Should I retest?

[ThisIsMyUserName]

I've been on CPAP for about three or four years now, and (thanks to everyone here) I've more or less got it wired, feeling great, using it 100% of the time, sleeping well. Now that I'm feeling better, I've lost about 30 pounds, putting me squarely at my optimal weight. My question is whether I should get retested in the hopes that the weight loss cured the apnea, or is it not worth it since everything is going smoothly. If it's just an apnea test, maybe a home test if insurance covers it?

[chunkyfrog]

You are most welcome to get tested; but it would probably be on your own dime.
Most likely, you are NOT "cured", and if you stop using CPAP, you would once again feel like crap,
and the weight would return--with its whole family.
Cpap does not cure--it treats a normally incurable condition.
Can you post a Sleepyhead report from your machine?

[grayghost4]

get Sleepyhead software and look at you data .... that will tell you what is going on.

[ThisIsMyUserName]

I do have sleepyhead and I have tons of data and experience reading the charts, but I'm not sure I can tell what's going on. I use a constant pressure of 5.0, which I think is the lowest or near lowest setting, and I average an AHI of 1 or less when using CPAP. Is it possible to use a BiPAP or APAP or something to swap between near-room pressures and 5.0 if there's an apnea event?

[robysue]

I do have sleepyhead and I have tons of data and experience reading the charts, but I'm not sure I can tell what's going on. I use a constant pressure of 5.0, which I think is the lowest or near lowest setting, and I average an AHI of 1 or less when using CPAP. Is it possible to use a BiPAP or APAP or something to swap between near-room pressures and 5.0 if there's an apnea event?

Nope. The lowest pressure that a BiPAP or APAP goes is 4cm, which is not much difference from what you are using.

Do keep in mind that 4 or 5 cm is enough pressure to be therapeutic for some people. You could be one of them. You'll only know if the weight loss is enough to cure your apnea if you are tested without the machine.

[Pugsy]

I second what RobySue said.

The only way to know for sure is another sleep study without cpap. A home study could be a good choice as long as it is a "good" multi channel test instead of just the finger tip pulse ox test. I am wary of just the pulse ox test data without anything else because not everyone has marked O2 drops with their OSA so it's possible to have a "false negative" if one relies solely on oxygen desats as a marker.

I would do it.
As much as I don't mind being masked up....man, I would really like to not have to do it.
Losing weight won't fix my OSA though. I was a skinny Minny when my symptoms first started and are directly related to most likely post menopausal floppy tissues (seems like lots of things started to sag with menopause).

I have known a few who were retested after significant weight loss (and they kept it off) who were able to ditch the cpap machines. Most of them were people who lost 100 pounds or more but it wouldn't be impossible for a smaller loss to also do the trick.
If you decide to try it....I would suggest that you go without cpap for a few nights before whatever repeat sleep study you end up doing just because there is the possibility of somewhat of a holdover effect from the machine use. I am not sure how much it might actually be true or to what extent but a lot of doctors will want a few nights without cpap before the sleep study just to make sure that a negative result isn't from holdover effect.

[palerider]

resmed bilevels and some other brand cpaps go down to 3.

[ThisIsMyUserName]

Thanks, all. I am definitely one of those people who benefit from a 5 pressure: I had an AHI of about 20 pre-CPAP, and < 1 on CPAP; more importantly, I was a complete and total wreck before CPAP and better after. I guess maybe one day I'll try a night without the machine and see how I feel when I wake up: if I feel good, I'll get a retest. In the meantime, if the machine doesn't bother me enough to make that test worth it, I guess that answers my own question.