Gaining weight after CPAP

I sleep fantastic and after 1 year on CPAP I’m 100% compliant and my AHI has gone from 32/hr to <1/hr every night. It’s the best news except over the past year I have gained 35 pounds.

The weight gain is directly related to the time I’ve been on CPAP and remember that I had severe apnea and have gone to consistentently under 1 AHI event/hr. I’m convinced it is because I’m not burning the calories at night like I was when I had the severe apnea. If you’ve ever used a Fitbit you know it always allows each day a certain amount of calories burned overnight based on your age, etc. This has to do with your Basic Metabolic Rate which is the rate at which you burn calories at rest just to maintain body functions like breathing, heartbeat, brain activity. So, I’m imagining my BMR before CPAP when my brain was trying to keep up with 32 episodes an hour of either stopping breathing or very shallow breathing!

I’m no scientist, but to me now it just makes sense as a fully compliant CPAP user with less than 1 event an hour and only getting up once a night instead of 4-5 times per night before CPAP, I am clearly not burning as many calories at rest as I used to. I guess sleep science or sleep medicine is still fairly new compared to other medical issues, but finally I’m seeing some info to corroborate this theory of mine. Following is an article regarding BMI and CPAP use:


http://www.sleepreviewmag.com/2016/03/b ... eep-apnea/


The sad truth I think to all of this is in order to lose my weight I am going to have to consume less calories to lose it than I would have before I started CPAP. And, if I am able to take it all off, I think I will then need to also consume less calories to maintain a lower body weight than I would have before CPAP when I had the severe apnea.

I’d be curious to see what you think. In the meantime, no time like the new year to meet my new reality!

Hi Eyesclosed1953,
I think you are on to something there. There are several studies that show that you have a good chance to gain weight on xPAP therapy. If you don't do something to counteract that weight gain, your untreated apnea is also probably getting worse.

So, do more exercise (it takes time away from eating after all ).

Julie wrote:So, do more exercise (it takes time away from eating after all ).

Yep, that makes sense.
Without cpap, it can take a lot of effort to stay alive all night..

Agreed about more exercise. Gained the weight over the last year with no real change in diet or exercise. So, have to either consume less calories than I ever did or increase exercise more than I’ve been doing- better yet, do both if I can. It’s not going to be easy but I’m not giving up my machine!

Also you get older every day, that makes it harder to burn fuel, less muscle mass to burn fuel, and we tend to slow down in using them. Jim

It is happening to me too. I am new to CPAP. I gained about 3 kilos since I stared it 2 months ago. As I am on weight watch, I looked for explanations and I found similar studies. I am following a diet program now with a dietitian to decrease the food intake. The problem is that I get cravings for sweets now specially before bed time. Unfortunately, I can’t increase my exercise work than the allowed for my other health problems.

While I haven't gained any weight since being on CPAP I noticed that my appetite def came back once I got on it. I think that once you start getting good sleep after not having it for so long that your body starts working the way it is supposed too.

J-

Amany55 wrote:It is happening to me too. I am new to CPAP. I gained about 3 kilos since I stared it 2 months ago. As I am on weight watch, I looked for explanations and I found similar studies. I am following a diet program now with a dietitian to decrease the food intake. The problem is that I get cravings for sweets now specially before bed time. Unfortunately, I can’t increase my exercise work than the allowed for my other health problems.

I hear you regarding cravings before bedtime—that time never used to be an issue for me, but now it’s a real battle not to eat something before bedtime— don’t know what that’s about?!

I disagree. I do not think you can attribute a 35 pound gain to Cpap alone. 5-10 pounds maybe, but that's a LOT to gain in one year with just a small loss from night-time exercise. Either you are unconsciously eating more than you think you are or you may have another medical issue going on. If your weight was stable for years, I would call this 'unexplained weight gain' and talk to your primary about it. In my late sister's case, the weight gain turned out to be end-stage cancer. So you never know. I always assumed cancer was associated with weight LOSS.

While I agree with what's being said, I think this also relates to your bodies attempt to recover. For me at least my appetite sky rocketed after treatment. I think that's partially because it was looking for the correct nutrients to rebuild my apnea damaged brain. Getting the correct nutrients vastly diminished my appetite and I'm finally losing weight. getting plenty of fats, especially omega 3 is important. Personally I take a regimen of brain recovery supplements

Phosphatidyl choline/inosital (brain fuel)
Tumeric with Pepparine, (antioxidents mostly)
krill oil with high astaxanthin (brain fat and antioxidants)
l-cittruline/arginine (Nitrous Oxide release and opened veins to help nutrients reach the hard to reach places)
a quarter pill of himalayan Bacopa monneri (memory enhancement, a slight thyroid kick) also known as Brahmi in the Indian Ayurvedic
50mg modafinil (prescription) (Just enough to be more awake during the day)
Magnesium with L-Threonine (to help it get through the blood brain barrier) (for heart and brain repair)
Coq10 with Shilajit (brain, heart repair and mitochondrial production)
PQQ (mitochondrial production)

As to my 35 lb weight gain, to be clear I’m not blaming CPAP therapy for all of it. For the record I have been a yo yo dieter all my life and I am 64 years old. I lost 40 lbs about 5 years ago and was keeping the majority of it off until I started the CPAP. Within about 5 months of being 100% compliant on CPAP, I had gained 20 of the lbs back. Then, I threw my back out about 4 months ago and most activity came to a stop until I successfully “repaired” it through about 8 weeks of physical therapy. During this time, I put on 12 lbs more I think because my activity level was so low and I was somewhat bored and eating mindlessly. To be sure, at my age I am now dealing with a slower metabolism as I age and weight loss becomes a little harder. As I’ve gained and lost weight most of my life I think I know what works for my body and what doesn’t. At any rate, I believe the last 12-15lb weight gain is not related to the CPAP, but I do think my BMR went down significantly about a year ago once CPAP became a part of my daily life and I believe I can atttribute the original weight gain of approximately 20 lbs, give or take, to CPAP therapy. I’m not saying what happens to one person on CPAP happens to another. I’ve always had a slow metabolism and now it’s slower due to aging and, I believe CPAP. Even with increasing my activity level, I’m having to consume a much lower amount of calories to lose weight than I’ve ever had to in my life.

I think the link I originally posted at the beginning of this thread does support what’s happening to me.

Sleep Apnea isn't recommended for use as a weightloss program, anything removed from your life that is killing you, will probably make you body processes more efficient. Jim

Goofproof wrote:Sleep Apnea isn't recommended for use as a weightloss program, anything removed from your life that is killing you, will probably make you body processes more efficient. Jim

So true! I will never give up my machine to lose the weight.

I need to give up time in the comfy chair.