Losing weight lowers the air pressure number??

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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JohnBFisher
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Re: Losing weight lowers the air pressure number??

Post by JohnBFisher » Sun Feb 19, 2012 6:07 pm

daisy56 wrote:... Well dang! I was hoping to hear differently. Oh well, like several mentioned, it never hurts to lose the weight anyway. ...
THAT is the right reason to loose weight.

But will it help you reduce your CPAP pressure setting. Maybe. I know we've actually had some people who saw an INCREASE in pressure needs. So, don't bet on it. It might decrease some. It might not. And in fairly rare instances, your pressure might need to be increased.

So, loose weight for your overall health. That's the right reason to loose it.

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Resister
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Re: Losing weight lowers the air pressure number??

Post by Resister » Mon Feb 20, 2012 8:33 am

daisy56 wrote:Hello sleep friends. I've been at this for about 3 months I think.
Anyway, I just saw my Doctor Monday and she said Im adjusting quite well. My air pressure number averages to about 9
and Im having about 3 AHI per hour it shows.

Question, this 3 AHI number....could this possibly mean Im just having deep shallow breathing at this time, or does this
(and can she know the difference) mean Im actually having the 'stop of breathing"'?

2 question - She said the air pressure number 9 that I appear to be averaging at could come down once I lose more weight.
Has this happened to anyone else? Actually this was my question to her and she just agreed, but I just want more evidence
that this is something that can and has happened to others. I know the number shouldnt be so important to me....
but for some reason I obsessing on it - shoot me.

Hope you all have a comfy, peaceful sleep ~
I've lost about 20 pounds since my diagnosis, and now that I use A-Pap my pressure sometimes goes above my originally prescribed pressure of 10. Last night, for the first time it hit 12.
~Mama is happy when she sleeps with Pap-py~

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JohnBFisher
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Re: Losing weight lowers the air pressure number??

Post by JohnBFisher » Mon Feb 20, 2012 8:51 am

Resister wrote:... I've lost about 20 pounds since my diagnosis, and now that I use A-Pap my pressure sometimes goes above my originally prescribed pressure of 10. Last night, for the first time it hit 12. ...
Thanks for sharing one of those cases in point where the pressure numbers are constant or increasing. One reason the pressure need might increase is that with each day we get older. As we age we loose more muscle control ... and sometimes that shows up in our throats. So, the obstructions become more pronounced - regardless of the weight loss. Still, weight loss is always the right thing to do (to work toward an ideal weight).

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Mask: Quattro™ FX Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: User of xPAP therapy for over 20 yrs. Resmed & Respironics ASV units with EEP=9cm-14cm H2O; PSmin=4cm H2O; PSmax=15cm H2O; Max=25cm H2O
"I get up. I walk. I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing” from Rabbi Hillel
"I wish to paint in such a manner as if I were photographing dreams." from Zdzisław Beksiński

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Resister
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Re: Losing weight lowers the air pressure number??

Post by Resister » Mon Feb 20, 2012 9:23 am

Exactly!

My diagnosis was a good wake-up to the fact I really needed to lose weight.
~Mama is happy when she sleeps with Pap-py~

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Maxie
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Re: Losing weight lowers the air pressure number??

Post by Maxie » Mon Feb 20, 2012 10:43 am

I'm still fairly new at this so I just thought to chime in a bit. My sleep doctor said that I have a narrow throat and that causes my apnea. He said that if he could see down my throat without using a tongue depressor it would be good but he can't. My thinking is that you need to know the cause of your apnea before you get too concerned about weight and apnea. My daughter who is a nurse initially said my apnea would be cured by losing weight. I know now that is not my case.

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rosacer
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Re: Losing weight lowers the air pressure number??

Post by rosacer » Mon Feb 20, 2012 8:27 pm

I agree it is a good thing to lose weight but I don't put too much hope it will lower my pressure. My Dr. told me 'you have the throat of somebody with sleep apnea'. So, I know that's one of the reason I have sleep apnea.

Second, I see my AHI goes higher (the pressure needed too) if I stop using the cortisone spray for my sinuses for several days. My allergic rhinitis starts showing up.

Third, if I eat before going to bed or if I eat for dinner food I know difficult to digest guess what? the AHI goes high so the pressure too. Why? Because I make acid reflux, the throat closes to protect from the acid going into the lungs. This is perceived as an apnea, the pressure goes up etc etc, all this was explained to me by my Dr. I tested it and I can say he is right. If I check what I eat and when my AHI is lower.

Fourth: somebody here at the forum made a comment and add a link about an American hospital where a study was made with obese people whom had gastric surgeries to reduce weight. They said those people after having lost the weight still needed their CPAPs.

Conclusion: losing weight doesn't guarantee anything about OSA.

Something I have noticed after 2 years on APAP and one year walking more than 3km around 4 to 5 times a week is that my high blood pressure problem is improving. My medication has been cut at half. I have heard that losing weight aids with high blood pressure.,

Once I lost a lot of weight and the blood pressure stayed high but in that time I'm sure I had already OSA and was not treated that's maybe the reason why I had no improvement. I will let you know what happens.

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Purrceys

Re: Losing weight lowers the air pressure number??

Post by Purrceys » Tue Feb 21, 2012 9:02 pm

Another one who's lost a lot of weight (90 lbs) but seen no change in pressure. I've seen many health and daily living changes from the weight loss but no change in pressure . However, I think I may have had OSA even as a child (family members commented I always had loud, strange breathing when sleeping) and my dentist has commented on my smaller than average mouth and throat.

Nwd

Re: Losing weight lowers the air pressure number??

Post by Nwd » Mon Jun 10, 2013 8:28 am

I've been using CPAP since November 2012. Started on a pressure of 12. Now, 7 months later, and 22kg lighter, my pressure has gone down to 6.6, and falling.
I became aware that I needed to reduce my pressure because I was having trouble with mask leaks, and hiccups and bloated abdomen. I get a sleep study every month at the moment, and my pressure need has fallen as I've lost weight.
If I don't reduce my pressure every week, I get the bloating and cramps.
Hope this is useful info!

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Blindrage
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Re: Losing weight lowers the air pressure number??

Post by Blindrage » Mon Jun 10, 2013 12:37 pm

I have lost a little over 50 lbs in the last 6 months due to surgery. My 90% pressure using ASV has dropped by about 1.3 PSI. Even if I hit my goal weight I will probably never be able to sleep without an ASV attached to my face. Not a big deal to me, but then I adjusted to therapy with hardly any issue.

The bottom line is that weight is only sometimes a factor in apnea events. The reason every doc you see will tell you to lose weight is because weight can be, but is sometimes not, a factor in just about every single human ailment that can arise. Joints hurt, too much weight on them. Apnea, fat around the neck. Heart problems, acid reflux, etc... etc... etc... weight can be tacked on as a co-morbidity to just about anything and everything. So the doc wants to eliminate the factors, and if they can get you to lose weight then they eliminate it as a factor for anything that ails you in the future as well. There just is no other single factor that can be attached to such a wide range of illnesses.

Now if we could just convince some docs that we are overweight for reasons other than sitting around with a bag of chips in our laps 24x7.