Weight Loss = Fewer Or No Apneas?

[harmon k]

Hi. Just wondering if anyone has personal knowledge of someone losing weight and, thus, not having sleep apnea anymore.....or, improving from, for example,  moderate to mild? Thanks

[Crimson Nape]

As my weight fluctuates, so does my pressure requirements.  I tried to see if there was a direct correlation between weight loss and pressure reduction without success.   By my calculations, I won't need CPAP therapy if I get down to 30 pounds.   .  . logic tells me I won't be needing it before I get to that weight.  

[Melman]

A good friend was diagnosed with sleep apnea when he was very overweight and used CPAP for several years. He got his weight down to the currently regarded healthy level by diet and rigorous exercise and subsequent sleep studies have shown he no longer suffers from apnea. We are all different , however, and this may not work for everyone. I was moderately overweight when first diagnosed 10 years ago and have lost 40 lbs since then. My wife complains I'm too skinny. It doesn't appear to have had much effect on my apnea.

[DavePaulson]

I have lost 30 pounds in the last two months. Have not noticed a drop in median pressure and not much of a drop in my daily max pressure. I have a lot more to lose and will keep watching.

Dave

[SleeplessinPgh]

For me, it has been the reverse. Since fine tuning my pressure range and lowering my AHI, I find that my ability to stay on a healthy diet is much better. When I wasn't getting enough quality sleep, I would wake up with a gnawing sensation in my stomach. It felt like hunger, so I ate, hoping it would get better, but it didn't help. Now that I'm getting the sleep I need, I don't have that gnawing sensation anymore. The lower AHI came first, followed by the weight loss (30 pounds so far).

[st8800]

I have put on 2 pounds since my AHI went down from 3+ to 1+ lol....

[Hydrangea]

I don't like that one of the dr's first recommendations for sleep apnea is to lose weight. I've had these apnea symptoms since before adulthood, when I was at a healthy slender weight and a great year-round athlete. CPAP has gotten rid of these apnea symptoms I've had. I wish I'd known about CPAP and apnea back then.

[Timur]

I don't like that one of the dr's first recommendations for sleep apnea is to lose weight. I've had these apnea symptoms since before adulthood, when I was at a healthy slender weight and a great year-round athlete.  CPAP has gotten rid of these apnea symptoms I've had.  I wish I'd known about CPAP and apnea back then.

I agree. 

In my first Polysomnography report the sleep specialist wrote that "in the long term weight management is the best strategy to control obstructive sleep apnea" My BMI was 25, so just barely overweight and yet that is where the finger pointed when the sleep study indicated moderate OSA at AHI 16. 

Harmon, to answer your question, I lost weight based on the sleep specialist's recommendation and went for a second sleep study by which time my BMI was down in the 22 range.

Unfortunately the night was less than ideal with way too little sleep captured in my opinion to make the study relevant for an accurate diagnosis. FWIW my AHI was 3 during the hour of sleep I managed to get!

As others here state it is so variable between individuals.

I  feel much healthier  when I use CPAP.  When I don't I feel it immediately; heart racing at night, sweating, vivid unpleasant dreams, dry mouth, stuffy nose ....that tells me  that I still have OSA despite being "normal weight" and having sustained the weight loss.  

The only way to know is to lose weight and have a sleep study that meets necessary requirements for an accurate diagnosis.

[E.W.]

I think some studies show losing about 10% of your weight reduces your AHI ~ 39% . But this is an average
sometimes a weight loss may make your OSA worse. This happened to a friend I have she lost ~ 70 lbs and had
to have a new sleep study done where they changed her pressure from 12 to 15 ! Over on the cpap talk forum
I saw a discussion about this and weight loss surgery. One person who I assumed was in the medical field made
the comment that after weight loss sergery about 38% of the people with OSA inproved enough to get off cpap
but she noted most of these people were rather younger. I have a theory about this. It has been shown that some
oral and throat exercises can also reduce OSA so I assume it's the muscle lack of muscle tone and fat that combine
to cause our OSA. Almost always weight loss unless you get some exercise while losing results in some muscle loss.
I assume this would also happen to the muscles holding our airway open when we lose weight and I believe this loss
in muscle as a result of dieting may be even more pronounced in people as we get older. It might be interesting
to combine a large weight loss and those oral exercises and see if the effect was additive.

[harmon k]

Thanks, all