Can the slightly overweight stop apnea with weight loss?

[nielloeb]

I developed sleep apnea at about the same time as gaining slight weight (and other things). I went from 155 pounds (normal for my sex/age/height) to 170 pounds.
165 pounds is the upper range of normal for my sex/age/height.
I can easily stay at 170, lose 5 pounds with little effort, lose 10 with effort, and lose all 15 with a lot of effort.
Before my next step of tongue ablation and (slight) deviated septum surgery, I’m looking into the weight issue.

[Pugsy]

No way to know for sure if weight loss will reduce apnea or not. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't and sometimes people have reported not only it not reducing the apnea but they actually end up needing more pressure.
Doesn't hurt to try it though....any loss of unwanted pounds is always a good thing.

Sometimes it isn't the weight though. I was a skinny minnie when my OSA snuck up on me.
We have a new forum member who doesn't fit that stereotype that weight causes apnea issue....she weighs 103 pounds an is 5 ft 3 I think was.

Being overweight is not the sole cause of sleep apnea...and if that's the case...weight loss won't help.
But doesn't hurt to try to lose the weight and see.
I had to be a Negative Ninnie but I have seen too often where weight is not the cause and losing excess pounds doesn't fix it like people want it to be fixed.

Are you on a machine yet? Just got the diagnosis and wanting to avoid using the machine?
Sounds like it if you are looking at surgery...research surgery carefully before going that way instead of using the machine.
Surgery can't be undone and success rate isn't very high despite what you have been told.

[avi123]

I developed sleep apnea at about the same time as gaining slight weight (and other things). I went from 155 pounds (normal for my sex/age/height) to 170 pounds.
165 pounds is the upper range of normal for my sex/age/height.
I can easily stay at 170, lose 5 pounds with little effort, lose 10 with effort, and lose all 15 with a lot of effort.
Before my next step of tongue ablation and (slight) deviated septum surgery, I’m looking into the weight issue.

Comment,

My Sleep Doc stopped patients OSA by having them lose 20% of their weights and especially the fat tissues in their throats:

Am I at Risk for Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea can affect anyone at any age, even children. Risk factors for sleep apnea include:

Being male
Being overweight
Being over age 40
Having a large neck size (17 inches or greater in men and 16 inches or greater in women)
=>Having large tonsils, a large tongue, or a small jaw bone
Having a family history of sleep apnea
Gastroesophageal reflux, or GERD
=>Nasal obstruction due to a deviated septum, allergies, or sinus problems

[Wulfman...]

I developed sleep apnea at about the same time as gaining slight weight (and other things). I went from 155 pounds (normal for my sex/age/height) to 170 pounds.
165 pounds is the upper range of normal for my sex/age/height.
I can easily stay at 170, lose 5 pounds with little effort, lose 10 with effort, and lose all 15 with a lot of effort.
Before my next step of tongue ablation and (slight) deviated septum surgery, I’m looking into the weight issue.

It's highly likely that the Sleep Apnea CAUSED the weight gain. Obstructive Sleep Apnea screws up the body's metabolism from the lack of oxygen. If that's the case, losing the weight isn't going to eliminate the Sleep Apnea.


Den

.

[BlackSpinner]

I developed sleep apnea at about the same time as gaining slight weight (and other things). I went from 155 pounds (normal for my sex/age/height) to 170 pounds.
165 pounds is the upper range of normal for my sex/age/height.
I can easily stay at 170, lose 5 pounds with little effort, lose 10 with effort, and lose all 15 with a lot of effort.
Before my next step of tongue ablation and (slight) deviated septum surgery, I’m looking into the weight issue.

It's highly likely that the Sleep Apnea CAUSED the weight gain. Obstructive Sleep Apnea screws up the body's metabolism from the lack of oxygen. If that's the case, losing the weight isn't going to eliminate the Sleep Apnea.


Den

.

It doesn't even need low O2, just lack of enough sleep will trigger hormones which cause you to eat more and move less.

[Wulfman...]

I developed sleep apnea at about the same time as gaining slight weight (and other things). I went from 155 pounds (normal for my sex/age/height) to 170 pounds.
165 pounds is the upper range of normal for my sex/age/height.
I can easily stay at 170, lose 5 pounds with little effort, lose 10 with effort, and lose all 15 with a lot of effort.
Before my next step of tongue ablation and (slight) deviated septum surgery, I’m looking into the weight issue.

It's highly likely that the Sleep Apnea CAUSED the weight gain. Obstructive Sleep Apnea screws up the body's metabolism from the lack of oxygen. If that's the case, losing the weight isn't going to eliminate the Sleep Apnea.


Den

.

It doesn't even need low O2, just lack of enough sleep will trigger hormones which cause you to eat more and move less.

I totally agree.
I've often wondered how many "shift workers" develop sleep apnea from having their sleeping schedules messed up.
I worked different shifts and put in many, many long days and nights for many years (about 40) working with computers.


Den

.

[Goofproof]

If you don't eat or drink anything but water for 4 weeks, no cheating, you will be cured from sleep apnea forever. Jim

Death cures Sleep Apnea!

[49er]

I developed sleep apnea at about the same time as gaining slight weight (and other things). I went from 155 pounds (normal for my sex/age/height) to 170 pounds.
165 pounds is the upper range of normal for my sex/age/height.
I can easily stay at 170, lose 5 pounds with little effort, lose 10 with effort, and lose all 15 with a lot of effort.
Before my next step of tongue ablation and (slight) deviated septum surgery, I’m looking into the weight issue.

Hi,

As an FYI, a deviated septum surgery has only a 10% chance of curing your sleep apnea. Unless you're considering it to be able to breath better, I would not do the surgery.

Agree with Pugsy that it doesn't hurt to lose weight. But at far as it curing apnea, that isn't a guarantee.

49er

[Sheffey]

tongue ablation

Are you aware that ablated tongue muscle gets limp again within two to five years? That large, difficult to heal tongue ulcers are a common side effect?

Time to get smart and get a CPAP.

[Julie]

And unfortunately some people have doctors with inflated claims of success and tend to believe them when the vast majority of evidence out there and on here says otherwise. You might have relief if you were to lose e.g. 100 lbs, but whether it cured you would still be iffy. Certainly 5-10 lbs is highly unlikely to make any difference at all.

[SleepingUgly]

I developed sleep apnea at about the same time as gaining slight weight (and other things).

Not to be a stickler for details, but you probably don't know exactly when you developed it, unless you had just had a sleep study at 155 lbs before gaining 15 pounds.

I went from 155 pounds (normal for my sex/age/height) to 170 pounds.

Those charts are kind of annoying. They can make a person with stick legs and a huge belly think they are only 10 lbs overweight (not saying that's you). A big belly is not healthy, even if you're only slightly overweight per the charts.

In answer to your subject line question, "Can the slightly overweight stop apnea with weight loss?" I assume you mean can it cure it. It CAN, which doesn't mean it's guaranteed to. On the other hand, if I had a crack at a cure, or even improvement, through weight loss, you better believe I'd go for it. (Unfortunately, I don't have excess weight to lose. But I am certainly making sure I don't gain any weight, as that will likely worsen my situation.) In the worst case, you'll be thinner with sleep apnea, and in the best case, you'll be thinner without sleep apnea. Either one sounds like an improvement over what you've got going right now.

[Sheffey]

It CAN

I hate to be a stickler for details, but do you have any evidence whatsoever that a weight loss of around 10% has ever cured a case of sleep apnea?

[ironhands]

I developed sleep apnea at about the same time as gaining slight weight (and other things). I went from 155 pounds (normal for my sex/age/height) to 170 pounds.
165 pounds is the upper range of normal for my sex/age/height.
I can easily stay at 170, lose 5 pounds with little effort, lose 10 with effort, and lose all 15 with a lot of effort.
Before my next step of tongue ablation and (slight) deviated septum surgery, I’m looking into the weight issue.

Maybe!

Too many factors, really depends on the structure of your throat-holes. Same old question - will weight loss shrink my thighs (or whatever part)? There's no solid answer.. it can in many cases, but depends on the fat content of the specific area, and if the fat content in that area can be reduced through diet.

[SleepingUgly]

I hate to be a stickler for details, but do you have any evidence whatsoever that a weight loss of around 10% has ever cured a case of sleep apnea?

Are you seriously asking whether there has ever been a somewhat overweight person who was cured of their sleep apnea with weight loss? Explain how you would design a study to test that. Can you produce evidence that no one ever has been cured of sleep apnea by losing 15 pounds?

There are studies where "OSA" (i.e., an elevated AHI) was experimentally induced in normal subjects who do not have sleep apnea by merely occluding their nose!

[DeadlySleep]

It CAN

I hate to be a stickler for details, but do you have any evidence whatsoever that a weight loss of around 10% has ever cured a case of sleep apnea?

It's not the size of your body, it's the size of the airway in your body.