Papahemi

Does losing a large amount of weight have a dramatic affect on severe sleep apnea? I attend my first orientation soon so it will be awhile until I have surgery. As one who suffers from severe apnea and can't tolerate CPAP I am curious as what results to expect from being banded. My BMI is 40.3.

Thanks skinipete for intruding I don't think anyone minds. A good kick in the butt is probably exactly what I need. I am nearing the end of the adjustment phase of my dental device and I just now emailed my PCP for a referral to a ENT to discuss my nasal problem that was seen by my neuromuscular sleep dentist. I have also emailed the pharmacist at Kaiser about a sleep med that will "relax me" long enough to complete a titration study without affecting the study results in a negative way. Hopefully by the time my psych eval comes around I will 100% CPAP compliant. Kaiser has a 20 week wait before your first appt. and I just started the Lap band program last week. I have already lost 31 pounds in 8 weeks preparing for the WLS ( it took me 8 weeks to get the orientation seminar) and hope to lose another 110 pounds. With or without WLS I have to lose the weight. Again thank you.

Thanks for the info skinipete. Its not the mask I have trouble with. I am an aircraft mechanic and I wear a respirator for breathing protection with no problems. Its exhaling against the pressure I have a problem with. I have tried CPAP, Bi-pap with c-flex and autopap. I have tried nose mask, full face and nose pillows. For some reason I go into panic mode (heart rate sky rockets, full panic sweats and shortness of breath) Unfortunately my insurance is Kaiser and they have been very little help.(thats another frustrating story). If you can't pass a titration study they won't prescribe a machine. I am not sure whether I could eventually adjust to the machine after a few months but Kaiser won't allow me to try without first passing a titration study. Their reaction was "Oh well you failed the test, see you later" No why, lets try this or nothing to help. I am basically on my own. Sorry to vent.

I finally went to the Kaiser orientation class in South San Francisco. They really hammer the information home at a good rate. My head was really spinning by the time I left. Everyone was really nice and provided a lot of excellent nutritional information that I am going to rely heavily on in the coming months. It looks like I am on my own in my quest to lose the excess weight I carry. I was told that because I have severe sleep apnea I must be 100% CPAP compliant for two months prior to surgery. If I am not 100% CPAP compliant I WILL NOT receive a surgery date. In the 15 years since I was diagnosed with sleep apnea I have tried many times to use CPAP. I have major anxiety attacks trying to breath against the pressure of the CPAP machine. Because of this I have had to resort to using a dental appliance to help relieve most the affects of sleep apnea. It cost me $2200.00 out of pocket as Kaiser doesn't cover dental appliances. I had hoped the Lap-band assisted weight loss would help completely eliminate the apnea and improve my other so called co-morbidities. I will have to find out on my own without the help of Kaiser. More to come later on. Good Luck to all you bandsters and may you reach your GOAL sooner than you expect.

I want to say Hi to everyone and I look forward to exchanging stories and experiences with everyone. I have just started my journey to a better and healthier me. I have my initial consultation on July 8, 2008 in South San Francisco at the Kaiser facility. Although its 119 miles from my home in Roseville look forward to the start of my quest for health and a long life. Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Papahemi

Well I just finished the 4 hour orientation class and I think my head is going to explode. So much information to absorb in such a short time. I am glad I got a binder filled with all the information. Most of it I already knew from people on this forum discussing their experiences. The good news is I am still 100% committed to losing the excess weight. I was committed three months ago when I asked my PCP for a referral and I am today just as determined to get control of my health. Now for the BAD news. I may NOT be allowed to have the lapband surgery. I have severe sleep apnea and the Kaiser prorgam mandates you be 100% CPAP compliant for two months before the surgery. In all the sleep studies ( I have had over ten) that I have done in the past 15 years I have never gotten past the panic attacks I get using CPAP. I am using a dental device that has improved my numbers a great deal but I need to lose some serious weight to gain complete control of my sleep apnea. I don't really know yet where I will go from here except to keep pushing my PCP and Kaiser to help me help myself. I am not ready to give up just yet. Wish me Luck.

Has anyone had chiropractic adjustments after healing from lapband surgery? Any problems? I hope to be banded in the next few months and am under a chiropractor's care for a back problem.

Thanks all for the quick response. The reason I ask is my current chiropractor uses the Gonstead method and is working to improve disc problems at T10 and T11. This puts a pretty good adjustment in my abdomen area but he knows that I am doing the band, so we will discuss after the surgery. He is not anti-medical and has helped me quite a bit to increase my mobility and decrease my back pain. I have been able to get off the narcotic pain meds because of him. My only alternative was spinal fusion surgery. That was not an option with me. Again thanks to all who gave a constructive comment.

Thanks for the input????

Plain You returned to work after 3 days out from the surgery? Thats amazing. I am starting a new job and I am trying to work out a return to work arrangement with my new boss. What would you consider to be a minimum recovery time to return to a non- physical job? ( no lifting involved mostly computer work)

Thanks everyone for the information. I was diagnoised with sleep apnea about 15 years ago and I recently again tried to use CPAP. I still haven't been able to overcome the panic attacks when wearing the mask. I am now using a dental appliance and have reduced my AHI from 49.7 to 27.3. My desats went from a low of 72% to 86%. I am hoping once I get banded and lose weight that I can eliminate the need for any mechanical help to sleep. Again thanks to all.

My BMI at its peak was 43.1 and is now 40.2 and falling slowly as I adjust to different way of eating. I have mostly cut the alcohol and sweets completely out for now. My wife is a great cook and I love her cooking so I know I am in for a battle over portion control. I hope to use the band as a tool to help with my major health issues that being overweight aggravates. Not completely sure where this will all lead but with expert help from everyone I know I can lead myself to a better life.

I have already started a weight loss program on my own trying to prepare for what I believe to be coming in the future on my Lapband journey. I hope this won't be a problem when I weigh in at the orientation class. I do believe they have on record pretty close to my max weight. I guess I will find out on August 5th. Thanks again Vicki

I do most of my requesting online through the Kaiser website. I find this more efficient than face to face for questions and answers. I actually requested the referral by email. Although my PCP has treated me for all my "co-morbidies" and is well aware of my health concerns.

It took about 10 days for them to schedule my orientation appt. I emailed my PCP after 7 days to ask how long it would take and he had his MA look into my referral. I say call and ask. Everyone knows that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I find that being proactive (but nice) with Kaiser gets better results. Kaiser is so overloaded with patients that you sometimes get lost in the system. IMHO

Hi MissLynn23, I am also from Roseville and just received my orientation appt at the South San Francisco Kaiser on August 5, 2008. I too expected a negative result from my PCP but was pleasantly suprised when he said that it was a reasonable request. It is not just being over-weight that the band helps overcome its all the other problems it helps alliviate that I hope will benefit me the most. I also won't have to answer "Why is your belly so fat" to my 4 yr. old granddaughter again. Good luck on your journey.

Thanks so much everyone. I expect that as with any procedure at Kaiser it will take some time. The first surprise I had was my PCP actually giving me a referral. I have already lost 22 lbs in preparation for this. I am relieved to know that I have a place with experienced professional banders to ask for advice and help when I need it. Again thank you all.