Fat tongue weight loss?

Hello everyone.

If you don’t want to read my story this is my main question: If I lose weight, will I lose tongue fat as well?

I’m currently 370 lbs and have been told I snore for several years now. I gained 40 lbs in the last year alone.

Weight issues aside, I went to an ENT who did a sleep study and said I didn’t have traditional apnea (he didn’t explain that very well) but said I have a ‘fat tongue.’ After he told me, it seemed to make sense.

In the past year I’ve noticed I snore out as loud as I snore in. It’s uncomfortable when I wake up because I think my tongue just gets dry and blocks everything. He recommended I see another specialist to be fitted for a device that moves my jaw out but I already have TMJ issues and I can see that being problematic.

If I lose a significant amount of weight, will tongue fat decrease as well?

I can’t tell what kind of reply that was, but I read that you can’t lose fat in your tongue from from Livestrong.com. And I can’t find any other source on the Internet that confirms that so I’d appreciate serious responses. I thought we were all here to help each other...

You can't spot reduce fat, meaning that if you make efforts to lose fat, you don't get to choose where it comes off from. No idea if your tongue can reduce in size...but people's facial structure changes when they lose weight...so I honestly don't see why not. Only way to find out is to reduce your body fat and see what happens. I would not rely on this though or get your hopes up. The most effective treatment for OSA is using CPAP, there is no way around that.

When the dogs are all exhausted, *my* southern boy says they are "fat tongued".

Your name is cute. I hope Dog Slobber posts on your thread.

Have you measured your tongue girth?

Hi there,

Welcome to the craziness. . I have no idea if you can lose weight from your tongue but I've lost 22#'s and counting since I started pap therapy. I have more energy and less brain fog when I get a good nights sleep.

Fattongue wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 21, 2019 7:38 pm

I can’t tell what kind of reply that was, but I read that you can’t lose fat in your tongue from from Livestrong.com. And I can’t find any other source on the Internet that confirms that so I’d appreciate serious responses. I thought we were all here to help each other...

Fattongue wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 21, 2019 6:04 pm

If I lose weight, will I lose tongue fat as well?
I’m currently 370 lbs... I gained 40 lbs in the last year alone.
I went to an ENT who did a sleep study and said I didn’t have traditional apnea (he didn’t explain that very well) but said I have a ‘fat tongue.’

Is the description of a "fat" tongue meant to say it is larger than it should be, or is there a test that can identify an excess or enlargement of actual fat cells that respond to caloric intake? An enlarged tongue can be caused by hypothyroid disease. And a tongue can be enlarged due to swelling. I've read where some have suggested a swollen tongue can be an inflammatory response to the vibrations of snoring. When I started CPAP my tongue had become large and had scalloped edges with imprints of the teeth it was pressed against. My thyroid tested normal. I'm told I was a horrendous snorer. At some point the large tongue returned to a normal size. Makes me think there might be something to the swollen theory. I have been diligent with my CPAP treatment and do not snore when using it. I wish I could say a smaller tongue reduced the severity of my sleep apnea. I mean, it seems logical, right? But it didn't.

While weight can be a culprit in OSA, the flip side also can be true. OSA can be a contributor to weight gain. What sleep apnea does to your body affects energy levels and appetite hormones leptin and ghrelin. Their dysfunction can cause an inordinate and insatiable appetite with no energy for activity to offset increased caloric intake. Little in our body functions efficiently when sleep deprived.

Do you have a copy of your sleep study report? If not, I suggest you get one. There's unanswered questions that the report might clarify. Am I reading your post correctly to think your doctor did not order CPAP? So he said you don't have traditional sleep apnea. Does that mean you didn't meet the criteria for a diagnosis of sleep apnea, or that you do have it but it is atypical? Looking forward to further discussion.

Cynmatthes wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 21, 2019 8:18 pm

Hi there,

Welcome to the craziness. . I have no idea if you can lose weight from your tongue but I've lost 22#'s and counting since I started pap therapy. I have more energy and less brain fog when I get a good nights sleep.

You can in Drug Countries and Prison for Snitching. Jim

To FatTongue -

Like KTeague, I too felt my tongue got inflamed and huge from sleep apnea. it felt like my tongue was constantly obstructing my mouth and breathing. I also had scalloping aka bite marks on the side of my tongue with untreated apnea. I think your doctor sounds kind of full of it, blaming you for the big tongue, rather than knowing that sleep apnea can cause your tongue to feel enlarged and inflamed. It's anecdotal, but with bilevel pap at the right pressure, my tongue feels much more normal size now, and I'm not biting it as I fall asleep.

I wonder if you have OSA worse in REM? because that's when your tongue relaxes the most. And there are some papers showing a correlation between poor REM sleep and weight gain.

I hope you can 1) get a copy of your sleep study and 2) see a board certified sleep specialist and 3) possibly trial an apap and look at the results in sleepyhead to see if it makes any difference in how you feel. Some people skip 2 and after my experience I see why, but I like to have a doctor involved for my own peace of mind.

Thin people get sleep apnea too, and it makes me mad when doctors try to blame everything on weight and the patient needing to lose weight.

Fattongue wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 21, 2019 6:04 pm

I went to an ENT who did a sleep study and said I didn’t have traditional apnea (he didn’t explain that very well) but said I have a ‘fat tongue.’

Count your teeth. How many do you have? How many are crooked? Or, are they all straight? Are your teeth crowded - do you have trouble getting dental floss between any of them? Have you ever had orthodontic braces?

I lost 75 lbs. I don't perceive any difference in the size of my tongue.

Dear Fattongue:

While you certainly present a different issue than what is usually posted here, and as you have seen, a few juvenile posters couldn't resist showing how insensitive they are (such folks please look up "karma" definition before you next post something designed to hurt someone who summoned up the courage to ask for help here), please find the few links to articles below that indeed correlate adiposity in the tongue with an increase in sleep apnea.

There is also an article that suggests how certain techniques can be used to keep the glosso-lingual area in tone to lessen closure when asleep. I assume that like many of us (me) being heavy also increases neck size and that tissue can also close off airflow. I was very resistant to starting CPAP but have found it to be a godsend after less than 3 months of use. I hated the sleep study (you will need one) and hated the CPAP at first (like learning to ride a bicycle, you fall a lot until you get it, then you usually like/love it). I lost about 40 lbs since starting CPAP (along with a better diet/exercise) BUT getting real sleep does wonders for your body chemistry and that nagging always hungry feeling is much much less. Do NOT listen to haters, go see a doctor who can prescribe a sleep study (one night of little sleep with electrodes glued to your head, but the sleep study people have seen it all before). You need a sleep study to get a prescription for CPAP and then just join the club. After about 2 weeks of frustrating CPAP use most find it is just part of your life and look forward to feeling better (a lot) when they wake up. Insurance usually covers most of this stuff so your out of pocket is not really that high and it is cheap compared to dying too soon if that is an issue with you. Hang in there, you've got peeps.

See https://www.sleepapnea.org/carrie-fishe ... eep-apnea/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4173920/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2642610/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3474535/

http://www.berkeleywellness.com/healthy ... ue-too-big

OtNNL

OfftoNeverNeverland wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 22, 2019 1:44 pm

a few juvenile posters couldn't resist showing how insensitive they are

I just now read through this post for the first time, and your comments are the only snark I have seen.

OfftoNeverNeverland wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 22, 2019 1:44 pm

Dear Fattongue:

While you certainly present a different issue than what is usually posted here, and as you have seen, a few juvenile posters couldn't resist showing how insensitive they are (such folks please look up "karma" definition before you next post something designed to hurt someone who summoned up the courage to ask for help here)