Did you know that sleep apnea can create gastric reflux issues? It’s due to constant diaphragm stimulation during sleep because the airway gets obstructed and the body responds to grasp for more air. Sleep apnea is often under diagnosed and under treated but it’s a serious detriment to health issues. For those who sleep alone may not even know they have it.
“Did you know that sleep apnea can create gastric reflux issues?”
Yep, I have a nephew in his late 40’s that has sleep apnea, and suffered for years with acid reflux. It wasn’t until he almost died from the flu that he went to be tested, and the doctor told him it was the worst case of sleep apnea he had ever seen. He now uses the mask and oxygen at night, and his acid reflux has gone away since I’m sure they also put him on medication. I was tested for it at a sleep lab but didn’t exhibit enough symptoms through the night to be diagnosed with it. The doctor told me that my specific GERD problems were most likely caused by my second son who was almost 10 pounds. He said many women who have had children, end up with damage to the esophageal sphincter muscle which is supposed to tightly seal the acid from coming back up from the stomach. I had heartburn throughout my whole pregnancy, and suffered with it for over 20 years until I told my family doctor about it. Been heartburn free ever since.