[Treatment] Coconut Oil Remedy

[archangle]

I'm highly skeptical.

However, coconut oil is probably fairly harmless at worst.

As to whether chemical xyz cures sleep apnea, don't forget that the human respiratory and sleep system is complicated. Not only are there mechanical aspects, the brain is involved and there is a lot of feedback. Changes in all kinds of things might improve your apnea. It might work for one person and not for another.

It might be worth trying and seeing how it works for you.

The big risk is deciding you don't need CPAP any more and stopping, when in fact you DO still need CPAP.

My personal doctor recommended cocoanut oil, but he's recommended a number of things I consider to be borderline harmless quackery in the past. He was recommending it as a good thing in general as part of my diet, not as a substitute for CPAP or other "real" medical treatment.

[archangle]

BTW, according to wikipedia,

Many health organizations advise against the consumption of coconut oil due to its high levels of saturated fat, including the United States Food and Drug Administration, World Health Organization, International College of Nutrition, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, American Dietetic Association, American Heart Association, British National Health Service, and Dietitians of Canada."

To me sounds like "not an immediate killer, but a legitimate concern."

I'll also comment that the opinion on saturated fats has changed in the past decade or two. I think a lot of people have decided that they're not as harmful as they used to think they are, but are still of some concern.

Cocoanut oil is a big fad right now. Doesn't mean it's bad, but there is a lot of hype.

[Louis R.]

That's interesting. I can't see it curing a real case of apnea. I can see it helping with blood sugar swings, since it converts more steadily.

I make coconut oil cubes. Fill up a silicone mold that holds about a dozen tbsp. size cubes and stick it in the fridge (not the freezer - since it solidifies below 75 degrees). Pop them out of the mold and keep in a covered bowl. People who don't like the straight oil often prefer the cube method.

Now that I'm able to post again I need to revise my statements about being cured. I may have jumped to that conclusion without testing having been done. The fact is that I have received miraculous results from the oil, day and night difference with how I function now compared to three weeks ago. This morning I just took the last tablespoon of my first jar of Spring Valley organic extra virgin coconut oil that I bought at WalMart. Believe me I want to see some clinical results to go along with my personal experience so that we can verify what has been happening. As far as I can see, I would be a CSA case, not OSA. What puzzles the hell out of me is why others haven't come forward with similar results from using the oil. Regardless, I got on this forum just to inform and possibly help others. The remarks from some have been insensitive and a bit cruel. Anyway, I have left a message with my doctor to set up an appointment to go over this issue. Any info that I get I will pass it on.
Thanks... LOUIS

[truetopath]

Thanks for the update, and please keep us posted. I'm interested in what your doc says.

[Sleepster]

As far as I can see, I would be a CSA case, not OSA.

Should be easy enough to tell. Just look at the results of your sleep study. You did have one, right? We assume you did because it's a requirement for the prescription of a CPAP machine and you did tell us that you had a CPAP machine at one point in the past.

We're you in fact ever diagnosed with sleep apnea? If so, what are the details of that diagnosis? Those details include the type of sleep apnea (OSA, CSA, or mixed) and the AHI, which tells us the severity of the sleep apnea.

Perhaps you don't have sleep apnea and the coconut oil is making you feel better for some other reason!

Perhaps you did have sleep apnea, lost some weight, had an annual allergen such as tree pollen subside, and who knows what else happen. Afterwards it took your body a while to recover and now you are feeling better at the same time that you started taking coconut oil. Your partner's claim that you recently stopped snoring is consistent with this possiblility.

What puzzles the hell out of me is why others haven't come forward with similar results from using the oil.

How do you know they haven't? If I look, and I don't have to look very hard, I can find reports of claims that just about any substance can cure just about any malady. Sugar pills, for example, have been shown to be such an effective cure for so many things that to be really sure of the effectiveness of anything a test must include a control group that's given the equivalent of sugar pills.

Regardless, I got on this forum just to inform and possibly help others. The remarks from some have been insensitive and a bit cruel.

I've been participating in online forums for 22 years. This is the by far the most polite one I've seen. The remarks that you find insensitive and cruel are challenges to your claim. Without those challenges our knowledge and helpfulness can't advance. People who share your stated goal of wanting to help people have been doing that here long before you arrived. And to continue doing that we try verify that the information presented here is valid. If you find that cruel you haven't understood the scientific method.

[Mark Douglas]

The older I get. The more I learn the more I realize how little of what I "know" is true.

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
Socrates

Medicine "knew" that stress causes ulcers. Ooops.
http://discovermagazine.com/2010/mar/07-...al-mystery
Young people have no idea what a scourge was intestinal ulcers.

In my own life many years ago as a Residential HAVC service tech a common complaint was in summer the (typically) wife claiming she felt hot when lying in the bed at night and wanting to set the thermostat at a lower point. And in winter she felt colder and wanted to warm the house. The husband pointed to the thermostat and stated (correctly) the temperature has not changed and implied wife was crazy and for me to tell her she was wrong. I wonder what happened in those marriages after I told him he was correct the indicated temp did not change and she was absolutely correct in that she does feel warmer or colder and is not crazy. (at least in this matter
BTW this effect is much reduced from 40 yrs ago.

I guess this is a verbose way of saying if there are no studies showing that coconut does not lessen sleep apnea that in itself is not proof it does not help this individual. I also would agree the power of the mind to change one's state is amazing! I learned to "think" my cold feet warmer, to "think" my blood pressure and heart rate substantially lower, and if Louis R is doing better using coconut oil good for him. And yes darnit I'm trying to contain myself and go thru a third sleep study to see what may have changed from the previous studies. One thing that has changed is I accept and eagerly await the acquisition of a PAP machine

[Louis R.]

As far as I can see, I would be a CSA case, not OSA.

Should be easy enough to tell. Just look at the results of your sleep study. You did have one, right? We assume you did because it's a requirement for the prescription of a CPAP machine and you did tell us that you had a CPAP machine at one point in the past.

We're you in fact ever diagnosed with sleep apnea? If so, what are the details of that diagnosis? Those details include the type of sleep apnea (OSA, CSA, or mixed) and the AHI, which tells us the severity of the sleep apnea.

Perhaps you don't have sleep apnea and the coconut oil is making you feel better for some other reason!

Perhaps you did have sleep apnea, lost some weight, had an annual allergen such as tree pollen subside, and who knows what else happen. Afterwards it took your body a while to recover and now you are feeling better at the same time that you started taking coconut oil. Your partner's claim that you recently stopped snoring is consistent with this possiblility.

What puzzles the hell out of me is why others haven't come forward with similar results from using the oil.

How do you know they haven't? If I look, and I don't have to look very hard, I can find reports of claims that just about any substance can cure just about any malady. Sugar pills, for example, have been shown to be such an effective cure for so many things that to be really sure of the effectiveness of anything a test must include a control group that's given the equivalent of sugar pills.

Regardless, I got on this forum just to inform and possibly help others. The remarks from some have been insensitive and a bit cruel.

I've been participating in online forums for 22 years. This is the by far the most polite one I've seen. The remarks that you find insensitive and cruel are challenges to your claim. Without those challenges our knowledge and helpfulness can't advance. People who share your stated goal of wanting to help people have been doing that here long before you arrived. And to continue doing that we try verify that the information presented here is valid. If you find that cruel you haven't understood the scientific method.

I don't have much time right now to respond as I would like, but let me say this: yes I've had sleep studies, 3 or 4. I would have to see my doctor to know for sure. What I remember, is that the first ones (11 years ago) didn't show a definitive sleep apnea case. The last one did show the events that prompted the doctor to prescribe the machine that didn't work for me... Respironics BiPAP Auto Model M with humidifier. Another thing is that I have thicker skin than may be apparent. I realize that I'm in a forum where everybody is using machines, and most are benefiting from it in one way or another. My cousin has been on CPAP for many years and she won't leave home without it. One last thing... I'm not one to fall for anything. you may say that "I'm from Missouri" LOL. I don't believe that I'm suggesting to myself that this works. That's why I'm going to go about it the scientific way... I'm going to consult with my doctor. However, in my lifetime I've sometimes seen that doctors get it wrong... and they are not flawless. We'll see. I still repeat that you are all good people. LOUIS

[archangle]

The older I get. The more I learn the more I realize how little of what I "know" is true.

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
Socrates

Medicine "knew" that stress causes ulcers. Ooops.
http://discovermagazine.com/2010/mar/07-...al-mystery
Young people have no idea what a scourge was intestinal ulcers.

There's a big fallacy here:

1) Science was wrong about ulcers.
2) Therefore this magic alternative miracle cure that has no scientific research to support it is as good as the current scientific methods.

Maybe your magic woo berry extract is some sort of miracle cure for something. However, if you go out and pick 100 untested plant extracts, probably 95% of them will be harmful or harmless. 4% might have some minor helpful effects. The 1% that have some major useful effects will be just like "western" medicines. They'll have some useful medical effect, but they'll also have their own flaws and side effects.

There's almost no kind of medicine, whether it comes from a lab or a plant, that has a purely beneficial effect.

The likelihood that some unscientific "natural" alternative therapy is good for you is miniscule. The "Western" medicine practitioners generally check out all the reputed "natural" remedies and if they work, they become real medicine, not alternative "medicine."

[Mark Douglas]

The older I get. The more I learn the more I realize how little of what I "know" is true.

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
Socrates

Medicine "knew" that stress causes ulcers. Ooops.
http://discovermagazine.com/2010/mar/07-...al-mystery
Young people have no idea what a scourge was intestinal ulcers.

There's a big fallacy here:

1) Science was wrong about ulcers.
2) Therefore this magic alternative miracle cure that has no scientific research to support it is as good as the current scientific methods.

Maybe your magic woo berry extract is some sort of miracle cure for something. However, if you go out and pick 100 untested plant extracts, probably 95% of them will be harmful or harmless. 4% might have some minor helpful effects. The 1% that have some major useful effects will be just like "western" medicines. They'll have some useful medical effect, but they'll also have their own flaws and side effects.

There's almost no kind of medicine, whether it comes from a lab or a plant, that has a purely beneficial effect.

The likelihood that some unscientific "natural" alternative therapy is good for you is miniscule.
The "Western" medicine practitioners generally check out all the reputed "natural" remedies and if they work, they become real medicine, not alternative "medicine."

My goodness gracious. I think all I did was to suggest a humble attitude. I started to do a line by line analysis of Your failures of logic but instead I'll just make sure I unsubscribe this thread. Think I'll go listen to IZ for a while and perhaps you might consider that action also. This is good for the soul I think. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLEFp38iWiY

[me50]

IZ is pretty awesome. I stumbled across his music accidentally and I like it. I wouldn't want to listen to it 24/7 but it is relaxing.