How does Denver (altitude and pollution) affect OSA

DrPepper00 wrote:Can you still smell the stock yards in Greely from miles away?

lol, you've gotta be fairly close to Greeley to smell it.

ameriken wrote:

DrPepper00 wrote:Can you still smell the stock yards in Greely from miles away?

lol, you've gotta be fairly close to Greeley to smell it.

When we drove from Denver to Ft. Collins, we had to hold our breath for several miles when we passed Greeley. And during the stock show, we could smell the cows all the way down in Littleton. Ick.

I've been on beef ranches and dairy farms.

It is not the cows you are smelling.

Cows have a pleasant smell, are warm and nice to rub.

ChicagoGranny wrote:I guess it is terribly impractical, but everyone who uses CPAP would be better off if they lived seaside. The greater density of the air is a big help. Even small changes in elevation make a big difference.

My house is at 700 feet. Every summer I stay a couple of weeks with my sister who lives on the shore at elevation 30 feet. I can clearly tell that CPAP works better and I feel much better.

If I win the lottery I will buy a house in my sister's neighborhood and my husband will sell his business and retire there.

My town is between 100 and and 650 feet and I live in the low part. We are not by the ocean, but are by Puget Sound. When I lived in Denver, I always felt better when I had to go on business trips to either the east or west coast. And you are right about the cows. They smell nice, but the feed lots don't. I remember my grandmother milking Bossy when I was a kid. I couldn't figure out why my Granddad named his bulls after my brothers and offered to name the milk cow after me. She wasn't nearly as impressive as a Brahma bull.

pepper, I am a Denver native.
I live in north Denver metro area.

My 4th cpap anniversary is coming up in July.
I received my cpap education here at cpaptalk.com
and I am my own best therapist.
I titrated myself, where I live at 5600' of elevation.
Cpap has given me my life back.....at 5600'.

Denver has a few days in the winter when pollution
can be bad, but not many now.
I have never smelled the feed lots of Greely in Denver.
I ride thousands of miles a year on my bike, in and around Denver.
I'm very healthy.

It is too bad that your experience in Denver is so dismal.
I feel your dilemma.
Denver may not be the place for you.

I could not imagine living any place else.

DrPepper00 wrote: Now my question. Does the altitude, thin air and pollution make those with OSA feel worse? I have only been back to visit 3 times since I left and came home feeling awful. I love Seattle, but I want to live near my family.

Altitude drops the oxygen levels. I was at the Rocky Mt National Park when a storm moved through and the oxygen levels were 60some % of sea level. At that point I could do a 3 mile swim without issue and I was light headed just standing. That was a bit higher than Denver but it does have lower O2 levels. Most of the local get used to it over time. Its why sports guys used to go there to train, their bodies would adapt to the low oxygen levels and then be "enhanced" at lower elevations.

A SpO2 meter is $20 on ebay. Find one and it will tell you if you have a problem or not.