It is reasonably clear that no-one has exact statistics about weight-loss eliminating OSA. The diagnosis and study of sleep apnea is fairly new, 40 years ago no-one knew anything about it, and it takes time to accumulate the necessary body of information. When people write here about their hope to lose weight and thereby overcome sleep apnea, they are attacked by some strong minded people, who are very convinced that it will not help. The heredity factor is not yet proven, but is not uncommon.
Recent medical journal articles have observed that some apnea is a result of blockages by tissue, while other apnea is caused by a breathing pattern disturbance. Some people claim that learning resistance breathing, which strengthen the ability of the upper airways to function properly, has helped them with sleep apnea.
There may be some truth to all of the above, but CPAP does seem to work well regardless, although when people have more complicated cases of complex sleep disordered breathing they may not find it to relieve all their symptoms.
Twenty years from now we will know much more about it.


_________________
Arthur
Sleeping with a curvaceous blonde autoPAP (Resmed autoset). Surviving, and in small ways doing better. Maybe there will be that big surge of energy, and easier weight loss one day. Hope springs eternal.....

Well said Abi       

Apnea affects many people in different ways.I would enjoy reading stories of people who got off of cpap with weight loss(hope the number is alot higher then percentages indicate).

 But in my case what came first the chicken or the egg? I know exactly what came first the nasty evil chicken . IT would pounce on me at night and obstruct my airway (peak at my head sometimes too) . My body adapted by making me sleep on my side because I was less prone to its vile attacks. Then I had the habit of sleeping with my arm under my pillow this also helped. Finally my body responded by not allowing me to get back to sleep when awakened by that evil poultry (insomnia).Then the dominoes started to tumble.
So I know at least in my case even though I have lost weight and my numbers of apneas have dropped. That evil chicken is waiting for me to unplug my machine.

I feel like KFC tonight     

Ypu have probably seen this:

The subjects were re-evaluated an average of 28 months after GB. Seven subjects had a lower BMI after GB. Mean BMI was reduced by 31% (p = 0.001). The mean decrease in RDI was 75% (p = 0.01), and five of the eight subjects no longer required nasal CPAP.

for obese folks who have surgery (gb)  there is a reduction in rdi

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=14555601

I think it would be hard to do a study in less overweight folks. With a recommendation to lose weight, diet, exercise etc probably 5-10% would actually have significant sustained weight loss

Doctor told me my apnea was due to having a small chin.  Makes sense.  I'm not overweight ... though I can use to lose a few pounds.  

When I was single, I would spent alot of time at the gym, but being married with a 1 year old ... the gym is almost a thing of the past.  Part of it is because I'm so tired from the apnea.  I'm looking forward to being able to hit the weights on a regular basis again.  Hoping to shed the last 10 lbs also.  :)

Still don't get it.

It just seems to me that the "diagnose then treat" procedure seems to be off somewhere in sleep apnea.  Sure sleep apnea is first diagnosed because it is observed and noted on a polysomnogram.  But someone on this forum reminded me that sleep apnea is a condition--not a disease.  So why does the diagnosis process stop there so often?  

With all of what I have read, the low probability that weight loss will actually reduce or eliminate the apnea, then why is it so often what doctors use to explain the apnea?

There is only one reason I can think of.  I have very little longevity in this having only been diagnosed with mild apnea a few weeks ago but have done enough research to make at least a guess.  I think that the origin of sleep apnea is not usually determined because there is a highly successful treatment for it.  The cpap.  This works so well that what difference does it make what the cause is?

Well, I suppose a person should just assume sleep apnea as their lot in life and just relish in the fact that there is something they can do about it.  But my struggle will always be, that

1)  I weigh the same as I have for the past five years and five years ago I didn't have apnea.
2)  I have apnea now.

I want to know why.

I don't know when I got sleep apnea, most of us don't know... at most we can say that we remember when certain symptoms started. Even if you had a test 5 years ago it may have shown some early symptoms but just not sufficient or severe enough interruptions of breathing to get a formal diagnosis of OSA. WHen I told my older sister that I was diagnosed with asthma at 52 and OSA at 54 and wondered how on earth I got these things in mid-life she answered: "when you were in kindergarten and pre-school you were sick so often and so seriously with recurrent bronchitis that the parents pulled you out of school and kept you home until 1st grade, you probably have had some kiond of breathing issues all your life just didn't bother you enough to be analyzed by a pulmonologist." So, who knows?


_________________
Arthur
Sleeping with a curvaceous blonde autoPAP (Resmed autoset). Surviving, and in small ways doing better. Maybe there will be that big surge of energy, and easier weight loss one day. Hope springs eternal.....

Guest wrote:

Still don't get it.

It just seems to me that the "diagnose then treat" procedure seems to be off somewhere in sleep apnea.  Sure sleep apnea is first diagnosed because it is observed and noted on a polysomnogram.  But someone on this forum reminded me that sleep apnea is a condition--not a disease.  So why does the diagnosis process stop there so often?  

With all of what I have read, the low probability that weight loss will actually reduce or eliminate the apnea, then why is it so often what doctors use to explain the apnea?

There is only one reason I can think of.  I have very little longevity in this having only been diagnosed with mild apnea a few weeks ago but have done enough research to make at least a guess.  I think that the origin of sleep apnea is not usually determined because there is a highly successful treatment for it.  The cpap.  This works so well that what difference does it make what the cause is?

Well, I suppose a person should just assume sleep apnea as their lot in life and just relish in the fact that there is something they can do about it.  But my struggle will always be, that

1)  I weigh the same as I have for the past five years and five years ago I didn't have apnea.
2)  I have apnea now.

I want to know why.

Sleep Apnoea has been around for some time. Charles Dicken's character Joe the Fat Boy was the arch type sufferer and his ability to fall asleep at any time marked him out. Often (in the earlier part of last century) referred to as Pickwickian Syndrome a tracheotomy was seen as the only cure. In truth it is 100% successful as it is a surgical bypass of the airway.

The UPPP then came along and is still in vogue today, however success rates are not good.

True, Sleep Apnoea is a condition or disorder (a respiratory sleep disorder), with the respiratory/pulmonary medical community effectively claiming ownership...........in fact they frown somewhat on pure sleep specialists (neurologists, psychiatrists etc) being involved. They usually see ENTs as 'jobbers' who carry out surgical instruction and who really shouldn't be involved either. Cardiologists are now starting to get in on the act also, obviously because of the cardiac side effects...................or God forbid, the lure of the filthy dollar  

You want to know why.................don't we all   , but in spite of all these different medical disciplines getting involved nobody seems to be bothered in finding out exactly what causes it. The 'hereitary' question seems to rear its head quite frequently now.............one of the first questions being asked by medics.......'any of your family been diagnosed'..........or a close look at your facial skeletal structure to see if you have a receeding jawline, or small airway, deviated septum, neck size etc etc.

Pre CPAP (c.1981/82 when first mentioned in The Lancet), the trusty ENT trimmed out the airway and anything else that wasn't nailed down in the upper airway   and it wasn't really until into the 1990's (possibly mid 90's) that the importance of CPAP, particularly compliance issues came to the fore.................prior to this the equipment was pretty primitive, unbelieveably horrible masks, noisy machines and humidification was a whole new concept. Full Face masks didn't exist, and as for nasal pillows..............pillows for your nose ?  

In their own way I suppose, doctors explain Sleep Apnoea...............patient presented with this etc etc...........bottom line OSA, prescribe CPAP and bugger off home...................let some DME company deal with you, while I make more money with the next one................maybe a little over simplistic, but you get the drift. There is no money in research for the medics...........could take years............whereas they could be working away diagnosing it. In the meantime the big companies (you know the logos on your cpap equipment)...........develop smaller (yes) and quieter machines with every conceivable type of mask and interface to keep you, the patient compliant (maybe hooked is another word   ) with cpap. While mask life has been extended to c.6 months.........the cost of them has rocketed. New filters, hoses, cflex, EPR etc etc. Special ones for flying, battery packs for camping.............the industry is certainly going. Both Respironics and ResMed shares are constantly marked as a 'buy'.............we all know why............growing industry...........more people using cpap.

Maybe its a knock on from air polution, global warming, hole in the ozone layer. More and more people are suffering from respiratory illness than ever before..............OSA is a respiratory problem.

Sorry for rattling on, but unfortunately if you start looking too deeply into this, it can get a little depressing. It drove me potty for a number of years after being diagnosed in 1993....................I gave up asking questions and accepted that I have a problem, it's not contagious, can't be cured but can be treated and that I will continue to contribute to a rising share price for ResMed shareholders until I die................or change machines   I also watch my two children to see if they start to show signs of OSA.

I think, for the moment, accept it, treat it and move on. Unfortunately, as long as cpap continues to deliver results, nobody is going to bother with 'real' research into the condition.

Best of luck.


_________________
The untreated Sleep Apnoea sufferer died quietly in his sleep.......
Unlike his three passengers who died screaming !!!!!!

(Anon)

When I was being worked up for jaw advancement surgery about 10 years ago, the surgeon did endoscopy and a bunch of x-rays.  My OSA is caused simply because my airways are too small.  I am over 6 feet tall and over 200 pounds, so I am not small, my airways are small.  When I was first diagnosed 12 years and when I had my surgeries about 10 years ago I was muscular and I was not considered to be overweight.

Bearded One--I am so glad for you that you have an explanation for your apnea.  That's exactly what I would like.  I have read all of the posts and I understand what you are saying, that pursuing a reason for this would more than likely not be worth it in the long run.  I guess the main reason I keep pressing this is because I have read about a lot of other causes for apnea such as hypothyroidism, diabetes, cardiac problems and etc.  I just makes me nervous to assume that there is no underlying condition without ruling them out.

Guest, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound short or blunt.  

In my case, after thorough examination, the reason for my obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)  is pretty obvious -- it is caused by my physical characteristics.  There may be  a pathological explanation as to why my airway is small, but I believe that genetics caused me to have a small airway; just as genetics caused me to be nearly 2 meters tall.  Honestly, I am at peace with the explanation as to why I have OSA, I do not feel that in my case that it will be productive to explore it any further at this time.

I believe that I had OSA starting in my teens, at least according to my parents' recollection of my snoring and noticing that I would stop breathing when I slept.  When I was young (1960's - early 1970's -- I'm 52 now)  I had been to various doctors, including ENT's, to find out why my breathing made noise during the day and why I snored so loudly and stopped breathing when I slept.  There were no answers at that time, although the doctors said that I was physically healthy.  

Until fairly recently, I had been muscular and I was not overweight.  I have gained a few pounds recently and that (along with wanting a new CPAP machine) is what caused me to get a new sleep study -- I am at the same 10 cm H2O as I had been 12 years ago.  I have regular physicals.  I do not have  hypothyroidism, diabetes, or cardiac problems.  The only other physical problem I have is a blood clotting condition called Factor V Leyden, which has caused me to have  DVT's and pulmonary embolisms.

Guest, I wish you the best of luck in finding the cause for your apnea, and if you do find what is causing it, I hope that you can find an effective treatment or remedy for it.  Just as in the early 1970's, my doctors had no idea why I stopped breathing when I slept; in a few years, more will be known about the causes and possible cures for various types of sleep aneas.