308fan
Explorer
Once I get down to a slim frame, I can't wait to sleep without that CPAP. Has anyone managed to get rid of theirs?
Anyone here dropped their CPAP after weight loss?
- Thread starter 308fan
- Start date
Over the last 4 months, I've dropped close to 50 lbs.
Without a fresh sleep study showing I no longer require it, I'd be hesitant to give it up.
That being said, I've napped without it and felt like I slept fine, and one night I put on the mask but never turned the machine on — still slept all night!
Without a fresh sleep study showing I no longer require it, I'd be hesitant to give it up.
That being said, I've napped without it and felt like I slept fine, and one night I put on the mask but never turned the machine on — still slept all night!
FarmgirlRebel
Explorer
I got rid of mine roughly 30lbs back...greatest decision I've made!
FartfulCodger
Explorer
I've never used a CPAP, though it seemed like I was on that path. After shedding 60 lbs., my wife tells me my snoring has stopped.
308fan
Explorer
You are lucky! How bad my sleep really was did not register until I started using it. The change in how I felt was amazing. It was truly a life saver of a device.
myopicmystic
Explorer
Isn't there an autostart feature on your device? On mine, putting the mask on makes it start up.
Seems like it doesn't. (Just so you know, that sleep wasn't restorative, though I managed not to wake up every 20mins?)
They explained to me that this isn't a CPAP but an APAP. No lab session with the device on me happened for tuning purposes. The claim is that it adjusts on its own.
A sleep lab test to establish whether I required it also never happened. What I received was a data-acquisition setup for home use.
Scrolling through the memory shows me certain figures, such as "Total AI", "Obs AI" and "Central AI". Does anyone understand what these figures mean? Perhaps they show how often or rarely it activates to support my breathing?
Driftroot
Explorer
Returning my CPAP to Veterans Affairs is something I would really like to do, but a fresh sleep study would be mandatory for me.
I work at a level 1 Trauma Hospital/University in the Midwest, and I had a conversation with the head of the ENT Dept. I said something like "I can't wait to lose some weight and ditch my CPAP". His response was that I should not hurry into that without another sleep study, because obesity might not be the cause at all — there could be 1,000+ other reasons behind my sleep apnea. No 2 people are identical in every way. A person's pallet in their mouth might be too soft, their teeth may have the wrong shape, or they could have an over/underbite. A tongue might be too large, or someone's airway might be 1mm too narrow.
So my plan is to lose the weight and then do another sleep study. In your position, I would do the same.
That said, to answer your question, the possibility of ditching my CPAP has me incredibly excited!
I work at a level 1 Trauma Hospital/University in the Midwest, and I had a conversation with the head of the ENT Dept. I said something like "I can't wait to lose some weight and ditch my CPAP". His response was that I should not hurry into that without another sleep study, because obesity might not be the cause at all — there could be 1,000+ other reasons behind my sleep apnea. No 2 people are identical in every way. A person's pallet in their mouth might be too soft, their teeth may have the wrong shape, or they could have an over/underbite. A tongue might be too large, or someone's airway might be 1mm too narrow.
So my plan is to lose the weight and then do another sleep study. In your position, I would do the same.
That said, to answer your question, the possibility of ditching my CPAP has me incredibly excited!
myopicmystic
Explorer
Down about 30lbs at this point, and I'm still on it. My guess is I'll need to drop another 30-50lbs before I'd feel ready to try a night without it or request a sleep study.
That said, the machine doesn't bother me. It's compact and doesn't need distilled water. And honestly, once I started using it, I noticed a big improvement in how I felt.
That said, the machine doesn't bother me. It's compact and doesn't need distilled water. And honestly, once I started using it, I noticed a big improvement in how I felt.
If you want a closer look at what your CPAP is doing, I'd suggest searching for a tool named OSCAR. Another thing worth doing is hanging around CPAP forums for a while to pick up on some of the finer details. Since APAP machines are now so common, I lean toward thinking the prescription bottleneck around CPAP is somewhat overblown. That said, handing someone a random APAP with a mid-size mask and factory settings, without digging into how well it's actually performing, probably isn't ideal either.
DIY isn't something I'm against (I went that route myself), but my point is that treatment has aspects you can target and tune, and you'd probably gain from looking into them, rather than simply trusting or hoping the APAP algorithm handles it all and that the CPAP software will flag big leaks for you (it won't).
Thanks, I’ll check that out.
Maybe I’m not explaining this clearly. This wasn’t a DIY setup. My terrible insurance refused to pay for a sleep study, so for 2 nights I used a home data-collection device instead. That information was then used to set up the APAP, and afterward I went in for a fitting.
I do have a doctor I see 1x/yr who goes over the data and gives advice. (The data gets uploaded over 5G.) I’m eager for that next visit, because I want to know whether the weight loss means the settings need to change, or whether my apnea might be gone.
Assuming someone is monitoring the readings, that setup might be handled properly — and if issues or a need for adjustments came up, they'd presumably let you know. Even so, I'd want to understand the details myself, though not everybody cares about the technical side, and supposedly a paid professional is already looking after that for you. You'll see "in theory" repeated quite a bit above.
One more point: there's a solid case that CPAP mode can beat APAP mode, provided a person puts in the work to find and set the right, optimal CPAP pressure. The reason is that APAP's shifting pressures — particularly when pressure relief is enabled — may let your airway close and then require reopening, rather than staying continuously held open. Most clinicians probably won't go to that trouble for you, because simply letting APAP handle the settings is far easier, and the typical user "likes" those pressure relief settings.
I was given a cpap roughly 1 month back. It is a genuine pia. At times it feels like I am a hound dog in the back of a truck, since so much air gets pushed through the mask. Lol, I am waiting for a doc app to hear how im doing.
If dropping weight can help me get rid of it, I should push myself a bit harder.
If dropping weight can help me get rid of it, I should push myself a bit harder.
308fan
Explorer
Isn't there an auto mode on your CPAP that lets it adjust on its own?
308fan
Explorer
I rely on the auto mode, and it performs great in my case.
Around 12 at night I ripped the mask off and flung it over the room. The tube had me all knotted up. If I don't tighten the straps really hard, it won't stop leaking. And then my nose itches like crazy. So off it comes, I scratch, and I'm back at square one.
This is driving me up the wall, and on top of that my wife gives me a look that says
“uhm no”.
It could be worth experimenting with other mask types (full face vs nasal vs pillows). Also, cleaning the portion that touches your face using soap and water may help. I don’t wash mine very often, but when I do with a full face, the “itch” issue tends to go away for a while. Dialing in the strap tension is its own strange art—what works best for me is switching to “mask fit” mode (to get max pressure), then adjusting the tightness of the various straps while lying on the pillow at different angles until I land on a setup that’s less awful than before and doesn’t leak.X3rocks said:
Around 12 at night I ripped the mask off and flung it over the room. The tube had me all knotted up. If I don't tighten the straps really hard, it won't stop leaking. And then my nose itches like crazy. So off it comes, I scratch, and I'm back at square one.
This is driving me up the wall, and on top of that my wife gives me a look that says
“uhm no”.