Sleep Apnea

Good morning everyone! I have my initial surgeon’s visit scheduled for next Thursday (YAY!!!) I have spent the last couple of weeks really doing a lot of research between VSG and RNY. You all are great and I have learned a lot on this site. I am really leaning toward the VSG but I will discuss with my surgeon and hear his recommendations.

My question is for anyone that has/had been diagnosed with sleep apnea. Did your apnea go way after you had surgery? If so, how long did it take and how did you determine that it was corrected. Also, please let me know which type of surgery you had.

Thanks!

Hi!  I had RNY, apnea much improved. I know I sleep MUCH better and snore less, though I have not been retested yet. I guess that will happen in summer, maybe. 

Good luck to you!  Best decision I've ever made!

My husband had sleep apnea and was able to get off his CPAP machine after three months.  I was never diagnosed with it but had horrible snoring problems.  My snoring went away after about the same amount of time.   Both of us had VSG.  

After a procedure a few years ago, I was told I had undiagnosed sleep apnea.  I never felt tired in the morning, so I never bothered to get tested and get a Cpap.  I should've, because my wife had to put up with years of snoring.  She also would hear me stop breathing, and would elbow me to get me going again.

I had RNY, and haven't snored since.  She's also sleeping better because she doesn't have to elbow me anymore.  And my ribs don't hurt in the morning!

I am only 2.5 weeks after surgery, so I cannot share my personal experience, but my doctor said that the apnea can take about a year to resolve.

That is, of course, for obstructive sleep apnea.

i actually have a high percent of central apnea, which is more of a neurological misfire, not affected by weight gain or loss, so  I am likely to have this always.  In fact, the sleep doctor suspects that decades of undiagnosed central apnea was a big factor in my weight challenges.  

Overall, I am happy to have had the apnea studies as preparation for the WLS, otherwise this would never have been diagnosed.  I do not love using the cpap, but I will probably be on it no matter how much weight I lose.

If you lose enough you may be able to get a mouth piece that keeps your airway open. Talk to your sleep apnea doctor about it. I was told they like to retest after about 75 to 100 pounds of weight loss.

I had heard for years that once you have WLS and/or significant weight loss, sleep apnea will go away after awhile.  However, I then spoke to the sleep apnea doctor and she clarified that the rumor is not always true.  It really is only exacerbated by the excessive weight.  The issue at play is the size of your nasal passages.  I, like my ear canals, have tiny passages that are not expected to change after weight loss.  Unfortunately, unless I become an exception to the rule, will always have sleep apnea.

The upswing to that is that the night sweats I suffered with for a decade have gone away completely!!  I'll take that tradeoff.

Do you use a CPAP machine? That is what I really want to get rid of!!! Thanks for the information.

Hi.  Yes, I use the machine and I don't like it either.  But neither did I like when they told me I stop, on avg., 56 times an hour.  So, I'm hoping I might be able to get off of it. I hope you can too.

It seems that most people with obstructive apnea do see a marked improvement after losing weight, but bear in mind that not all obstructive apnea is due to obesity. A good friend of mine who has never had any excess weight has it, due to a malformation of the palate.