Apnea and Weight Loss

ouroborous · June 8, 2010

I know that plenty of people lose enough weight with VSG to kick the CPAP (for the non-apnea folks, that stands for continuous positive airway pressure, it's the blower machine thingy that we have to use at night to breathe properly).

The question I have is, when does that happen? Anyone have a ballpark pressure range for when to see the sleep doc and get that (hopefully final) sleep study done?

My girlfriend and I both have apnea and are both sleevers. She's gone from a pressure of 13 (I think) down to 9 (and that's still too high). I've gone from BiPAP of 16/12 down to CPAP of 10.5-11 (and again, that may still be too high). Obviously, we know how to set our own pressures, but without a sleep study (which insurance won't pay for more than yearly, and which still costs us about a grand out of pocket due to coinsurance), we're just guessing.

Any folks who've had the experience of going through this have any tips on when they went to see the sleep doc again?

Cancel · June 9, 2010

Working for a pulmonary, sleep doctor that does multiple surgical clearances I will say this from some experience. If it feels like the pressure is too high it can often be backed down a bit at a time until you get to 6 or 7cmH2O.

Most people come back for that second sleep study between 60 and 100 pound loss.

As far as the copay expense goes, look in your area to see if anyone offers a portable sleep study. This is done by you at home and can cost as little as $250. And many insurance companies cover it as an office procedure. This can cost as little as your specialist copay.

Hope this helps. Can't wait to be done with my CPAP too.