Unless your bed partner is disturbing your sleep, most of us don’t think of snoring as something to be overly an issue about. But frequent, loud snoring may be a sign of sleep apnea, a potentially serious and common and disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts as you sleep. Although sleep apnea is curable, it often unrecognized. Understanding how to distingui**** from normal snoring, how to recognize the warning signs, is the first step to overcome sleep apnea and fall into a good night’s sleep.

Sleep apnea affects the way you breathe when you sleep. In untreated sleep apnea, breathing is briefly interrupted or becomes very shallow while asleep. These breathing is jolting you out of your natural sleep rhythm. The breathing pauses usually last between 10 - 20 seconds and may happen up to hundreds of times a night. As a consequence, you spend less time in the deep and more time in light sleep. For a restorative sleep, you need to be mentally sharp, energetic, and productive the next day.

Nathanael King is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, NLP practitioner and weight loss & nutritional therapist. He also helps people suffering from panic attacks or social anxiety. He has written a book on how to build confidence instantly using NLP techniques. Please click here to download now. You can also sign up for weekly newsletter at http://www.SelfProgress.co.uk for your growth.

I've lost over 100 lbs since my lapband surgery 5 1/2 years ago and I'm still on a cpap machine although I have gone for two follow-up sleep tests and have had the pressure reduced from 11 to 10.  I am very disappointed that I'm not yet off it.

I was 382 lb pre-lap band and now I"m 264 so according to the healthy weight charts I'm considered obese but I feel so much healthier.  It is not realistic for me to get below 200 lbs -- I haven't weighed that since I was in elementary school 44 years ago!  

I've heard from a few bandsters that have been taken off their cpap machines so I wish you the best of luck.  I may be one of those few that will be a lifer!

I had gastric bypass in August - the same week I was put on the C-Pap. Originally, my doctor mentioned retesting me when I lost 50 pounds. Now she says she wants to wait until I'm DONE losing (which could be a year or more easily!). I'm not happy - obviously. 

But before I decide she's WRONG, I guess I should take an informal poll. If you got off your machine due to weight loss, how much do you think you lost before not needing it anymore? I realize there could be other causes and everyone is different, I'm just trying to gage if there's a good cut-off point to really push for another sleep study. 

Thanks!!

I'm a side sleeper and have been very happy with the ResMed Swift FX for Her nasal pillows. I use the Small pillows, but let the technician fit you. Light and comfortable. I have a 6 ft hose and generally sleep with it loosely tucked under my arm so it moves with me when I turn to the other side. I use the ResMed9 machine with humidity and temp control.

I second the above--SLEEP APNEA IS SERIOUS.   It can cause serious, permanent and incurable heart damage like congestive heart failure, stroke, liver damage and other problems.  If you have underlying but undiagnosed heart trouble, apnea can trigger a sudden cardiac event like a heart attack.  I learned this the hard way and have permanent heart damage.

Be smart! Get  tested and and get clearance from your doctor before you stop using the machine!

If you received the machine from your insurance company, most likely  you do not own it and therefore cannot sell the machine. My insurer rents the machine from a supplier on my behalf for the first year, then if longer term CPAP is necessary, they  buy the machine for me.  When my insurer changed suppliers, I had to return the machine to the old supplier as soon as I received the machine from the new supplier---or pay full price out of pocket.