No longer need CPAP

[Big Daddy RRT,RPSGT]

That surgery (alone) is known to eliminate apnea along with diabetes and a couple of other problems.

If it is only weight related...yes. If is an antomical problem...no.

Skinny people have sleep apnea too!

I hope you no longer have OSA but you need a sleep study to make that determination.

[Janknitz]

To cut to the chase, I think that everyone is concerned that Resmed might assume that because s/he has lost the weight and is no longer snoring, the SA is gone. That may very well be the case, but it is the assumption that is worrisome.

Only a new sleep study can tell for sure.

If, in fact, your SA is gone or so mild that you no longer need to treat it, we all will celebrate and learn a valuable lesson that weight loss alone can make a huge difference for some.

But, if you are only assuming that the SA is gone, you may be wrong, and then suffer the consequences--or others who read about your supposed success and make the same assumption for themselves can be harmed.

"No longer need CPAP" is a bold statement. We just want to be sure that it's true, for you and for others that may depend on bariatric surgery or significant weight loss in your footsteps and decide they no longer need treatment.

[JayC]

I see people passionate is a "state your source" "back it up" kind of way, rather than saying it cannot happen.

If one comes here to announce they are cured, one should be able to share facts....... perhaps their cure will be repeatable by others, perhaps not......at least it will be based on quantifiable measures....

Great if it is true.......at the very least people should do blood oxygen measurement for a few nights......and another sleep study if possible. Lack of snoring doesn't mean no events.....

I've had undiagnosed/misdiagnosed issues since puberty. I was healthy bmi until my late 30s, and had symptoms, and sought treatment to no avail......

I'm back on my way to healthy bmi (8 lbs away) and have no illusions that I will be cured, since the weight didn't start the problems......

J

[donnafowler]

That is my point JayC.

I don't really care about all the studies or what the surgery may or may not do, or has been proven to do or not do. I am concerned about the OP-this single individual--have the steps been taken to ensure that the treatment is no longer needed? Weight loss, in my case, required me to have a higher pressure--go figure--BUT, my sleep doctor said I could lose 100 pounds (which would make me weigh around fifty pounds ) and I would never not need CPAP, because of the way my jaw and throat are formed.

Every person is different, and no one solution is good for everyone. For me, I would need evidence (sleep study) to show me that I could forgo CPAP. The health risks are just too great to overlook.

[Julie]

It is a known and accepted fact (by the legitimate medical community) that bariatric surgery 'cures' OSA, though nothing else is known to do so consistently. If someone wants a new PSG that's up to them, but is known to be unnecessary. If you have a problem with it, that's fine, but I don't think you should keep assuming that 'all' that gets fixed is a weight issue (the pancreas is also involved and diabetes is also 'cured' at the same time) and therefore not a valid cure for OSA. Ask a gastric surgeon about it, maybe he'll explain in all the gory detail about what goes on and why it works.

Or think of it another way - there are thousands of people out there with the anatomical features that fit into criteria for OSA without being overweight - the jawline, etc. - but those people do not necessarily have OSA. It is a respiratory problem that when it is present, is apparently aggravated by those features which make the patients more susceptible, but it's not automatic. What about people with OSA who are not only not overweight, but who do not have the anatomical features either? Not everything is known about it by a long shot yet, and from what I've read there are at least two and possibly more groups of people who develop it - in the context of anatomical or weight problems, but maybe also other factors. In other words the respiratory problem may come first and "attack" (in a measurable way) people who are overweight or anatomically 'likely' because they have those problems, but it doesn't mean their OSA wouldn't have shown up anyway somewhere along the line even if they didn't.

[Muse-Inc]

In 2007 I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea, and was prescribed a CPAP which I used for about a little less than year. After much research and deliberation I decided to have bariatric surgery. Four months after surgery I found I no longer needed my CPAP.

I have a RES MED Escape II with humidifier and a couple of masks which I own. I don't know if it is possible to sell, here or elsewhere. Does anyone know? I paid more than $500 for this, and I would like to recoup a little of it, and make it easier for someone else who was diagnosed as I was and can't afford a "new" one.

Thanks for posting your success! I'm hope that such will occur for me when I finally get rdi of all my excess wt...my sleep doc and cardio think my OSA is wt-caused...I'm hoping they're right. Anyway, thanks for sharing your success!

[resmed user]

I did have a follow up sleep study and its was considered "mild." ENT wants to follow up in 6 months.

[resmed user]

In 2007 I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea, and was prescribed a CPAP which I used for about a little less than year. After much research and deliberation I decided to have bariatric surgery. Four months after surgery I found I no longer needed my CPAP.

I have a RES MED Escape II with humidifier and a couple of masks which I own. I don't know if it is possible to sell, here or elsewhere. Does anyone know? I paid more than $500 for this, and I would like to recoup a little of it, and make it easier for someone else who was diagnosed as I was and can't afford a "new" one.

There's a cpap auction site, maybe try there?

Can you tell us your height and weight before the surgery, and your weight when you were confirmed to no longer have sleep apnea?

Thanks and congratulations on your new, healthier life!

I am 5'6" and weighed 350. Now I am 190. I stopped using the cpap probably by the time I was down to 250, mostly because the mask didn't fit my face anymore. Then they did the study and found it was "mild." Not enough to use a cpap.

[resmed user]

I would like to recoup a little of it, and make it easier for someone else who was diagnosed as I was and can't afford a "new" one

Im sure there are many folks who get diagnosed who cant afford a new machine.

Congratulations on losing the cpap, you must be very happy about your new found health.. Good for you..


Due to my "throat architecture" I will be married to mine for the rest of my life, but we are becoming better friends,


and since its saving my life, I guess its going to be my best buddy.

Im glad yours was there for you when you needed it, and now you can pass it on to someone else who needs it.

I'm so sorry that your physiology is such that you know that you need to deal with this problem "forever." One never knows what possibilities science and medicine might come up with going forward though. In the meanwhile at least you have your best bud to keep you healthy and well!! That is a good thing after all.

Thank you so much for your good wishes.

[resmed user]

The medical studies I've read on this issue (not some news journalist's take on the articles, but the actual scientific articles themselves) have generally shown that losing a significant amount of weight leads to a reduction in AHI that in some cases is so dramatic the OSA is effectively cured. It's well established that AHI increases as BMI increases, so why shouldn't AHI decrease as BMI decreases? The reason researchers use gastric bypass/banding/etc. to study this is because those surgeries are the only consistent methods to significantly reduce body fat; when they do this on a population of OSA patients, the AHI drops as weight drops and some people see such a reduction in AHI that they are no longer diagnosable as having OSA. What's really surprising is that many of these people are still overweight (though not nearly as much as before surgery) which suggests to me that if we all got down to our ideal bodyweights, many of use would not have OSA, or have such a mild case that we don't require therapy.

Maybe later I will post some medical studies on this, though I am sure some of them been posted on this site at one time or another.

One of the few complaints I have with this board is that everyone is so adamant that they are completely powerless to beat OSA when in fact losing enough body fat may very well cure their disease. I personally accept that I have OSA, but until I get down to my ideal body weight, I am not willing to say that this is a lifelong disease. Indeed, this may be merely a consequence of my obesity.

All that said, plenty of OSA sufferers are thin and have no extra weight to lose - the above points do not apply to them.

Seems I stirred up a bit of a hornets nest here. I agree that it seems some folks would rather hold onto remaining OSA rather than consider that weight loss (through surgery if necessary) might IMPROVE or POTENTIALLY ELIMINATE the condition. As I indicated in my earlier reply, I have lost 1/2 my body weight. I have had a small regain of 20 lbs which I am working on losing.

I was EXTREMELY resistant to WLS when my doctor suggested it. In my eyes it was for celebrities and such. I had no idea that it had become so mainstream. When I did my due diligence, the choice was obvious. Health or escalating health issues. Once my request to my insurance company was submitted, I was approved in 24 HOURS! We were all shocked.

[resmed user]

To cut to the chase, I think that everyone is concerned that Resmed might assume that because s/he has lost the weight and is no longer snoring, the SA is gone. That may very well be the case, but it is the assumption that is worrisome.

Only a new sleep study can tell for sure.

If, in fact, your SA is gone or so mild that you no longer need to treat it, we all will celebrate and learn a valuable lesson that weight loss alone can make a huge difference for some.

But, if you are only assuming that the SA is gone, you may be wrong, and then suffer the consequences--or others who read about your supposed success and make the same assumption for themselves can be harmed.

"No longer need CPAP" is a bold statement. We just want to be sure that it's true, for you and for others that may depend on bariatric surgery or significant weight loss in your footsteps and decide they no longer need treatment.

I'm sorry I wasn't more clear in my initial post. I was tested and found to be "MILD," no longer requiring the use of a cpap.

[CollegeGirl]

I can tell you right now that even though I am quite large, WLS would not cure my sleep apnea. Not a chance. Why? Because I've been snoring and choking in my sleep since I was an (underweight) infant. My sleep doctor in fact suspects that that is the majority of the reason I became this overweight to begin with - decades of untreated sleep apnea. Some people's apnea will *not* be cured with weight loss surgery, and yet these people (along with those for whom this IS true) are going to be told that a sleep study is "not necessary" because WLS cures sleep apnea in all instances? That seems very dangerous to me.

[resmed user]

In 2007 I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea, and was prescribed a CPAP which I used for about a little less than year. After much research and deliberation I decided to have bariatric surgery. Four months after surgery I found I no longer needed my CPAP.

I have a RES MED Escape II with humidifier and a couple of masks which I own. I don't know if it is possible to sell, here or elsewhere. Does anyone know? I paid more than $500 for this, and I would like to recoup a little of it, and make it easier for someone else who was diagnosed as I was and can't afford a "new" one.

Thanks for posting your success! I'm hope that such will occur for me when I finally get rdi of all my excess wt...my sleep doc and cardio think my OSA is wt-caused...I'm hoping they're right. Anyway, thanks for sharing your success!

Congratulations to you and I wish you well. It was a God-send for me! I feel like the real me again. Now its about maintaining the loss, which is about all the usual things, diet, exercise...but in the context of a changed digestive system. All the very best for a wonderful outcome!

[Wulfman]

I did have a follow up sleep study and its was considered "mild." ENT wanted to follow up but I haven't done so as yet. Not sure I will.

Ya know......I wouldn't be too eager to get rid of that machine just yet. "Mild" isn't "cured" and in many cases, the sleep apnea (lack of sleep and poor sleep in general) caused the weight gain. Skinny and "normal" sized people can have sleep apnea, too. If the mask doesn't fit well, other sizes or styles can be obtained as well.


Den

[donnafowler]

Good for you Resmed user! We are happy for your success. No one wanted to give you a hard time, but only wanted to be sure you were protecting your health! So often it is tempting to say, "I feel better," but fail to take the steps necessary to make sure treatment is no longer needed. This applies to all kinds of problems, not just OSA--I am thinking about people who stop taking antibiotics before the infection is truly gone and end up even sicker, just as one example.

Congratulations on your weightloss and your newfound health!