Controlling OSA with weight loss??

[soundersfootballclub]

I am still in the early stages of being diagnosed and trying to learn everything I can. I could and should realistically drop say 10 pounds and would have a mid ranged body mass index reading of 22.9 from current 24.5 but wondering if this would have any affect on my OSA symptoms. I am guessing it would not since I've probably had mild symptoms all my life even when a good 20lbs lighter but curious if anyone here has used weight loss as another tool in addition or even ultimately in place of a CPAP. Thanks!

[Resister]

I'm a newbie too, but I'll tell you what the respiratory therapist told me the other day:

He's seen people ultimately get off C-Pap after losing a lot of weight, as long as that was the only reason they had it.

There are other factors besides weight that can play into OSA. I'm interested to hear what others have to say!

[kempo]

Not me. I lost 50lb over a 6 month period when I first started xpap. I am positive the xpap helped me be more active to lose the weight but my pressure settings have not gone down. As a matter of fact I started off with a setting of 8-10 and I have fine tuned in on 9.2-11 and my average AHI is 1.3.

I'm sure there are some who have lost a large amount of weight and lowered their pressure numbers but not me. I have been using my s9 now for a little over a year and I look forward to going to bed with it every night. It keeps my wind pipe open.

[pap4life]

I think that "resister" just said it all.. If you are (maybe) 50% upward overweight and/or obese and lose a LOT of weight AND that is the underlying cause of OSA, then maybe losing a lot weight will (help) solve your problems. BUT, you already said that you thought you had some OSA symptoms before, when you were 20#s lighter.

I personally think that weight loss is a rarity to controlling OSA.

[Resister]

One other thought:

I also asked the sleep tech at my sleep study the same question, and he said that he'd seen people come in after losing huge amounts of weight and only had their pressure lowered. He'd also seen where people lost enough weight that they didn't need a C-Pap, but still needed at least an oral appliance.

LOL, I totally asked the same question at first. A lot.

[lktnky]

I lost 20% of my total weight and have been off CPAP since December.
Yes, it was an effort to lose it. The one thing that keeps me on goal is the thought of having to put on a mask every night for the rest of my life. It was worth the try since I'd exhausted other options other than surgery.
It IS possible. Try the weight loss.....even if it doesn't get you off CPAP, you'll still feel better for having less to carry around.
We went on a trip the other day and when they weighed my luggage, it was the same amount I'd lost and I was close to the limit. I couldn't believe I'd lost that much and how good it felt.

[BlackSpinner]

I know I had OSA when I was 112 lbs dripping wet at 5'3" because I was snoring like a badly tuned mac truck and had fluctuating blood pressure.

[Resister]

I lost 20% of my total weight and have been off CPAP since December.
Yes, it was an effort to lose it. The one thing that keeps me on goal is the thought of having to put on a mask every night for the rest of my life. It was worth the try since I'd exhausted other options other than surgery.
It IS possible. Try the weight loss.....even if it doesn't get you off CPAP, you'll still feel better for having less to carry around.
We went on a trip the other day and when they weighed my luggage, it was the same amount I'd lost and I was close to the limit. I couldn't believe I'd lost that much and how good it felt.

Congratulations! That is quite a feat.

Did you have another sleep study to confirm? I am guessing that is the only way to know for sure?

[soundersfootballclub]

I lost 20% of my total weight and have been off CPAP since December.
Yes, it was an effort to lose it. The one thing that keeps me on goal is the thought of having to put on a mask every night for the rest of my life. It was worth the try since I'd exhausted other options other than surgery.
It IS possible. Try the weight loss.....even if it doesn't get you off CPAP, you'll still feel better for having less to carry around.
We went on a trip the other day and when they weighed my luggage, it was the same amount I'd lost and I was close to the limit. I couldn't believe I'd lost that much and how good it felt.

Woohoo congrats!!

Great point. I see no downside to losing weight whether it helps my OSA or not. Lol.

Thanks to everyone who has responded to this thread.

[Emilia]

My sleep doc told me has never seen weight loss result in not needing cpap. I know folks on here who say they did it successfully, but from everything I've read, this is usually only temporary. As we age, and muscles become more lax, those who previously needed cpap will most likely find themselves back on it. I know I had OSA when I was a petite size 6 and working out at the gym 3x a week. One day I woke up and felt like a Mack truck hit me..... from that day (over a decade ago) until my diagnosis last year I had relentless fatigue and increasing brain fog resulting in a weight gain of 50lbs. So..... sometimes one is Dx'd with OSA because they are obese; others become obese due to OSA. This forum has many skinny, petite ladies and normal weight, buff guys..... OSA can affect all sizes and shapes and can even be found in tiny babies. The popular singer, Katy Perry, a tall and very slender young woman has OSA..... and then there is Shaq, recently diagnosed as well. There are professional athletes in baseball, basketball, and mostly football with OSA.

I have lost 25lbs since starting cpap and would love to lose the other 25 as well..... time will tell if it makes a difference in my therapy. I don't anticipate ever being off my machine since I know I should have one to use when I was that skinny gal back then.

[lktnky]

I lost 20% of my total weight and have been off CPAP since December.
Yes, it was an effort to lose it. The one thing that keeps me on goal is the thought of having to put on a mask every night for the rest of my life. It was worth the try since I'd exhausted other options other than surgery.
It IS possible. Try the weight loss.....even if it doesn't get you off CPAP, you'll still feel better for having less to carry around.
We went on a trip the other day and when they weighed my luggage, it was the same amount I'd lost and I was close to the limit. I couldn't believe I'd lost that much and how good it felt.

Congratulations! That is quite a feat.

Did you have another sleep study to confirm? I am guessing that is the only way to know for sure?

I did have another PSG in December. My neurologist shook my hand and said, "You can sell that machine!"
So I did.

[DaveL]

Great posts!
I have lost 26 lbs in2-1/2 months. Other issues keep me from seeing a benefit. mouth breathing has become an issue. working on it. my wife hopes I will no longer need the cpap machine I'm not so sure.

[NightMonkey]

I am still in the early stages of being diagnosed and trying to learn everything I can. I could and should realistically drop say 10 pounds and would have a mid ranged body mass index reading of 22.9 from current 24.5 but wondering if this would have any affect on my OSA symptoms. I am guessing it would not since I've probably had mild symptoms all my life even when a good 20lbs lighter but curious if anyone here has used weight loss as another tool in addition or even ultimately in place of a CPAP. Thanks!

Do you understand that the preponderance of cases of OSA are due to underdeveloped jaws which make for a very narrow airway? Also, OSA often is there first and the sleep problems it causes result in large weight gain?

Count your teeth. You should have 32. If you have 28 or less you likely have an unhealthy narrow jaw.

Look at the sides of your tongue. If you see scalloping it is because your jaw is narrow and your tongue is crushed up against your teeth.

My BMI is 24 and my muscles are all tight (lots of gym work and aerobics). But I have 28 teeth and a scalloped tongue. Weight loss would not help me.

Enjoy CPAP.

[nanwilson]

For those of you that think loosing weight MIGHT help....GO FOR IT! It will help your heart, lungs, and your general well being, it may not help your osa, but if you think you need to loose, then you do. We are in general, an overweight population, we could all stand to loose some weight.

[Resister]

I lost 20% of my total weight and have been off CPAP since December.
Yes, it was an effort to lose it. The one thing that keeps me on goal is the thought of having to put on a mask every night for the rest of my life. It was worth the try since I'd exhausted other options other than surgery.
It IS possible. Try the weight loss.....even if it doesn't get you off CPAP, you'll still feel better for having less to carry around.
We went on a trip the other day and when they weighed my luggage, it was the same amount I'd lost and I was close to the limit. I couldn't believe I'd lost that much and how good it felt.

Congratulations! That is quite a feat.

Did you have another sleep study to confirm? I am guessing that is the only way to know for sure?

I did have another PSG in December. My neurologist shook my hand and said, "You can sell that machine!"
So I did.

Again, congratulations! Sounds like you went about it the right way.