Weight loss drug trial claiming to reduce Sleep Apnea. Hmmm?

I feel being 30lbs. overweight has something to do with my severe apnea. I have considered pursuing Ozempic or a similar drug but the side effects are too daunting. A couple of years ago I lost 20 lbs. quickly due to illness. My AHIs did not go down. I regained the 20 lbs. and added 10 more. My AHIs have gone up by 1.

I take Semiglutide. It really does shut off the food noise. I've lost some weight would like to lose more. It hasn't done anything for my sleep apnea tho. Still use my machine faithfully. Would like to try the Tirzepatide at some point. It's harder to get. There is a lot of bad misinformation going around about both these drugs. Its lowered my A1C a lot. For me, the side effects have been mild. I am one of the lucky ones. Anything that makes it more available to more people, like classifying it for use in other situations is a good thing. Insurance companies are denying people right and left. It is only because of where I work I am able to get this medication at a somewhat affordable amount as insurance has denied, even though my doctors feel like I need to be on it. I don't understand why insurance companies are being so hard line on this as it saves them a bundle on other medical costs.

Sleep2Dream wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 21, 2024 11:33 am

I just think the machines are a pain in the ass.

. . . an annoyance.

I love what my CPAP does for me and won't sleep without it, but it is 1000% a pain in the ass. It's not life-crushing like a colostomy bag, just another annoying routine to have to deal with.

loggerhead12 wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 22, 2024 6:13 pm

I love what my CPAP does for me and won't sleep without it, but it is 1000% a pain in the ass. It's not life-crushing like a colostomy bag

A colostomy bag avoids a pain in the ass.

Mounjaro (same tirzepatide as Zepbound) has taken me from the morbid obesity category to merely overweight. I've now lost 85 lbs. Still losing. My doc is amazed.

It isn't just the loss of weight with the GLP-1-type drugs; it is also a matter of where the loss occurs, in my opinion. My upper airway now functions differently. If I dose off briefly on the couch, I no longer snore significantly, according to my wife.

I will not contemplate coming off CPAP, though. My original sleep doc was a straight-shooter who glanced down my throat on my first visit and told me (even before testing) that I would always need to use CPAP even if I were underweight. I still believe him on that. But if I'm ever below recommended weight (still about 40 lbs away), I may get a second opinion or look into things further.

But I do NOT find CPAP use to be the least bit of a hassle for me. I spend maybe 30 seconds a day filling the humidifier tank, that's about it; the rest all happens when I'm asleep. That is much less of a hassle, by comparison, than brushing my teeth, wearing glasses, taking showers, shaving, wearing clothes (you're welcome), using the toaster, changing guitar strings, or rearranging my sock drawer. CPAP is easy. The rest of life is what can get hard.

CPAP rocks with its delivery of filtered humidified air pressurized just enough to stabilize my upper airway. I find it to be a true blessing that I look forward to every day and plan to use for the foreseeable future. I only wish I could have started it earlier in my life. It is my personal secret weapon for being more rested and better focused than my work peers. At least that's what I tell myself.

But hey, I realize I've always been a bit strange with my outlook on things. And maybe I'm delusional, which I consider to be just a synonym for 'creatively self-entertaining' whenever I compose a post here.

Last year I got hearing aids. When I first got them it was so incredible to realize just how crappy my hearing had been before, I truly had no idea what I was missing out on.
CPAP feels the same for me. When I fall asleep without the mask on and wake up in a sweat, recalling vivid dreams, it reminds me of how my nights were before CPAP. Awful, and I thought that was just how sleep was. WRONG!
No going back for me!
As for weight loss, well, I've had OSA probably all my life, and I have fluctuated in terms of weight from underweight to mildly overweight. The reason I have OSA is because of the structure of my mouth and throat. Weight doesn't seem to affect it at all.
However, I posted this study originally because I thought it was interesting and one size might not fit all when it comes to OSA. I keep an open mind.

It is true that tirzepatide can be prescribed for weight loss, but that doesn't mean that's all it does and is the only effect it has. It is still being discovered what other effects it has on other organ systems and systemic disease states for some.

If, for example, the slowing of digestion changes the nature of the way nutrients are extracted from foods and affects which foods are craved and eaten in different amounts, that is bound to have profound effects on multiple levels for each individual.

The effect the drug has on sleep and breathing may or may not be directly related to total weight or weight distribution. It will take years to decipher what other factors may be in play. So I consider it an oversimplification to attribute all its results to total weight loss alone, as significant as that aspect may be. Such an assumption is understandable but premature this early in the game, in my opinion and in my experience.

Meantime, I am enjoying how my change in appearance scares people once they recognize me. Some acquaintances have reintroduced themselves to me. I am not, however, enjoying tossing my entire wardrobe every few months and starting from scratch each time. Suits ain't cheap these days, and there's only so much that altering them can do before the back pants pockets get too close and the coat pockets move too far back.

But unlike simple mechanical approaches like CPAP and hearing aids, which I consider to be all miracle, drugs are often part miracle and part poison.

Always enjoy your posts and threads, Arlene.

I ve been on Lillys Mounjaro/Zepbound for 2 1/2 years. I still use my cpap. My weight went down 50lbs. Now I have loose skin on my face and neck. Maybe inside my neck too. I still snore and gasp without cpap.