Reminder: Sleep Apnea Not Limited to Obese Patients

[dave21]

Another good thing to add to this thread is at http://www.helpguide.org/life/sleep_apnea.htm they list the following reasons for Obstructive Sleep Apnea...

* Being overweight or obese (although 50% of people with sleep apnea are not obese)
* Large tonsils or adenoids
* Other distinctive physical attributes (deviated septum, shape of head and neck, receding chin, enlarged tongue)
* Nasal congestion or blockage (from cold, sinusitis, allergies, smoking, etc.)
* Throat muscles and tongue relax more than normal during sleep (possibly due to alchohol or sedatives or age)

[roster]

Dave, That is a reminder that some people have sleep apnea for temporary periods.

Like when they have a cold or tonsillitis or are pregnant or go to bed drunk.

But hopefully not all four conditions at the same time.

[dave21]

I agree not everyone falls into those categories or not everyone falls into all each of the categories but it's good reminder that there are other people on the forum who suffer from Central Apnea as well as other non-obese people too. Sleep Apnea can hit a wide range of people and at different times

[JohnBFisher]

Yup. Just based on the experiences in my family, it does not have anything to do with obesity. I had sleep apnea during my teen years. I was (though you would not imagine it now) a VERY skinny kid. I was LESS than ideal weight. I was only about 135 to 140 and should have been about 160 based on height and build. But I remember clearly my sister complaining that I snored just like our grandfather. He snored very loudly, stopped breathing, made loud gasping noises, and died fairly young due to cardiac problems.

Sound familiar?

Oh, would it surprise you to hear that his daughter, my mother, also has sleep apnea - though not as severe.

When first diagnosed I was a little overweight. Both my pulmonologist (my sleep specialist at the time) and my ENT were surprised that I had sleep problems. I have no problem with a closed airway. Though my chin recedes some, it's not much. They assumed my airway should remain open. Fortunately, my pulmonologist ordered a sleep study to check. It came back ... severe OSA.

Unfortunately for me, even my very first sleep study showed issues with central apneas. It was not very significant at the time (about one or two per hour). But in spite of continued complaints about those, other doctors did nothing to treat them. And I ended up with untreated sleep apnea and all the consequences.

So, if someone here is surprised they have OSA and sleep apnea but are not significantly overweight, don't be too surprised. It is not a one to one correlation. If you are obese, it only makes the situation worse. But the obesity may have been triggered by the OSA - not the other way around.

[roster]

Keep the signature, but bring back the nice avatar.

[JohnBFisher]

... Keep the signature, but bring back the nice avatar ...

Back by popular demand ...

[roster]

Thanks!

[CMorrison64]

THANK YOU ... I sent this on to my mother in law ... or out law!!!! I have gained 40 lbs due to two foot surgeries last year and unable to exercise and when she found out I was on CPAP she told me it was due to gaining weight. How nice is that! Evil woman!!! Anyway I now have proof to back it up.

[roster]

THANK YOU ... I sent this on to my mother in law ... or out law!!!! I have gained 40 lbs due to two foot surgeries last year and unable to exercise and when she found out I was on CPAP she told me it was due to gaining weight. How nice is that! Evil woman!!! Anyway I now have proof to back it up.

Hey, cut my name off before you send it so I don't get dragged in. I already have enough problems with my wife and my mother fighting and don't want to get in the middle of another daughter/mother-in-law war.

[Snoozie]

I have always been a normal weight and normal BMI, but have apnea and a snorer. My husband is the overweight one and does not snore, and everyone always thinks he is the one with apnea. I was told by the dentist (but I forget what it is called) that I have something misshapen with the roof of my mouth,(never knew this) but not sure if it is a contributor. Will have to remember to ask at my next dentist appointment.

[elena88]

Yes, my pulmanary doctor looked at my jaw, said it was set back a bit or something, looked in my mouth, and said I
had an extremely tiny opening in my throat, large tonsils, and adnoids, a large tongue, and said I would
have severe OSA the rest of my life and had to be on the apap the rest of my life too..

I too had four perm. teeth extracted when I was a small child because my mouth was so tiny, even my ear canals
are itsy bitsy, the doctor said she had never seen such small ones on an adult.. but you would never know by looking
at me any of this stuff was going on! Youre right, dentists should be checking for this stuff..
Here, I thought I missed the bullet on getting braces, my teeth came in fine, after those permanents were pulled.

]So I am missing four perm teeth, but have all four wisdom teeth... I wonder how many of us fit that profile?

[roster]

Here, I thought I missed the bullet on getting braces, my teeth came in fine, after those permanents were pulled.

]So I am missing four perm teeth, but have all four wisdom teeth... I wonder how many of us fit that profile?

My dentist told me that when an infant is born, the roof of the mouth is in two pieces with a gap between the pieces. During adolescence, after the permanent teeth have arrived, the two pieces in the roof of the mouth grow together.

If you remove some of the permanent teeth, the two pieces will migrate closer together before the bone grows and fuses into one piece. Thus you end up with a narrower jaw.

The dentist that pulled your permanent teeth unwittingly contributed to your OSA.

If the problem of a narrow jaw is recognized soon enough, an adjustable brace (palatal expander) that will widen the distance between the two roof pieces can be easily installed.

It is too late for us adults, but for the sake of following generations, here is some good reading from Dr. William Hang:

Scientific Evidence That Biobloc Orthotropics™ Has a Positive Impact on Airway
http://www.facefocused.com./jrcmp.html

See also Dr. Hang's excellent website:

The first step in Biobloc Orthotropics™ is to move the upper front teeth to their ideal position in the face (typically 8-10 mm). This is accomplished with a removable appliance, worn 24 hours a day, which also widens the upper jaw and increases the space for the tongue to be positioned properly to the roof of the mouth. The appliance, called a Hang Expancer, is typically worn for 4-6 months, and creates a mild to pronounced discrepancy between the upper and lower front teeth.
As soon as the upper front teeth are in their idealized positions, a second removable appliance, the Biobloc, is used to posture the lower jaw forward into a more ideal position in the face. It fits on the upper jaw and has small plastic guides extending downward to cause the lower jaw to posture forward at rest. The child learns to wear the Biobloc 24 hours a day except for eating, vigorous sports, singing or playing a wind instrument, and brushing the teeth. Adjustments are made every few weeks to the appliance as treatment progresses. The full correction can often be achieved in a 6-8 month timeframe, depending on the severity of the problem and the child's cooperation. As the improved rest oral posture becomes a habit, the patient can taper back from full time wear to non-school wear, nighttime wear and, ultimately, no wear.
The changes occur through movements and remodeling of the bones of the head.

http://www.facefocused.com./bioorthotrop.html

(I am glad his name is not past tense. )

[BlackSpinner]

So this is what someone who gets OSA looks like just before they get it. Notice the lack of obesity!

[LinkC]

(I am glad his name is not past tense. )

Or worse:
http://www.macraesbluebook.com/search/c ... pany=61985

[Ruffinit]

I've been married for 31 years. My wife has told me repeatedly since then that I would stop breathing while sleeping... Throughout my life, I've struggled to keep on weight, for most of it I was at 5 to 7% bodyfat. Cycled an average of 7,000 miles per year and run a 8:30 mile and a half. The doc says that I have a narrow breathing tunnel, but that never kept me from being highly competitive. I have CSA and have only one characteristic of sleep apnea which I was never aware of (stopped breathing during sleep).
So, though obesity or greater than ideal weight may be an issue, it's not the only issue due consideration.