CPAPtalk.com

Catch 22
Lack of good quality sleep will make you feel like crap, lacking energy so you sit around and gain weight.

With CPAP treatment you gain quality sleep so more energy so more activity so can assist with weight lose.

But to lose weight that part is up to you.

tiredgrl wrote:I have lost 85 lbs and still have SA. My pressures have been slightly reduced though. I have about 20 lbs more to lose but don't expect to be "cured" once I lose the weight.

Congratulations! That is a truly amazing accomplishment.

Do you have any secrets? Or is it just less calories more exercise?

digitaleagle wrote:Do you have any secrets? Or is it just less calories more exercise?

I've come to the conclusion the key to losing weight is to have an affair ------------------------------------- a love affair with hunger pangs!

If your tummy isn't growling at least a tiny bit before meals, you're eating more than your body needs to maintain its current weight, let alone lose any.

digitaleagle wrote:
Do you have any secrets? Or is it just less calories more exercise?

Low carb is the best way. There are several threads with links on them.

Calories in does not equal calories out

There is probably some selection bias at work here. Anyone who has ceased to have SA after losing weight will probably not be reading/posting on these boards.

I agree with M.D.Hosehead's selection bias comment.

Also, see SleepingUgly's posted links and comments in this thread for what I think is a relevant and very good read:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=53485&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&#p495961

P.S. The Stanford Powerpoint presentation in one of SU's posts linked above is a great summary IMO.

I hired a personal trainer and joined Weight Watchers. Using both made it easier to lose the weight safely. It's important to find the weight-loss program that will work for you long-term. Quick fixes are just that, a quick fix but not sustainable.

I have been told by my sleep doctor and two pulmonologists that if I were to lose weight, I would have a terrific chance of getting off the machine. One pulmonologist who I'm seeing for asthma and allergies that has scoped my airway stated outright that she saw no abnormalities in my airway that would cause apnea and she stated she had no reason to believe I couldn't get off of it by losing weight. Both my current pulmonologist and sleep doctor are at National Jewish Hospital in Denver (one of the best respiratory hospitals in the U.S.)

I started this year at 283 pounds. I am down 76 lbs - 58 lbs since the last time I saw my sleep doctor in July. I'm 5 lbs away from the BMI line of "overweight" vs. "obese" at 203 pounds. I have an appointment with the sleep doc scheduled for the first week of January specifically for me to inquire about getting off the machine. I should be down below 200lbs by then and by the time they get the follow up study scheduled, I'll probably be between 190 and 195 with 170 being an ideal weight (for me).

So far, my neck circumference has fallen from 18 1/2 to 15 1/2.

I'm making a run for it!

I went to a meeting this month at a hospital where the speaker, an MD sleep specialist, felt that 85% of sleep apnea was related to being overweight. He said that patients should be retested for sleep apnea after they lost weight to see if they still needed CPAP.

I have lost over 30 lbs. since July and have not noticed any difference it my apnea. I still want to loose about 20 to 30 more but I am pritty sure that the weight loss will not effect my apnea much.

The sleep tech that did my study said that she no longer needed to be on cpap because she lost alot of weight.

tiredgrl wrote:I hired a personal trainer and joined Weight Watchers. Using both made it easier to lose the weight safely. It's important to find the weight-loss program that will work for you long-term. Quick fixes are just that, a quick fix but not sustainable.

Precisely ~ I'm doing the same and it's working.

I started this year at 283 pounds. I am down 76 lbs - 58 lbs since the last time I saw my sleep doctor in July. I'm 5 lbs away from the BMI line of "overweight" vs. "obese" at 203 pounds. I have an appointment with the sleep doc scheduled for the first week of January specifically for me to inquire about getting off the machine. I should be down below 200lbs by then and by the time they get the follow up study scheduled, I'll probably be between 190 and 195 with 170 being an ideal weight (for me).

So far, my neck circumference has fallen from 18 1/2 to 15 1/2.

That's a phenomenal success story! Fantastic work - I'm very impressed - and envious.

Snore_question wrote:I went to a meeting this month at a hospital where the speaker, an MD sleep specialist, felt that 85% of sleep apnea was related to being overweight. He said that patients should be retested for sleep apnea after they lost weight to see if they still needed CPAP.

Um....is it just me or does that seem a little stereotypical? Making Sleep Apnea fit into a stereotype is the most ignorant thing a physician can do. Where does the 85% come from? There is a very fine line when dealing with a health issue that is really just NOW starting to become paid attention to.

I did. Forget weight. Get off sugar, fluoride water and add magnesium supplements. Worked for me. Takes 4-8 months. Also add complete vitamin B to diet and plenty of Vitamin D3 plus oil.

If this gets posted I'd be happy to take questions. CPAP is a scam pushed by the same people wo gave you fluoride in the water. Fluoride is poison.