Assumptions .....

[Ulrika]

Do you find that people immediately assume you should loose weight to "cure" sleep apnea? I get annoyed as I am not that overweight but have ppl ask "have you tried loosing weight?", when in reality I have struggled with narrow airways and large tonsils since being born! I had witnessed apnea's when I was a skinny teenager but gradually after 3 children I do carry extra weight ( not that much!) but I don't know that I have felt any worse - I just hate that assumption, it makes me feel like I don't want to tell people I use CPAP ..and to be quite honest I think it would be up to my doctor to ask me that not some random acquaintance.

Just my bit of a rant - it has annoyed me and I hate feeling like I should "justify" myself - especially since I have wanted to excersize for years but have not had the stamina and felt terrible after even a short walk. I have just joined a gym after being on CPAP for 3 weeks, hoping that this is my solution to a lifelong battle to feel more energetic and refreshed.

[kitley]

Hi Ulrika...I am new to this too, about 6 weeks in. I have people ask me the same thing...though I was not overweight at all when this started with me...about 20 years ago. Even now, I am only 8 pounds over what I want to be. It is very frustrating and embarassing, as it is hard to hold my cool. Often the ones who ask are quite overweight themselves. The good news...and I am sure you will find the same.....I have lost 10 pounds in the last four weeks..simply due to CPAP increasing my metabolism. I am sure I am older than you, and because I have to walk my dog, I have always gotten exercise. So, between CPAP and the gym...wow, you will start losing, I am sure. Best of luck with your new equipment!

[PaulaO2]

Ask them if they've ever tried to be polite. I hear it cures rudeness.

[JumpStart]

You will always meet people like that. And it is not only in dealing with apnea - I have been diabetic since I was much younger, and it is always assumed by some that it was "caused" by overweight. It has frequently been suggested that if I lost weight I could cure it! Since at the time it began, and for many years after, my BMI never exceeded 25.8, obviously overweight was not the issue. Anyway - just ignore people like that. My favorite response was "oh, somehow I had thought you knew more about it than that". And I moved immediately to a different subject - and, thereafter, if continued to be bugged, to a new individual! Or, as Paula suggested, you can just bring them up really short. That also works, but it does limit later relations, if any are desired.

[CHanlon]

I am overweight... according to established doctrine. :-) Fact is, I always have been, and I don't eat enough to really justify that fact... and never have. Now, thats not to say I don't enjoy a good meal - I do. I actually tried keeping a journal of what I eat, for about 6 months, a couple years ago... I very carefully logged everything, kept track of calories, etc. I averaged about 1600 - 1800 calories a day, except for the odd special occasions like thanksgiving or christmas. During that time my weight fluctuated a bit, but didn't really change.

April 2010 I decided to finally do something about my sleep apnea, made an appt with my GP for a referral, etc. He did all the routine medical stuff, including blood tests, ECG, etc. Everything came up clean with 2 exceptions - my blood sugar was *one* point higher then they'd like, and my TSH was 4 points higher then it should be. Turns out I'm hypothyroidal. So, I started taking what is pretty much the minimum dose of thyroid medicine... and within a few months, started CPAP therapy.

I haven't altered my eating habits one iota since then, just as an experiment. Both conditions can cause weight gain. And... both get worse with weight gain. I'd suspected I might have a problem with one or the other, or both, for years, but I absolutely loathe doctors, so I never did anything to find out. So, the experiment was to see what happens to my weight now that they're being treated.

I've lost 35 pounds in the last year... and the weight loss is actually gaining momentum, as time goes on. Probably because I've got more energy - fatigue is a symptom of hypothyroidism as well as sleep deprivation, so I've suddenly become a lot more awake then I have been in years. :-)

I guess my point is, if people suggest loosing weight might help, you can simply point out that it's more then likely the SA is a big contributor to the weight you currently carry.

[worthog]

I have loss 13 kg since Feb and i now eat more, my plan is
- drink 2 to 3 litres of water each day
- walk at a fast pace 10,000 steps a day
- eat 3 meals with 150 grams of protein and plenty of veges or salad, but with no carbs
- reduce or cutout sugar and foods with sugar and carbs (potatoes and the like)
- have a protein snack between meals of 150 grams

Carbs and sugar are great for increasing weight

Works for me and my wife

[Sleepster]

Do you find that people immediately assume you should loose weight to "cure" sleep apnea? I get annoyed as I am not that overweight but have ppl ask "have you tried loosing weight?",

CPAP therapy helps you lose weight. Weight loss may cure your apnea. This is only something you can hope for, not something that can be determined in any other way.

Don't let it annoy you! Choose a different emotional response, such as hope, or confusion.

[Puck]

When I was 5 years old, my mother took me to the doctor because I was too skinny, and because I snored so heavily that she knew something was wrong. I had my tonsils and my adnoids out at that time in order to help me breathe better when I slept. This was the mid-1960's.

As a result of the surgery, I gained weight and attained a normal weight for my age and height throughout my childhood, teen years and into adulthood.

In my late 30's, I jogged on the beach every day for 45 minutes to an hour. I was in the best shape I've ever been in my life. Very low body fat. But that's also when my apnea returned, despite the surgery I had as a child and the shape my body was in.

I started using CPAP a little over ten years ago. I've gained some weight since then, and I'm no longer in that kind of physical shape. When I got my last machine a couple of years ago, I asked my doctor if I should lose weight and maybe that would at least move me from moderate OSA to mild. He took out an examination light and pointed it at my mouth. "Open" he said.

Say "Ahhhh!"

"Ahhhh!"

"Nope. Losing weight won't do you any good. I can't even see the back of your throat you've got so much meat in there. You have a tongue like Gene Simmons."

So no. People don't understand what obstructive sleep apnea is, generally, and what actually causes it.

It's too bad.

But I can tell ya - I'm glad somebody invented the CPAP machine!

Puck

[Ulrika]

Don't let it annoy you! Choose a different emotional response, such as hope, or confusion.
[/quote]


Ha ha... I like this I don't want people "getting" to me!

thanks