Lost weight, need help

[krazykchan]

How do you know if your pressure is too high?

I lost 32 pounds over the last 9 months. I slept like a baby when my pressure was readjusted to 10 around the same time I decided to work on losing weight. Over the past month, I haven't been sleeping that well. I wake up 3-4 times a night and I feel more fatigued than usual.

However, I've also been dealing with getting my thyroid meds adjusted and I just started a very stressful, hard program in college.

Are there specific signs I should look for? I don't know if my pressure needs to be lowered or if it's just other circumstances making things difficult. I wanted to ask you guys first since my sleep doctor is really far away and hard to get an appointment with. I'll go if I have too however if there are specific signs of too high pressure I figured you guys would know!

Note: I do not have a machine that can give me readings. And no, I can not buy a machine that will do so. I'm stuck with what I got!

[slapmeawake]

I lost 60 lbs and my pressure went from 9 down to 5 so it could very well be since you have lost weight you need less pressure. I have a APAP so I was able to set my minimum pressure lower and lower until I found it more comfy. You could just experiment with lowering the pressure a little at a time and see how you feel. I too experienced less restful sleep when I lost weight and didn't know what was going on. Sadly, I still have not gotten back to the great sleep I had when I was heavier ( go figure!!!). I used to sleep a straight 6 to 7 hrs a night and then after a potty break another hr. or 2 but now I seem to wake much more frequently. The Doc wanted me to try to go without the machine, as my apnea was mild even when I was heavy but I feel even at a pressure of 5 I sleep better with the machine than without. I am lucky that I have no problem breathing with that low pressure. If it were me I would just experiment with lowering my pressure gradually if you don't have access to an APAP. I'm not up on the machines so don't know if yours is one or not. Good luck. Edit: See where your machine isn't an APAP so you will just have to go by how you feel by lowering a little at a time. The thyroid meds could make a big difference too, you should discuss that with your Doc.

[Julie]

Apart from the wt loss, your face will have changed (more so than you can tell by looking), so you might need to readjust your mask or even think about either a different size or another one entirely. And maybe find a way to help some of that stress, like meditating etc.

[krazykchan]

I lost 60 lbs and my pressure went from 9 down to 5 so it could very well be since you have lost weight you need less pressure. I have a APAP so I was able to set my minimum pressure lower and lower until I found it more comfy. You could just experiment with lowering the pressure a little at a time and see how you feel. I too experienced less restful sleep when I lost weight and didn't know what was going on. Sadly, I still have not gotten back to the great sleep I had when I was heavier ( go figure!!!). I used to sleep a straight 6 to 7 hrs a night and then after a potty break another hr. or 2 but now I seem to wake much more frequently. The Doc wanted me to try to go without the machine, as my apnea was mild even when I was heavy but I feel even at a pressure of 5 I sleep better with the machine than without. I am lucky that I have no problem breathing with that low pressure. If it were me I would just experiment with lowering my pressure gradually if you don't have access to an APAP. I'm not up on the machines so don't know if yours is one or not. Good luck. Edit: See where your machine isn't an APAP so you will just have to go by how you feel by lowering a little at a time. The thyroid meds could make a big difference too, you should discuss that with your Doc.

I'm feeling pretty good on the thyroid front. I have to wait 6 weeks for blood work so that we can see if my TSH is where it should be.

I will probably just try lowering it myself. I know I still need it as I did try sleeping without it for a few days and felt crappy however not as crappy as I felt when I was first diagnosed. So it is getting better at least.

[krazykchan]

Apart from the wt loss, your face will have changed (more so than you can tell by looking), so you might need to readjust your mask or even think about either a different size or another one entirely. And maybe find a way to help some of that stress, like meditating etc.

I did have to tighten my mask. I'm due for a new one soon so I'll check if there is one that fits me better. Thanks!

[kteague]

You said that your doctor is not close. Is your DME also far? Just thinking you could ask your doctor to order a two week trial on an autopap to reassess your pressure needs. If it is far, ask if they'd be willing to ship it to you. If you do pursue this this, ask the doctor to not start your pressure range at 4, as it's not unusual to have trouble breathing at 4. Could save you wasting some days of the trial period fighting through this.

[Hawthorne]

Yes, an autopap trial would be a good way to go. With the Escape NO ONE, not even your DME or doctor can get any detailed data to see what is going on. All the Escape shows is how often and how long you used the machine.

I had a week long auto trial when I had a straight cpap machine with no detailed data. It showed that I should raise my pressure 1 cm. It was really helpful.

[torontoCPAPguy]

God is punishing you for losing all that weight without my persmission and telling us how you did it.

[krazykchan]

You said that your doctor is not close. Is your DME also far? Just thinking you could ask your doctor to order a two week trial on an autopap to reassess your pressure needs. If it is far, ask if they'd be willing to ship it to you. If you do pursue this this, ask the doctor to not start your pressure range at 4, as it's not unusual to have trouble breathing at 4. Could save you wasting some days of the trial period fighting through this.

Sleep doctor and DME are in the same building. I'm going to discuss with my significant other about making a trip there soon since I do want this done the easy way.

[krazykchan]

God is punishing you for losing all that weight without my persmission and telling us how you did it.

The fiance and I are using the "I Can Make You Thin" program by Paul Mckenna. I lost 30 and he lost 45lbs. We kinda fell off the wagon for a while (about 2 months) and are starting it back up again. Luckily, I didn't gain any weight back over the last 2 bad months.

Also, we have our own elliptical so that we can watch tv while exercising. Much better than the gym!