Getting off the CPAP

I'm 6 weeks out now and down 55#.  I noticed seeveral weeks ago that I could fall into a pretty deep sleep on the couch watching TV.  This was new since I couldn't fall asleep for 10 seconds without the CPAP for the last 15 years (I've lugged that sucker on the back of my Harley more times than I care to remember).  The air feels stronger, and is starting to be annoying. My question to this wise list is - How do I go about getting off the CPAP without a sleep study?  Thay are expensive and I think unnecdessary, but I am open to feedback.  When did you stop using yours and how did you stop? Thanks, CB

Hey CB - My surgeon  did not want me using mine for the first two weeks post-op.  I talked to the pulmonologist and he agreed and stated that after my surgeon cleared me, I should resume use "As needed and tolerated"..........I haven't used it since. Of course, talk to your docs for any official advice.

My dad uses a c-pap.  Glad you are off it, man!  Or, at least, working your way off it.  I wish he would.  But I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

I'm a little ahead of you, 7.5 weeks, and I'm having the same thoughts. I really like my CPAP, it's become somewhat like a pacifier for me. It's been so long since I slept without it that I don't know if I could get to sleep without it or not. But here recently I've noticed that when I try to sleep on my side I end up swallowing air and having to burp constantly. Doesn't seem to bother me when I'm on my back. I'm thinking about experimenting around with turning the pressure down to see if I can get to sleep on my side  and seeing how I feel in the morning. My respiratory therapist showed me how to do it once, but it's been several years ago. What concerns me though is I still weigh more than I did when I first got on the dang thing. I don't want to go through WLS and all the hassle that accompanies it and then die in my sleep from asphyxia. When I get under 300 I'm probably going to have a sleep test done to know where I'm located for sure.

Hey CB, just a little support from a friend that has to use a cpap machine also.  Other than a new study I really don't know how you can decide when to stop using your machine.   I had the same problem with the air feeling stronger once I had lost some weight.  Now I don't know how to change the pressure reading on my machine, so I could not do that.  I do however wear a full mask that had tiny plastic screws in it for where the oxygen could go if you need it.  I took those screws out and that took away a lot of the extra pressure I had been feeling.  Don't know if this will hel*****t.  But did want to say you are doing fantastic with your weight loss and you will probably been off the cpap machine before you know it.

Well, I stopped my BiPAP by just stopping it.  I never liked it, and honestly, I never felt any different  - better OR worse - after using it at night. Of course, my surgeon said i should keep using it, and my PCP doc says after I lose another 60 pounds or so (which would make about 190 total lost), I should get another sleep study, and only THEN 'they' will determine if I can go off it. Thing is, I didn't like the sleep studies either.  I hardly want to get another one, just so the the docs can cover their legal asses before they give me an official OK to stop. I'm following all the other post-surgery stuff, like a good little Do-Bee.  But IMHO, the BiPAP sucks.  Or more accurately, 'blows'.    Just sharing my experience, not suggesting you do the same....

Hello CB.....The reason I'll "stay" on my CPAP is at the first sleep study. I stoped breathing 118 times an hour (and they think that's why I got CHF). I had to go on a full face mask and now I hardly notice it. I saw my sleep doctor a couple of weeks ago and he was very happy on my weight loss. He said when he see's me next year he will either lower my pressure or take me off of it completely. So if you want to roll the dice then go for it, but I think you should go for another sleep study. Either way good luck ole' bud..... Dave

Wow this is timely. I saw the pulmonologist wednesday because my cpap was getting annoying because is seemed to be blowing so hard. I was out of the country on bussiness last week and for the first time in a couple years I actually elected not to  use the machine. I had already dialed it down from 17 to 12. My original sleep study called my apnea remarkable. Anyway he told me to adjust it down to comfort. I called him on it because I have bought into the whole seriousness of sleep apnea, the need for sleep study.... He ended up sending me home with a loaner self adjusting cpap to use for a week.. When I bring it back in they will figure out what level it was using most of the time. Then we will set mine to match that level. Seems to make a lot of sense during the rapid weight loss phase rather than another sleep study. They called it a sleep study without the sleep study. Hopefully when I am done I wont need the damn thing at all. Just my two cents. Jon

What great information!  As usual, ask a question in the locker room, get more than you bargained for in return! Thanks, Men! CB

I have a CPAP as well with a mask that just covers my nose.  I have noticed that I am apparently opening my mouth at night, so that I wake up with my mouth bone dry from all the air rushing out of it.  That NEVER EVER happened before my surgery.  I guess I'm going to have to call the doc to see if I can get a full face mask.  Bummer. MLF