Is it possible to have a reduced apnea over time?

[billski]

Long shot, silly question, probably naive too, but I'll try it.

Is there any chance that when PAP is used long enough that your unassisted API (no cpap machine) might be reduced? Every piece of common sense tells me no; It's most likely a structural issue, at least in my case, with my tongue being too far back.

As a corollary, if you lose enough weight, might that also reduce apnea?

Thanks!

[kteague]

Things can change with OSA, even for the better. I had a friend who lost weight due to illness and her apnea seemed to resolve. She was not retested as other health challenges made it a moot point. This same person experienced improvement in her breathing after having an enlarged thyroid that was compromising her airway removed. Does the average person see an improvement without something changing? I doubt it, but who can say never? Those people wouldn't be hanging around here for us to hear about it, so what we read on here is mostly the other way around.

[jweeks]

As a corollary, if you lose enough weight, might that also reduce apnea?

Hi,

In some cases, losing weight will affect your apnea. I have lost exactly half of my body weight since starting CPAP (went from 330 down to 165). My apnea actually got more complex and harder to treat, but I am on much lower pressures (was on BiPAP 15/21, now on APAP from 9 to 14). At 330, I was a world class snoring machine, but at 165, I rarely snore. While losing weight, I had a huge issue with air ingestion from 280 down to 230, and then issues with RERA breathing until I got down around 195. All in all, the lower pressure that I use now is a lot easier to deal with, and it gives me more mask options.

There are 1,000 reasons to lose weight, but curing apnea isn't one of them. It is nice if it helps your apnea and makes it easier to deal with, but that shouldn't be your primary reason for starting down this path.

-john-

[avi123]

Long shot, silly question, probably naive too, but I'll try it.

Is there any chance that when PAP is used long enough that your unassisted API (no cpap machine) might be reduced? Every piece of common sense tells me no; It's most likely a structural issue, at least in my case, with my tongue being too far back.

As a corollary, if you lose enough weight, might that also reduce apnea?

Thanks!

In my case my apnea has been reduced quite a bit over the past 3 years since I started treatment. I can tell it by the fact that I can go to sleep without using the CPAP at all about 25% of the time and also by the reduced events that I have left untreated if I test myself by running the machine on minimum pressure such as 5 cm only. AHI is below 10 compared to 45 during my first diagnosis. Meaning that I don't have hi level OSA anymore. Only low level.

[RogerSC]

In my case my apnea has been reduced quite a bit over the past 3 years since I started treatment. I can tell it by the fact that I can go to sleep without using the CPAP at all about 25% of the time and also by the reduced events that I have left untreated if I test myself by running the machine on minimum pressure such as 5 cm only. AHI is below 10 compared to 45 during my first diagnosis. Meaning that I don't have hi level OSA anymore. Only low level.

Do you re-test yourself over a period of several days? I've heard that the effects of the machines can last a few days, like maybe 3 days, then disappear...Don't know how true that is, since I haven't experienced it, but so I've heard *smile*.