Sleep apnea worse after surgery

[ClareLynn 153]

I’ve had sleep apnea for years and it’s always been well controlled, with a AHI less than 1. Immediately after the surgery my sleep apnea has been really bad. I was waking up multiple times a night because I stopped breathing and my AHI shot up to 5 (maybe higher actually since I found myself waking up with my mouth open which the machine can’t record).

I got really bad dry bloody nose after being in the hospital and I think that didn’t help. I ended up buying and overnight shipping a new full face mask so that I could sleep safely even if my mouth popped open. Tried it out last night and after a few hours tinkering with the fit I think it will work. Still had a pretty crappy night though.

I’m seeing my pulmonologist in a couple weeks for the post surgery follow up and will ask more about this then. I was just wondering if anyone else had trouble post surgery and had suggestions?

[catwoman7 11,212]

you're only a few days out of surgery - I'd give it some time. sleep apnea usually improves (if not disappears) after significant weight loss.

[Elidh 239]

My obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was well controlled with CPAP for several years. Some months after my VSG surgery, my events got crazy high. My sleep doctor ordered another sleep study (yuck) and determined I now have central sleep apnea (CSA), which isn’t affected, apparently, by one’s weight. So, I now use an adapto- servo unit and I’m doing fine.