Obesity & Sleep Apnea

[dog_tired1]

Hi,
Since I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, I have been trying to educate myself as much as possible and listen to other stories to see if we all have a common denominator. I am 36 years old and was once very thin and had a great figure. I was always skinny and never had problems with weight. I never thought I would become an overweight person.

Even when I was thin, I snored like a walrus. I never had my tonsils removed when I was a kid either. Every night I would wake up with panic attacks. I thought I was having heart attacks when I would wake up gasping for air. I had no idea, I had sleep apnea,let alone never heard of the term. Night after night I would wake up in my sleep having heart palpitations and be short of breath thinking I was dying.

My head always felt foggy. Even though I had my eyes open I would feel like I was walking around in my sleep. I would pull my eyelids up to feel more alert and splash cold water on my face. I had constant headaches and felt extremely tired. I could not make it through the day without napping for several hours. After I awoke from my naps, I would still not feel refreshed. I was looking for a reason for what was wrong with me. I thought I had chronic fatigue syndrome, thyroid problems, lupus, etc...

I had gone for loads of tests, and doctors said everything was normal. I had panic attacks since I was a child and just chalked up these symptoms as related to having anxiety in my sleep.

12 years ago I got married, had 2 kids and was even more exhausted. I was always tired before marriage and kids, but kept myself active despite this. Every year I kept gaining more and more weight. I didn't eat more than normal, but exercise was way too tiring and I couldn't manage it. Finally, the day came that I was really overweight. This is not me at all. I am now a skinny girl trapped in a fat person's body.

At the urging of one of my doctors, I went to a sleep study and was recently diagnosed with apnea. Could this be the reason for my big weight gain over the years? I have been on medication for panic attacks since 1995, but I haven't had to change my doses since then. Maybe a combo of meds and sleep apnea shut down my metabolism.

Is this similar to anyone here's story? Could apnea be this horrible that you are so tired, you can only drag yourself from one room to another? Do friends and family think you are just being lazy? I get called lazy all the time and I hate it.

I was wondering how many of us get told by others that by being overweight, we are at fault for having sleep apnea? A couple of my relatives who are at a normal weight and do not have apnea keep telling me if I would lose weight I wouldn't have apnea. I hear that this can be true, but it is very insulting when people make comments like this.

This is the reason I am embarrassed to tell anyone I know that I have sleep apnea. They seem to immediately think it is a fat person's disease.

~Dee

[kteague]

Many of us have experienced the hurt and frustration of being misunderstood, misjudged and even misdiagnosed due to ignorance in the general population and, unfortunately, sometimes even in the medical community. But hey, before it happened to us, how much did we know and what were our preconceived notions? You can gather educational material to share with those close to you who are open to learning. You may want to consider telling those who matter most that their remarks and judgements have been hurtful. Some may never "get it" but you will have done your part. Sometimes just being vindicated or having affirmation to oneself is enough. Best wishes as you regain your life.

Here's a little light reading to get you started.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18573643
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10899061
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18227501
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18811879

[DreamStalker]

It's the hormones.

As we age, our hormones start getting unbalanced (either through poor hormone reception or to increased/decreased levels) -- for some it is greater for others less.

If we consume the wrong food/drinks, our hormones will get unbalanced also -- for some greater, for others less.

If we exercise too little or too much, our hormones will get unbalanced.

If we don't manage our stress properly, our hormones get unbalanced.

obesity is a symptomatic condition of unbalanced hormones.

Obesity can make OSA worse through physiological mechanisms and OSA contributes to obesity through hormonal disregulation.

[Roman Hokie]

Wow. My story to a T. Except for the panic attacks in 95. I started with them in the early 2000s, combined with depression.

Yeah. My pediatrician told me when I went to college that I would never see 130#. I'm over twice the man I used to be. (246 the night of titration).

I was 110# the day I went to college. The last dress shirt I bought had a 17" neck. I'm 20" neck now and can't wear a tie. And I'm supposed to be attending a wedding tomorrow...

Yeah. And every time my parents visit, my folks are either talking about MY weight (mom's like 100# and dad's about 125# - both are between 5'3" and 5'4") or someone else's. It sucks...

I'm awaiting the day I have energy to walk regularly. My wife doesn't even like me mowing the lawn because she thinks I'll die.

[AndrewB]

I've found that for me - food took the place of sleep. When I felt tired a snack would pick me up again.

[grady61]

Well, once I became diabetic, and an annoying doc told me I couldnt lose the weight without the g bypass surgery (not knocking the surgery-it saves lives)I lost substantial weight. I have a history of diabetes on one side of my family including an aunt that died in pre teen years when they put a new coke machine in town and the gas station owner had no idea she was a diabetic. But anyway, because of the diabetes they put me on the low carb diet. Thing about the low carb diet is you dont starve yourself. I dont like to recommend or not recommend it but its worked for me. I no longer have the need for insulin. I dont have the greatest glucose levels I suppose, but always between 85-110 now compared to 300+ . The less carbs the better the number it seems. I think a big part of it is I dont think you can treat it like a diet I think you gotta accept you may be eating lo carb rest of your life. Choice between not eating carbs or taking 4 injections a day was complete motivation for me. A big thing is-theres ALWAYS hope and keep your chin up dogonit!

[DreamStalker]

Well, once I became diabetic, and an annoying doc told me I couldnt lose the weight without the g bypass surgery (not knocking the surgery-it saves lives)I lost substantial weight. I have a history of diabetes on one side of my family including an aunt that died in pre teen years when they put a new coke machine in town and the gas station owner had no idea she was a diabetic. But anyway, because of the diabetes they put me on the low carb diet. Thing about the low carb diet is you dont starve yourself. I dont like to recommend or not recommend it but its worked for me. I no longer have the need for insulin. I dont have the greatest glucose levels I suppose, but always between 85-110 now compared to 300+ . The less carbs the better the number it seems. I think a big part of it is I dont think you can treat it like a diet I think you gotta accept you may be eating lo carb rest of your life. Choice between not eating carbs or taking 4 injections a day was complete motivation for me. A big thing is-theres ALWAYS hope and keep your chin up dogonit!

That's right. For those of us who have had to evolve from our ancestors because we were NOT intelligently designed, our genetic mutations have not kept up with the increasing amount of carbohydrates in our diet since the start of the Neolithic Age. Instead, our genetic expression is more optimal with a low carb paleolithic age diet.

[elena88]

lOVE YOUR AVATAR..

hey, guess what? You probably had apnea when you were skinny..
snored like a walrus? woke up gasping? panic attacks?

I truly believe the panic attacks which OSA causes at night, can spill over to the daytime.. they didnt for me, but I know, just know that can happen.
I bet when you get this osa treated, no more panic attacks! (i hope!)

Anyway.. about the weight thing...

you dont need to be overweight to have it.. absolutely not!


here are somethings which will cause it..

small ear canals, backwards set jaw, tiny mouth, large tonsils, large adenoids, permanent teeth removed as child, slanted palate,
tiny throat opening...

if someone asks you why you have OSA, and you dont want to discuss your weight.. the term is... "THROAT ARCHITECTURE"

Tell them you have OSA due to your throat architeture.. and that should shut them up.. if not, get a flashlight out and invite them to
look at your throat!

[Roman Hokie]

@ elena. "Throat Architecture." I love it.

[elena88]

throat architecture!



I love it too!

has a great ring to it!


Let's face it, none of us would be here, if our throats were PERFECT....

weight or no weight, our throats are not doing their job to keep us breathing.. little finky throats they are!

[Wulfman]

Nasal architecture. Deviated septums, enlarged turbinates and nasal congestion can restrict breathing through the nose (preferred route to get air into the lungs) and will cause the person to snore and mouth-breathe. When the person mouth-breathes there's a better chance for the tongue to get sucked into the back of the throat and block off the airway.......when you stop breathing for at least 10 seconds, that's an apnea. When this goes on all night long (or anytime while you're sleeping), it drops your blood-oxygen levels and it throws your metabolism out of whack......and then it becomes a snowballing effect......our activity diminishes......weight gain......more apnea events......eating to sustain energy, etc., etc., etc.

In the vast majority of cases where there is sleep apnea and obesity, the sleep apnea came first.


Den

[Rick B]

I am a few pounds over weight (about 10-15), but I had the apnea for many years as a skinny person in excellent health and went to the gym 4 days a week. My wife (ex) told me about it when she said I stopped breathing at night.

Sure I've gained a few pounds in the last few years as I've gotten older. If someone tells me I'm fat I just say, "I may be fat, but your ugly and I can lose weight".

[Patrick A]

There are some interesting ideas thanks.

[Roman Hokie]

Rick, that works great unless the person commenting to me is a hot chick. Then I just blank.

[BlackSpinner]

Rick, that works great unless the person commenting to me is a hot chick. Then I just blank.

Point out you have a 6' plus hose and some interesting kinky toys to show her plus you much more endurance and staying power!