POLL: Weight gain/loss and cpap therapy

[dsm]

I started this poll to try to gauge peoples reactions re weight & cpap therapy.
It was prompted by a classic 'OSA = Overweight' thread started recently.

So the poll was triggered by the following typical attitudes/comments
- OSA is a problem caused mostly by excess weight
- OSA is a typical trigger for gaining excess weight
- OSA is typical in people with short thick necks combined with excess weight
- OSA can occur in anyone irrespective of their weight
- OSA will occur in anyone irrespective of their weight
- OSA is a certainty for people who are overweight

Just to make this more interesting, you can select any or all the questions.
I am particularly interested in seeing the voting bars

DSM

[TSSleepy]

I think an interesting question is: does obesity worsen the symptoms of sleep apnea?

Based on my own experience, I have to wonder about the following situation:
A 150-lb marathon runner and a 300-lb couch potato both have equally bad flow limitations/obstructions while they sleep.

Who would have the worse SpO2? Who would have the worse EDS and other OSA symptoms?

It seems to me that similar breathing limitations are going to hit the 300-pounder much harder, and that person is much more likely to get diagnosed...

[Catnap]

I think an interesting question is: does obesity worsen the symptoms of sleep apnea?

Based on my own experience, I have to wonder about the following situation:
A 150-lb marathon runner and a 300-lb couch potato both have equally bad flow limitations/obstructions while they sleep.

Who would have the worse SpO2? Who would have the worse EDS and other OSA symptoms?

It seems to me that similar breathing limitations are going to hit the 300-pounder much harder, and that person is much more likely to get diagnosed...

I think you need to qualify that answer somewhat:
1. Breathing limitations would likely hit a couch potato harder and a marathon runner less regardless of their weights.
2. Breathing limitations may, in fact, hit the runner harder, because s/he practices a sport that benefits from respiratory fitness, whereas the couch potato does not.

[roster]

The "Guest" in the other thread on SDB and obesity, may want to start educating himself by reading this article: http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare ... ent=Group1 .

[MoneyGal]

Thanks for posting that, Rooster.

[Muse-Inc]

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare ... ent=Group1 .

Cool article, cool site...thanks Rooster!

[time2sleep]

Great article! I always felt like OSA was my "punishment" for being 40 pounds overweight.

[drj130]

From what I've been able to gather from my mother, I was cutting down rain forests back when I was 15 and 115 pounds. I'm now 38 and 149 pounds and those forests are still falling. I don't think that weight is a factor as far as being a cause. I haven't started my treatment yet, but from what I've read here so far, many have lost weight, or have had a better time of losing it after they have started their treatment. Myself, I'm not sure if I can afford to lose weight and go back down to 120-130.

David

[Billy6]

Hopefully its a weight loss trigger for everyone. It is hard to imagine someone gaining weight on CPAP when it is caused by weight. You'd think that the rig you have to crawl into every night would be the max in motivation to stay away from the donuts, snickers and cakes, and for others to drop the thyroid excuse. It seems that the ones who would gain weight after dealing with the machine and hoses, etc, etc, are the one that would take their kids in for an MRI when they sprained their ankle at soccer or football practice, instead of buying 25 cents worth of ice from the local Seven-Eleven

[BlackSpinner]

personally I don't care what peoples opinions are regarding weight and OSA. The only important people are the medical establishment - it is their opinions that count in getting people the care they need.
I was diagnosed by my sister who's husband had it - not by my doctor who was skeptical and only referred me because I insisted. My BIL is morbidly obese, just had lap band surgery. Cause or effect? who knows. I have been referred to as the "idling Mac truck" for over 20 years since I had my youngest - at which point you could count my ribs - I was 105 after I had her - you could count my ribs. (I always lost weight having babies) If I had lost more weight I would have been in trouble.

[BlackSpinner]

Hopefully its a weight loss trigger for everyone. It is hard to imagine someone gaining weight on CPAP when it is caused by weight.

Not bloody likely as some people gain weight after being put on cpap because sleeping helps digestion.

OSA is not caused by weight gain for many people

How many times do people have to have that hit over their heads?

[DarkSideOfTheMoon]

It ticks me off when people trivialize obesity. Like it or not, believe it or not, it's a disease. Being obese has many, many physical, mental, social, emotional consequences and yet only 5% of morbidly obese people can lose weight and keep it off. I am a pre-bariatric surgery patient who has done TONS of research on the subject. I'm not proud that I have to resort to surgery. Many normal sized people have asked me why I would RATHER do surgery than EAT RIGHT AND EXERCISE. I wish I could explain why that isn't possible for me long term but if the medical community can't answer that, why would I be able to. I have to laugh at Billy6's post that climbing into a CPAP contraption would be uncomfortable enough to make an obese person lose weight. HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now THAT'S funny!!!

If losing weight was only as simple as eating right and exercising, we would not have so many unhappy and sick people wandering the earth. Do I think losing weight CAN help with CPAP therapy....absolutely. I am involved in a weight loss surgery forum and many people have reduced their pressure settings post surgery. Many have taken themselves off the CPAP entirely because their symptoms have gone away. I'm sure most of them did not have a follow up sleep study so who knows if it went away or not. It might be worth me asking!

I am newly diagnosed with severe OSA but suspect I have had some degree of it for years. I don't think this will be the magic bullet to make me lose weight. I think it will help my energy levels which were NIL. Since starting therapy a week and a half ago, I was able to hike twice this week for an hour each time. A big accomplishment for me. Cheers to my CPAP! I'm still having the surgery though. My point is that many people won't pretend to be experts in brain tumors or surgery, so why would they pretend to be experts in obesity when they know nothing about the science of it???!!!
Cathy

[Muse-Inc]

It ticks me off when people trivialize obesity...it's a disease...

Hear hear Cathy!!! 100% agreement, something has gone terribly wonky that a body accumulates enough fat to be labelled obese.

A fully functioning body after consumption of excess calories increases metabolism to burn those calories. We know that 70-80% of us of European extraction will over-produce insulin in response to ingested carbs; insulin stores those calories first in the liver (small amt) and muscle cells (more muscle, more storage) with the rest dumped into fat cells. But the intriguing tidbit is that most people will only add so much fat and then they quite getting fatter -- why? -- we don't know and we don't understand the biochemistry involved.

Just stop eating -- if it were that simple, we'd all be thin! How can anyone with a functional brain think we haven't tried? We don't really understand the hormones that drive saiety and hunger. We don't understand leptin or leptin resistence and its effect on the brain. We are just beginning to understand insulin and insulin resistence and its effect on the brain. It's suggested by studies that leptin resistence in the brain, like obesity, leads to insulin resistence. We know that there are mulitple genes that when triggered lead to type 2 diabetes but we don't understand what triggers them. For that matter, we don't really understand how the drugs that reduce blood glucose really work and millions take these daily!!!

We finally understand how oxygen deprivation leads to hypertension (thanks Rooster for posting the link):
http://eon.businesswire.com/portal/site ... ewsLang=en.

Thank you...rant done

[Babette]

I think an interesting question is: does obesity worsen the symptoms of sleep apnea?

Based on my own experience, I have to wonder about the following situation:
A 150-lb marathon runner and a 300-lb couch potato both have equally bad flow limitations/obstructions while they sleep.

Who would have the worse SpO2? Who would have the worse EDS and other OSA symptoms?

It seems to me that similar breathing limitations are going to hit the 300-pounder much harder, and that person is much more likely to get diagnosed...

First off, I'm not 300 pounds. Yet. But I do think my marathon runner BF might need a sleep study. I'm not pushing it on him, though. Yet.

And he does think I need to lose about 75 pounds for OVERALL general health. I keep saying "not today, I'm too tired." Sound familiar?

You're right - I'm heavy, and I got diagnosed immediately because of that, but also because I had someone sleeping with me who complained LOUDLY about my snoring. And who had recently had a friend get a cpap and report success. Thus, I was fore-armed when I went to the doc - I asked for the sleep study.

The marathon runner hasn't had any complaints, because he sleeps alone. And he didn't know anyone on cpap until he met me.

If/when we ever get a bed big enough for the two of us, I predict I'll start complaining about his sleeping (snoring, apneas, etc.).

LOL,
B.

[roster]

It is sometimes amazing what is in those fat bodies trying to get out: http://knownbyname.wordpress.com/