Does it solve high blood pressure?

[Roustabout 0]

I watched a report on Sixty Minutes, three days ago, that gastric bypass surgery solved high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and diabetes every time.

I had sleep apnea 32 years ago when I weighed 205 pounds on a 6'1" frame. Now, I'm 346 pounds and I lost an inch of height. I've had high blood pressure for the last four years, controlled with medication. I also was 'discovered' to have obstructive sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine. I've avoided the idea of either gastric bypass or lap band because it basically is forced Portion Control. Although I've lost over 900 pounds in my life, I'm now heavier than ever and I can't get it together.

I intend to do a procedure, but I want to correct high blood pressure and sleep apnea as well as ward off the diabedes that might be headed my way.

Anyone know the answers?:redface:

[sana 0]

hi how are you the answer to you question i had high blood presure sleep apnia dabeties tablet controled. high colestral and you know wat i had my band back in december my blood presure is normal colestral is normal and have gone fron 18 tablets aday to 6 tablets aday for my blood suger levels and i did not have a period for nearly 6 years and i have had 1 last week .all thnxz to the band i hope this wll help a lil bit i am not well educated plz dont mind my spellings

[gkeyt 0]

Many people are able to get off their BP meds and CPAP after losing significant weight. You can do that either through gastric bypass or lap banding. The studies show that both are equally successful in reversing these conditions, the decision really is which procedure would be best for you? Most of us here chose the lap band because we liked that it was less disruptive to our bodies and less risky. I believe that gastric bypass is right for some people, and lap band is right for others--but at your weight many people are successful with lap band, so if that's what you and your doctor think is right for you I think there's no reason not to do it. For me, I had surgery not as much for losing weight as for maintaining that weight loss. I got tired of gaining and losing the same lbs over and over again.

I didn't have high blood pressure but my sleep apnea resolved after I got my BMI below 35. My sleep apnea wasn't very severe, though. But most people who are able to get their BMI much closer to normal are able to stop using their CPAP and at least reduce their BP meds, often are able to get rid of them altogether.

Hope this helps and good luck to you!

[plain 12]

Hey there Roustabout. I'm afraid I've got some semi-bad news for you. Weight loss reduces he severity of sleep apnea for some patients. Mostly, weight has very little to do with having to wear a CPAP. The biggest risk factor is genetic (How your airway is shaped. You get that from the parents). I'm a registered sleep therapist, so....take my opinion or don't, LOL. I will tell you that some of the most severe sleep apnea patients that I've had in my lab have been as big around as my arm.

Bottom line, will WLS help your BP and sleep apnea problems? Probably. It's sure not going to make them worse. But will WLS cure your BP and sleep apnea problems? Nobody can conclusively say.

Good luck to you, no matter what path you take.

[Alexandra 55]

I agree with Plain. Whether weight loss has an effect on your health problems depends on the cause of those problems. But that doesn't mean it's not worth doing!!

I had borderline high blood pressure all of my life but it had always been attributed to my weight. The only time it went down was during pregnancy, oddly enough. After banding and a loss of more than 100 lbs, my BP was still borderline high and FINALLY a doctor suggested that it *wasn't* due to my weight. That makes sense, since my slender mother also had HBP--but everyone had always attributed that to her smoking.

So I'm on BP meds but it's OK. If I hadn't been banded it would never have become evident that it's out of my control. So one way or the other, banding has led to control of my high blood pressure.