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It doesn’t appear that you fully understand how a CPAP works to alleviate obstructive sleep apnea. The last P in the acronym is for “Pressure.” It uses air pressure (not just airflow) to open the closed off airway (the “obstruction” in obstructive sleep apnea). It doesn’t work without pressure, and if the system isn’t sealed off, the pressure won’t build, and the airway won’t be opened.
A cannula will work with emphysema because emphysema isn’t an obstruction of the airway, requiring pressurized air to open the airway.
So by pressure you mean it has to push or forcefully push like a wind tunnel. Well I don't need that and not everyone does but we are forced to use the CPAP because that is what is made when they should at least try something with not as much force directly into the nostrils. However, the face mask is not to bad until it stops working which leads to the heart pounding due to lack of air then finally waking up in a panic gasping for air that happened to me. No thank you I prefer the cannula that goes directly into the nostrils for breathing while sleeping. If the cannula is not good enough they why bother using that for when under anesthesia which prevents people from waking up if it falls off or is defective. It was never ever once offered even as a test at home so how would anyone know if it's right for some people not yet ready for the CPAP.
So by pressure you mean it has to push or forcefully push like a wind tunnel. Well I don't need that and not everyone does but we are forced to use the CPAP because that is what is made when they should at least try something with not as much force directly into the nostrils. However, the face mask is not to bad until it stops working which leads to the heart pounding due to lack of air then finally waking up in a panic gasping for air that happened to me. No thank you I prefer the cannula that goes directly into the nostrils for breathing while sleeping. If the cannula is not good enough they why bother using that for when under anesthesia which prevents people from waking up if it falls off or is defective. It was never ever once offered even as a test at home so how would anyone know if it's right for some people not yet ready for the CPAP.
OSA is also common in some of the skinniest countries in the world, so unless its only increasing among their outlying fat people its probably not just weight that is causing the perceived increase.
The rise in sleep apnea generally follows the exponential growth in obesity. Get rid of modern wheat and go with a modified paleo/gluten free diet and you'll never gain weight. Glyphosate in modern wheat has caused more health problems than anything else, combined with high fructose corn syrup and soy/soybean oils.
I've snored loudly, and probably had apnea, since I was a skinny one hundred pound 14-year-old girl. It isn't just about weight, although that compounds it FOR SURE. It's also about the architecture of your particular throat. If you have a small mouth and throat, and/or a weak soft palate, or large tongue, all these things compound to make your airway collapse.
When you look at apnea in general, it’s amazing How just a slight shift can completely eliminate it. Yet we have to go through all these hoops and hurdles and sticking and gluing and fastening stuff to our face and in our mouths to try and defeat this. The mouthpiece that I wear literally shifts my lower jaw, probably about a quarter of an inch or less forward And that little tiny shift is the difference between life and death and suffocating all night. When the mouthpiece is in, it’s total silence. When the mouthpiece is out I am literally being suffocated all night long for 45 seconds at a time over and over again. You would think the powers that be in the medical field would’ve figured this out by now. There’s got to be a full proof easy remedy for this that’s just being overlooked. When I first discovered CPAP therapy I was like you’ve got to be kidding. People actually try and sleep like this, I thought this is stuff nightmares are made of? This would be a good idea on how to torture someone and I’m supposed to do this for the rest of my life? When in reality just pull my bottom jaw, a quarter inch or my tongue and all is well? Come on somebody’s got to come up with something. Maybe we can brainstorm ideas whoever comes up with a remedy probably will make themselves a billionaire.
I also used a jaw advancement mouthpiece in the past with excellent results. Unfortunately, after several quiet years with the mouthpiece (which I call my "snorebuster"), the pressure exerted by the lower jaw trying to retract as I sleep caused so much pressure on the front of my upper teeth that it changed my bite significantly and I had to find another solution. My upper teeth are now a millimeter back from my lower teeth when clinched and they have moved back by at least 4 millimeters from their original position slightly forward of my lower teeth. This actually affects some of my biting and chewing.
This past year I gained about 25 pounds which I am in the process of losing. I’ve always had some snoring issues and such but nothing like I’m experiencing now. I think this is just gonna be another one of these modern era, American diet and lifestyle diseases that people are getting. I’m not buying that It’s just something that people have to deal with. Our ancestors did not have sleep apnea like we see today. It was pretty rare. Random snoring was about as bad as it got. Now we’re literally being choked off and literally dying in our sleep every night and something just doesn’t seem right about the whole thing to me. I decided about a month ago to use the recorder app on my cell phone to record my sleeping and what I heard when I listened back was horrifying. I would stop breathing because I was completely being choked off for between 40 to 45 seconds and then I would gasp for air breathing extremely heavily like someone running wind sprints and then another 40 to 45 seconds , interval of being choked again. This would go on throughout the entire night. With literally no relief. The second I fell asleep I would become completely unable to breathe. Yeah I’ve heard about CPAP and I tried it 10 years ago and there is just no way. Anyone who can deal with that mess I tip my hat to you. What I did do is buy one of those snore RX mouthpieces. I can only use the mouthpiece for about an hour maybe two hours at a stretch and then I would take it out. So my night of “sleep” consisted of three or four hours of good sleep with the mouthpiece, and as I would rotate it in and out , and three or four hours of being choked to death. What was most amazing to me is that despite only getting maybe 2 to 4 hours with the mouthpiece and I felt like I was on rocket fuel the next day. I had all this extra energy. And it made me wonder how used to feeling crappy and sleepy I had become. It was the new normal. Long-term goals of course to get the weight off and I’m trying to do that as quickly as possible and then adjust and be able to adapt using this mouthpiece as it does seem to stop the apnea. Sometimes I’ll still snore with it and maybe occasionally, I’ll stop breathing but overall , all I hear is nice quiet breathing.
So after my long diatribe, my basic questions are anyone else have any success actually getting rid of apnea altogether? I know skinny people can have it so weight loss is not a guarantee and I think I probably snored all my life even when I was a teenager And prime physical condition. I am not some morbidly obese person. I’m just slightly overweight. I’ve always played sports and exercise. Pretty hard most of my life. It won’t take me that long to get back in shape. But something tells me it’s not gonna get rid of this maybe just make it a little better? So I guessing I’m always gonna have to deal with this to some extent. It just seems insane to me that this is such a common problem for people. Breathing. Who would’ve thought? The most fundamental requirement to human life and we’re all being choked off at night while we sleep.
I guess I’m looking for alternative ideas besides sticking a facemask over my face as I’m already tried that and I won’t try it again. So don’t waste your time preaching at me about a CPAP. Lol from everything I’ve read I have the most severe form of it as anything above 20 seconds is considered quite serious. At 40 to 45 second intervals there are doctors out there that will tell me I’ll be dead within a year. So far my blood pressure is still normal, and I don’t really have any heart symptoms at this point.
Man, that sounds rough! Having sleep apnea on top of trying to lose weight is a double whammy. I can totally relate to the frustration with constantly feeling tired. Here's my experience.
As far as I understand, you're on the CPAP machine. They're not exactly the height of comfort, are they? I had a relative who struggled with theirs for ages. But here's the thing – technology has come a long way in ten years. Maybe there are newer mask options that might feel less intrusive? It's definitely worth talking to your doctor again about what's available now.
Weight loss helps (but ssn't a cure)... You're right, losing weight might not completely eliminate sleep apnea, but it can definitely make a big difference. When I started shedding some pounds, I noticed I could breathe a lot easier at night. Even small changes can add up.
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