OT>> Sleep Apnea Update

I'm hoping that if I continue to loose weight that I won't need one.

It must be in the air. I have an appt with the ENT after I woke up with my uvula (thing that hangs down the back of your throat) being about twice it's normal size. I was literally swallowing it it was so large. Dr. said sleep apnea is a cause and it became irritated from the violent snoring.

Sleep study coming soon it looks like

scdaf said:

Should anybody be COMPLETELY unable to tolerate the CPAP treatment, ask your doctor if you can try an oxygen concentrator instead.  If my CPAP headgear had not been made of soft plastic, there'd have been holes in the bedroom sheetrock.  O2 therapy has ameliorated my apnea issues and done so painlessly.  My wife swears I no longer stop breathing and I now rarely snore.                                                                                                                              Of course, losing 90 lbs. may have been some help too...    

@scdaf Congrats on the weight loss!

Been sleeping with a CPAP since about 1994. I find that a nasal pillow works best for me. Several versions so easy to find one that works. Fewer seal problems than the masks have.

Grillin_beers said:

@Gulfcoastguy when I got a CPAP I was 6'1 and 270 pounds(embarrassing I know) now that I am down to 175 I don't use mine anymore and I sleep better than I ever did with one.  Make a commitment to yourself to lose weight and follow through with it.  It'll change your entire life.  Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or just need to talk during your weightloss journey.  I promise I'm not selling any **** supplements or anything else, but I can tell you what helped me.  

@Grillin_beers

Congrats on the weight loss - 95lbs is a huge accomplishment!  I lost 40lbs this year myself.  In my case the apnea is worse than ever - not at all what I was expecting / hoping for.  

Grillin_beers said:

@blasting way to go on the 40# weightloss yourself man!  Im surprised you haven't had an improvement in the sleep apnea area, but I am not a doctor.  Has your neck size decreased yet?  I know for me, my snoring didn't get better until I lost weight in my neck, which seemed to happen all at once in the last 15-20 pounds. Keep up the good work! 

I'm not a doc, but I asked my doc about weight loss and OSA and he said physiology of my throat that was causing the OSA wasn't d/t weight, so lose all you want for health, but you'll still have OSA.  It helps some people, others not although there are other obvious health benefits to losing weight.

I have a friend that underwent pillar procedure a year ago, cured and happy as hell.  He's a doc.  Not sure if it would work for me, but I intend to ask next visit.

The surgery mentioned in that other thread with the tragic post-surg death sounds like the device that's a bit like a pacemaker.  From what I understand it has a lead they implant near the lungs to monitor breathing and another that is implanted in the soft tissue of the throat.  When breathing stops, a small electrical signal is sent to the throat, causing the muscle to contract, or keep it's tone so the airway doesn't collapse and block.  I think two companies have had similar devices in clinical trials for a few years, but to qualify for the trials, you had to be classified as not being able to tolerate CPAP which isn't my case, so I never pursued the trials.  I also intend to ask my doc about that was well.  CPAP has been a lifesaver for me, but I'm itching to get unplugged so I can camp, travel without lugging it around, take a nap in the backyard, etc.

I've always had a big neck. Probably to hold up my huge Sasquatch skull of a head.