and stopped. Go figure.

Dave