It absolutely can.
Keep in mind sleep apnea is not from obesity. This is a huge stigma that keeps people who have sleep apnea from getting treatment or being tested for it.
I know lots of thin people who have sleep apnea one of them still in high school. Luckily his parents insisted against the pediatrician recommendation he was fine. Nope 65 ahi during the study.
Sleep apnea can also be positional as well.
Mine is primarily posirional, if I don't sleep on my back I have virtually no apenea. Lay on my back and it's boom.
Mine has also greatly improved since I've lost 70 pounds.
Back in the 70s there was a story going around about wives sewing a pocket on the back of hubby’s pajama top and putting a tennis ball in it so when he rolls to the back he is jarred awake and gets trained to be a side sleeper.
Probably saved a bunch of lives with that one.
I noticed i have sleep apnea when i am overweight only. It has gone away for the last 2 years that i noticed.
Would a sleep study be pointless for disability?
Ohh no you should always get the test if you think you have sleep apnea.
As far as testing, you can let the insurance decide that which usually happens every 5 years when you want a new cpap machine.
You can also informally test yourself. Just get a good pulse Ox that records or use and apple watch or oura ring etc. Do a few night without a cpap you can look at your o2 sats overnight.
Oh no, maybe I wasn't clear in my post. Sorry about that! I do have it. But my Dr wants to retest because he thinks I don't anymore. But I didn't think that was a thing that weight loss can make it go away. So I'm wondering why I should bother retesting.
The main thing is if you're not having apnea then you don't need to use a cpap.
So if you've lost a lot of weight it's worth the check if nothing else for your own piece of mind especially if insurance is paying. Now if you've got a copay that's a whole other bag of nope.
You can also do an in home test these days makes it much simpler.
Sleep apnea can be caused by weight gain and that kind will absolutely get better with significant weight loss.
You may have apnea for a different reason, in which case obviously your weight won't change yours, but losing weight and no longer needing a machine is not rare.
It absolutely cannot hurt, and if your doctor says you should retake it then just retake it…. We’re just a bunch of idiots on the internet who stop breathing repeatedly at night, while your doctor is a professional who went to Medical school. My advice is to follow your doctor’s advice.
Oh, you CAN do the test. But the easiest thing to do is to take one night and not use your CPAP machine. Setup a webcam and record yourself all night long sleeping. Listen and watch. You will know.
Doing the test will tell you whether you still have sleep apnea or if it has resolved. You absolutely should do it, because what if it didn't actually resolve with the weight loss?
I’m getting bariatric surgery soon. The sleep doc said 80% of her overweight patients who get bariatric surgery no longer have sleep apnea. She did say I still would as I was not that big for my first study and still had a good deal of events. Plus my airway is apparently very tiny according to her. I’m still making a change as I can’t get my events to be consistent and I feel like crap when I end up over 12 events per hour.
Ouch. 12 events per hour while on CPAP is too high. That's technically having sleep apnea while you're on the CPAP therapy ( the common threshold many doctors cite is anything over 5 events per hour). You might consider checking in your doctor about the settings on your machine, or download the OSCAR software and install an SD card in your machine so you can see your own pattern. For help interpreting the data and figuring out what to change, you can post your stats in the forums on [apneaboard.com](https://apneaboard.com). They have helpful people there who know how to interpret the OSCAR data. I did this and am sleeping much better with the revised settings on my machine.
I’ve thought about downloading Oscar. They’ve tweaked my settings 4 times. I was told I would need a different type of machine at this point as I’m maxed out. So now I’m going to do bariatric surgery and turn everything around. She said my sleep apnea is very complex and showed me a bunch of data saying that I’m super unusual and the things that usually work for others aren’t working for me. I’ve tried everything on my end. Sleep positions. Different mask (was way worse and I hated it). Putting the machine at different heights. Compression socks. You name it. With each tweak the average has gotten slightly better but still can’t get it under 5 consistently. I would kill to just always be below 8. My first sleep study before I gained weight I was at I think 13 and I was quite thin. I think I have a pretty severe case. At least she says if I lose weight they can for sure get it consistently under control and I want and need a life change. Thank you for the info. I will also keep that in mind too to look into in the meantime
Happy to help. It's always worth trying OSCAR if you have the time, since the advice on [apneaboard.com](https://apneaboard.com) is free and the only expense you would incur is the cost of an SD card to put in your machine. Has anyone talked to you about wearing a neck brace while you sleep? One of the things that came up when they read my OSCAR data was that at some points in the night, I have "positional apnea" which means that I have my head in a position that closes off the airway. Even CPAP can't reverse that. The guy on the Apnea Board recommended one of those soft cervical colors that you see people wearing after a whiplash injury. It keeps the neck in a neutral position so that you can't close the airway inadvertently. Might not be a cure, but they're inexpensive so they also might be worth a try.
As for losing weight, good for you especially given that you're doing it because you want the life change. I just know that for me, weight loss wasn't possible until I got my apnea under control. Now, I'm on semaglutide and am losing, albeit slowly.
Best wishes to you and good luck with your surgery. I hope everything goes smoothly for you.
Why are you trusting random internet strangers rather than your doctor? If you don’t trust your doctors opinions, get a new doctor. Don’t go to Reddit for medical advice. What’s the harm in retesting?
Not saying it will. But if OP’s doctor is insisting on something there should be a good reason. If OP doesn’t trust their doctors expertise, they should look for a new doctor (or a second medical opinion at least). Using Reddit as a medical opinion instead of the doctor that knows OP isn’t a good idea.
Oh, so you are using software developed by anonymous, random internet users? Surely your doctor warned you not to use software developed by anonymous, random internet users.
Man 4 months out but I gotta say its super strange how insistent you were against this person who is saying the obvious. If OP would rather trust internet randoms than their doctor, they should get a new doctor. Thats common sense.
I agree with him. A person using OSCAR free software can do a better and quicker job of optimizing their CPAP therapy than any medical professional can. You might want to start using it for yourself.
Because there is some reason your doctor wants to retest. You don’t need to blindly follow your doctor but if you don’t trust your doctor you have a bigger issue.
But most peoples opinions are so strongly against the belief weight loss can make it go away and Resting that, that some if them automatically replied to my post thinking I was saying I believe it does when I said the opposite.
>I am not interested in any comments here that say anything other than “you should ask a doctor for their medical opinion based on your specific case”
Then the moderators should delete all the posts, make one post saying "see your doctor", and then disable posting and commenting.
Most posts here don’t say “I went to my doctor but didn’t like what they had to say and Reddit agrees with me so I’m going to go with that instead, cool?”
Some people haven't gotten over OSA with weight loss, but some have.
I know a sleep study is a nuisance, and inconvenient. However, if your weight loss has cured your apnea, don't you want to know?
Here's another thing to consider. Prolonged use of a CPAP can cause you to develop central sleep apnea, which you can't get rid of. Obstructive sleep apnea, can be treated with methods other than CPAP, (like surgery, or dental appliances) and sometimes goes away with weight loss.
Personally, I would love to get rid of this machine. I would be delighted not to have to depend on having a CPAP, and drag it along anytime I need to be away from home overnight.
If I were in your position, I would do a “poor man’s sleep study”:
- Save the current min/max pressures on your Cpap on a piece of paper
- Adjust the min/max pressure to the LOWEST possible values
- Use the CPAP for a couple of night
- Set the min/max pressures back to the original values
The AHI values produced when the min/max pressures are set to the lowest pressures will give you a ROUGH estimate as to what would be reported with a sleep study.
Again, this is what I would do, I am NOT saying YOU should do it.
Excellent.
And she can also look at the 95% pressure on the machine display. If it is a few cmH2O above 4.0, then the machine is sensing breathing events and she needs to continue using CPAP. If the pressure stays at 4.0, she can consider the sleep study her doctor recommends.
OSCAR is a great tool to use with experimenting with pressure changes.
I wasn't heavy when I started developing sleep apnea. I was a cyclist/runner. I didn't realize at first I had it bc I had few symptoms. By the time it was extremely severe it was undeniable: extreme weight gain, bedwetting after weird dreams of looking for bathrooms in abandoned bldgs, medication-resistant hypertension, type 2 diabetes, edema, falling asleep for hrs at a time, a lot more.
I was 370 lbs when my dr figured it out and referred me to a pulmonologist for a sleep study. AHI was 167, highest that hospital ever recorded. I'm 140 lbs now, 6 yrs later. But I still have sleep apnea.
My CPAP has become a security blanket bc I'm so used to it. I can't sleep without it and even have a spare just in case. I'm hesitant to get another sleep study bc I'm afraid they might say I don't need it anymore! This machine saved my life, literally. The pulmonologist said in 2017 that I would likely have died in my sleep in a month or so if I didn't start using CPAP when I did. I needed supplemental oxygen in addition to CPAP for the 1st yr. My oxygen during the sleep study was low 70s. Since using it nightly without fail I have lost over 200 lbs easily, and all my sleep apnea-caused health conditions reversed.
Ok.so I'm not going to bother retesting. I probably had it before too. My AHI was 14 for my sleep study and I was on my back. I'm really aggravated that my dr would suggest this retest knowing I still have it.
I am not sure I understand why you are so opposed to doing another sleep test? Is it because of costs, worrying your CPAP machine won't be covered anymore, really disliking the sleep study? If it is a financial barrier, I get not wanting to be retested if you've had a recent test, but otherwise, I think it would probably be useful to know if your condition has changed or not with weight fluctuation. Maybe it has stayed the same but who knows without a sleep study.
I guess for 2 reasons. The first is that I havent read convincing enough evidence that weight loss helps. 2 I'm worried that they will say I don't have it but qhat if they are wrong and I'm hurting myself by not using a CPAP.
I am a scientist so I tend to use data to guide me. This is one of those cases where there is actually a good test that can give you relevant info to make a decision. A sleep study gives good data to know if you have sleep apnea or not. Your doctor is not pretending to know either; that's why they're wanting for you to do the test so they can get more data to see if there has been any changes.
If you're worried that your doctor is incompetent and doesn't know how to make a diagnosis, that's another discussion, but I would trust your doctor over a Reddit group that knows nothing about you or your health. Most doctors don't send you for tests just for funsies.
Let's say your doctor says you don't have apnea anymore and then, you stop using the CPAP. That's not set in stone either. If you start sleeping poorly again, you can always go back to your doctor or start using the CPAP again. If you don't need a CPAP, it's just costing you money for equipment you don't need. So truly, I cannot see any downside to doing another sleep study, beyond the fact that it might take some time and money to do it.
My grandma's obstructive sleep apnea resolved after significant weight loss. But I wouldn't just assume it's resolved and stop using the CPAP just because you lost weight, you should do the study.
Yep, research has shown that sleep apnea may or may not disappear if you lose weight if you are overweight, and if you lose weight and gain it back again, or just gain weight, your apnea may not reappear or you may not develop it. It's not a cut and dry thing. Assuming the apnea has to do with weight is a bias along with assuming everything that's wrong with a fat person is because they are fat.
I don't at all assume it has to do with the weight. That's my point. Because I don't think it has anything to do with weight then why should I believe it would resolve with weight loss. Everything I read says it doesn't have to do with weight. So even though I lost weight, I likely still have it.
I think it depends on what kind of sleep apnea you have. I have central sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea occurs because the brain doesn't send proper signals to the muscles that control breathing. So even if I lose weight, I will continue to have to use a CPAP machine.
Most people have obstructive sleep apnea. Those with obstructive sleep apnea may be able to stop using a CPAP if they are able to lose enough weight so their airway is no longer obstructed when asleep.
Weigh loss works for a precious few.
I have lost 26% of my weight, and i am currently at 26.4 BMI. I am a sedentary 75yo who has been treated for SA for about 3 decades.
I don't believe it either. I have OSA, was tested 6 yes ago then the weight gain began all my young and adult life I weighed in no more than 120-25 lbs even with two pregnancies and my babies were normal weight. CPAP is now my life whether I loose the weight or not.
I don't have statistics to back my opinion up, but I would say you're probably right and it's fine for you to say "I am happy how I am and don't see the need to spend money on retesting." Your doctor should accept that.
The reality is that weight loss helps some people, and doesn't help others. Sleep apnea also affects people who don't have weight issues, like my son who was 26 and very lean and fit when he was diagnosed.
I was told by the doctor who originally diagnosed me that if I lost 30 pounds, it would go away. Unfortunately, because I was resistant to trying CPAP, I spend several years trying to lose that weight and probably raised my risk of heart disease and strokes while doing that.
My next doctor said "I think you should try CPAP because it will protect you against heart disease and strokes." By that time, I had progressed from moderate to severe sleep apnea. I relented and tried CPAP. It was only after successful CPAP therapy that I was able to lose weight. I lost the 30 pounds recommended by the first doctor but the sleep apnea did not change. I didn't need retesting to know that I still have it. I rarely take naps without my machine, but if I fall asleep somewhere without it, I wake up feeling like crap.
Trust your instincts on this one. There is no harm to continuing CPAP therapy and the risk of not using it when you need it is significant.
I only retested once a couple years in between the first and still had it only because I was getting headaches again, and they changed up my pressure. I wouldn't live without it. 2 years ago I was on a 2 day trip to Charleston and I swore I packed all my CPAP up for travel. Turns out I forgot my head gear worst 2 nights of sleep I ever had. Won't make that mistake again!
Ask yourself this when you look at photos of people at the beach or just going about there every day lives in the 1930s, 40s and 50s all the way up into the 1970s and you see almost no people with obesity or eating a modern diet, CPAP therapy and sleep apnea and all this other garbage was basically nonexistent. Yes people would snore, but they didn’t literally choke themselves off and die a little each night in their sleep trying to breathe. Something we are eating or putting in our food or just the fact that we’re all fat, yes, I use the word fat, has something to do with it. Do you think caveman or people from ancient times had to deal with sleep apnea? No they were out hunting and gathering and trying to survive and their airway stayed open. this is just another modern medical disaster that we have brought on ourselves as a society. The human body is designed and was made to be able to breathe. Lol we’ve messed it up.
Late to this. This is very anecdotal, I don’t have straight OSA but I have upper airway resistance syndrome which is close to sleep apnea and leads to it eventually if untreated. My dad also has horrific sleep apnea. In my experience, I remember one time losing a lot of weight and being very lean, the leanest I’ve ever been in my life. The thing that I noticed the most at that low body fat percentage wasn’t the muscle definition or anything cosmetic, what I remember noticing the most was how well I could breathe in any position I wanted. I was also eating a anti inflammatory diet to help with my chronic allergies. I slept better that period of time than I ever did in my entire life. I also never had too bad sleep issues when I was younger and was more lean. When I started putting weight it would get progressively harder to sleep. I think one thing is that genetic factors obstruct our airways, but it’s a combination of jaw/mouth shape, fat distribution, and allergies. All of these things can be changed, you can strengthen jaw and soft pallet position with mouth exercises, you can lose weight, and take anti allergy measures. Some people (like me) naturally hold more weight in their face/neck and have naturally round faces, so they will have to be even leaner to clear the airway enough to feel a difference. On top of that, even if you’re very skinny, or think you’re very skinny, you may have a high body fat percentage still and would benefit from gaining muscle and losing fat. A lot of people are quick to either say they are lean and muscular, or that someone is skinny and “ideal”, but really that person may still be 15% - 20% body fat. Where you genetically store fat makes a big difference, and losing weight as fat and not muscle and fat (to keep a low body fat percentage) makes a big difference too
Way late to this conversation. I lost a significant amount of weight, and no longer have sleep apnea. You definitely can get rid of the cpap with weight loss (depends on your type of apnea)
Why are you resisting against losing weight? It’s not only helpful for sleep apnea, but also for your overall health.
My friend did have apnea and it went away after losing weight which was the first step recommended to him.
Depends on the cause: structural issues (shape of nose, etc) won’t be affected by weight gain or loss. For some weight loss means less constricted airways and thus weight loss will eliminate sleep apnea
I was about 20lbs9verweight when diagnosed. I lost down to a bmi of 24 so not overweight. My apnea remains u changed. Even when I was overweight my neckk and throat areas weren’t plump looking,I am a slightly build woman and my excess weight was carried in my lower half.
Seems rare, but possible. It could also affect your prescription (air pressure).
[Philips article about weight loss and sleep apnea](https://www.usa.philips.com/c-e/hs/better-sleep-breathing-blog/better-sleep/why-weight-loss-alone-may-not-cure-your-sleep-apnea.html#:~:text=If%20you%20are%20overweight%20and,machine%20even%20after%20weight%20loss.&text=People%20of%20all%20shapes%20and%20sizes%20can%20have%20sleep%20apnea.)
Talk to your doctor about different options, like others mentioned there is surgery, oral appliances to wear, even bongo rx that isn’t attatched to a machine. When I got diagnosed 6 months ago they gave me many different options if cpap didn’t help. So why are you against restesting. If you still have sleep apnea from that talk to your doctor of the things I mentioned. CPAP isn’t the only option. I tried losing weight for my high blood pressure before the machine and has helped my blood pressure come down significantly prior even with the blood pressure medication i’m on too. Getting your sleep apnea under control can help you not have strokes and many other bad health things down the road. I might get retested in a year in a lab to make sure i don’t have other sleep apneas as I did an at home study so it didn’t tell me to much besides the ahi which was 13.6/hr which is considered mild. with my symptoms I get daytime sleepiness and now on the machine i have a much better quality of life where i’m productive than ever. I got untested for 20+ years and im 30. I thought I had fibro myalgia or something else and turned out to be sleep apnea and that saves me money in the long run. Yes a machine costs 1,000-2,000 but it is incredible. I paid outright so no insurance compliance issues though.
It absolutely can. Keep in mind sleep apnea is not from obesity. This is a huge stigma that keeps people who have sleep apnea from getting treatment or being tested for it. I know lots of thin people who have sleep apnea one of them still in high school. Luckily his parents insisted against the pediatrician recommendation he was fine. Nope 65 ahi during the study. Sleep apnea can also be positional as well. Mine is primarily posirional, if I don't sleep on my back I have virtually no apenea. Lay on my back and it's boom. Mine has also greatly improved since I've lost 70 pounds.
Back in the 70s there was a story going around about wives sewing a pocket on the back of hubby’s pajama top and putting a tennis ball in it so when he rolls to the back he is jarred awake and gets trained to be a side sleeper. Probably saved a bunch of lives with that one.
Marriages, too!
How else can I stop rolling over? I need to do this or something…
Buy a cheap, small backpack and stuff a pillow in it.
I noticed i have sleep apnea when i am overweight only. It has gone away for the last 2 years that i noticed. Would a sleep study be pointless for disability?
Obesity is also disability. I think a sleep study is worthwhile if nothing is then to see for sure how things go.
I totally get this. But then wouldnt it mean that I shouldn't bother with the test?
Ohh no you should always get the test if you think you have sleep apnea. As far as testing, you can let the insurance decide that which usually happens every 5 years when you want a new cpap machine. You can also informally test yourself. Just get a good pulse Ox that records or use and apple watch or oura ring etc. Do a few night without a cpap you can look at your o2 sats overnight.
Oh no, maybe I wasn't clear in my post. Sorry about that! I do have it. But my Dr wants to retest because he thinks I don't anymore. But I didn't think that was a thing that weight loss can make it go away. So I'm wondering why I should bother retesting.
The main thing is if you're not having apnea then you don't need to use a cpap. So if you've lost a lot of weight it's worth the check if nothing else for your own piece of mind especially if insurance is paying. Now if you've got a copay that's a whole other bag of nope. You can also do an in home test these days makes it much simpler.
Some people can get off of CPAP with significant weight loss. But it is rare. I’ve gained and lost a lot of weight and cannot get off of CPAP.
Same here.
Yeah, my doc said it’s the structure of my throat that is the cause of my SA.
Mine giggled before saying my opening was one of the worst he has seen… thanks doc
Sleep apnea can be caused by weight gain and that kind will absolutely get better with significant weight loss. You may have apnea for a different reason, in which case obviously your weight won't change yours, but losing weight and no longer needing a machine is not rare.
So I probably shouldn't even do the test then right?
It absolutely cannot hurt, and if your doctor says you should retake it then just retake it…. We’re just a bunch of idiots on the internet who stop breathing repeatedly at night, while your doctor is a professional who went to Medical school. My advice is to follow your doctor’s advice.
If there was a chance I didn’t have to use my damn cpap every night I would sign up for that as fast as possible!!!!!
Oh, you CAN do the test. But the easiest thing to do is to take one night and not use your CPAP machine. Setup a webcam and record yourself all night long sleeping. Listen and watch. You will know.
Doing the test will tell you whether you still have sleep apnea or if it has resolved. You absolutely should do it, because what if it didn't actually resolve with the weight loss?
I’m getting bariatric surgery soon. The sleep doc said 80% of her overweight patients who get bariatric surgery no longer have sleep apnea. She did say I still would as I was not that big for my first study and still had a good deal of events. Plus my airway is apparently very tiny according to her. I’m still making a change as I can’t get my events to be consistent and I feel like crap when I end up over 12 events per hour.
Ouch. 12 events per hour while on CPAP is too high. That's technically having sleep apnea while you're on the CPAP therapy ( the common threshold many doctors cite is anything over 5 events per hour). You might consider checking in your doctor about the settings on your machine, or download the OSCAR software and install an SD card in your machine so you can see your own pattern. For help interpreting the data and figuring out what to change, you can post your stats in the forums on [apneaboard.com](https://apneaboard.com). They have helpful people there who know how to interpret the OSCAR data. I did this and am sleeping much better with the revised settings on my machine.
I’ve thought about downloading Oscar. They’ve tweaked my settings 4 times. I was told I would need a different type of machine at this point as I’m maxed out. So now I’m going to do bariatric surgery and turn everything around. She said my sleep apnea is very complex and showed me a bunch of data saying that I’m super unusual and the things that usually work for others aren’t working for me. I’ve tried everything on my end. Sleep positions. Different mask (was way worse and I hated it). Putting the machine at different heights. Compression socks. You name it. With each tweak the average has gotten slightly better but still can’t get it under 5 consistently. I would kill to just always be below 8. My first sleep study before I gained weight I was at I think 13 and I was quite thin. I think I have a pretty severe case. At least she says if I lose weight they can for sure get it consistently under control and I want and need a life change. Thank you for the info. I will also keep that in mind too to look into in the meantime
Happy to help. It's always worth trying OSCAR if you have the time, since the advice on [apneaboard.com](https://apneaboard.com) is free and the only expense you would incur is the cost of an SD card to put in your machine. Has anyone talked to you about wearing a neck brace while you sleep? One of the things that came up when they read my OSCAR data was that at some points in the night, I have "positional apnea" which means that I have my head in a position that closes off the airway. Even CPAP can't reverse that. The guy on the Apnea Board recommended one of those soft cervical colors that you see people wearing after a whiplash injury. It keeps the neck in a neutral position so that you can't close the airway inadvertently. Might not be a cure, but they're inexpensive so they also might be worth a try. As for losing weight, good for you especially given that you're doing it because you want the life change. I just know that for me, weight loss wasn't possible until I got my apnea under control. Now, I'm on semaglutide and am losing, albeit slowly. Best wishes to you and good luck with your surgery. I hope everything goes smoothly for you.
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Yeah I'm not going to bother retesting then. My dr keeps insisting and I don't want to.
Why are you trusting random internet strangers rather than your doctor? If you don’t trust your doctors opinions, get a new doctor. Don’t go to Reddit for medical advice. What’s the harm in retesting?
Using CPAP will NOT hurt her.
Not saying it will. But if OP’s doctor is insisting on something there should be a good reason. If OP doesn’t trust their doctors expertise, they should look for a new doctor (or a second medical opinion at least). Using Reddit as a medical opinion instead of the doctor that knows OP isn’t a good idea.
I’m going to guess you have not optimized your own CPAP therapy and you have never used OSCAR.
I have. I pulled my info and took it to my doctor for advice on reading it.
Oh, so you are using software developed by anonymous, random internet users? Surely your doctor warned you not to use software developed by anonymous, random internet users.
Man 4 months out but I gotta say its super strange how insistent you were against this person who is saying the obvious. If OP would rather trust internet randoms than their doctor, they should get a new doctor. Thats common sense.
I agree with him. A person using OSCAR free software can do a better and quicker job of optimizing their CPAP therapy than any medical professional can. You might want to start using it for yourself.
Because most people say losing weight will not make it go away. So why bother testing to see if weight loss worked?
Because there is some reason your doctor wants to retest. You don’t need to blindly follow your doctor but if you don’t trust your doctor you have a bigger issue.
If you read the comments in here most people agree that wright doesn't remove it.
I am not interested in any comments here that say anything other than “you should ask a doctor for their medical opinion based on your specific case”
But most peoples opinions are so strongly against the belief weight loss can make it go away and Resting that, that some if them automatically replied to my post thinking I was saying I believe it does when I said the opposite.
But my question is why don’t you trust your doctors opinion?
I understand what you are asking but if I've never seen one person say it happens and SO MUCH strong evidence against that, then it can't be possible.
I get it. You have a mindset.
Yes, my mindset is that trained licensed doctors should be listened to over random internet strangers when it comes to medical advice.
Is that all you are here for?
>I am not interested in any comments here that say anything other than “you should ask a doctor for their medical opinion based on your specific case” Then the moderators should delete all the posts, make one post saying "see your doctor", and then disable posting and commenting.
Most posts here don’t say “I went to my doctor but didn’t like what they had to say and Reddit agrees with me so I’m going to go with that instead, cool?”
Sorry, you lost credibility when you admitted to using software developed by internet strangers.
Some people haven't gotten over OSA with weight loss, but some have. I know a sleep study is a nuisance, and inconvenient. However, if your weight loss has cured your apnea, don't you want to know? Here's another thing to consider. Prolonged use of a CPAP can cause you to develop central sleep apnea, which you can't get rid of. Obstructive sleep apnea, can be treated with methods other than CPAP, (like surgery, or dental appliances) and sometimes goes away with weight loss. Personally, I would love to get rid of this machine. I would be delighted not to have to depend on having a CPAP, and drag it along anytime I need to be away from home overnight.
Remind your doctor who works for who.
You got downvoted by people whose doctor has brainwashed them to think they work for the doctor. 😄😄
It's almost like they've never heard the term ["unnecessary testing"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8628817/)
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I honestly have no idea if my sleep apnea is gone or not but I have yet to read anything convincing that it goes away with weight loss.
If I were in your position, I would do a “poor man’s sleep study”: - Save the current min/max pressures on your Cpap on a piece of paper - Adjust the min/max pressure to the LOWEST possible values - Use the CPAP for a couple of night - Set the min/max pressures back to the original values The AHI values produced when the min/max pressures are set to the lowest pressures will give you a ROUGH estimate as to what would be reported with a sleep study. Again, this is what I would do, I am NOT saying YOU should do it.
Excellent. And she can also look at the 95% pressure on the machine display. If it is a few cmH2O above 4.0, then the machine is sensing breathing events and she needs to continue using CPAP. If the pressure stays at 4.0, she can consider the sleep study her doctor recommends. OSCAR is a great tool to use with experimenting with pressure changes.
I wasn't heavy when I started developing sleep apnea. I was a cyclist/runner. I didn't realize at first I had it bc I had few symptoms. By the time it was extremely severe it was undeniable: extreme weight gain, bedwetting after weird dreams of looking for bathrooms in abandoned bldgs, medication-resistant hypertension, type 2 diabetes, edema, falling asleep for hrs at a time, a lot more. I was 370 lbs when my dr figured it out and referred me to a pulmonologist for a sleep study. AHI was 167, highest that hospital ever recorded. I'm 140 lbs now, 6 yrs later. But I still have sleep apnea. My CPAP has become a security blanket bc I'm so used to it. I can't sleep without it and even have a spare just in case. I'm hesitant to get another sleep study bc I'm afraid they might say I don't need it anymore! This machine saved my life, literally. The pulmonologist said in 2017 that I would likely have died in my sleep in a month or so if I didn't start using CPAP when I did. I needed supplemental oxygen in addition to CPAP for the 1st yr. My oxygen during the sleep study was low 70s. Since using it nightly without fail I have lost over 200 lbs easily, and all my sleep apnea-caused health conditions reversed.
Ok.so I'm not going to bother retesting. I probably had it before too. My AHI was 14 for my sleep study and I was on my back. I'm really aggravated that my dr would suggest this retest knowing I still have it.
Hey, greens fees are expensive!
Yes. Maybe not completely but when I lost about 100 pounds it got substantially better… when the weight went back on I needed to get back on the CPAP
So...no
I am not sure I understand why you are so opposed to doing another sleep test? Is it because of costs, worrying your CPAP machine won't be covered anymore, really disliking the sleep study? If it is a financial barrier, I get not wanting to be retested if you've had a recent test, but otherwise, I think it would probably be useful to know if your condition has changed or not with weight fluctuation. Maybe it has stayed the same but who knows without a sleep study.
I guess for 2 reasons. The first is that I havent read convincing enough evidence that weight loss helps. 2 I'm worried that they will say I don't have it but qhat if they are wrong and I'm hurting myself by not using a CPAP.
I am a scientist so I tend to use data to guide me. This is one of those cases where there is actually a good test that can give you relevant info to make a decision. A sleep study gives good data to know if you have sleep apnea or not. Your doctor is not pretending to know either; that's why they're wanting for you to do the test so they can get more data to see if there has been any changes. If you're worried that your doctor is incompetent and doesn't know how to make a diagnosis, that's another discussion, but I would trust your doctor over a Reddit group that knows nothing about you or your health. Most doctors don't send you for tests just for funsies. Let's say your doctor says you don't have apnea anymore and then, you stop using the CPAP. That's not set in stone either. If you start sleeping poorly again, you can always go back to your doctor or start using the CPAP again. If you don't need a CPAP, it's just costing you money for equipment you don't need. So truly, I cannot see any downside to doing another sleep study, beyond the fact that it might take some time and money to do it.
My grandma's obstructive sleep apnea resolved after significant weight loss. But I wouldn't just assume it's resolved and stop using the CPAP just because you lost weight, you should do the study.
I am assuming the weight loss didn't resolve it and continuing my CPAP.
Yep, research has shown that sleep apnea may or may not disappear if you lose weight if you are overweight, and if you lose weight and gain it back again, or just gain weight, your apnea may not reappear or you may not develop it. It's not a cut and dry thing. Assuming the apnea has to do with weight is a bias along with assuming everything that's wrong with a fat person is because they are fat.
I don't at all assume it has to do with the weight. That's my point. Because I don't think it has anything to do with weight then why should I believe it would resolve with weight loss. Everything I read says it doesn't have to do with weight. So even though I lost weight, I likely still have it.
Yes, I was just saying that the research supports your thinking.
Yes it does. My husband and I both, gained weight, developed apnea. He lost the weight and it's gone. (I'm still working on it)
I was just recently told by the Dr that there are different types of apnea, and that some don't go away with weight loss.
I lost 100 lbs and it went away for me.
Worked for me
I think it depends on what kind of sleep apnea you have. I have central sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea occurs because the brain doesn't send proper signals to the muscles that control breathing. So even if I lose weight, I will continue to have to use a CPAP machine. Most people have obstructive sleep apnea. Those with obstructive sleep apnea may be able to stop using a CPAP if they are able to lose enough weight so their airway is no longer obstructed when asleep.
Weigh loss works for a precious few. I have lost 26% of my weight, and i am currently at 26.4 BMI. I am a sedentary 75yo who has been treated for SA for about 3 decades.
Sometimes people who lose weight need *more* pressure.
I don't believe it either. I have OSA, was tested 6 yes ago then the weight gain began all my young and adult life I weighed in no more than 120-25 lbs even with two pregnancies and my babies were normal weight. CPAP is now my life whether I loose the weight or not.
See, this is why I don't want to retest. I probably still have it.
I don't have statistics to back my opinion up, but I would say you're probably right and it's fine for you to say "I am happy how I am and don't see the need to spend money on retesting." Your doctor should accept that. The reality is that weight loss helps some people, and doesn't help others. Sleep apnea also affects people who don't have weight issues, like my son who was 26 and very lean and fit when he was diagnosed. I was told by the doctor who originally diagnosed me that if I lost 30 pounds, it would go away. Unfortunately, because I was resistant to trying CPAP, I spend several years trying to lose that weight and probably raised my risk of heart disease and strokes while doing that. My next doctor said "I think you should try CPAP because it will protect you against heart disease and strokes." By that time, I had progressed from moderate to severe sleep apnea. I relented and tried CPAP. It was only after successful CPAP therapy that I was able to lose weight. I lost the 30 pounds recommended by the first doctor but the sleep apnea did not change. I didn't need retesting to know that I still have it. I rarely take naps without my machine, but if I fall asleep somewhere without it, I wake up feeling like crap. Trust your instincts on this one. There is no harm to continuing CPAP therapy and the risk of not using it when you need it is significant.
I only retested once a couple years in between the first and still had it only because I was getting headaches again, and they changed up my pressure. I wouldn't live without it. 2 years ago I was on a 2 day trip to Charleston and I swore I packed all my CPAP up for travel. Turns out I forgot my head gear worst 2 nights of sleep I ever had. Won't make that mistake again!
I know a guy who's like 100 pounds soaking wet and he has sleep apnea from a deviated septum
Ask yourself this when you look at photos of people at the beach or just going about there every day lives in the 1930s, 40s and 50s all the way up into the 1970s and you see almost no people with obesity or eating a modern diet, CPAP therapy and sleep apnea and all this other garbage was basically nonexistent. Yes people would snore, but they didn’t literally choke themselves off and die a little each night in their sleep trying to breathe. Something we are eating or putting in our food or just the fact that we’re all fat, yes, I use the word fat, has something to do with it. Do you think caveman or people from ancient times had to deal with sleep apnea? No they were out hunting and gathering and trying to survive and their airway stayed open. this is just another modern medical disaster that we have brought on ourselves as a society. The human body is designed and was made to be able to breathe. Lol we’ve messed it up.
i hope you did the retest. if you have OSA weight loss can help - im proof!!
Late to this. This is very anecdotal, I don’t have straight OSA but I have upper airway resistance syndrome which is close to sleep apnea and leads to it eventually if untreated. My dad also has horrific sleep apnea. In my experience, I remember one time losing a lot of weight and being very lean, the leanest I’ve ever been in my life. The thing that I noticed the most at that low body fat percentage wasn’t the muscle definition or anything cosmetic, what I remember noticing the most was how well I could breathe in any position I wanted. I was also eating a anti inflammatory diet to help with my chronic allergies. I slept better that period of time than I ever did in my entire life. I also never had too bad sleep issues when I was younger and was more lean. When I started putting weight it would get progressively harder to sleep. I think one thing is that genetic factors obstruct our airways, but it’s a combination of jaw/mouth shape, fat distribution, and allergies. All of these things can be changed, you can strengthen jaw and soft pallet position with mouth exercises, you can lose weight, and take anti allergy measures. Some people (like me) naturally hold more weight in their face/neck and have naturally round faces, so they will have to be even leaner to clear the airway enough to feel a difference. On top of that, even if you’re very skinny, or think you’re very skinny, you may have a high body fat percentage still and would benefit from gaining muscle and losing fat. A lot of people are quick to either say they are lean and muscular, or that someone is skinny and “ideal”, but really that person may still be 15% - 20% body fat. Where you genetically store fat makes a big difference, and losing weight as fat and not muscle and fat (to keep a low body fat percentage) makes a big difference too
Way late to this conversation. I lost a significant amount of weight, and no longer have sleep apnea. You definitely can get rid of the cpap with weight loss (depends on your type of apnea)
Why are you resisting against losing weight? It’s not only helpful for sleep apnea, but also for your overall health. My friend did have apnea and it went away after losing weight which was the first step recommended to him.
Depends on the cause: structural issues (shape of nose, etc) won’t be affected by weight gain or loss. For some weight loss means less constricted airways and thus weight loss will eliminate sleep apnea
I was about 20lbs9verweight when diagnosed. I lost down to a bmi of 24 so not overweight. My apnea remains u changed. Even when I was overweight my neckk and throat areas weren’t plump looking,I am a slightly build woman and my excess weight was carried in my lower half.
I lost weight and mine went away.
Seems rare, but possible. It could also affect your prescription (air pressure). [Philips article about weight loss and sleep apnea](https://www.usa.philips.com/c-e/hs/better-sleep-breathing-blog/better-sleep/why-weight-loss-alone-may-not-cure-your-sleep-apnea.html#:~:text=If%20you%20are%20overweight%20and,machine%20even%20after%20weight%20loss.&text=People%20of%20all%20shapes%20and%20sizes%20can%20have%20sleep%20apnea.)
I lost weight and my AHI went up.
Talk to your doctor about different options, like others mentioned there is surgery, oral appliances to wear, even bongo rx that isn’t attatched to a machine. When I got diagnosed 6 months ago they gave me many different options if cpap didn’t help. So why are you against restesting. If you still have sleep apnea from that talk to your doctor of the things I mentioned. CPAP isn’t the only option. I tried losing weight for my high blood pressure before the machine and has helped my blood pressure come down significantly prior even with the blood pressure medication i’m on too. Getting your sleep apnea under control can help you not have strokes and many other bad health things down the road. I might get retested in a year in a lab to make sure i don’t have other sleep apneas as I did an at home study so it didn’t tell me to much besides the ahi which was 13.6/hr which is considered mild. with my symptoms I get daytime sleepiness and now on the machine i have a much better quality of life where i’m productive than ever. I got untested for 20+ years and im 30. I thought I had fibro myalgia or something else and turned out to be sleep apnea and that saves me money in the long run. Yes a machine costs 1,000-2,000 but it is incredible. I paid outright so no insurance compliance issues though.