CPAP ???????????????

HI EVERYONE, I WENT FOR THE RESULTS OF MY SLEEP STUDY TODAY....FOUND OUT I HAVE MILD SLEEP APNENA. NOW THEY ARE RECOMMENDING A CPAP. ANYONE ELSE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS????? HOW DID IT GO FOR YOU????

Hi Maura, I also just found out I have sleep apnea. I am waiting for my c-pap machine. I was told I need to be on the machine for at least two weeks before my surgery and I will need to bring the c-pap with me to the hospital when I have my surgery. I expect to receive a call any day now, a tech will come out to my house to train me in the use of the machine. I did need to go back to the sleep lab a second night to sleep with the machine. I really didn't have a very restful nights sleep, but, I'm sure it will be fine after a few nights in my own bed. I have several friends who have the c-pap, they tell me they do sleep much better since they have started using the machine Wishing you all the best, Elaine

I had the CPAP for about 6 weeks before surgery. I did feel better when I kept it on all night, but it was very hard for me to do so. It was hot (during the summer) and the headgear bothered me. I was told NOT to use it immediately after surgery by my surgeon as the pressure could be too much on the staple line in the pouch if too much air got into your stomach. Check with your surgeon about use in the hospital. Fortunately, I have been able to send the machine back as the sleep apnea seems to have resolved with the weight loss. I didn't repeat the sleep study, but don't snore anymore and didn't have any of those jarring, gasping waking spells anymore after the first 25 or so lbs came off. If you find that you will need the CPAP for a period of time and don't tolerate the mask well, ask about the nasal pillows. They are supposed to be more tolerable. Good luck! Luann LapRNY 9/14/04 -70 lbs

Im sorry that I don't know what a C-pap is? This is my first time researching the WLS. I am highly considering it, and I don't know the process that you have to go through. While i'm at is would you know what a g-tube is and the other one i have been hearing about, i think it's called a jp drain? If you know what those things are does everyone need to have them? And what makes a person a candidate for any of those things? Lez

CPAP is Continuous Positive Airway Pressure- meaning the machine keeps air in the upper airway to help people with sleep apnea which is stopping breathing during sleep. This is more common in obese people as the excess skin in the neck and throat can block air and stop breathing during the night for brief periods of time up to several hundred times a night. It causes poor sleep and in severe cases with prolonged stoppage can lead to death. Most WLS sugeons require testing for this because 1) it is a co-morbidity that qualifies the surgery 2) knowing that a person has sleep apnea determines what kind of care they need after surgery. Usually people with sleep apnea need to be on a floor where they can be on a cardiac monitor for about 24 hours after the surgery, but this varies by the hospital and the surgeon. Also, the pain medicaton after the surgery can increase risk for respiratory depression, which is even more of a risk in people with sleep apnea. The g-tube is a gastric tube, a tube that is place directly into the stomach through an incision in the skin. I think it used to be fairly routine when RNY was first done, but this is minimized with laparascopic surgery. I can't remember anyone on this board mentioning having a g-tube. An NG tube is a naso-gastric tube, a tube through the nose and into the stomach to drain gastric secretions, old blood, etc. It is usually place after anesthesia and removed before you leave the operating room, but on occassion it has to be left in for a while or replaced if there are complications. I know I had an NG tube (my nose hurt for a couple of days after!) but I'm sure it was removed before I woke from anesthesia. A JP drain (Jackson-Pratt-I guess the guys who invented it) is is tiny soft tube placed in an incision to prevent fluids from accumulating under the incision. Build up of fluid can put pressure on incision lines, make a good place for infections to grow, so the drain keeps this from happening. It is a little egg shaped device attached to the tube, which gets emptied several times a day and when it is closed it creates its own vacuum to move the fluids out. It stays in for about 3 days and it has a couple of little stiches to the skin to keep it from falling out. Hope this helps! Good luck! Luann LapRNY 9/14/04 -70

Luane, Thank you for your explanations. I am scheduled for my surgery on April 5th and you answered some of the questions I had regarding the G-Tube and the JP drain. I am almost a one year breast cancer survivor and developed a seroma after my lumpectomy. I still do have some fluid buildup. I never thought to mention this to Dr. Hess, but perhaps I have a tendency to develop the fluid buildup. Anyway, thank you for your very well thought out answers. Holly

Good luck Holly! Dr. Hess is wonderful, well worth the wait to see him at office visits because he truly takes his time with each patient. I was very pleased with the care I got at BMC (and not just because I work there!). Luann

Where in the BMC do you work, is it in the bariatric unit? Thanks for your upbeat message! Holly

Hi Maura - I got my CPAP back in September. I actually have a form of apnea called hypopnea. I don't stop breathing altogether, but I don't breathe deeply enough and end up with the same oxygen deprivation as if I was stopping breathing. Only hypopnea isn't as dangerous. In any event, the most important thing for me about my CPAP was getting the right headgear and mask. I had a big mask to start and couldn't stand it. It had big straps across my face to the back of my head, and I felt trapped. I kept ripping it off in the middle of the night. Then I got switched to a mask with nasal pillows, which are soft rubbery tube things that fit right into your nose. No straps on your face at all. I don't even feel the thing anymore, and my sleep is SO much better! I don't fall asleep everywhere anymore! My surgery is scheduled for 3/16, and I have to bring my cpap to the hospital as well. I'll let you know how it goes! Good luck, and happy s leeping! Mary Ellen