can I overcome the use of a cpap machine. Ive been diagnosed with sleep apnea.?
Its seems as though there are ways to deal with the situation than there is to treat the condition. I want to overcome the use of the cpap machine and overcome the diagnosis of having sleep apnea. I am slightly overweight. I don’t know if me losing weight will help any.
Tagged with: cpap machine • diagnosis • losing weight • sleep • sleep apnea
Filed under: Sleep Apnea Machine Questions
CPAP is the least invasive way to treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Other options are a UPPP procedure that involves having the uvula and tonsils surgically removed, weight loss, and/or a dental device that would help keep the tongue out of the airway.
The UPPP surgery has been described by one of instructors who had it as ‘swallowing razor blades for six months’. I don’t think that’s a recommendation. He said that he lost a lot of weight because he could only eat ice chips for a long time. He ended-up back on a CPAP machine anyways. The UPPP has a success rate of like 25%.
Weight loss may or may not help your OSA. If anything, it won’t make it worse. Some people who are at their perfect weight have OSA.
I recommend that you accept the OSA and use your machine as prescribed by your doctor. Your quality and length of life will likely be much better. A diagnosis of OSA should only be made after a sleep study confirms it. If that has been done, then you very likely do have OSA.
Losing weight will absolutely help with your sleep apnea.
Your other options are a variety of surgeries to remove excess inside your throat and esophagus. Were you diagnosed at a sleep disorder center via a sleep test? If so, they should have information on what surgical procedures they believe could help alleviate your apnea, as some procedures will not work as well for some as they do for others.
Take Care. God Bless.
Yes, losing weight might help. But it may not. For instance, I am only 116 lbs., but have a large tongue which relaxes in the back of my throat, which is a probable cause of mine.
There are also dental devices that can be made to reposition the tongue, but I haven’t heard that these have been as effective as a sleep apnea machine. I don’t have a cpap..I have a bipap machine for my apnea. It’s easier to exhale using a Bipap machine. Untreated sleep apnea can cause heart disease, among other problems, since tissues are not getting enough oxygen during sleep, so don’t discount the machine unless you find something better.
What really helped me was to review questions and answers on the sleep apnea forum at http://www.apneasupport.org.
You don’t have to "join" the website to look at the questions/answers in the general sleep apnea questions section.
I found them to be a valuable resource in getting my machine, mask and humidifier "tweaked" for me.