Wean off CPAP?

[49er]

The MMA surgery looks better.

http://respiratory-care-sleep-medicine. ... rgery.aspx which is by Dr. Park

""A meta-analysis by Holty and Guilleminault [5] pooled 53 reports describing 22 unique patient populations (627 patients), and found that the mean AHI decreased from 63.9/hr to 9.5/hr, with a pooled surgical success rate of 86%. Overall, 43.2% were cured (AHI < 5), with a 66.7% cure rate for those with a preoperative AHI < 30/hr. Long-term surgical success was maintained at 44 months. Predictors of surgical success included younger age, lower BMI, lower preoperative AHI, and greater degree of maxillary advancement.
Quality of life measures, excessive daytime sleepiness, and blood pressure were noted to be significantly improved as well.""

I know having an AHI below 5 is the ideal goal but keep in mind that the typical person who undergoes MMA has tried everything to no avail. So going from an AHI of 63.9 to 9.5 would be dammed good.

But again, since jcruz is doing well with pap therapy, I would advise him to not risk having surgery.

49er

[bwexler]

I am sure on a stroll through Forest Lawn you will find a number of folks who have successfully weaned themselves off CPAP.
They generally aren't saying much about their success.

[chunkyfrog]

Anytime a surgeon starts pushing turbinate reduction,
I remember the time I Googled "empty nose syndrome".
That gave me NIGHTMARES!

[49er]

Anytime a surgeon starts pushing turbinate reduction,
I remember the time I Googled "empty nose syndrome".
That gave me NIGHTMARES!

Many people find it beneficial. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me although I don't think I have ENS. But my sinuses feel very dry no matter what I do or don't do.

As always with any surgery, ask alot of questions but even when you do, there aren't any guarantees.

49er

[ChicagoGranny]

It's a big leap from

when I unpacked the first night and realized I left my CPAP power cord

to

surgery, medication, lifestyle/diet modifications

!

Maybe try something simpler, easier, cheaper, less painful and very likely to work.

When I get out of bed the day of a trip, I immediately place every CPAP item I just finished using into its travel case. I also put in an extra mask or hose. A hose could puncture or a clip on a mask could break - I want spares. (I also take an extension cord.)

Yes, the machine could break in route, but if you take good care of it and only take one on trips that is less than three years old, your odds are very good.

[SewTired]

Honestly, it depends on the individual person and their physical structures. My sister was able to quit cpap after she had surgery for an unrelated problem. The ENT told her that she would likely have to continue with her cpap. She was fortunate.

Hey, it's the pits. I get you. I haven't had to haul my cpap for foreign travel yet, but it's just one more thing where you have to remember all the parts for. My sister traveled a lot though - she attached a checklist in her suitcase so that she would always remember all the parts. She never left a hotelroom without checking the checklist.

Me - who not only locked her keys in the car yesterday, but then forgot cell phone in family member's hospital room.

[archangle]

Surgery or weight loss work for some, but the odds are not good. Surgery often has side effects, high cost, and is difficult.

[DeadlySleep]

My sister was able to quit cpap after she had surgery for an unrelated problem.

Hemorrhoids?

[BanjoPaterson]

When I was diagnosed with OSA it was in 2009, I was 46 and 110kg. My sugars were up and about the only good thing happening was my blood pressure was low -- a genetic disposition It was my wife, who's a doctor, who had/made me go to sleep clinic. She said she believed I'd had mild OSA since around 2004, so luckily I was caught "early" in 2009. So I got a CPAP, which I credit for saving my life, job and marriage, and decided I would "get fit and lose weight" to rid myself of the CPAP.

Fast forward to 2015. I weigh 86kg, in May I ran my 2nd half marathon ( *just* outside the 02:00:00 mark, dang, in 02:01:34), and got a black belt in Rhee Taekwondo in November 2014. My resting pulse is 50 and, despite being 52, I'm fitter than I've ever been IN MY LIFE and weigh as much as I do in my 20s. It was a combination of diet and exercise, but I achieved my goals...

... and here's the thing. On being re-tested... I still have mild to moderate OSA. As my sleep doctor said, "it's rare for weight loss and exercise to cure OSA."

So from my experience, it may be possible to "wean" oneself off a CPAP, but diet and exercise are no guarantee of it happening.

[WindCpap]

I don't understand the term "Wean off CPAP". If you have sleep Apnea, your CPAP treats it, and effectively cures it while you are using it. If you can change the situation so that you don't have sleep apnea (through surgery or weight loss or another method), you won't have to "wean" off CPAP. You would just stop. The CPAP does not cause the sleep apnea to get worse or lead to dependency on it.

[Jackie1]

Has anyone successfully weaned himself off CPAP? Either via surgery, medication, lifestyle/diet modifications, etc?

Medication...to my knowledge there are no medications at all that do anything at all for OSA.

Surgery...you won't likely find a surgical success story here...let's face it...this is a cpap help forum and we all pretty much use the cpap machines. If we had surgery and didn't need cpap anymore then there would be no reason to be here...would there?
We do get a lot of people that come here for cpap help who have had some sort of surgery to "fix" the OSA and either the fix offered short term relief or no relief at all.
Right now I don't know of any surgery that would offer someone with such severe OSA as you have enough of a reduction in apnea events to make it a viable option for you. They just don't have that good of a success rate at this time. Now new ways of trying to fix OSA using some sort of surgical method are being tried and I have no doubt that in 5 years someone will have thought of something entirely new to try...so there's always some remote possibility that in the future something may be tried that has a good success rate.

Ever see this? Is it bull?

http://www.islandnet.com/~sreid/lauphtm ... ticle.html

I've heard about this laser that is legal in canada but not in the USA,.

[idamtnboy]

Not in response to your question but a comment based on your misadventure.

When you say you left your power cord are you referring to the cord from the power brick to the wall receptacle? If so there is a more economical alternative that everyone should keep in mind. Many boom boxes and other electrical items use a power cord very similar to the Resmed cord. Just go to Radio Shack, or maybe even Wally World or Best Buy, and buy a replacement boom box cord. I use an older one at the mobile home we stay in on the home farm occasionally. I did have to split the plug to get it to fit the brick prongs, but it works.

[Pugsy]

Ever see this? Is it bull?

http://www.islandnet.com/~sreid/lauphtm ... ticle.html

I've heard about this laser that is legal in canada but not in the USA,.

Looks like it is a UPPP done with a laser and I haven't heard anything good about UPPP.
Not all people who snore have sleep apnea. Not all people who have sleep apnea will snore.
I suppose it is better than nothing but I would never consider UPPP or anything remotely similar.

[zoocrewphoto]

Not in response to your question but a comment based on your misadventure.

When you say you left your power cord are you referring to the cord from the power brick to the wall receptacle? If so there is a more economical alternative that everyone should keep in mind. Many boom boxes and other electrical items use a power cord very similar to the Resmed cord. Just go to Radio Shack, or maybe even Wally World or Best Buy, and buy a replacement boom box cord. I use an older one at the mobile home we stay in on the home farm occasionally. I did have to split the plug to get it to fit the brick prongs, but it works.

Most thrift stores have this same cord (the part between the wall outlet and brick).,. It is the same cord as a canon printer cord.

[ChicagoGranny]

Ever see this? Is it bull?

http://www.islandnet.com/~sreid/lauphtm ... ticle.html

I've heard about this laser that is legal in canada but not in the USA,.

I find this part of their article a little specious:

this type of surgery is the only alternative treatment to using a CPAP (Continuous Airway Pressure) machine for the rest of your life.

If you have the surgery, what is really for the rest of your life is any unwanted side effects from the surgery. They do exist, and they can't be corrected.

On the other hand, CPAP is not necessarily for the rest of your life. It might be replaced by technological advances with a better treatment. And you can also opt out of it for current alternative treatments.

Have the LAUP surgery and other options, such as CPAP, MAD, implanted electrical stimulation devices or a yet undeveloped technology, may no longer be possible.

Stick with the CPAP for a couple of years. Make sure to optimize your CPAP therapy with the help of this forum. Over time, you may come to love CPAP as much as many of us do.