does anyone have sleep apnea

[mowin]

Jonh, I had weight loss surgery back in '08. Before the surgery, I used to get up twice a night to go to the bathroom. I'd fall asleep during the day constantly. Part of the pre surgery tests I had included a sleep test. Turns out I had sleep apnea really bad. I took me several weeks to get used to the cpap. I must have gone through 6 masks. Once I found the one I could handle, I started sleeping so much better. I had more energy throughout the day. Never got up in the night to visit the bathroom. I used to joke and say if my house caught on fire, the first thing I'd save would be my cpap.
I had a second sleep study a yr after my surgery, and my apnea was gone. I still used the cpap on and off for several more months before I stopped using it all together.

Remember weight loss surgery is a tool to help you to loose weight. If you choose to eat the wrong foods, you can and will put the weight back on.
If you have any questions about WLS, PM me...

 

[cuznjohn]

thanks everyone, i get the machine tomorrow so i hope it works for me.

 

[AY4B]

I have sleep apnea. Ive used a cpap for a long time. My wife used to notice I would quit breathing several times a night and I went to have the sleep study. I have have a Bipap that gives a different pressure on inhale than exhale. I wear a full face mask, cant remember the name of it though. Weight is a big contributor. If I can get my weight down to 260-270 or below, I can discontinue using it unless I gain it back. Its a constant struggle to keep it off the older I get. I have a treadmill and use it till My feet start to hurt. Then I stop. This time of year is the hardest because there is always good cooking going on and I cant resist.

 

[PrairieSpyder]

I've never been diagnosed with sleep apnea, but I'm sure I have it. I snore when I sleep on my back (usually), and get sleepy during the day, especially when I'm driving/ryding all day. It may be the reason I'm over-caffeinated! I'm self-insured, so I haven't gone for the test, but will eventually.

I know people who have had weight-loss surgery. Like someone else said, it's not the end-all solution. Even after an initial weight loss, you can gain the weight back if you don't change the way you eat - permanently, every day for the rest of your life! I am a life-member in Weight-Watchers, meaning I've reached my goal weight and kept it off for a certain time. But I've gained back and lost it again. (I'm currently fighting the re-gaining of the weight.) A gal in my WW group had the surgery, and said she felt like she had "cheated" compared to others there. But of course, she did what she had to do and is now using what she learns at WW to eat healthy while she looses the weight.

I commend you for taking positive steps to improve your life and will pray for you as you go through this process. ray:

 

[jaherbst]

When you Spyder 🕷 travel do you haul your gear with you? 🕸

I sleep with it on every night everywhere I go. Travels well in the Spyder or my BMW motorcycles.

Jack

 

[Dubliner]

Thanks Jack, I don't have apnea but my wife does. She went to a sleep clinic where they measure your sleep pattern and they told her she was waking forty times an hour. Since she had her gall bladder removed she seems to sleep 16 hours a day and can fall asleep anywhere. She won't use the apparatus so we returned it as the noise was keeping her awake [emoji15] go figure?
We went to Europe early this year and that's where I really noticed the effect of the apnea. I sleep about five hours and can go full bore all day but she just couldn't walk much, her energy levels are low all the time! I don't want to trade her in for a new model as she is wonderful and everything a man will cross continents and oceans and mountains all because the Lady likes Milk Tray [emoji39]!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TommyBwell]

I have it. I would suggest a sleep study. When I did my study they monitor your sleep through the night and depending on how bad you have it would depend on what mask is required. It isnt a choice of selecting which one you like better.

I do not believe that is correct. They adjust your machine based on the amount of pressure you need, not the mask. My apnea is very bad and I chose whichever mask I wanted. When you get a prescription it is for machine setting, not mask type.

 

[cuznjohn]

people ask me why i have decided to have the weight loss surgery, well the answer to that is, i watched a few of the MY 600 POUND LIFE shows. watching that show i said to myself, what is wrong with these people. how could they let themselves get like that. some of them talk about eating due to abuse, some talk about depression, and some just don't have any excuse.

well i was always a heavy person, 287 pounds most of my adult working life. i worked as a electrician in new construction for over 35 years. with my size, most of the time i got all the heavy work on jobs, they called the work bull gang. and i loved it. i was a bull, strong as i could be. then one day i got hurt, and i was not allowed to work anymore. it was a stupid lil thing that ended up popping 2 disks in my neck and caused me to have 2 surgeries on my right shoulder. so with being out of weight i started gaining weight.

long story short, over the past 10 years being out of work i gained close to 70 pounds. my whole body hurts, they tell me i have arthritis from head to toe. so i have become lethargic, and sitting around i realized how the people can gain so much weight. i will go out of my way to avoid anything that involves any sort of exercise. my back kills me just taking a shower every day. i try to do anything and i am out of breath. due to the diabetes my feet hurt and feel like they are on fire if i walk. so i can see myself gaining more weight with no problem. so i know after the surgery i could gain weight again but i need a starting place to try and help myself loose weight. the most important thing for me is to lose some weight so i can start moving around again.

right now i only eat one meal a day. i know people say you need to eat at least 6 small times a day, but i have no interest in doing that. i am never hungry, and have a hard time eating that one big meal. i don't cook so i buy cooked food to eat. diners and pizza stores love me. i found a gas station where i made friends with the cook, shorty, makes great hot food and for 7.99 a night i have a great hot meal. but all this needs to change, i want to be around to break balls for a long time.

so that is the reason i am going through all the tests and i am going to have the surgery to try to get my life back and feel better.

 

[Bob Denman]

:congrats: on making the tough decision to gain some control back; we're all rooting for you! :2thumbs:

 

[cuznjohn]

thanks and i left out that my knee's can't handle the weight any more

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Thanks Jack, I don't have apnea but my wife does. She went to a sleep clinic where they measure your sleep pattern and they told her she was waking forty times an hour. Since she had her gall bladder removed she seems to sleep 16 hours a day and can fall asleep anywhere. She won't use the apparatus so we returned it as the noise was keeping her awake [emoji15] go figure?
We went to Europe early this year and that's where I really noticed the effect of the apnea. I sleep about five hours and can go full bore all day but she just couldn't walk much, her energy levels are low all the time! I don't want to trade her in for a new model as she is wonderful and everything a man will cross continents and oceans and mountains all because the Lady likes Milk Tray [emoji39]!

The cold, cruel, harsh reality is you may not have need to trade her in on new model. There is very real probability you will, sadly, be given the opportunity to look for a replacement. Sleep apnea can, and does, kill. Not always, but the probability of dying from any number of causes is greatly enhanced by the presence of sleep apnea. Worse yet, the chances of suffering a debilitating stroke are greatly increased. Urge her with everything you can muster to get another sleep test done, get the machine, and use it. Getting used to it, and finding the right machine settings and the right mask, are for some people a daunting challenge. As I suggested to John, go to www.cpaptalk.com and join the discussions. Your wife has not encountered any issue that hasn't been dealt with over there.

 

[MEP]

people ask me why i have decided to have the weight loss surgery, well the answer to that is, i watched a few of the MY 600 POUND LIFE shows. watching that show i said to myself, what is wrong with these people. how could they let themselves get like that. some of them talk about eating due to abuse, some talk about depression, and some just don't have any excuse.

well i was always a heavy person, 287 pounds most of my adult working life. i worked as a electrician in new construction for over 35 years. with my size, most of the time i got all the heavy work on jobs, they called the work bull gang. and i loved it. i was a bull, strong as i could be. then one day i got hurt, and i was not allowed to work anymore. it was a stupid lil thing that ended up popping 2 disks in my neck and caused me to have 2 surgeries on my right shoulder. so with being out of weight i started gaining weight.

long story short, over the past 10 years being out of work i gained close to 70 pounds. my whole body hurts, they tell me i have arthritis from head to toe. so i have become lethargic, and sitting around i realized how the people can gain so much weight. i will go out of my way to avoid anything that involves any sort of exercise. my back kills me just taking a shower every day. i try to do anything and i am out of breath. due to the diabetes my feet hurt and feel like they are on fire if i walk. so i can see myself gaining more weight with no problem. so i know after the surgery i could gain weight again but i need a starting place to try and help myself loose weight. the most important thing for me is to lose some weight so i can start moving around again.

right now i only eat one meal a day. i know people say you need to eat at least 6 small times a day, but i have no interest in doing that. i am never hungry, and have a hard time eating that one big meal. i don't cook so i buy cooked food to eat. diners and pizza stores love me. i found a gas station where i made friends with the cook, shorty, makes great hot food and for 7.99 a night i have a great hot meal. but all this needs to change, i want to be around to break balls for a long time.

so that is the reason i am going through all the tests and i am going to have the surgery to try to get my life back and feel better.

I wish you the best of all possible outcomes.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

We're pulling for you John! A possible benefit from the weight loss surgery that hopefully you will receive, is a reversal of some or all of your diabetes. I don't know what the success rate is but there is a guy in my Goldwing chapter whose diabetes was completely reversed after stomach reduction surgery. I have heard or read that others have also experienced that. The weight loss subsequent to the surgery may or may not reduce the extent of your sleep apnea, but all the other benefits will certainly make the procedure worthwhile. Don't plan on the surgery being a cure all, but it's bound to go a long way toward improving your life.

Good luck.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

When you Spyder 🕷 travel do you haul your gear with you? 🕸

Yes, even if it's just for one night. I have a deep cycle battery in my trailer when I use my "tent on a trailer" for sleeping. I charge the battery from the Spyder while I'm traveling during the day.

 

[vided]

:congrats: on making the tough decision to gain some control back; we're all rooting for you! :2thumbs:

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::agree::agree::agree:

 

[Vicardon]

thanks i never knew the machines were around that long. i never wake up gasping or having a hard time breathing, all i know is i don't sleep much at all. i will give the machine a try, and see what happens

I have been using a CPAP since 1992. Can't sleep without it....take it everywhere I go. I use a nasal mask and love it....so nice to sleep through the night w/o getting up; can do this since having my prostate removed last year. And no more falling asleep during the day

 

[rpatsh]

i use mine every night. I switch between the nose pillow type and the one that fits over the nose. Give it some time to get use to it, it took a while but now I find difficult to sleep with out it.

 

[flaggerphil]

I have sleep apnea and have used a machine every night for 18 years. I also had a lap band done and lost 100 pounds. When I lost the weight I had another sleep study done and they cut the pressure quite a bit.

I travel with my machine (I travel a lot) and use the nasal pillows instead of a mask. I've never been able to get a mask to seal properly and the pillows are much, much more comfortable...for me.

You might want to shop around for a weight loss doctor. While you'll always have to jump through hoops before you have it, some are much better than others.

 

[jdftwrth]

I have been using one of those cpap machines since 1997, i now have one that will run off a battery so I can use it while I am roughing.

Do I like the damn thing, in a word: NO.

But I also like sleeping at night.

JD

 

[easysuper]

I tried to talk my wife into getting tested for sleep apnea for years as she would wake up exhausted every morning, finally after she retired she had the test and found out that she did have it , her machine does have the humidifier and she uses distilled water in it and her mask is made by Dream Ware it is quite small and only covers her nose and she wears a small chin strap to close her mouth . She sleeps all night long and wakes up refreshed every morning and wishes she had done this much earlier. her machine is small and we take it with us when we travel on the spyders and even take it camping. She is even losing a little weight and I think sleeping all night has helped.
Good luck and don't give up John , we would miss all your posts!