Losing weight & its effect on sleep apnea

[pumbany]

I plan to lose weight and see what effect if has on my sleep apnea.

What data elements do you think I should track to see how wieght correlates with my sleep apnea?

These are the data points I plan to track:

1) Pressure (Median, 95% and Max
2) EPAP
3) AHI

Please let me know if you think there are other good data points to track to compare the weight loss number to determine correlation.

[Julie]

I would use Sleepyhead and all the elements on it - why pick and choose - but don't necessarily expect that weight loss will mean the end of Cpap. Some people even manage to do worse afterward, though most find some improvement in AHI and how they feel, but only a proper sleep study afterward will confirm or not if you can quit using Cpap.

Once you've lost the weight you can go back over your reports to see which elements have shown consistent changes.

[pumbany]

Thanks Julie,

I will track all the stats.

That is a scary thought that you mentioned about some people doing worse after weight loss, hopefully that doesn't happen.

Either way I will be a human guinea pig and see what happens.

[ChicagoGranny]

What data elements do you think I should track to see how wieght correlates with my sleep apnea?

What are your machine settings and what is your AHI on a typical night?

Personally, if I wanted to track something, it would be the key stats on cholesterol components, triglycerides, blood pressure and blood sugar. That's where the bang for your bucks comes when you lose weight.

Make sure to have a regular program of resistance training and eat sufficient protein to lose fat and avoid losing muscle.

[Lucyhere]

I had lost 25 lbs. when I had my last sleep study in October. My AHI went from severe sleep apnea (50 AHI, I believe) to moderate, 16 AHI. Losing extra weight helps in so many ways... SA being one of them. In my case, losing the first 10 lbs. made a difference in how I felt during the day. I've now lost a total of 30 lbs., and I'm at an ideal weight for my height.

Good luck on your weight losing journey.

[ChicagoGranny]

My AHI went from severe sleep apnea (50 AHI, I believe) to moderate, 16 AHI. Losing extra weight helps in so many ways... SA being one of them. In my case, losing the first 10 lbs. made a difference in how I felt during the day. I've now lost a total of 30 lbs., and I'm at an ideal weight for my height.

[pumbany]

What data elements do you think I should track to see how wieght correlates with my sleep apnea?

What are your machine settings and what is your AHI on a typical night?

Thanks for the feedback.

My machine settings are 4 min and 11 max
My last 4 AHI's were
1) .37
2) .48
3) .38
4) .18

[Julie]

Have you considered raising the low pressure of 4 to something a bit easier to breathe at (no one seems to be able to manage that) for a few days to experiment how things go (e.g. 6-7)? Most of us do that when prescribed the standard 'default' figs of 4 and 20... and at those levels it's quite harmless to do it. It would only become a potential issue at e.g. above 10 or 15, but not where yours is.

[pumbany]

Have you considered raising the low pressure of 4 to something a bit easier to breathe at (no one seems to be able to manage that) for a few days to experiment how things go (e.g. 6-7)? Most of us do that when prescribed the standard 'default' figs of 4 and 20... and at those levels it's quite harmless to do it. It would only become a potential issue at e.g. above 10 or 15, but not where yours is.

Julie,

I actually never considered raising it from 4. When I put my mask on I fall right to sleep and the pressure of 4 never bothered me.

I guess I could try setting it at a minimum of 6. But I see on my sleepyhead graphs for example the other night my pressure was below 6 and dipped into the 4's and 5's for two hours from 2am to 4am. I slept fine and didn't wake up.

Is there a reason to raise the minimum from 4 to 6 or is it just only done if someone has trouble sleeping at the lower pressure.

[ChicagoGranny]

But I see on my sleepyhead graphs for example the other night my pressure was below 6 and dipped into the 4's and 5's for two hours from 2am to 4am. I slept fine and didn't wake up.

Under those circumstances, I would not change the pressure. Keep monitoring the Sleepyhead reports until you are convinced your good therapy is consistent.

[LSAT]

But I see on my sleepyhead graphs for example the other night my pressure was below 6 and dipped into the 4's and 5's for two hours from 2am to 4am. I slept fine and didn't wake up.

Under those circumstances, I would not change the pressure. Keep monitoring the Sleepyhead reports until you are convinced your good therapy is consistent.

+1

[tts7376]

Losing weight was a major factor for me.

[tts7376]

My doctor actually gave me a diet that worked. I lost 21 pounds in 6 weeks. My blood press went down and my sleep patterns were a lot better. If you are overweight I would start there.

[pumbany]

Do you think I should increase the maximum pressure from 11 to something higher?

I see that in last nights sleepyhead report I jumped up to the max at around 2:30-am and stayed at the max for almost a half hour until 2:50 am. Other nights I never reach the max of 11 but other nights I do hit the max.

When I first started CPAP the sleep study had a higher pressure of 12 or maybe 14 I can't even remember from 10 years ago. But at the time I had a machine that ramped up and stayed at the max all night and I could sleep all night at the max so the doctor lowered it to 11. This was a long time ago and its been at 11 for a while.

But now that I have auto adjusting do you think I should raise the max to let it go above 11 if it needs to? Many nights the machine never hits 11 but some nights it does hit 11 and I am not sure how much higher it wants to go. I don't know if its bad that the machine was at the max of 11 for a half hour before it went back down.

This is the report?

[Julie]

Raise the max, yes, but it's the low pressure at 4 that matters, so I'd put it at least to 6 for now (few days) and see how it goes. You can put the max to e.g. 15.