Sleep apnea...what can you tell me?

[Drew]

When this subject comes up, I'm always surprised at how many people have sleep apnea and use a CPAP/BIPAP (whatever PAP) machine. I thought I was rare, but seems to be very common. I live in Japan and many Japanese, skinny though they are, are using them these days.

[p8712]

I need to lose 40-50 lbs., 6 down so far. If I lost all the extra weight, would the sleep apnea go away completely?

I've lost a couple hundred pounds - yeah, it'll go away completely. Took about 6 weeks to eliminate mine - I was never formally diagnosed but I'm sure had it.

[RecipeForDisaster]

Newer machines that aren't BiPAP can still be set to provide less pressure on exhalation, but it only goes down 3 from the inhalation, so if your pressure is high it may not be a sufficient difference.

Try to make sure you don't get a "brick" machine that does not have data. You can monitor and tweak your own therapy using SleepyHead software.

You would never suspect that I use an APAP... I don't fit the profile at all.

My mask is a Simplus FFM which is the best I've found... for me. I liked Dreamwear but I found it very noisy, and I do better with a full face mask.

[rz]

Wife has sleep apnea. They gave her a CPAP, but she just couldn't get used to it. She'd get a couple hours of sleep then wake up with a migraine. I finally convinced her to get a dental appliance, which did help. Occasionally she'd get jaw pain from using it though. Within the last year or so, she started exercising more and has lost, I think, about 20 or 30 pounds. She hardly uses the appliance anymore, but her snoring has definitely decreased. It's not as loud as before and usually only wakes me once or twice a night instead of the several times it used to.

Her father is fairly skinny and he snores like a freight train. But his insurance won't pay to get a sleep test. Her mom says he does the gasping in his sleep too. I don't see him being willing to use a CPAP though.

[rjmacs]

Did a sleep study once, and the doctor prescribed either weight loss or CPAP, and if weight loss didn't work, then CPAP. For me, taking off 25-30 pounds was sufficient, but for many it's not.

[Numo]

My wife has sleep apnea and has had good success using an appliance. However, IIRC, it was fitted by an oral surgeon not a dentist.

At the moment, she is participating in a 6 week university study that is evaluating the effectiveness of practicing certain vocalizations (think repeatedly saying a capital "A" vs. a lower case "a"). The idea is that exercising these precise sounds may strengthen the throats muscles that help prevent snoring. Twice a week, she sleeps in another room with her iPhone connected to their server. They record and analyze her sleep patterns to see if the exercises are helping. No results yet, but she only has one night to go.

[Filliam H. Muffman]

It can be both age and weight related. Tissue loses tone as you age.

I wish the medical industry hadn't been poisoned by the "low fat (but high sugar)" meme for 40 years. It's responsible for a lot of people being overweight.

[Fritz]

everyone I know over 50 has it, to one degree or another. Few if any are overweight. Weight loss does help as others have indicated.
Some use a cpap successfully, but not many.
More use a dental device or just deal with it.

Definitely get tested. Most people get more usable results with an in home.
Mine was a Philips Alice Night One.

If you qual for a cpap, the dme provider is most important. Check the reviews.
Many of them are positively awful. Others are much more helpful.
The dme biz is full of greedy bastards.

[Robert M]

Hi everyone,

Some thoughts on sleep apnea. But, first, I should point out that I disagree with what Filliam said about the medical industry and the "low fat (but high sugar)" meme. Blaming the medical industry makes it as if they are responsible for what people eat and that's just wrong. It's the other way around. People are responsible for what they eat, not the medical industry.

A sleep study can be done at home. I did that once and as well as one at a clinic. I preferred the one done at a clinic. There was someone monitoring it 24/7 and any issues with equipment were quickly resolved. I'm betting it was more accurate, too.

Sleep Apnea can be controlled. I tried a CPAP machine and it was a nightmare. It didn't matter what type of mask and such. I couldn't get much, if any, sleep and felt far worse as a result. Never again. I didn't bother with a dental appliance. I controlled it via weight loss.

I didn't get rid of sleep apnea entirely but I improved so much that it was no longer an issue.

Robert

[Filliam H. Muffman]

Robert, the medical industry is susceptible to lobbying and advertising. Doctors and medical associations should have been fighting the USDA over the food pyramid and dietary guidelines ever since they first recommended "low fat" diets.