Sleep Apnea

[Ginny1 0]

Hello all - I am getting banded on March 20th - and like everyone else I had to go through a lot of pre testing. One of those tests was a sleep apnea test - (a test to determine if you stop breathing while seeping and also it determines your oxygen level) Anyway, my test results were not very good I am at 48% when the normal percentage is 95% - I will be sleeping with a machine to make me breathe better. Has anyone had a sleep apnea test and if you did how was the results?

[GaLina 0]

Hello all - I am getting banded on March 20th - and like everyone else I had to go through a lot of pre testing. One of those tests was a sleep apnea test - (a test to determine if you stop breathing while seeping and also it determines your oxygen level) Anyway, my test results were not very good I am at 48% when the normal percentage is 95% - I will be sleeping with a machine to make me breathe better. Has anyone had a sleep apnea test and if you did how was the results?

Ginny, the same ?'s are in Post op ?'s thread. But I did have a sleep study and (2) one for just the cpap (machine to help you sleep better) I am doing so much better. The doctor that will do your surgery just wants to know if there any complication before surgery. He may require you to use your cpap for awhile until your sleep apnea is under control I don't know, I have heard that if is not to bad they do the surgery anyway. Good luck, GaLina

[MicheleK 8]

I'm heading in tomorrow evening for my sleep apnea test. I'm a little nervous, mainly because I know it's an issue. It's so bad that my boyfriend has started sleeping in the livingroom. He won't right out say that's why, but I feel him get up every night and it's usually when I start to doze off.

He teases me some cuz I snore, and he is really, really happy I'm getting tested. I'm guessing because he'd like to actually sleep in his own bed again, lol.

The sad thing is I never snored until I hit 250+. Now I wake up with headaches and I'm tired all day. :thumbup:

I'm still doing the 90 day pre-approval diet that Aetna requires. So, hopefully if I get this under control now I won't have to worry with it pre-surgery.

I hope everything works out for you, I know several people that have posted have had sleep apnea and still had their surgery. However, some folks with sleep apnea do have to stay in the hospital overnight....small price to pay in my opinion.

Best of luck and let us know how it's going!

[Ginny1 0]

good luck with the sleep apnea test.. my doctor told me taking that test probably saved my life I am at a 48% breathing capacity while sleeping - I now use a mask to sleep and it is really helping me alot - I do still wake up in the middle of the night because the mask restricts how I sleep and I am a little uncomfortable - I like sleeping on my stomach but with the mask that is almost impossible - on the whole it is OK - I definitely have more energy during the day. I went to see my pulmonary doctor today and he tested my breathing and I improved by 67% from the first time I saw him - It is definitely because of the mask... I hope you don't have sleep apnea but if you do the mask will definitely help you and tll your husband he can come back into the bed because you will NOT snore!!!!

[MicheleK 8]

I've heard the CPAP machine really works. There was a lady I used to work with that had one, she said she didn't even know what true "restful" sleep was until she got her machine. So, in some ways I'm looking forward to being diagnosed and having something done about it.

Ginny - I spoke to my friend that had the lapband and she, like you had the sleep apnea test right before surgery. She did have to stay overnight for observation but didn't have any issues like having to rescheduling surgery.

Let us know how everything turns out for you!!

Wishing you well..

By the way...how in the heck do they expect me to fall asleep at 8:30pm at night!!! LOL

[losing it in ne 0]

Waiting on my surgery 4/10 but I have had sleep apnea for 10 + years and actually it is a reason to have the surgery rather then stop it. About 60% of sleep apnea resolves with weight loss. Cool huh! sleeping with the equipment gets easier over time and be sure to check out different masks, nasal pillows etc. There are some really minimal devices but you realy have to try them to see if you like them. My supplier sent me one that was suppose to be top of the line and I hated it. Some I personally can't use becase of the amount of pressure from my machine. It really is amazing how much better you feel with it. Also I have had 9 major abd surgeries with mine so this one is a peice of cake.

:wink2:

[MicheleK 8]

Well they diagnosed me with sleep apnea...(I assume so, since they came running in around 3am shoving a mask on my face). I FREAKED OUT, then they tried to nose thing, and for some reason the straps around my face totally freaked me out (again).

Finally, the nose thing they gave me to try was one that fit OVER my head, it was okay...but I felt like I was choking on air every time I opened my mouth. I guess you have to get used to sleeping with your mouth shut? Around 4:30am I gave up sleeping with it on, and went home. My nose was burning from the air rushing into it.

I didn't know it was supposed to feel that crazy!!! I really had a crappy night...I have an appt with my PCP and I'm sure she will want me to use a CPAP but I've got to find an attachment I can live with.

Losing It, do you have any suggestions with which masks/pillows to use? I think I could handle the strap around my face thing AT HOME I was just uncomfortable being woken up that way.

[vballmom 0]

I also have sleep apnea. I had a sleep study done a year ago and I quit breathing 401 times during the study. I now sleep with my mask on and it has made a hugh difference in my life. I found a website helpful, its www.cpaptalk.com CPAP and Sleep Apnea Discussion Forum I use Nasal-Aire II mask, its light weight and I can sleep in any position. It does take time getting used to the mask, but it is worth it. Ive also read some lose weight after getting their sleep apnea under control. Of course that didn't happen to me, but my lap band is helping. Good luck & Good sleep.

[MicheleK 8]

Thank you for the website link Scruffy!!!

:cheers2:

I don't know the official diagnosis yet, I guess I will find out when I go to the doc on Wednesday. Oh, well just another comorbidity to add to my growing list to send Aetna, lol.

[harlito 0]

Ginny1,

I had a test in May '05 and I was really bad. The nurse said I was only sleeping about 2 minutes at a time and then I would come out again. I never hit that deep sleep that was needed - ever. They hooked me up to the machine after about 4 hours of no sleep and then my oxygen levels dropped so low theat they had to put a tube of the stuff in my nose. When they woke me to do this I was basically a pancake flipping all over the place, I had no energy. Imagine trying to move a 400# man around in a bed?

What a difference the CPAP machine has made for me. Without it I do not think I would have had the desire to lose the weight. I was getting depressed all the time and just in a funk. When I spoke to my PCP about the thoughts in my head he immediately hit upon the idea of a sleep test. he knew right away. I truly owe him my life, I don't know what would have become of me had I continued to not get the needed sleep. Heart failure? Suicide? Who knows?

I am glad to hearr you have caught this illness in time. Here's to some great nights sleep!

[MerryHearted 20]

Stick with it. I've had my machine since 1996. I had panic attacks the first few nights - claustrophobia with the mask -- and it took me awhile to learn how to sleep with my mouth shut. For awhile I had to use a chin strap to help.

For the first several months I also used the ramp up feature on my machine. It starts the air pressure out really low, then gradually increases it to the right pressure. That really helped with the claustrophobia. Now it's the opposite -- I feel like I'm suffocating if I don't have full pressure right away.

I *so* hope my sleep apnea goes away when I get to goal. I want to be able to snuggle with my sweetie again at night, to be able to lie down next to my daughter if she's scared and sleep with her, to be able to go camping in a tent, and a bunch of other stuff. :thumbup: I know I have a long way to go, even with the weight I've lost, because I still needed my machine even when I weighed 50 lbs lower than I am right now.