Don't kill me. Weight loss has improved apnea.

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
tiredandscared
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Don't kill me. Weight loss has improved apnea.

Post by tiredandscared » Mon Nov 23, 2015 2:23 pm

I know this going to piss of some of the hardcore denizens on the anti-weight loss cures/improves sleep apnea camp. But I've lost 11 pounds, now gone down from 250 to 238. And i definitely feel a subjective improvement in sleep quality. It's not gone yet. But perhaps another 10 lbs will get rid of it or improve it further. My oximeter readings have improved as well. The time I spend in 90-95% oxygen saturation is much less than usual. I still have it. But it's been improved subjectively at least.

I'm still going to use the cpap. Until I can get to a normal weight and optimize my co2.
Last edited by tiredandscared on Mon Nov 23, 2015 2:31 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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Madalot
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Re: don't kill me. Weight loss and apnea improved.

Post by Madalot » Mon Nov 23, 2015 2:27 pm

Congratulations on the weight loss! Keep up the good work.

There ARE people that can improve or even get rid of apnea with weight loss. It's not guaranteed, but it DOES happen. If you feel you've gotten rid of apnea, please confirm with a sleep study to be sure.

But again -- congratulations!!!

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Don't kill me. Weight loss has improved apnea.

Post by chunkyfrog » Mon Nov 23, 2015 2:36 pm

Weight loss is always good, unless you are not overweight.
Good going.
As for helping with your apnea, nice perk, especially if it lasts (been there)
Second on the sleep study. Never stop treatment unless you are a certified non apneac.

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Heart Jumping
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Re: Don't kill me. Weight loss has improved apnea.

Post by Heart Jumping » Mon Nov 23, 2015 2:37 pm

I've also lost weight, 25 pounds over the last several months and it also resulted in a noticeable improvement. I still have severe apnea, but the symptoms were much worse before I lost weight. I intend to lose about 30 more at which point I'll be in optimum shape and see what happens. I am NOT expecting it to go away, but I am expecting it to improve it.

Apnea aside, it's also made me feel much better overall.

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Noctuary
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Re: Don't kill me. Weight loss has improved apnea.

Post by Noctuary » Mon Nov 23, 2015 2:43 pm

Weight loss changed my apnea too, but I still feel unrefreshed most days. My AHIs went from 2-5 to 0-1.5, on average.

Sad that the OP feels he/she must tread lightly on this topic.

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49er
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Re: Don't kill me. Weight loss has improved apnea.

Post by 49er » Mon Nov 23, 2015 2:47 pm

tiredandscared wrote:I know this going to piss of some of the hardcore denizens on the anti-weight loss cures/improves sleep apnea camp. But I've lost 11 pounds, now gone down from 250 to 238. And i definitely feel a subjective improvement in sleep quality. It's not gone yet. But perhaps another 10 lbs will get rid of it or improve it further. My oximeter readings have improved as well. The time I spend in 90-95% oxygen saturation is much less than usual. I still have it. But it's been improved subjectively at least.

I'm still going to use the cpap. Until I can get to a normal weight and optimize my co2.
Not angry at all and congratulations.

Just make sure you have a sleep study to make sure the apnea is gone. I don't have significant desaturations as the lowest I have ever going down to was 90% and only for a few seconds. But my AHI came out to 25 so that is why I am sounding the caution.

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tiredandscared
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Re: Don't kill me. Weight loss has improved apnea.

Post by tiredandscared » Mon Nov 23, 2015 3:27 pm

I'm going to lose another 4 kgs(10 lbs) kilos and see how that will turn out. Tomorrow im hoping my new cpap device will come along. I'm still in the obese range( 33.6 bmi), with careful monitoring and eating. I can lose that in a month or more.
Last edited by tiredandscared on Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:33 am, edited 1 time in total.

Heart Jumping
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Re: Don't kill me. Weight loss has improved apnea.

Post by Heart Jumping » Mon Nov 23, 2015 3:53 pm

tiredandscared wrote:I'm going to lose another 4 kgs(10 lbs) kilos oand see how that will turn out. Tomorrow im hoping my new cpap device will come along. I'm still in the obese range( 33.6 bmi), with careful monitoring and eating. I can lose that in a month or more.
Best advice I can give is be patient and take it slow. I think I averaged about 1.5 pounds loss a week and now I'm plateauing a bit. Of course if you can do more that's fine, but expecting 10 pounds in a month is aggressive, so don't feel like less is failure.

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Madalot
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Re: Don't kill me. Weight loss has improved apnea.

Post by Madalot » Mon Nov 23, 2015 3:55 pm

I've lost 67 pounds since March. I feel a lot better too and my Primary Doctor said something about getting off the Trilogy, but I had to remind him that my issues are combination of sleep apnea & nocturnal diaphragm paralysis. Even if the sleep apnea improves, the diaphragm is probably still an issue.

I wouldn't make any changes without another sleep study. At this point, unless my Pulmonologist recommends it, I won't do one.

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herefishy
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Re: Don't kill me. Weight loss has improved apnea.

Post by herefishy » Mon Nov 23, 2015 4:20 pm

Madalot - aren't you the one who just found out you were diabetic? Did the diabetes cause the weight loss, or did the healthier eating do it? Either way - congrats to you and the OP.

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Madalot
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Re: Don't kill me. Weight loss has improved apnea.

Post by Madalot » Mon Nov 23, 2015 4:41 pm

herefishy wrote:Madalot - aren't you the one who just found out you were diabetic? Did the diabetes cause the weight loss, or did the healthier eating do it? Either way - congrats to you and the OP.
Yes. Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in March, with an A1C of 7.9. Took it seriously (after 2 days of anger and denial) and changed my eating habits completely. I got rid of all the sweets and crap food. I gave up my favorites like ice cream, cheesecake, cinnamon rolls, cookies, brownies -- for healthier choices including sugar free cookies (occasionally), Fiber One cinnamon cakes, brownies & cookies. I watch carbs carefully and try not to snack between meals. And if I must snack, I pick something diabetic friendly.

My A1C is down to 5.8, my sugar is under control (as long as I don't cheat badly) and I've lost 67 pounds and counting. It's definitely much harder to lose weight now, but I am, just at a much slower pace. But I'm good with that.

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Sir NoddinOff
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Re: Don't kill me. Weight loss has improved apnea.

Post by Sir NoddinOff » Mon Nov 23, 2015 5:50 pm

Tiredandscared: I suggest you don't sell your CPAP machine for a good long while <wink,wink,nudge,nudge> Weight has a sneaky way of coming back.

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Re: Don't kill me. Weight loss has improved apnea.

Post by Wulfman... » Mon Nov 23, 2015 6:41 pm

Sir NoddinOff wrote:Tiredandscared: I suggest you don't sell your CPAP machine for a good long while <wink,wink,nudge,nudge> Weight has a sneaky way of coming back.
+1

Congrats on the weight loss.
But, the reason we give people a "hard time" is that they usually come onto the forum and announce that since they lost 10 or 20 pounds they no longer have sleep apnea and are selling their equipment, which only has a few hours of use on it.
Yeah........RIGHT!!!
Until a person knows which is the chicken and which is the egg, the safe thing to do is keep your bases covered and keep the equipment handy.

For me, personally, after 10 1/2 years of sleeping this way, I couldn't sleep without it anyway.......and, would probably continue using it even if a doctor declared me free of OSA.


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cathyf
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Re: Don't kill me. Weight loss has improved apnea.

Post by cathyf » Tue Nov 24, 2015 1:30 pm

I've lost 82.6lbs since the beginning of the year, and my AHI has crept up from ~0.25 to ~0.80. Still really good, but definitely higher.

I've had lots of health things going on at the same time, and have had to lower my maximum pressure because of aerophagia, but I'm proof that doctor promises that you can cure apnea by losing weight could leave you pretty disappointed...

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Re: Don't kill me. Weight loss has improved apnea.

Post by SewTired » Tue Nov 24, 2015 3:20 pm

I'm envious. I lost 30 pounds and that resulted in apnea. On the other hand, without the apnea, I wouldn't have qualified for insurance to cover a machine that takes care of the RERAs that are actually a bigger problem for me.

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