[Alfisti]

Yeah do both, weight loss, especially significant loss (I am trying to lose 70 lbs from my peak earlier this yr) can be a slow road. I dropped 30, have put 5 back on and now stagnated....... it won't be fast enough to solve your issue in short term.

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

The machine or the mask keeping him awake?

The mask primarily, but really just the whole get-up.

[Tommy-G]

Originally Posted by Our03z4

Well I found out I can do the sleep study at home! You wear a device for 4 days then send it back to be interpreted, once you do that then they give you a script. I can then go to a place down the road to get fitted and get the unit. I'm actually excited to get this done, I'm tired of being exhausted all the time. I'm still going to try and shed weight as well.

Thanks again, I'll update how it goes.

Just like any doctor you can get second opinions. I have found sleep doctors are great and others suck....my sleep study was at home and only 1 night. Just a thought

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by Tommy-G

Do as I say, not as I do....
I have SEVERE sleep apnea. Ex-GF told me I stop breathing at night so I went for a test probably back in 2005. Nurse told me after the overnight test that there was no way I have it. I'm not obese, theres no way. Well, I went to get the results and found to have severe. I dont recall the #'s b/c I have theoretically blocked it out.
Got a C-Pap and would tear it off at night and not be able to fall back asleep. After 2 months I gave up. Fast forward 2021, I went and got tested again. This time they give you a monitor to wear at home and get results the following day. Still have it obviously but got a new style C-Pap. Wore it 2 nights and that was it. I can't do it....I hate it, I know it will be the death of me but it sucks for me.

Now they have this Inspire thing that is similar to a pacemaker (kind of) and get implanted under your skin. Going to look at that but that terrifies me also.

Go get tested....try it, many people can function with a C-Pap.
Also DocL has tons of experience with Apnea

While weight can be a cause, it's not the only cause. I have it, I'm fat, however I'm pretty sure my dad had it (undiagnosed) and he was not fat, also the 3 other people who were doing the sleep study at the same place as me were not fat. So losing weight MIGHT solve the issue, but it might not. I mean, I'm still trying to lose weight and plenty of other reasons to do so.

Originally Posted by Alfisti

See i am the opposite, absolutely cannot sleep without it, i keep jolting awake.

It's interesting because I had NO sleep issues at all. I slept fine, I don't recall ever being tired or sleepy. Before I got mine I worked with a guy who had really bad sleep apnea and at some point his machine was broken or something. The guy would constantly fall asleep at his desk. I've never had that issue.

I had some blood work done and I don't recall why but something in that blood work made my doctor think I had sleep apnea. Maybe it was testosterone, something was low and he said at my age (early 30s back then) that wasn't normal and that was produced when you sleep so I must not be sleeping well.

Anyways put it off forever then when I finally did the study it showed I have severe apnea. The messed up part is now I cannot even fall sleep without that thing strapped to my face. If I do manage to fall asleep on the couch or something I wake up feeling like total shit. So honestly not sure if the cpap did anything for me, but now I cannot live without it.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

It's interesting because I had NO sleep issues at all. I slept fine, I don't recall ever being tired or sleepy. Before I got mine I worked with a guy who had really bad sleep apnea and at some point his machine was broken or something. The guy would constantly fall asleep at his desk. I've never had that issue.

Anyways put it off forever then when I finally did the study it showed I have severe apnea. The messed up part is now I cannot even fall sleep without that thing strapped to my face. If I do manage to fall asleep on the couch or something I wake up feeling like total shit. So honestly not sure if the cpap did anything for me, but now I cannot live without it.

I slooooooooooooooowly gained weight, it was REALLY sneaky, over like 10 yrs. Hit a tipping point and started snoring, so got checked and yep, needed the machine. I never felt like i was choking or whatever but definitely loud snoring.

Got the machine and not sure when it happened but i cannot fall asleep without it. I will semi-drift off but as i properly pass out BOOM i jolt awake and feel a choking sensation in my neck.

I will get ZERO sleep without it. i went camping last week and ran a 40 ft extension cord into the tent so i could sleep.

[Our03z4]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

I slooooooooooooooowly gained weight, it was REALLY sneaky, over like 10 yrs. Hit a tipping point and started snoring, so got checked and yep, needed the machine. I never felt like i was choking or whatever but definitely loud snoring.

Got the machine and not sure when it happened but i cannot fall asleep without it. I will semi-drift off but as i properly pass out BOOM i jolt awake and feel a choking sensation in my neck.

I will get ZERO sleep without it. i went camping last week and ran a 40 ft extension cord into the tent so i could sleep.

Well crap. We love to go camping in places where there isn't any power. Any advice other than a long cord? How much power do these things take I wonder.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by Our03z4

Well crap. We love to go camping in places where there isn't any power. Any advice other than a long cord? How much power do these things take I wonder.

I tried testing it at home on a UPS when i didn't realise the site had power and it worked for a minute then stopped, not sure why as i power a lot of stuff with my little UPS. It didn't trip, it just stopped. There is a CPAP power bank but it is like $1K, someone tech savvy will find a better and cheaper answer tot he problem I am sure.

I may be an edge case though, a few nights "sleeping" but not really getting proper sleep is fine outside of your routine, in my case, i absolutely cannot sleep without out, it is like i am being choked (in a bad way).

[Our03z4]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

I tried testing it at home on a UPS when i didn't realise the site had power and it worked for a minute then stopped, not sure why as i power a lot of stuff with my little UPS. It didn't trip, it just stopped. There is a CPAP power bank but it is like $1K, someone tech savvy will find a better and cheaper answer tot he problem I am sure.

I may be an edge case though, a few nights "sleeping" but not really getting proper sleep is fine outside of your routine, in my case, i absolutely cannot sleep without out, it is like i am being choked (in a bad way).

What tripped, the UPS or the CPAP? I think I could use the Ryobi inverter I have and maybe a 9ah battery but maybe not. Looks like a small portable battery pack would be able to handle one for over 12hrs on a charge. From what I've found CPAPs use no more than 100w if they have heated humidity.

[spazzyfry123]

Have you considered one of the mobile power stations?

I have one of the Jackery systems that I use to power a fridge on trips in the old truck, but I believe they specifically market this to be used for medical equipment - whether that's a power outage at home or a trip to the woods.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

Have you considered one of the mobile power stations?

I have one of the Jackery systems that I use to power a fridge on trips in the old truck, but I believe they specifically market this to be used for medical equipment - whether that's a power outage at home or a trip to the woods.

This. When we traveled in the RV we would often stop overnight at a Crackerbarel or what not where we would be without any shore power. At first I used one of these small portable power stations and without using the humidifier it would last all night on a small one like 200 watt hours or something like that.

Later I added a 12v outlet next to the bed that was fed from the RVs onboard 12v battery and used that instead.

[CamasM3e93]

Originally Posted by Our03z4

Well crap. We love to go camping in places where there isn't any power. Any advice other than a long cord? How much power do these things take I wonder.

Amazon carries a few battery kits including some with solar recharging units. There's enough power to run the unit without humidifier and the battery can recharge in a day of sun exposure. They were a couple hundred bucks last I looked. Not something easy to backpack with but certainly yes to camping

Speaking as a doc with sleep apnea here. Agree with the advise to get the formal evaluation. Whether you need cpap, bipap, an oral appliance, or even maybe a corrective surgery and skip all that - these are key distinctions you need help sorting out and worth your time.

The first few months can be tough for some people but some groove on it right away. I felt so much better after the first night people at work noticed something was different that very first day. Mask type and mask fit are critical and it can take months of effort for some to find the right combination and it's so critical to your heart health and emotional health that you don't want to give up after one or two nights as others describe. In residency I worked the ER in a VA hospital and those vets would show up during a heart attack clutching their chest with one arm and carrying their CPAP under the other. The lesson: Once you get good sleep on cpap you'll never want to go without it.

[Maynard]

Don't skip the doctor-first part of this, really.

For those with trouble adapting to the mask, try wearing it for longer and longer periods while awake and relaxed, like while watching TV. Often you don't acclimate to things when you are asleep, so the mask ends up feeling like a foreign body and waking you. And there are a bunch of different mask types, so finding one that fits best is a key.

[Mkenney725]

Was diagnosed with severe several years ago. Dr tried to tell me CPAP was only way and minimized weight lose and other methods. Talked with my dentist who made a mouth guard for me that pushes my lower jaw forward to open the airway. That combined with the 65 lbs lose worked for me. Moral of the story, don’t accept one opinion.

[Our03z4]

Originally Posted by Mkenney725

Was diagnosed with severe several years ago. Dr tried to tell me CPAP was only way and minimized weight lose and other methods. Talked with my dentist who made a mouth guard for me that pushes my lower jaw forward to open the airway. That combined with the 65 lbs lose worked for me. Moral of the story, don’t accept one opinion.

This is interesting. I actually had to get a mouth guard for TMJ and teeth grinding but couldn't stand wearing it. Maybe this is the cause of my issues?

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by Mkenney725

Was diagnosed with severe several years ago. Dr tried to tell me CPAP was only way and minimized weight lose and other methods. Talked with my dentist who made a mouth guard for me that pushes my lower jaw forward to open the airway. That combined with the 65 lbs lose worked for me. Moral of the story, don’t accept one opinion.

I don't see a single person here suggesting weight loss is not paamount, but dropping 70 lbs is a slow process, he needs something in the meantime.

[540iSUP]

Hey bud, I didn't read through all the responses, but I am a Registered Respiratory Therapist and I can tell you exactly what is happening and what you need to do.

You have what is called OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea). What is happening is your soft tissue relaxes when you sleep and your airway closes. When CO2 levels in your body rise, it tells your diaphragm to take a breath, so you have that loud snore/pop open sound. If you are over weight, the problem is more severe.

While your levels of CO2 rise, it puts strain on your heart. Your heart wants to pump fresh oxygenated blood throughout your body. Blood can only hold so many atoms. So if you have more CO2 than O2 in your blood, your heart has to work harder to compensate for your low O2 levels.

High Co2 is what is giving you headaches and I bet your are sleepy more often than not during the day. Every time your airways open up when you snore, it wakes you up slightly, so you will not get good rest.

CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. What this device does is use Air pressure to Stent open your airways. The reason why you need a sleep study is because we need to determine what pressure is best to keep your airways open. Lets say I set your CPAP for a pressure of 8cmH2O, you would need to create a pressure greater than that to overcome the pressure of the airway stent. If you can only create a pressure of 5cmH20, then you will not be able to exhale and will have some problems.

I know that a CPAP isn't the most comfortable thing and I read earlier that you're worried about being dependent on this machine, but it is truly for you and your family's benefit. You will have better sleep, you will be more alert, less headaches, and overall happier. You will reach a point where you will question why you never got a sleep study done and used a CPAP to begin with.

[Our03z4]

Originally Posted by 540iSUP

Hey bud, I didn't read through all the responses, but I am a Registered Respiratory Therapist and I can tell you exactly what is happening and what you need to do.

You have what is called OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea). What is happening is your soft tissue relaxes when you sleep and your airway closes. When CO2 levels in your body rise, it tells your diaphragm to take a breath, so you have that loud snore/pop open sound. If you are over weight, the problem is more severe.

While your levels of CO2 rise, it puts strain on your heart. Your heart wants to pump fresh oxygenated blood throughout your body. Blood can only hold so many atoms. So if you have more CO2 than O2 in your blood, your heart has to work harder to compensate for your low O2 levels.

High Co2 is what is giving you headaches and I bet your are sleepy more often than not during the day. Every time your airways open up when you snore, it wakes you up slightly, so you will not get good rest.

CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. What this device does is use Air pressure to Stent open your airways. The reason why you need a sleep study is because we need to determine what pressure is best to keep your airways open. Lets say I set your CPAP for a pressure of 8cmH2O, you would need to create a pressure greater than that to overcome the pressure of the airway stent. If you can only create a pressure of 5cmH20, then you will not be able to exhale and will have some problems.

I know that a CPAP isn't the most comfortable thing and I read earlier that you're worried about being dependent on this machine, but it is truly for you and your family's benefit. You will have better sleep, you will be more alert, less headaches, and overall happier. You will reach a point where you will question why you never got a sleep study done and used a CPAP to begin with.

Thank you for this post and for going in to such detail, I truly appreciate it! Do you know if the at home sleep study works just as well? Looks like quite a bit of hardware so I imagine it does? The local place to me offers this and I'd love to take this route. Thanks!

[540iSUP]

What the at home sleep study will do is produce a baseline for your therapist. We also use this to prove to insurance companies that you need a CPAP device and they can cover the bill for it.

After your self test at home they would probably want you to come in so they can hook you up to a CPAP machine and determine the best pressures for you. This is just a guess as I don't work in a sleep lab, I work in a hospital.

The tests that they do at the sleep lab would be more precise. They would hook you up to an EEG, EKG, and SPO2 monitor; whereas the home study would probably be just an SPO2 monitor. It's not bad, but we can't see the whole picture.

Also at the sleep lab they would be able to hook you up to Oxygen if you need it.

[540iSUP]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

While weight can be a cause, it's not the only cause. I have it, I'm fat, however I'm pretty sure my dad had it (undiagnosed) and he was not fat, also the 3 other people who were doing the sleep study at the same place as me were not fat. So losing weight MIGHT solve the issue, but it might not. I mean, I'm still trying to lose weight and plenty of other reasons to do so.

It's interesting because I had NO sleep issues at all. I slept fine, I don't recall ever being tired or sleepy. Before I got mine I worked with a guy who had really bad sleep apnea and at some point his machine was broken or something. The guy would constantly fall asleep at his desk. I've never had that issue.

I had some blood work done and I don't recall why but something in that blood work made my doctor think I had sleep apnea. Maybe it was testosterone, something was low and he said at my age (early 30s back then) that wasn't normal and that was produced when you sleep so I must not be sleeping well.

Anyways put it off forever then when I finally did the study it showed I have severe apnea. The messed up part is now I cannot even fall sleep without that thing strapped to my face. If I do manage to fall asleep on the couch or something I wake up feeling like total shit. So honestly not sure if the cpap did anything for me, but now I cannot live without it.

Your heart will produce enzymes when under stress. We can see these levels in your blood.

Also, you guys are right that sleep apnea doesn't affect only over weight individuals. Sleep apnea is an anatomical problem, but weight does increase its severity.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by 540iSUP

What the at home sleep study will do is produce a baseline for your therapist. We also use this to prove to insurance companies that you need a CPAP device and they can cover the bill for it.

After your self test at home they would probably want you to come in so they can hook you up to a CPAP machine and determine the best pressures for you. This is just a guess as I don't work in a sleep lab, I work in a hospital.

The tests that they do at the sleep lab would be more precise. They would hook you up to an EEG, EKG, and SPO2 monitor; whereas the home study would probably be just an SPO2 monitor. It's not bad, but we can't see the whole picture.

Also at the sleep lab they would be able to hook you up to Oxygen if you need it.

This is how mine was. I was excited when I was told I could do it at home, what they forgot to mention is I would still have to go to the clinic (if positive result on at home test) to do fitting and pressure settings. They put all kinds of electrodes all over my head and they would constantly wake me to make adjustments. For example started with nasal pillow and was woken up and told to switch to full face because I kept trying to breathe through my mouth and waking up. Also had to change size a few times.

Wasn't fun, but wasn't the worst thing ever either.

[DocL]

I've been away for a few days and didn't check up on this thread.

I've been treating people with OSA for a few years. As a dentist there was a lot for me to learn before I started treating people with Severe OSA. It doesn't matter if you are tall or short, fat or skinny, male or female, young or old, as I have many patients who fall into any category aforementioned. I have a HST device I can send home with any patient, or I can use one of the many virtual HST providers depending on insurance or how long it takes to get the results. There are some new HST devices that I have questioned the results of and have had the patient use my device. One in particular knew she had an AHI of 48, yet the virtual company device indicated an AHI of 5, no OSA. My device reported an AHI of 47, but since she was a medicare patient I couldn't use my device results because the company I use t interpret and diagnose is outside of the Medicare system. So unfortunately this person got screwed by Medicare who said she has no OSA now, so no treatment unless out of pocket. Which of course is much more than she can afford. SMH.

As for determining how to treat the OSA, if being treated by a dentist, one way to observe the airway is to have an MRI at rest, then one wearing the oral device to compare the airway manipulation, and then a third once the appliance has been titrated. I don't know of any dentists who do that, and I couldn't get any of my patients to agree with getting three scans done. So, I purchased an ultrasound which uses sonar to help identify the diameter of the airway. I can also simulate a collapse and know exactly where it happens, by how much, all while the patient is awake in my office. This has been instrumental in my restoring patient's airway while using the oral device. One of my patient's has been a medical advisor for the WH since Clinton, and he is one of my patients who stopped using his CPAP. He travels from DC to Florida for my treatment because he wasn't able to find a qualified dentist.

Sleep Apnea can contribute to a myriad of health issues including HTN, Hypothyroid, Acid Reflux, Stroke, Cardiomyopathy, Arrhythmias, MI, and even ADHD if not diagnosed by the age of four. As a dentist I can tell just by looking at your tongue and teeth and have a good idea if you have silent acid reflux, and a Sleep Related Breathing Disorder (SRBD). I am not allowed to make a diagnosis of OSA, however I can successfully treat OSA, and I am credentialed to bill medial insurance and Medicare. Not many dentists can do that. Medical doctors make the diagnosis but are not allowed to make the oral appliance. This is the big disconnect with OSA between the tow professions. I have done a great job teaching some of the local doctors in my area, but many just don't know much about the treatment besides the CPAP with 40% of CPAP users become intolerant too.

I am open to answering any questions regarding sleep apnea, but I cannot give specific recommendations.

-Robert

[DocL]

Originally Posted by Tyga11

...If you're hesitant about going to a sleep doctor or getting a sleep study done, you can find CPAP machines online without a prescription. I would STRONGLY go that route vs. ignoring and trying to lose weight...

I'm just going to chime in and say that is poor advice, but the suggestion about getting treatment is good advice. If the CPAP isn't fit and titrated properly it can cause issues. The same goes for those DIY oral appliances. I have had patients come to my office asking me to adjust them and I refuse. Most of the issues are changes to the TMJ and occlusion (bite). One person I saw now needs major jaw surgery because he was wearing an oral appliance they got on Amazon a few years ago. I've also had to send many people to an Orthodontist because people have screwed up their bite so badly that they can't chew food well anymore.

Just my $0.001 due to inflation.