Weight Gain directly after starting using CPAP

Hi all, new to this forum and hoping that someone can assist me. I have recently started using a Sleep Apnoea machine (RESMED but I assume that is not relevant), I was 187cm 100kg man before 2 weeks ago and during that time apart from the CPAP machine nothing in my life has changed, apart from me feeling fantastic from getting quality sleep. I am getting now between 0.4 Apnoea's and 2.7 Apnoea's per hour with an estimated 7+ hours of sleep a night, this is down/up from 45-60 Apnoea's per hour for an estimated 5 hours of sleep. So the machine is working.

What I am concerned about is that I have put 8-10Kgs on in 2 weeks, I realise that my body is now going through some changes as the hormone levels are changing and I expected some changes, however I did not expect to put this much weight on in such a short period of time. I have read online and found that this is not uncommon, however there is no real source for this information, so I hoping I suppose for someone to pat me gently on the back and say that this is OK, it happened to me and give me something that I can cling on to, so that I believe that I will actually get to the point that I stop putting weight on.

Before anyone says anything, I eat well under 2000 calories a day, it is not carb loaded it is a mixed diet that daily includes vegetables/salad lean proteins, my caffeine has reduced as well post machine, which could be contributing to this as well, however I am hoping for some advice.

Thanks for the reply so quickly. I appreciate it. I currently am keeping a strict food diary, as part of the reason that went to the sleep specialist was that I was a 138kg, and got down to 90kgs before I did my ACL and could not exercise for almost a year properly. This year blew my weight up to 108kg, yes overeating was the cause of that and my calorie intake was lowered during that period, however not enough. I don't drink alcohol more than once a month, no sugared soft drinks, as stated my calorie intake is 2000 calories per day or less on 6/7 days per week. I currently play football twice weekly and bike ride so I am active and my calories are under control in my opinion.

The only changes are reduction in caffeine post CPAP machine and the additional sleep that I am getting combined with the machine, I feel better today than I have for perhaps 10 years, I wake up with out a headache and wanting to be active. I am not signed off to join a gym yet however that will be the next step I hope after the 4 weeks is up, which is the 25th August.

Whilst I am respectful of your comments around calorie in versus energy expended, due to my personal circumstances in particular through my weight loss journey and what is arguably a good control and self responsibility over food and intake, I believe that they are wrong. I can get into further details including bodily functions, however they are not the same, I am more dehydrated in the mornings based on colour of urine, I drink 3-4 litres of water per day and by the end of the day my hydration is very good (clear). I am interested in people that have a response to this which is more informed than "eat less you lazy bloke" which is in essence your advise. I have been doing that for 4 years and in my opinion until my knee, was doing it very very successfully.

Does anyone have any information on hormonal changes, enzyme levels or something similar that I can read, or even better purchase a product to assist with the balance of them during the changes that will inevitability be caused by the huge change in sleep and the metabolic changes that my body will be going through, as this is something that was not talked about by the sleep consultant.

In my first month of CPAP treatment, I gained 10 pounds, but my appetite was greatly enhanced. Finally, after 5 months, my weight is falling and my appetite is more normal, I believe that my system had to do a lot of adjusting to getting proper rest and that was part of the process. Keep up the good diet work, and give things some time so your system can settle into proper rest.

I've read that the body processes food "better" after starting CPAP. So you'll need to eat less than you did previously to maintain the same weight. Fortunately I'm not as hungry as I used to be.

As for "colour of urine", if you're sleeping well your body produces less urine overnight. So, if your body still needs to excrete metabolites, but is excreting less fluid, the urine color will be darker? Maybe? Just a layman's guess.

Hydrans wrote:Hi all, new to this forum and hoping that someone can assist me. I have recently started using a Sleep Apnoea machine (RESMED but I assume that is not relevant), I was 187cm 100kg man before 2 weeks ago and during that time apart from the CPAP machine nothing in my life has changed, apart from me feeling fantastic from getting quality sleep. I am getting now between 0.4 Apnoea's and 2.7 Apnoea's per hour with an estimated 7+ hours of sleep a night, this is down/up from 45-60 Apnoea's per hour for an estimated 5 hours of sleep. So the machine is working.

What I am concerned about is that I have put 8-10Kgs on in 2 weeks, I realise that my body is now going through some changes as the hormone levels are changing and I expected some changes, however I did not expect to put this much weight on in such a short period of time. I have read online and found that this is not uncommon, however there is no real source for this information, so I hoping I suppose for someone to pat me gently on the back and say that this is OK, it happened to me and give me something that I can cling on to, so that I believe that I will actually get to the point that I stop putting weight on.

Before anyone says anything, I eat well under 2000 calories a day, it is not carb loaded it is a mixed diet that daily includes vegetables/salad lean proteins, my caffeine has reduced as well post machine, which could be contributing to this as well, however I am hoping for some advice.

The biochemistry of human metabolism is much more complex than the simplified thermodynamic calories in - calories out model long promoted by ignorant dietary conventional wisdom.

I don't see any quality fats in your diet. For example, despite a high level of vegetable intake, you need to consume fats with those vegetables to make the vitamins A, E, D, and K, bio-available for your body. Also, every hormone in the body requires fatty acid chains for their structural molecular components as does every cell wall and your brain is about 60% fat. Quality fats consist of all natural unrefined or non-industrially processed fats. For liquid fats, stick to cold pressed oils (and do not subject to cooking/heat) and for solid fats stick to animal fats ... all from organic/free range sources to get sufficient omega-3 fatty acids ratio and mitigate organic and heavy metal toxins which generally concentrate within fats.

Other causes for weight change besides hormonal dysregulation include electrolyte imbalance, gut micro-biome imbalances, depression, Rx and non-Rx drugs, thyroid dysregulation, etc.

You could try a 3 to 5 day water fast to reset hormonal cellular receptors (plus lose some of the weight) ... drink lots of extra water and take some calcium, magnesium, and potassium mineral supplements. A water fast can also help to rebalance your gut micro-biome especially if you take a diversity of pre- and probiotic supplements. Also consider a gentle laxative to clean out the lower gut (I use and highly recommend 3 to 4 GHC oxy-powder capsules each day of fasting). Also do some low-intensity aerobic exercise like walking, gardening, biking, or swimming.

Tell your PCP doc about your condition and ask him/her to run some blood labs to establish some base-line levels for further monitoring.

Anyway, I hope you get your condition(s) resolved sooner rather than later.

If your weight had been steady for months before starting a cpap, then cpap use has something to do with it. My first guess is that since you are no longer gasping for air during the night, you are more relaxed and not moving all over the bed at night or using more calories to beat your heart as a result of oxygen deprivation repeatedly all night (how's that for a long sentence!). The second possibility that I can think of is edema. This could be related to improved breathing or something that is simply coincidental. How can improved breathing cause edema? Your body is SO USED to struggling and suddenly does not have to struggle. So, you fixed one thing and the rest of the body hasn't followed through. That is my assumption. If it doesn't settle soon, consider an appointment with your primary.

I too am experiencing At least a 5lb weight gain in past 2 months, during which time Ive been most successful w/ cpap. Frustrated as I thought getting better sleep w/ less stress on body/less cortisol production from inadequate oxygen (that our bodies register as a stressor) would equate to weight loss. I am feeling tons more energetic both physically and mentally so I need to parlay that into starting a proper work out, tweak diet etc. Nothins ever easy! Lol

Hydrans wrote:Hi all, new to this forum and hoping that someone can assist me. I have recently started using a Sleep Apnoea machine (RESMED but I assume that is not relevant), I was 187cm 100kg man before 2 weeks ago and during that time apart from the CPAP machine nothing in my life has changed, apart from me feeling fantastic from getting quality sleep. I am getting now between 0.4 Apnoea's and 2.7 Apnoea's per hour with an estimated 7+ hours of sleep a night, this is down/up from 45-60 Apnoea's per hour for an estimated 5 hours of sleep. So the machine is working.

What I am concerned about is that I have put 8-10Kgs on in 2 weeks, I realise that my body is now going through some changes as the hormone levels are changing and I expected some changes, however I did not expect to put this much weight on in such a short period of time. I have read online and found that this is not uncommon, however there is no real source for this information, so I hoping I suppose for someone to pat me gently on the back and say that this is OK, it happened to me and give me something that I can cling on to, so that I believe that I will actually get to the point that I stop putting weight on.

Before anyone says anything, I eat well under 2000 calories a day, it is not carb loaded it is a mixed diet that daily includes vegetables/salad lean proteins, my caffeine has reduced as well post machine, which could be contributing to this as well, however I am hoping for some advice.

This is interesting bc I have been losing weight since beginning CPAP, in fact in one month I went down an entire dress size (I was pretty heavy before starting CPAP, and a yr ago I noticed a ravenous appetite, I'd eat like mad. Now my appetite is half that and if I try to eat more, I get queasy.) Also, instead of craving sweets and carbs, I'm craving the stuff I was supposed to be eating and drinking anyway.

Aj-Thats amazing! I hope I too start to naturally feel a shift in my metabolism

My physician warned me that once I was sleeping better, I could easily gain weight. Give it some time, and possibly speak to a nutritionist to see if your diet needs any tweaking. Good luck!

Didn't really gain any weight after starting cpap, since I was alraedy at my peak weight ever, but did have more energy so started doing more exercise. Now I've gone on a ketogenic diet (about a year ago) and have lost about 40 lbs. and kept it off so far. Not so ketogenic at this point, but staying at the margins of it, enough to keep the weight off, but much less strict than I was. Liking the food that I eat, trying to focus on the good stuff. Salads, vegetables, and fruits, and protein (of course) and good fats. Staying away from grains and sugar. Well, not staying away from sugar entirely, but pretty much *smile*.

At any rate, not sure how much this is all related to cpap, other than feeling energetic enough to pursue some healthy option. By the way, the weight loss has had very little effect on my sleep apnea...maybe a little less pressure required, that's about it.

Not sure if this is what is going on with you but I noticed that when I started on my CPAP that my appetite came back. It was one of those things that I really didnt realize that I hadnt been eating much until the appetite came back.

Just something to think about.

J-

I am having exactly the same experience! I am on Weight Watchers and I have not changed anything and it is very disheartening to GAIN weight. My medical doctor had no answer for me--she kept telling me how it would help me lose weight.

I have a similar problem.

I'm a little over two months in (I feel great, by the way). I have put on about 15 pounds. In my case, it seems to be water retention, which I think is probably dangerous. The doctor prescribed "water pills" which I will start tomorrow morning.

My daughter noticed that my ankles had swollen up, so, you might want to check that.

Good luck!

Lahree wrote:I am having exactly the same experience! I am on Weight Watchers and I have not changed anything and it is very disheartening to GAIN weight. My medical doctor had no answer for me--she kept telling me how it would help me lose weight.

I have been having a problem with weight gain for the last two years and did not know why as my eating habits have never changed. I have kept written daily food records. Tracking calories, fat and carbs. Most always under what I am allowed for the day. Yes, I cheat once and awhile but never anymore than I did two years ago. I have been questioning my doctors as to why this is happening when this past week one of my doctors asked why the huge weight gain since August of 2015 and asked what had happened in 2015. She had traced my weight since 2009 and I had always stayed within 5 lbs until 2015 when I went on the Bi Pap machine and it was then that my weight has a continuous climb of 50 lbs and within 2 months of the Bi Pap I have had to be on oxygen 24/7. I also have other side effects mentioned in some of these reports. I am going off the Bi Pap and using breathing exercises, etc. There is a lot of information out there that is helpful.