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Treating apnea with weight loss if of average weight - chris94546 - 10-14-2020
I am a 50 year old male of average weight with sleep apnea. I just hate the whole idea of cpap and oral appliances as a long term treatment. It just feels like treating the symptom rather than the cause. I know anatomical characteristics play a role in the development of apnea, but I wonder if modern lifestyles are mainly to blame. Even though my BMI of 23.9 is considered within the good range, it is at the upper end of that range. For my height of 5'9" (according to charts) I should weigh between approximately 130 and 169 lbs. Therefore, for treatment of sleep apnea, should we be targeting a weight toward the lower end of this range, maybe at 140 lbs or so. Should we aim to be on the skinny side. As a late teen and into my early 20's I weighed from 135 to 147 lbs and had no apnea, or at least no symptoms. I know age results in loss of muscle tone, but should avg. weight apnea sufferers aim to be skinnier than the typical male? Would appreciate your thoughts.
RE: Treating apnea with weight loss if of average weight - SarcasticDave94 - 10-14-2020
I know my example is for one weighing much more than your comments, but just as a comparison and contrast. I used to weigh 300 pounds in 2016. In 2015, I had a sleep study that pegged me at an AHI of 75 or so. So as said, in 2016 I weighed 300 until 9/16 I went through a bariatric sleeve surgery. Roughly a year later, I weighed 200 and had a new sleep study done around that time as well. That AHI at about 200 lb? A 37 or so AHI or about half of the prior. 100 pounds off and AHI still in the severe range.
Why did I mention any of it? Yes weight is a factor in apnea, but it is not the only thing that indicates or causes apnea. Lots of fatty build-up around the throat, aging and loss of muscle tone, just 2 that come to mind. I see these as factors that increase the chance of having apnea. Yet we have apnea sufferers here on Apnea Board that are thin. Family history may play into having apnea. Apnea type is on the table too. Central apnea can apply to anyone. Just some info into the discussion.
PS I'm now 51.
RE: Treating apnea with weight loss if of average weight - chris94546 - 10-14-2020
Thanks for your reply. Just another piece in the puzzle.
RE: Treating apnea with weight loss if of average weight - Sleeprider - 10-14-2020
We have had members that are clearly in the low-end of healthy weight, female and still had OSA. More frequently, we find individuals of healthy weight actually have complex or central apnea, but arrive here with an incorrect diagnosis of obstructive apnea. Your machine produces data, and the software to read it is is free OSCAR.
If you don't already have a SD card in your machine, get one. If you do, then post a chart. I guarantee you will learn something, but can't do the same that you will like what you hear. Either way, we can probably improve your comfort and efficacy compared to what you're getting out of MyAir.
RE: Treating apnea with weight loss if of average weight - mesenteria - 10-15-2020
(10-14-2020, 02:45 PM)chris94546 Wrote: I am a 50 year old male of average weight with sleep apnea. I just hate the whole idea of cpap and oral appliances as a long term treatment. It just feels like treating the symptom rather than the cause. I know anatomical characteristics play a role in the development of apnea, but I wonder if modern lifestyles are mainly to blame. Even though my BMI of 23.9 is considered within the good range, it is at the upper end of that range. For my height of 5'9" (according to charts) I should weigh between approximately 130 and 169 lbs. Therefore, for treatment of sleep apnea, should we be targeting a weight toward the lower end of this range, maybe at 140 lbs or so. Should we aim to be on the skinny side. As a late teen and into my early 20's I weighed from 135 to 147 lbs and had no apnea, or at least no symptoms. I know age results in loss of muscle tone, but should avg. weight apnea sufferers aim to be skinnier than the typical male? Would appreciate your thoughts.
What is your neck circumference? Statistically, men with neck girth of 17” or grater are much more likely to have apnea. Mine has gone from 16”-and-some back to my pre-retirement girth of 15.5”, but my AHI has reduced neither in range nor on average. I lost 22 pounds between late January and late May. I’m shorter than you and was typically <145 pounds as a competitive runner 20 years ago. So, I have lost considerable mass, but my numbers haven’t changed (treatment parameters also the same).
All this to suggest that it will probably be tantamount to Ye Olde Crappe Shoot in your case. Yeah. I’m only an “n” of 1, so maybe you’ll get lucky.
RE: Treating apnea with weight loss if of average weight - Cpapian - 10-15-2020
You didn't mention what your AHI is.
If your AHI was 8 and you lost weight and brought down your AHI to 2. Then yah that would be good. What happens if you regain some or all of the weight. How will you know the impact?
But, if your AHI was 40, you lost weight and brought it down to say 20. It would be a good improvement, BUT, you would still have sleep apnea. So with 8 hours sleep you would still stop breathing 160 times and have to wake up 160 times and you would be minutely damaging your body regulation systems each time, every night. Risking high blood pressure, diabetes, cognitive issues, falling asleep driving and maybe killing or seriously injuring someone.
Using the machine is really not a big deal. It's like brushing your teeth.
RE: Treating apnea with weight loss if of average weight - chris94546 - 10-15-2020
Thanks for your info. Like you said, I guess for some maybe it would help, but certainly no guarantee. Too many variables to know. Bye the way, my neck circumference is only 14-1/2". I think my achilles heel is the fact that I have a very big, fat tongue.
RE: Treating apnea with weight loss if of average weight - chris94546 - 10-15-2020
My AHI was 26.5, which I know is close to the severe level. On the other hand, I do not suffer very large oxygen desaturations. In my last study, with 6 hours of sleep, my oxygen saturation never dropped below 92% and averaged 95%. I have noticed that since just starting apap therapy (for the first time) that I do not require a very high pressure. My physician recommended a range from 9-14, but I found I was blowing up like a balloon. I have slowly lowered the numbers not to 5-9 and reported an AHI on my ResMed Airsense 10 of 1.4 per hour.
RE: Treating apnea with weight loss if of average weight - Mogy - 10-16-2020
As others have mentioned, it is an individual thing. You won't know until you try.
You may lose a small amount of weight with a large improvement in your AHI, or you may lose a lot with little improvement.
In general, there have been many studies done and weight loss does improve OSA, reducing your untreated(not using PAP) AHI.
BMI(weight) is not the only thing to consider. There is such a thing as 'skiny'-fat. What is your body fat percentage? Do you have a slim waist?
Another thing to consider is exercise. Independent of your weight and weight loss, general exercise has been shown in multiple studies to be able to reduce your AHI by approx 50%.
Also, tongue and throat exercises have been shown to lower AHI by approx 50% as well. These exercises are very easy to do, and I find them very effective.
RE: Treating apnea with weight loss if of average weight - becker44a - 10-16-2020
Hi Chris,
When I was diagnosed with severe Sleep Apnea over 6 years ago, I weighted about 235 lbs. I now weigh about 160 lbs. Judging by my Oscar statistics which I check daily, there is no improvement of my untreated apnea. I would not count on weight loss to improve your situation. What has changed for me is that several other health conditions known to be influenced or exacerbated by sleep apnea have improved or disappeared. You have a great machine, well supported by OSCAR, but it can't help you if you don't use it. You list MyAir as your software in your profile. My Air is useless to optimize therapy. I recommend you download and install OSCAR, make sure you have an SD card in the machine, and post some charts here. You would be amazed what a difference some trained eyes on the data can make.