Sleep apnea and weight loss?

I have used a CPAP for 20 years religiously. Even at my lowest weight, which was when I was first diagnosed, I still needed the CPAP. My Dad & brother both snored and neither had a weight problem. They both died before CPAP machines were used regularly.

I think it really depends on whether you noticed the snoring/sleep apnea worsen as he gained weight. My husband had surgery when he was like 30? I knew immediately his sleep was not right as I would wake up when he stopped breathing. He was normal weight - even thin, so there was no recommendation to lose weight. There was definite issues with his soft palate that surgery improved. He still has issues when he tries to sleep on his back.

At one point my DH lost about 80 lbs and his sleep apnea definitely improved, but not to the point where he didn’t need the CPAP machine. I know several other thin people who use one and need it, so weight clearly isn’t the only factor.

I think weight issues can be a result of poor sleep rather than the cause. People getting horrible sleep have a harder time losing weight.

From all that I have learned since my diagnosis, I know that weight isn't always an accurate indicator to sleep apnea. Apnea does cause weight gain, and getting it under control does promote weight loss if for no other reason than you feel better and have more energy from getting a proper restful night's sleep. The neighbor that had the stroke and led to me becoming educated about sleep apnea has gone on to have the stomach stapling and consequently losing over 100 pounds. She stopped using her CPAP machine but I don't know if that was based on her doctor's approval or just her own desire to move away from it.

I have gone the opposite of most people, I think. I was thinish, around 120 pounds, when I was first diagnosed with sleep apnea. Now, in the past 15 years, I have gained more weight than I ever thought I would carry. I had always been stick thin all of my life. My nickname growing up was Twiggy because I was always so very thin. After my fall down the stairs, my spinal surgery, and the onset of fibromyalgia, I have become so sedentary. That, coupled with being 66 and having gone through menopause, as well as all the medication I am on causing weight gain, I have ballooned to my heaviest ever. I am working on trying to find that sweet spot of food intake/exercise that will allow me to return to my more comfortable weight because I am miserable being heavier. I still have sleep apnea of course, but I haven't noticed it being any worse than before based on the statistics from the machine that tells how many episodes per hour I have had.

I guess I would conclude from my two examples that weight loss can make a difference and eliminate sleep apnea, but it is really more about what is going on inside your throat than outside your on your body. I have always had trouble swallowing certain foods and I know my throat passageway must be fairly narrow. I don't think my exterior weight will ever make a difference to my interior throat.

If your husband wouldn’t use a CPAP machine if recommended, why would he get a sleep study at this point?

He might as well lose the weight he wants to lose and then have a sleep study, because then there wouldn’t be the issue with him being convinced it is simply a weight issue. Hopefully, he would then also be more open to using a CPAP if needed. 

Yes when dh lost 30 lbs all his snoring went away.  He is now only 5 lbs above the recommended weight.  That was 15 years ago.

I got a Cpap machine six months ago. I do sleep better in that I don't get up to pee 3-4 times a night, BUT I have not lost ANY weight, and actually the first week I used the CPap machine I gained six pounds of fluid because my feet and hands apparently swell up during the night. Never had that happen before the CPap machine. I have told the neurologist and my primary doctor and neither one has an explanation for it. And it is still happening - I can go to bed with nice slim ankles and wake up in the morning with them all puffy.

I still need to lose a lot of weight, but I go down a few pounds and then up again no matter how little I eat.

Edited to say:  Sorry this does not help your question about your husband....but I would say let him lose the weight and THEN if he is still snoring have him get a study done.

If weight is causing the sleep apnea - I remember my uncle (who is an ear, nose and throat doc) say you can “cure it” but you need to lose like 15% of your weight.

My father in law was resistant to cpap but once he realized what it felt like to have a good night’s sleep he won’t sleep without it.

I think he should get the cpap and lose the weight! It’s like someone with high blood pressure, take the meds and make the lifestyle change and you can always go off the meds later but you can’t do nothing.

Off-subject, but I've never heard how CPAP is pronounced. In my head I call it see-pap - is that right? Or is each letter of the acronym pronounced?

You are correct. See - pap.